Peter Halsall, President & CEO, Canadian Urban Institute
Peter Halsall was appointed President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute in July 2013.
Peter is an award-winning engineer and entrepreneurial businessman who has led the growth of 3 innovative companies, beginning with expansion of employee-owned Halsall Associates to a firm of more than 350 people located in eight offices across Canada. Halsall was rated as one of Canada’s Best Workplaces for the last 7 years by the Great Places to Work Institute. As part of the Halsall group, Peter also launched Pivotal Projects Ltd., a national project management firm, and Loop Initiatives Ltd, a management consulting firm for sustainability. The group was purchased by Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2010, for which he served as the Global Sustainability Lead.
Peter is committed to motivating change in urban development to incorporate evidence based decision-making towards more balanced outcomes. He is often called upon to present his opinions about urban sustainability. He sat on the Design Review Panels for the City of Toronto and Waterfront Toronto for 5 years each as the sustainability representative.
PROFESSIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
Chairman, Parsons Brinckerhoff Halsall 2010 – 2013
Upon sale of the employee-owned businesses below to Parson Brinckerhoff, PBHalsall became the Canadian operating company. Responsible for management oversight of the operating companies, which included Halsall Associates (building engineering), Pivotal Projects (development advisors and project management); Loop Initiatives (sustainability consulting), and expansion of the business into services aligned with the global operations. He was also the Global Sustainability Market Lead and initiated the global Building Engineering strategy initiatives. He maintained his Project Principal role on a range of projects, with a particular specialty in researching and resolving design and construction failures.
Founder and President, Loop Initiatives 2007- 2013
Sustainability Management consulting – designing programs for integrating sustainability into organizational culture. A core focus was in benchmarking best practices and implementing the IRIS, a proprietary engagement tool for tracking and communicating progress.
Founder and Chairman, Pivotal Projects 2003 – 2013
Construction project management and development advisors – founded this company in Toronto to provide project management services to Halsall clients who had grown to trust Halsall for engineering and wanted the same attention to service in managing their new development or building renovation projects. The company grew to a national operation with over 50 employees managing commercial, institutional, residential, industrial and transportation projects.
Chairman/CEO, Halsall Associates 1995 – 2013
Led this employee owned Building Engineering firm founded in 1956 through growth from 70 to over 300 employees and from 3 to 8 offices. Services included Structural Engineering; Facility Evaluation, Restoration and Capital Planning; Green planning and design; and Forensic Engineering. Champion for the company’s sustainability initiative started in 1998 and for developing the Green Building services started in 2002. Established the Vancouver and Calgary offices. Company recognized as one of Canada’s Best Workplaces from the Great Places to Work Institute since 2007, and the Macleans Magazine Top Employers list from 2003 to 2006.
COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
- Member, Chairman’s Advisory Board, University of Toronto Department of Civil Engineering, 2004 to present – Contact: Brenda McCabe, Past Chair; Brent Sleep, Chair
- Member, Advisory Board, GMC Centre for Engineering Design, McMaster University, 2008 – present – Contact: Vladimir Mahalec, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Director of GMC Centre
- Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel, 2005 – 2010 – Contact: Chris Glaisek, Vice President, Planning and Design, and John Campbell, President and CEO
- City of Toronto Design Review Panel, 2007 – 2011 – Contact: Robert Freedman, Director, Urban Design
- NAIOP REX Awards Reviewer – 2008 – 2012 – Contact: Nancy Cohen, VP Strategic Planning, Cushman & Wakefield Ltd.
AWARDS and RECOGNITION
- Recipient, Sustainable Buildings Canada, Lifetime Achievement Award, 2012
- Fellow, The Canadian Academy of Engineering, 2011
- Anthony A. Woods Award of Excellence, Ontario Building Envelope Council, 2010
- Inductee, Alumni Hall of Distinction, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, 2009
- Arbour Award, University of Toronto, 2005
- Mid-Career Award “In Recognition of Meritorious Service in and for the Profession”, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, 2002
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- Member, Professional Engineers of Ontario
- Member, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia
- Member, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta
EDUCATION
- M.A.Sc., Civil Engineering (Structural, Biomedical), University of Toronto, 1980
- B.A.Sc. Civil Engineering (Structures), University of Toronto, 1977
