Michael Dennis

Biography

 Mr. Dennis has enjoyed a long and varied career in public policy, business development, and real estate. He is currently chairman of Azure Partners, which is acquiring apartment projects in major North American cities.   He taught Development Law at York University Law School, and practiced law for Blake Cassels and Graydon. Mr. Dennis was a Policy Advisor to the Philippine Planning Commission and National Economic Council. He was a fellow of the Ontario Law Reform Commission and Chairman of the Canadian Federal Government Task Force on Low Income Housing. Mr. Dennis was also Development Policy Advisor to Mayor David Crombie of the City of Toronto, and was the city's first Housing Commissioner.   Mr. Dennis later headed Olympia and York's development activities in New York, and was responsible for the development of the World Financial Center in New York and major commercial buildings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Dallas.   Mr. Dennis became Chief Executive Officer of Canary Wharf Limited during the development of its first phase of ten buildings, representing five million square feet. After this, he became a shareholder and Chief Executive Officer of the Azure Development Group, which has developed real estate projects in London, Toronto, Hamburg, and Berlin.   During the last few years, Mr. Dennis has developed an interest in alternative energy. He invested in Celunol Corporation, which is a leading cellulosic ethanol technology company, and served as Chief Executive Officer for this company.

Research Interest

 Recycling, CleanTech, Biofuel, Waste Management