The South Asian News is proud to present the man who certainly knows to build on his strengths.

Neil Labatte has over 30 years of experience in real estate sectors, and is the founder of Global Dimension Capital, Inc., a hotel and real estate advisor formed in 2007 for the purpose of investing capital in hotel and real estate acquisitions and developments. In 2013, he became President and Chief Executive Officer of Talon International Inc. and Talon Luxury Collection (TLC), which developed and owns Trump International Hotel and Tower Toronto and Trump Residences Toronto; a project valued at over $400 million. In addition to Mr. Labatte’s valuable role at Trump Toronto, he is a member of the Board of Directors and is an Investor in Pomeroy Lodging, the premier hotel management and Ownership Company in northern Alberta. To add to his portfolio, he is also an investor in Holloway, a public hotel REIT listed on the TSX, with a major shareholder.

 

You played leadership roles in quite a few capacities. Talk to us about the ones for the most part which challenged you, and how you overcame much of that as a leader, mentor and builder.

When I came back to Canada in 1997 I joined CP hotels. They hired me because of my international experience from the United States, to lead their investment/real estate activities. I had to staff both departments – find people with experience in the industry who wanted to work in Toronto. Finding the right people was a challenge and we had to grow the business through management and then find hotels to acquire.

We bought hotels in the Caribbean and the United States and we were integrating many different people from different backgrounds onto the same teams to work effectively together. That is always an interesting dynamic, building teams such as those. I was responsible also the global development group which also included Mexico and even the Middle East. I travelled all over the world to ensure expansion. We acquired Princess Hotels and then Fairmont Hotels and we combined those companies and became the Fairmont Brand overall. It was a very exciting time and a period of huge growth in the hotel business.

 

Prior to your corporate roles you were a professional hockey player. Do you think that bringing the same rules from sports into the boardroom – team spirit, winning and working towards the same goal and objectives helps?

The interesting thing about being a hockey player is that it sets you apart – people treat you differently for some reason and that difference sets you apart, which corporately, is an angle which helps. Hockey teaches you how to focus on the task at hand, how to be a winner, how to deal with failure…and how to be on a team. Some very basics which are helpful in all facets of life as you move on.

I’m now on the Board of Directors of the NHL Alumni and as a part of NHL Alumni, we talk a lot about transitions from one thing to another as former players are ending their hockey careers and beginning something new in their lives.

I’ve had my own company two times in my career, and in that, its’ part of a transition, new relationships, new cities and new people. At the end of the day it imparts, for sure, all very good and valuable life lessons.

 Can you speak to us at length about why you got into real estate, and more particularly into real estate for the hotel and tourism industry, and give pointers to those of us who are studying, or looking to get into such capacities.

The reason I like real estate, and got into the business is because when I was in hockey I used to read Fortune 500 or Forbes Magazine and I began to notice that most of the successful people they wrote about had some connection to real estate. Real estate brought wealth to a lot of people. With hard work, smarts, self-assurance and promotion, you can make a very good living in real estate.

If you’re interested in cities, or an urban perspective and how people live in cities, I would say it’s still a very good career. However, you’ve got to be willing to take risks. I would say this: you cannot be risk adverse and be successful in real estate.

 

Tell us about your tenure at the AEW Mexico Company and what you accomplished there. Do you also find the business dynamics between US and Canada different? And if so, what is in Canada that we need to accordingly change, or better?

AEW Mexico was a company located in Dallas with investments in Mexico. Mexico and Canada are closed economies, controlled by large institutions and Government for the most part, whereas in the United States, things are more flexible, robust and diversified and it sometimes seems you get things done more easily. US looks at wealth in a very positive way – they encourage it as part of that ‘American Dream’.

Canada is different, more conservative – but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. However, in my opinion, in order for our country to reach our full potential, Canada needs to increase its productivity and appetite for risk, and make ourselves more important on a global scale through our strength in more diversifications, other than our natural resources.

 You also occupied senior roles in Legacy Hotels, and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. Successes, failures, or shortcomings – how did you overcome those in your capacities in these two world-class reputable organizations?

You might say I’m a big picture guy – I like to rally people around new ideas and strategies and get them excited….rather than day to day items. Both organizations were very mature and going well and had great teams. I brought certain skill sets to both organizations and those skill sets were valued added by both organizations so I was very fortunate that they thought that way.

Of course, we also had a lot of capital which is always good because real estate is a very, very capital intensive industry. We also had great support from our shareholders, which is also very helpful. Many positive attributes have to happen to be successful in business in my experience, especially when it comes to the real estate and hotel businesses.

You are currently the President and CEO of Talon International Inc., and Talon Luxury Collection. The Trump Residences in Toronto belong to this portfolio of the high-end luxury living. Unlike NY where multi-million dollar apartments sell-out on a daily basis, do you think Toronto is the right place to be?

I think Toronto market has evolved tremendously in the last decade. When you look at downtown core, there were not any luxury hotels a decade ago, now we’ve got Trump, Shangri-La, Ritz, Four Seasons.

And look south of the Gardiner, that was a wasteland of parking lots 15 years ago, now SouthCore is a booming mini-downtown core. There is also significant office development happening in the major areas of the city…with restaurants and more urban influx now than 15 years ago. Everything bodes well for this type of luxury.

Lenders are somewhat conservative, which has held back this hotel and condo market to some extent, but overall, I think it has a very bright future.

Since Donald Trump is in the news, and given the fact you’ve probably dealt with him on more than one occasion, what’s the truth, and what’s the dare on the man? Care to give us a heads-up?

He is obviously a very self-driven and confident individual…but he has had his ups and down in the business. His hotel company consists of just 7 hotels, versus some of the larger chains who have thousands of hotels. Nevertheless he has an impact on our building scenario in Toronto because his name is on the top in very bright lights, and no one would argue that he certainly knows how to market his credentials.

Finally, give us your know-how of being 30 years in the business of real estate. I know it might require putting all that knowledge into a book. So let’s re-phrase: Give us some tips of what it took for you to get this far. 

From my experience, the tips are fairly basic, but I am more than happy to share them with you.

• Pay attention to the big picture. If you’re not doing the right thing at the right time, it doesn’t work.
• You have to promote yourself.
• You have to build relationships.
• You have to build the technical skills and knowledge of the business.
• You have to take measurable risks – you are often faced with difficult decisions.
• Be aware there might be 3 or 4 big factors which might affect the big picture….and they all might be happening at the same time. Be nimble.
• You must enjoy what you’re doing, or you won’t be successful.
• Don’t be afraid to travel – because you do travel a lot in the hotel business
• You have to be aware of the nuances of international business in today’s global business environment.

 

Jude Paul Fernandes                                                                                                               jude@thesouthasiannews.com