Who We Are

Our story thus far

Focused on investment, backed by experience

CanFirst Capital Management was founded in 2002 and is an industry leader investing in commercial real estate. CanFirst forms real estate Funds that contain a portfolio of properties to provide diversification for its partners. The CanFirst team is focused on investing in assets that offer consistent and stable returns, while concurrently ensuring capital preservation and providing value add opportunities.

CanFirst employs a disciplined investment strategy that ensures investments are focused on specifically targeted properties. We co-invest with both institutional and private high net worth partners. Each Fund's structure ensures an alignment of interest between the fund advisor and our partners.

While the focus is on investment, the CanFirst Capital Management team has many years of experience in the real estate business including development, redevelopment, asset and property management, financing, leasing and construction. Utilizing all of these disciplines enables CanFirst to identify and analyze investment opportunities more effectively. Property management functions are outsourced to “best in class” companies in each of their respective markets.

Goal-driven

Founded in 2002, CanFirst has deep local market intelligence, extensive industry contacts and relationships in our target markets, all of which are leveraged to source opportunities.

A track record of performance

CanFirst’s goal is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by capturing value in the commercial real estate segment.

Market-specific expertise

CanFirst has raised $1.1B in equity and has completed over 18M square feet of real estate transactions.

A quick introduction to the CanFirst team

Our Team

Paul Braun

Paul Braun

Chairman

Paul Braun is a co-founder of CanFirst Capital Management. Paul Braun's real estate career spans more than 40 years. It includes senior executive positions with Cadillac Fairview and the Dundee Realty Corporation. In addition, Mr. Braun was a founding shareholder of V&A Properties. V&A Properties successfully developed, acquired, and managed commercial and residential properties both for its own account as well as for financial institutions, pension funds and private investors. V&A Properties was subsequently sold to Dundee Realty Corporation.

Allan Perez

Allan Perez

Chief Executive Officer

Allan Perez is a co-founder of CanFirst Capital Management. Allan Perez's real estate career encompasses over 40 years of senior executive positions with real estate organizations including The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Canderel Ltd. and Dundee Realty Corporation. Mr. Perez was a senior officer and shareholder of V&A Properties. His responsibilities included acquisition and disposition, development, marketing, financing, leasing, e-commerce and asset management.

Mark Braun

Executive Vice-President, Investments and Business Development

Mark Braun is responsible for investments, financing, and business development for CanFirst. Prior to joining CanFirst, Mr. Braun was a portfolio analyst in the specialty funds group at Bentall. Mr. Braun received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto where he was elected a governor of the university and received a Bachelor of Engineering Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario.

Minh Nguyen

Minh Nguyen

Senior Vice President, Investments

Minh Nguyen is responsible for all aspects of the acquisition process and oversees underwriting and due diligence of investment opportunities. Prior to joining CanFirst, Mr. Nguyen was a mechanical engineer at Integral Group. Mr. Nguyen received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto where he was named a Bregman Scholar and received a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of British Columbia where he was the top graduating student in the Thermofluids option. He is a CFA® charterholder.

Luke Chisholm

Vice-President, Asset Management

Luke Chisholm is responsible for asset management, leasing and overseeing ESG initiatives across the various portfolios. Mr. Chisholm received an Honours Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Prior to joining CanFirst, Mr. Chisholm worked at Manulife Investment Management overseeing asset management responsibilities for a diversified commercial portfolio in Central and Eastern Canada.

Russell Raghavan

Russel Raghavan

Controller

Russell Raghavan is responsible for consolidation of property financial reports, fund level financial reporting, cash management, and liaising with the property managers. He is involved in all aspects of corporate and property management accounting, office administration, and coordination with auditors. Prior to joining CanFirst Mr. Raghavan was an accounting manager at Starlight Investments Ltd. He has more than 15 years of accounting experience in various industries. For the past 15 years, he has been working as accounting manager/controller in in the real estate industry in Canada. Mr. Raghavan is a chartered accountant from India and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA) in Canada. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Sebastian Fiszman

Sebastian Fiszman

Director, Investments

Sebastian Fiszman is responsible for the underwriting and due diligence of acquisitions and supporting asset and fund management. Prior to joining CanFirst, Mr. Fiszman worked at the Bank of Nova Scotia in the international credit risk division. Mr. Fiszman received a Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure from the Schulich School of Business, York University.

Mirette Zaky

Manager, Investments

Mirette Zaky is responsible for the underwriting and due diligence of acquisitions and supporting asset and fund management. Prior to joining CanFirst Ms. Zaky worked in the real estate sales, investment, and development industry completing low-density residential developments within the GTA. Ms. Zaky is a licensed Real Estate Broker and has received a Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure from the Schulich School of Business, York University.

Aaron Fuss

Senior Analyst

Aaron Fuss is responsible for existing property modelling and assists with portfolio management, leasing, and acquisitions. Prior to joining CanFirst Mr. Fuss received an Honours Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Jack Price

Analyst

Jack Price's primary responsibilities include asset management, leasing, dispositions, and investor reporting. He also supports fund management and acquisitions. Mr. Price received a Bachelor of Commerce from the Smith School of Business.

Jonah Enchin

Analyst

Jonah Enchin is responsible for underwriting and due diligence of acquisitions in addition to assisting fund management. He also supports asset management and conducts market research for various initiatives. Mr. Enchin received an Honours Business Administration with academic distinction from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Stacy Ann Taylor

Assistant Controller

Stacy Ann Taylor is responsible for full-cycle accounting, preparing quarterly and annual special-purpose financial reports, and assisting with annual audits. Mrs. Taylor holds a degree in Finance, a certification in Financial Securities Management, and is currently enrolled in the CPA Program. Mrs. Taylor brings over 17 years of accounting expertise across a range of industries, including real estate and the financial sector.

Olivia Gebert

Administrative Assistant

Olivia Gebert oversees office administration, investor relations, marketing coordination at CanFirst, and corporate events. Ms. Gebert holds a Bilingual Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Certificate in Law and Social Thought from the Glendon campus of York University.