Fund Managers
James A. Saunders is an accomplished turn-around executive in the Electronic, Aerospace, Automotive, and Government and Defense industries. Mr. Saunders has over thirty years’ experience as CEO, President or COO of public companies on the Nasdaq, NYSE and ASX. Mr. Saunders served on the Board of Directors of Simula, Inc. during his tenure as COO of that company. Most recently, Mr. Saunders was President/CEO of Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc., where he implemented extensive compliance and regulatory policies in response to the prior management’s activities. Mr. Saunders has extensive experience in corporate ethics, compliance policies/procedures, corporate strategy and economic value. He is the primary shareholder of TransChem Environmental LLC, a hazardous waste transporter operating in the Southwest United States, and MLJ Properties. Mr. Saunders has a BA and MBA from Arizona State University. He resides with his wife, Linda, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Ethan Russman is the Managing Member of the Carleton Capital Fund I, LLC, since its formation in August 2018. Carleton Capital Fund I is diversified amongst eighteen development projects, including fifteen single-tenant properties and three multi-tenant properties in seven states. Previous to the Carleton Capital Group, Ethan spent nine years at Cole Capital, a non-listed REIT sponsor located in Phoenix, Arizona, Among his many duties Ethan was the Vice President of Product Management from inception to the public listing for the Cole Credit Property Trust III, Inc., a $7 billion nonlisted real estate investment trust that owned and operated a diversified portfolio of core commercial real estate investments primarily consisting of approximately 1,000 necessity retail, office and industrial properties located throughout the United States. The REIT’s portfolio comprised more than 40 million square feet of rentable space located in 47 states, including properties owned through consolidated joint venture arrangements. Currently it is publicly-traded on the NYSE (Ticker: VER). He also launched Cole Real Estate Income Strategy (Daily NAV), Inc fund (Ticker: ZREITX), a public non-listed REIT that offers daily valuation and daily limited liquidity. It invests primarily in commercial real estate across the retail, office and industrial sectors.
Ethan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and has experience in wealth management working with individual clients on their retirement transition, tax planning strategies, wealth transfer and preservation strategies, investment management, and cash flow budgeting. He earned his Bachelor of Science in marketing from Duquesne University and subsequently obtained his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the John F. Donahue Graduate School of Business at Duquesne University.