Peter Zuk, 37

Peter Zuk has spent most of his professional life at Oxford Properties Group. After earning a commerce degree with a specialization in real estate from Ontario’s University of Guelph in 2011, he launched his career at Oxford Properties, where he spent two years before a brief detour. He rejoined the firm in 2017 on its industrial asset management team, and today serves as managing director of asset management focused on U.S. industrial.

“The joke is that I bleed Oxford blue,” Zuk said. “I’m very high on the culture.”

In his role, Zuk oversees a diversified portfolio spanning roughly 55 million square feet across about 20 markets. He works on driving portfolio performance through strategic leasing, capital allocation and value-creation initiatives.

Shortly after Zuk rejoined the company, Oxford devised its U.S. industrial strategy, with several transactions he worked on making major strides for the division. In 2019, it acquired IDI Logistics for $3.5 billion, and in 2021 it acquired a national portfolio from KKR of 14.5 million square feet of shallow-bay industrial space across 11 markets for $2.2 billion.

“What I love about asset management is that you have this amazing hybrid between being a portfolio manager, but also operating real estate on behalf of our stakeholders and our partners,” Zuk said, adding that one of his biggest focuses is building relationships with stakeholders. One of his largest accomplishments, Zuk said, is growing the asset management capacity and team in the U.S. over the last four years.

On the horizon for Zuk and his team is continuing to understand the markets and micromarkets to spot opportunities for growth and configuring its portfolio to harness trends.

Outside of asset management, Zuk said his top priority at Oxford is mentoring the next generation of young leaders. He added, “I often talk about leading with empathy, because in any role you’ve been in the role that you’re mentoring.”