Tian Fan, 32

Tian Fan has seen quite the market twists and turns since kicking off his now decade-long commercial real estate career as an analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase. 

After joining CPP Investments in 2017, Fan encountered a rising interest rate climate before a sharp pivot in 2019 and then near-zero borrowing levels following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fan and the commercial real estate industry writ large then faced another elevated interest rate environment from 2022 to 2023. By 2025, he was at Brookfield Asset Management, dealing with uncertainty from higher tariffs. 

“I think I saw the full commercial real estate cycle,” said Fan, who joined Brookfield in January 2022 just before the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to tame inflation. “Seeing everything that’s played out in the last cycle has really helped provide a new perspective when I’m looking at new acquisitions or considering dispositions in my current role.”

Fan has worked on a variety of transactions during his four and half years at Brookfield, including helping to lead the $175 million disposition of 701 Ninth Street, a 364,000-square-foot office property in Washington, D.C., that houses the headquarters of Pepco Holdings. PHI Service Company, an affiliate of Pepco parent Exelon, acquired the building in 2025 from BFP 701 9th Company, an affiliate of Brookfield Properties.

Another notable deal Fan helped facilitate early in his career was the $29.5 million sale of a 104-acre site at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina to King Street Properties. The seller was life sciences giant Alexandria Real Estate Equities. 

Fan’s introduction to a potential CRE finance career came when he interned at CPP Investments while studying in Ontario, Canada, at Western University’s Ivey Business School.

“I knew I wanted to get into finance when I was in college,” Fan said. “That internship was my start with real estate acquisitions, and I loved it and have stuck with it ever since.”