About Us | Baker Real Estate Incorporated

A multi-million-dollar development is built on millions of complex decisions that require complex answers. Every detail must be addressed, and every small nuance makes a big difference.

It takes experienced people, intelligent insights, and a true partnership to ensure every one of those million decisions is in time with the market and in tune with the project.

It takes Baker Real Estate Incorporated.

We’ve been Canada’s leading Pre-Construction Sales and Marketing Partner for over 25 years. We have the experience to guide projects from inception to completion — and beyond. We have the people to work alongside you in a cohesive partnership. We have the ambition to develop new tools and technology to stay one step ahead of the market. And we have the dedication to stay right next to you, maximizing value in every moment
along the way.

When everything counts, count on Baker.

The Baker Team

For over 25 years, Baker has worked with extraordinary clients and visionary teams to create lasting value.

Barbara Lawlor

CEO

As CEO and Partner, Barbara is the driving force behind Baker, opening new offices and leading major sales and marketing campaigns for the company in North America and International real estate markets.

She joined Baker the week we were founded in 1993, and has been instrumental in realizing our vision ever since. Her passion, determination and steady hand has inspired our team to help sell over $80 billion in new home sales, and make her the prominent female voice in the industry.

Her achievements have been recognized by the industry across the country. Barbara was a honoree at the BISNOW Toronto Power Women, and a panelist at the Key Media International Conference. She is a past recipient of the prestigious Riley Brethour Award by BILD, which recognizes her outstanding and consistent achievement in residential sales and marketing, while exhibiting exemplary leadership skills. Barbara is a Registered Real Estate Broker and a Fellow of The Real Estate Institute of Canada.

A thought leader in Canada and beyond, Barbara continues to write weekly columns for various publications and blogs, forging her reputation as The Condo Pro. Her charismatic style and tremendous knowledge make her a highly sought-after seminar speaker and a respected and impactful industry voice.

Harley Nakelsky

President

As President and Partner, Harley has been pivotal to the success of Baker, ensuring that our clients benefit from cutting-edge innovation, tried-and-true strategy and unique insights. Harley’s leadership skills, strategic vision and deep roots in sales guide our senior management team. But Harley also takes a direct and active role in increasing each client’s top line. He guides operations of sales and marketing for developments, establishes and manages sales offices and, of course, proudly sells out condominium projects.

An extensive resume includes record-breaking sales success in different markets, making Harley uniquely qualified to continue Baker’s premier positioning in Canada. He worked as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for a well-known international development company, as well as a Toronto-based real estate consulting firm that implemented marketing and sales programs for multi-family projects in Canada, the United States and Mexico. This level of experience brings a developer’s mentality to his role at Baker – and to our clients’ developments.
Harley also leads Baker’s drive to remain Canada’s – if not the world’s – technological innovator in real estate marketing and sales. His extensive background developing software systems forms the backbone of our sales lead generation and database management. His knowledge was especially critical during the 2020 pandemic, helping advance our online presentation and selling facilities to accommodate demand.

Barbara Lawlor

CEO

Harley Nakelsky

President

Harley also leads Baker’s drive to remain Canada’s – if not the world’s – technological innovator in real estate marketing and sales. His extensive background developing software systems forms the backbone of our sales lead generation and database management. His knowledge was especially critical during the 2020 pandemic, helping advance our online presentation and selling facilities to accommodate demand.

Barbara Lawlor

CEO

Harley Nakelsky

President

Debbie Lafave

Senior Vice President

Lisa Chester

Vice President

Vanessa Bellmare

Vice President

ManLing Lau

Vice President

Debbie joined the Baker Team in 2010 and brings with her a wealth of experience in project sales and marketing, including 17 years at Intrawest. Responsible for sales at both the Tremblant-Quebec and Blue Mountain-Ontario resorts, where she and her teams sold well over a billion dollars worth of real estate. Prior to joining Baker Real Estate, Debbie was Vice President Sales & Marketing for Sotheby’s International Realty Canada where she was responsible for the execution of all sales and marketing strategies for an impressive portfolio of prestigious development projects across Eastern Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. As a native Montrealer, Debbie is a natural fit for her current role as Senior Vice-President, responsible for Baker Real Estate’s Montreal division; Immobilier Baker.

Lisa began her real estate career in 2001 where she worked in pre-construction high-rise development. After several years focused on the construction and development side of business, she parlayed her career into sales and marketing management. Lisa has been successfully selling and marketing pre-construction real estate for Canada’s largest and most prestigious development companies for nearly 20 years. Along with representing multiple international projects, her expertise also lies in marketing projects overseas successfully managing sales initiatives in Asia, UAE and the United Kingdom. Lisa has successfully sold billions of dollars of pre-construction (low-rise and high-rise) and continues to be a key consultant on many of the top sites in the Greater Toronto Area.

Lisa is an award winning member of the Baker Real Estate Team. From the National Awards, she has Silver Award honours in Sales Management 2018 and her team won Sales Team of the Year 2018. In 2020 her team received another Silver award honour. Lisa has also won Sales Team of the Year (low-rise) 2019 and Sales Team of the Year (high-rise) 2020 from the BILD awards.

Vanessa Bellemare is Vice President at Baker Real Estate and is dedicated to producing highly effective pre-construction sales strategies for developer’s of varying project sizes. Vanessa’s proactive approach originates from over 10 years of industry experience and determined confidence. Her focus on elevating success is driven by a commitment to business development, inspiring and empowering her team creating a culture of distinct superiority. Relationships with clients, Brokers and industry leaders are strengthened by her ability to craft programs that reflect the brand, articulating a unique selling proposition resonating with homebuyers. With her extensive background in Technology, Marketing and Online Advertising she consistently delivers exceptional results and added value to clients.

When ManLing Lau graduated with an economics degree in 2001, her first job was as an administrative assistant at MarketVision Real Estate. Over 23 years, she worked her way up to become vice-president of sales, managing and selling over 80 pre-construction condominium projects throughout the Greater Toronto Area including: 55C, 88 Queen, Reina, Scout, Scoop, One Valhalla, Park Terrace, Waterworks, Queensway Park, 88 North, Ivy, 383 Sorauren, Massey Tower, Smart House, Gramercy Park, Ellipse and Waterclub.

“I literally grew up in pre-construction. Because I started on the operations side, I know the pre-construction condo business inside and out,” she notes. “In fact, when I hire salespeople, I keep a special eye open for those who are new to the sector and hungry to learn.”

For ManLing, the opportunity to learn has never stopped. She embraces the challenge of working closely with developers to leverage data and customize the marketing and launch strategy for each project.

“I was drawn to Baker by the great diversity of the developers and projects. I love the challenge of understanding what the developer needs and wants, and then making sure we get it just right,” she said.

ManLing also love working with buyers “to transform a floor plan into a home.” She adds: “We’re selling potential and possibility at first, but it’s so exciting as the units start to take shape and owners are part of that process.”

Andy Yu

Vice President

Kimberley Cresini

Sales Director

Michael Braganza

Chief Information Officer

Ali Morteza Panju

Director of Finance

Andy comes from a family that has been involved in real estate since 1980. He brings to the table more than a decade of experience as a new Construction Marketing professional, a Platinum Agent and a sought-after Sales Team Leader. His expertise includes strong relationships with many Developers and top-producing agents in Toronto. His passion and enthusiasm for the industry fit well with the Baker corporate philosophy. Previously, Andy was running the sales and marketing for numerous iconic projects. He was instrumental in providing feedback on floorplan design, sales programs, marketing assets and pricing exercises to maximize revenue and success for clients. A multi-faceted professional, Andy was a top producer on numerous projects in the city before joining a sales and marketing firm in the pre-construction industry. His diverse knowledge base and experience on the broker side uniquely qualify him as a critical member of the Baker team.

For the past 14 years since Kimberly joined Baker Real Estate, she has exhibited extraordinary drive and dedication. Through her commitment in a variety of roles, she has risen through the ranks to become Sales Director. She is uniquely qualified for this position, as she has always been quick to assume additional responsibilities. Throughout her career in operations and administration, she has been instrumental in the success of some of the GTA’s fastest-selling and most-talked-about projects. Kimberley has directed the operations of many successful pre-construction launches, resulting in over 10,000 unit sales for high-profile developers, such as Kilmer Group, Dream Unlimited, Diamond Corp., FRAM + Slokker, Alterra Developments, Metropia, Davpart, Capital Group, RioCan, The Gupta Group, Lifetime Developments, and The Daniels Corporation. Now in her Sales Director role, she oversees the operations of sales administration and working with senior management in the implementation of sales and marketing strategies for preconstruction projects across the GTA. She leads sales teams and works directly with the brokerage community. We can rely on Kimberly for her outstanding organizational skills and breadth of experience to make sure things happen.

As Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Baker Real Estate, Michael oversees all aspects of IT operations and leads Baker’s IT strategy and implementation efforts. This includes identifying and assessing the needs of the business, and implementing solutions to support Baker’s long term technology needs.

Michael joined Baker in December 2019. Prior to this, Michael worked in the private equity industry for over 10 years in a variety of senior roles. In his most recent role, Michael was the Vice President of Information Technology where he guided and evolved IT from a single site solution to a global platform. Previous to this, Michael worked as a consultant dealing with various companies enabling them to fulfill their IT initiatives.

Ali Morteza Panju joined the Baker Real Estate Team as Controller in autumn of 2019. He is a CPA and bring with him a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Toronto. Prior to joining the Baker team, he worked in public accounting in audit and tax. Ali’s role at Baker Real Estate makes him responsible for overseeing the financial reporting of the organization, reporting to Senior Management, and preparing budgets and forecasts.

Ben Myers

Special Market Advisor

Kathy Grant

Senior Project Manager

Jennifer Stade

Project Manager

Jhasmin Cativo

Project Manager

Ben Myers joins Baker with nearly 20 years of real estate research experience in both the United States and Canada. Ben has established himself as an industry expert, and a go-to source for the latest information and insight on the Greater Toronto Area housing market. His professional career includes stints at the largest market research company serving the US homebuilding industry at the time, the research arm of a new home sales brokerage, and he currently owns a successful boutique residential consulting firm in Toronto. Ben was also a member of the urban economics team at Clayton Research Associates in Scarborough, specializing in residential demand studies, and served as the Editor & Executive Vice President of a Toronto-based condominium apartment data tracking firm Urbanation Inc. Ben is also co-host of the wildly popular Toronto Under Construction podcast.

Kathy Grant, Senior Project Manager joined Baker Real Estate Incorporated in 2003 bringing with her a wealth of knowledge and experience from both the Financial Industry as a Loan Manager at a major financial institution and as an entrepreneur owning a successful giftware business.

With a family to care for, she started as a Site Administrator at Russell Hill, Bellair Gardens and Kilgour Estate. However, Baker Real Estate Incorporated recognized her potential and convinced her to join Baker Head Office to assist with project management.

As Senior Project Manager, with over 55+ projects to her credit, Kathy is involved in all aspects of the sales process from inception to completion.

In a testament to her organizational and time management skills, Kathy still finds time to volunteer as a Director of the North York Hockey League.

Jennifer has over 16 years experience in the multi-family pre-construction industry. As a former Director of Sales and Marketing for one of Toronto’s largest multifamily developer, Jennifer brings to Baker a complete understanding of multi-family development from design to construction to customer service. She is a highly motivated business professional, with a strong work ethic. A passionate team player with an understanding of working with cross-functional teams. Along with her BA from Laurentian University, Jennifer has successfully completed several Carleton University Sprott School of Business professional workshops.

Jhasmin began her career at Baker Real Estate in early 2015. After being a core member of the administrative team on a number of Baker’s successful launches, she joined the head office team. Jhasmin is responsible for providing support to management as well as the marketing and IT departments. Jhasmin holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Toronto.

Apolonia Rodrigues

Project Manager

Sofie Viaros

Project Manager

Josie Ta

Assistant Project Manager

Antiao Hui

Assistant Project Manager

Apolonia is a high-performing professional with 8+ years of experience in a variety of customer-facing roles in corporate and entrepreneurial environments. She joined the Baker Team part time in 2010 and has since worked in a number of administrative roles. In the spring of 2021 Apolonia joined the Baker team full time as an Assistant Sales Manager and has a strong command of account management operations, customer relations, business/sales development, program oversight, and administration. BComm degree graduate with core expertise in successfully maintaining superior customer relationships and providing outstanding leadership to surpass service expectations. Adept at leading customer service initiatives and managing client communications to continuously realize improved customer service, satisfaction, and loyalty. Her proven track record of success and consistency throughout a variety of cross-functional roles makes her an asset to the team.

Sofie has 16+ years of industry experience, having begun her career in 2005 working for a well-known high-rise developer. Throughout, the years, Sofie has acquired extensive knowledge working in all aspects of preconstruction development. With a degree in Marketing, Sofie began her career as a marketing assistant and administrator and later held sales manager and décor manager roles. Sofie has been involved in managing the operations and sales of numerous projects in the City of Toronto. Her wide range of knowledge and expertise, along with her strong work ethic and ability to build relationships with realtors and purchasers makes her a great addition to the Baker team.

Josie started her career at Baker Real Estate in 2016 as a project administrator. Before joining head office, Josie worked in sales and marketing for a prominent developer in downtown Toronto. She possesses over 8 years of experience in pre-construction sales and marketing. Josie will be responsible for monitoring project progress, communicating with stakeholders and maintaining project documents and reports.

Antiao has over 8 years of experience in the Real Estate Industry, project managing Sales and Marketing functions for pre-construction developments. Antiao holds an MBA degree and an B. A (Honours) degree in Economics and Finance and she is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Renee Pacis

Assistant Project Manager

Ammy Liu

Assistant Project Manager

Kim Morris

Broker Manager
HR Manager/CCO

Dan Rodrigues, CAMLI-PA

Compliance Manager, Broker

Renee started at Baker in 2017 as a Project Administrator before joining head office in 2021 as an Assistant Project Manager. She possesses extensive administrative experience, and excels in creating and implementing sales office procedures. She is a dedicated team player with great attentional to detail and an asset to the Baker Team.

Baker Team Member since 2008, Kim now holds the positions of Broker Manager, HR Manager and CCO. With decades of successfully selling real estate as a Broker, a strong work ethic and a never-ending affinity for learning, she applies herself to these roles with a positive and collaborative approach and oversees the compliance of regulatory requirements and internal procedures and policies.

Kim’s penchant for giving back also shows as she represents Baker on various committees such as TREB, BILD and leading the charge with the liaison of Baker and LIGHTS.

As Compliance Manager for Baker Real Estate, Dan holds his CAMLI-PA (Canadian Anti-Money Laundering Institute Practicing Associate) designation obtained in 2017. Along with Baker’s CCO he develops, implements and monitors the compliance policies and procedures for FINTRAC and the PCMLTFA.

Daniel’s background with Baker is the epitome of “starting at the ground and working up”. He began in his teens by assisting with filing and data entry for the Accounting Department. Soon after he had an opportunity to work as a “tour guide” for various presentation centers. The excitement of the launch events and the glamour of the presentation centres drew him in and lead to filling all the possible roles over time. From reception, signing, assistant administrator, head administrator to where he is now.

In addition to his role as Compliance Officer, Dan is a Registered Broker and in the process of obtaining his Privacy Officer designation.

Krystal Fry

Marketing Manager

Solidad Manalo

Accounting Manager

Jose Cativo

I.T. Manager

Johanna Gonzales

Training & Staffing Manager

Krystal has been with Baker Real Estate since 2019 in her role as Marketing Manager. She is responsible for Baker’s Marketing initiatives, specifically Baker Real Estates online digital presence. She graduated from George Brown College with an advanced Diploma in Graphic Design. Krystal brings with her over 10 years of pre-construction sales and marketing experience. Prior to working with Baker Real Estate she worked directly with many prominent developers across southern Ontario to launch pre-construction condo projects.

Solidad Manalo joined the Baker Real Estate Accounting Team in 2006 and with her dedication, strong work ethic and eye for detail her role naturally evolved to Accounting Manager. Her responsibilities include overseeing the daily operations of the accounting department, such as payables, receivables, payroll and more. Solidad is currently attending Humber College for her Accounting Certification

As I.T. Manager Jose is responsible for the day to day operations of Baker’s IT department. A main part of which is deploying instances of Baker Tech across all projects country wide, a critical contribution which leads to successful launches and keeps Baker Real Estate at the forefront of the industry and ahead of its peers. Since joining the Baker team in 2013, Jose has proven to be a keen problem solver and team player who will do whatever it takes to ensure Baker’s success.

Allison Korculanic

Systems Specialist

Arun Joy

I.T. Support Specialist

Lisa Mazzara

Senior Administrator

Allison Korculanic has been with the Baker Real Estate Team for more then 18 years in various roles, and over a decade as Systems Specialist. She is responsible for maintaining internal systems and tools that relate directly to our developer clients as well as managing client communication pieces for our developers. During her tenure with Baker Real Estate, Allison has helped lead the implementation of two proprietary project management systems. With her education in Computer Programming, Allison is an integral member of the Baker IT Department.

Arun Joy, IT Support Specialist joined Baker Real Estate Incorporated in 2020. Having 6 Years experience spanning all facets of Software and IT infrastructure, Arun is responsible for Day to Day activities including setting up the Project ,Configuration, Implementation, Reporting and Support. Prior to Working with Baker Real Estate, he worked with IBM and First American Corporation. Arun holds Masters Degree in Computer Networks and Bachelors Degree in Computer Science.

Lisa joined the Baker team in 1999 starting out as the full-time receptionist. Having graduated from college as a Certified Dental Assistant, Lisa has strong multitasking skills and attention to detail. After 8 years in this role she was looking for a change and found Baker Real Estate. In 2003 she graduated onto an administrative role. Today as senior administrator, with over 20 years experience she brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the day to day operations of the company. She is a key player in assisting and supporting management with reports, research, data entry, preparing documents and various other duties.