THERE’S NO
“I”
IN THIS TEAM
KINGSETT CAPITAL’S COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT TRANSLATES TO STRONG RETURNS FOR ITS INVESTORS.
T
BY CHERYL REID-SIMONS
here is no superhuman strength, no power of flight or sound-shattering speed among the partners at Torontobased KingSett Capital. Still, the collaborative way Jon Love and his partners—Jim Hewitt, Anna Kennedy, Rob Kumer and Joe Mazzocco—work together sounds a bit like a summer blockbuster. Think The Avengers or The Fantastic Four; only instead of battling villains, KingSett Capital works to build premium risk-weighted returns, thereby saving its clients from overly risky investments and weak returns. Now celebrating its 10th year, KingSett Capital has become Canada’s leading private equity real estate firm by leveraging the key strengths and experience of its partners and managers. And while Love is the founder and managing partner, the firm is very much a team effort. “It sounds like a cliché, but Jon’s vision is to hire, empower and align strong people,” says Mazzocco, who, along with Kumer, oversees the acquisition, financing and disposition of KingSett’s properties. “Finding strong people has been one of our strengths.” Love’s previous tenure as president and chief executive officer of Oxford Properties—a global investment firm also headquartered in Toronto—helped cement his stature as an industry leader. But while KNOWLEDGE-LEADER.COM
he may have the most recognizable name, he insists that he isn’t the sole key to the company’s success. “In all regards, my personal influence on success can be overstated,” Love says. “The thing that I’ve done best is to recruit and motivate a high-performance team. My job is to lead the team and help direct the team, but it is certainly not a one-man show.” “Our belief is that better decisions are made with more people giving input. The collaborative effort from everyone has been a major factor in our business being able to make the right big calls at critical times, all leading to generating premium risk-weighted returns for our stakeholders,” Kumer notes. “Our brand is thought of as being astute real estate investors. What others may be less aware of is how great it is to be a part of the KingSett team. The respect that we have for each other, as well as all of our external stakeholders, is remarkable. Our business is always growing, expanding and changing; being part of it has been exciting and a terrific learning experience.” Love says it’s important to foster an environment where people feel comfortable to voice an opinion, even if that means disagreeing with him or any of the other partners. “The longevity and success of the business is a direct result of the quality and alignment of the team and having strong enough people around you who know that their opinions COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL WINTER 2012
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