Designation(s): RCM, LCCI
Company: DES Services Inc.
Year entered the profession: 1986
Year RCM obtained: 2002

Mentor(s) in the industry: Emile Deslongchamps, RCM, ACCI IA.

What path brought you to a career as a condominium manager? I grew up in a condominium management family. I followed in my family’s footsteps.

How has your membership in ACMO helped you in your career? Securing my RCM early in my career provided valuable training about industry best practices in all fields of study. ACMO’s continuing education and professional development continue to provide a constant source of current and up-to-date information on the ever-changing aspects of the condominium management industry.

What is one must-have skill for a condominium manager? Why? There are actually three must-haves:
· Organization
· Time Management
· Communication
There are numerous deadlines and requirements to the manager’s job which cannot be missed. Good time management, careful annual and periodic planning organized electronic data retrieval systems are all crucial to ensuring that information is available when required, that deadlines are met and that expectations are consistently exceeded.

Tell us about a personal success story on the job. Condominium Management success stories in the pandemic world are “either hard to spot” or “they are everywhere” – it depends on your perspective! The challenges have been many! Certainly, our long-lasting and positive working relationships with boards, owners/residents, and professional and contracting “partners” in the industry are a success story. Through the difficult times experienced by all over the last 24 months, we are blessed to benefit from the cooperative approach and support/understanding offered to us by our clients as we work to adapt (daily, it seems) to the changing world and regulations around us. We have also definitely been privileged to see our clients through challenging times, with contractor and staffing shortages, owners’ and residents’ concerns/inquiries/anxiety over Covid rules/policies. In all instances, matters are resolved at the end of the day and with a bit of luck/patience, we get to learn to know one another even better and support one other through unprecedented times.

What’s your biggest challenge as a manager? What’s your favourite part of the job? The biggest challenge for all condominium managers in today’s world is finding ways to cope with the ever-increasing email load, all while everyone expects an instantaneous reply to inquiries, fulfilling the contractual requirements of the management agreement and keeping board members owners/residents informed of important information.

Best business advice you ever received. Don’t take it personally. Keep your sense of humour.

Answer this statement – I am an RCM because…Condominium Management is my chosen career. I decided to become a Registered Condominium Manager because of the high standards to which RCMs are held and the resources available through ACMO for education and continuing development.

Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years, I will still be the proud Principal Condominium Manager at our family-owned boutique condominium management firm, working with our family’s third generation of RCMs.

What recent project that you completed can we highlight? DES Services currently manages the 1st year activities of an innovative and unique residential condominium, Zibi Kanaal, one of the very few residential properties in the world adhering to the One Planet Living Framework. This unique condominium relies on effluent energy recovery from a local industrial for heating and on the Ottawa River for cooling!

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