Specializing in business development and construction project management with more than 40 years experience in construction, real estate development and operations along with ownership positions in start-up businesses.

Laird is based in Edmonton, Canada, and brings as a Bespoke team partner a broad background in international business experience, extensive experience in high-level construction management with a variety of build types, and a strong personal network of national and global business associates.

Professionally, Laird has spent the majority of his 40-year working career in leading positions within the construction industry. He has managed projects across Canada, Canada’s north, China, Russia and Japan, and has led diverse groups of people to successful project completions. He has touched on all aspects of the real estate development program including deal sourcing, pro-forma  analysis, market analysis, land acquisition, the design and permitting process, marketing, sales and leasing, with construction management being the predominate focus of this portion of his career.

Laird also includes manufacturing experience in his background, having acquired Orion Plastics Inc. in 1999. Together with his partner, Laird took this plastic extrusions firm from start-up to a well-recognized firm in its industry, with clients across North America as well as Europe. At the time of his departure in 2010, the company had grown 14 times in revenue volume, including 55% growth in 2010 alone. Laird also invested in and ran a start-up medical-based company which within a year was purchased by a local venture capital firm.

In 2003-04, Laird took an educational sabbatical to attend the Sloan School of Business at MIT in Cambridge as a student in the prestigious International MBA program, subsequently becoming a Sloan Fellow. Laird is a leading member of an impressive alumni that includes individuals such as Kofi Annan, Carly Fiorina and Philip M. Condit. Laird has served on various boards including the MIT Sloan Fellows Society, the Fort Edmonton Foundation, and Junior Achievement. Laird has worked and traveled throughout North America, Europe, Asia (Singapore, China, India, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam), and Russia.