Build Toronto's search for chairman goes back to square one Build Toronto, the agency created to maximize the value of the city's surplus real estate, is about to start over in its search for a new chief executive after the departure of all eight of its independent directors and a failed attempt to appoint a new chairman. The hunt for a replacement for retiring chief executive Lorne Braithwaite stalled this spring amid allegations that the agency's vice-chair, Councillor Doug Ford, was trying to hand-pick the new leader. All members of the search committee left the board except for Mr. Ford, including chairman Stuart Lazier, who had only recently been appointed. A new search committee is expected to be formed this week when the board meets and welcomes new independent directors. Build Toronto has also run into trouble in its efforts to appoint a new chair. Bay Street veteran Daniel Sullivan, Canada's former consul-general in New York, was appointed by council in June to the board and recommended as chair, but he has since declined the nomination. Although Mr. Sullivan was asked to be chair when he was interviewed to become a member of the Build board, an individual familiar with the meeting said he declined, and only found out that he had actually been appointed to the board and recommended as chair from a newspaper report. In the weeks between his interview and the council appointment, Mr. Sullivan accepted another board position and told the city he could not serve. At the same time, the only two remaining independent directors left on the board in June have decided not to continue. When the board meets later this week, only five directors will have sat at the table before. Three of those are councillors - Mr. Ford, Peter Milczyn and Michael Thompson - and two are city employees scheduled to be removed this fall. The board is made up of eight independent members, most of whom have real estate experience; three councillors; and two city staff members. Mr. Milczyn also could be gone soon if he wins his race as a Liberal candidate in the Aug. 1 provincial by-election. The mass turnover of the board, and the long hunt for a new leader are raising questions about the ability of the city agency to attract talent and to continue with its mandate to develop and sell city property. The agency, formed at the recommendation of an expert panel four years ago, was envisioned as a way for the city get more value from its large property portfolio by entering into joint ventures with private developers rather than just selling surplus parcels of land. Its many projects include an office building on a site at Yonge Street and York Mills Road and a $295-million joint venture with Tridel for a condo tower at the foot of York Street. Mr. Ford, Build Toronto's acting chair, says the new independent directors selected in June and at last week's council meeting are all "top-notch" with extensive industry credentials. One of them, appointed by council on Friday, is expected to be confirmed as chair when the new board meets for the first time on July 25. His name has not been made public. The upheaval in the boardroom, he says, is not affecting the ability of the agency to deliver results. "We have a great staff that understands the mandate that council has given and we're moving forward," he said. But a fresh batch of independent directors means the months-long search for a new chief executive will have to begin again. Mr. Braithwaithe, set to retire earlier this year, has agreed to extend his contract into the fall to allow the new search committee to do its job. Mr. Ford said his favoured candidate, Toronto Port Land Co. Lands CEO Michael Kraljevic, remains in the running for the post, describing the jump to Build as a "natural progression" from his current position. The search for a new CEO was derailed, The Globe and Mail reported earlier this year, after Mr. Ford pushed to give the job to Mr. Kraljevic. "All I want to do is get the most qualified person in there," Mr. Ford said when asked about the search last week. Councillor Thompson, another Build director, said the CEO search will be in the hands of the new board. "The new board members, obviously, will have something to say," he said, adding that he is confident the city agency will be able to recruit a suitable successor for Mr. Braithwaite. It's just a matter of time.