Nearctic Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust was formed by Nearctic Property Group in April 2023 to be a multi-generational, geographical, and tenanted “A” class, urban industrial and warehouse real estate investment with intentions to grow to $1B in real property assets across Canada. NI REIT was specifically launched under a structure designed for growth. An independent Board of Trustees was appointed to provide insight and governance, and work with management to deliver targeted results.
Nearctic Property Group is a real estate development and property management firm headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta with offices in Edmonton and Calgary. Over the course of 40 years, Nearctic developed a core competency for identifying, executing and profiting on a wide range of real estate opportunities. It developed industry-leading skills to productively address structural and maintenance issues and provide best-in-class property management, while also delivering innovative marketing and leasing strategies. Nearctic Property Group built a successful income producing portfolio, an in-house management business, and a vertically integrated construction, technical services, and accounting real estate investment management platform. Today, Nearctic Property Group owns and manages a portfolio of retail, office and industrial properties and enjoys established relationships with almost 1,000 customers, suppliers, lenders, and investors.
Sean joined Nearctic Property Group as Chief Operating Officer in 2019 with a 38-year track record in the real estate investment management business. Sean developed a diverse business perspective and set of competencies having worked with both large national public entities as well as private entrepreneurial organizations. He is an outcome oriented real estate operations executive skilled in leadership, leasing, construction, acquisitions, development, finance and asset management of a wide range of property types including apartments, office, retail, and industrial properties. Sean was appointed President of Nearctic Property Group in September 2021.
Leeann joined Nearctic in 2022 with over 17 years of experience working in finance and accounting, with most of her tenure in a management role and a focus on IFRS. Leeann obtained her Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Commerce and MBA from the University of Alberta and received her CA, CPA designation in 2010. She has a proven track record of leading and creating teams to achieve operational success through strong finance data platforms founded on robust governance frameworks.
Craig joined Nearctic as Vice President, Asset Management in 2022. Craig brings over 14 years of asset management experience covering major Canadian markets. Prior to joining Nearctic, Craig has been responsible for successfully overseeing institutional and private portfolios over 1.6M sf and has been a lead underwriter on over $1 billion in real estate transactions. He also brings extensive experience in mortgage financing, development and real estate technology and innovation. Craig’s diligent focus and value-add approach serve as a motivator for him and his team and produce exceptional results for the real estate.
James Jung joined Nearctic Property Group in 2025 as Chief Investment Officer, bringing nearly 30 years of experience in investment, financial, and operational management.
In his role, James is responsible for accessing capital markets and creating investment structures that attract capital to support the firm’s continued growth. He is deeply committed to his fiduciary responsibility to all stakeholders and focuses on safeguarding investor capital.
Prior to joining Nearctic, James served as Senior Portfolio Manager at a Canadian asset management firm, overseeing $300 million in assets under management with a focus on alternative real estate investments. He previously held C-suite roles at a private equity firm specializing in commercial real estate, managing over $7 billion in assets under management. Additionally, he served as Chief Investment Officer and Head of Corporate Finance at one of Canada’s largest exempt market dealers, where he received the Private Capital Markets Association of Canada’s Portfolio Management Award in 2018.
Earlier in his career, James held the position of Senior Vice President, Energy & Banking at a global credit rating agency. In this role, he led a team of analysts responsible for covering the North American and European energy and power sectors, as well as financial institutions in Japan and Australia.
James is a highly accomplished professional, holding the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designations. He earned his Honours Business Administration degree from the esteemed Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
In his free time, James cherishes spending quality time with his wife and son. He also enjoys engaging in outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking. Additionally, he has dedicated nearly 20 years of his life to teaching Corporate Finance at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies.
Michael Fitzgerald has over 40 years experience in real estate investment, finance and, management. Most recently he served on the board of Slate Office REIT, a publicly traded Canadian company with both domestic and foreign real estate holdings. Mr. Fitzgerald has also provided real estate consulting services to private Canadian developers. Having worked for Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) from 2006 to 2020 as Vice President Real Estate, he was charged with overseeing the management a $14.9B global Real Estate portfolio. At AIMCo he was actively involved in the legal, tax and holding company structuring and the management of opportunistic real estate investments including multiple large development projects as well as serving as director/advisor of numerous real estate management companies, holding companies, and Funds in Canada, US, Mexico, UK and Europe. He has also worked in various Real Estate related capacities for numerous Canadian financial institutions such as Standard Life, Great West Life, Mercantile Bank along with a number of other financial companies.
Ken Hughes, a certified ICD.D member since 2005, joined the board of trustees at inception of the trust in 2023. Hughes is a seasoned entrepreneur, and serves as Chair, Providence Therapeutics, Canada’s leading messenger RNA vaccine development company. His business background also includes involvement with insurance distribution as the founder of Alpine Insurance (2002-2021), energy services technology, real estate and information technology.
Hughes has provided extensive public service at provincial and national levels in Canada. He was Alberta Energy Minister and Minister of Municipal Affairs (2012-2014). Prior to that, he was the Founding Chair of the Board of Alberta Health Services (2008-2012) (providing publicly funded health services to over 4 million Albertans), a Member of the Canadian Parliament (MP), at increasing levels of responsibility including appointment as Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (1988-1993).
Ken has a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Alberta (BSc. Agriculture).
Sean joined Nearctic Property Group as Chief Operating Officer in 2019 with a 38-year track record in real estate business. Sean developed a diverse business perspective and set of competencies having worked with large national public entities and private entrepreneurial organizations. He is an executive skilled in Leadership, Leasing, Construction, Acquisitions, Development, Finance, and Asset Management in a wide range of property types including apartments, office, retail and industrial properties.
David has a proven track record of over 40 years in Western Canada as a developer and manager of multi-family homes, rental apartments, and a number of industrial, commercial and retail properties. Throughout, he has navigated Alberta’s dynamic economic environment with financial stability and consistently positive outcomes. Results – a present portfolio with well over 1 million square feet of commercial, industrial and residential real estate, currently valued in excess of $120 million. His success over the past 40 years has been built on a foundation of carefully selected quality real estate and professional property management.
NI REIT’s Management Team and Board of Trustees are committed to ensuring that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations are an integral part of our core decision-making process. NI REIT has identified ESG as a key component of its long-term investment strategy and is committed to making it a focal point in establishing a company-wide ESG-minded culture. ESG aligns with our vision to create a leading management platform and investment vehicle, focused on building value for our investors and community.
