Alan Chapple
P.Eng., MBA
Chairman

Alan Chapple has an extensive background in construction, land development and corporate management, with a particular expertise in financial restructuring and arranging financial backing for development projects. He has had direct experience in project management and planning approvals processing.

For close to 20 years, Alan has had a particular entrepreneurial focus on real estate development, along with the development and commercialization of environmental technologies and related projects.

Alan Chapple
P.Eng., MBA
Chairman

Alan Chapple has an extensive background in construction, land development and corporate management, with a particular expertise in financial restructuring and arranging financial backing for development projects. He has had direct experience in project management and planning approvals processing.

For close to 20 years, Alan has had a particular entrepreneurial focus on real estate development, along with the development and commercialization of environmental technologies and related projects. Prior to that he served as the Chairman and CEO of publicly traded companies involved in road building, land development, hotel development, and environmental consulting.

Alan has been involved in the development of thousands of condominium units and numerous hotel properties and retirement homes in various North American markets.

John Blackburn
PLE, AIHM
President

John Blackburn is a Professional Land Economist (PLE) and a full member of the Institute of Housing Management (AIHM), and he has close to 40 years of involvement in real estate development in North America and Europe. He has vast experience in marketing and sales, and has provided award-winning skill and knowledge to the boards of a variety of housing, real estate and marketing organizations.

John Blackburn
PLE, AIHM
President

John Blackburn is a Professional Land Economist (PLE) and a full member of the Institute of Housing Management (AIHM), and he has close to 40 years of involvement in real estate development in North America and Europe. He has vast experience in marketing and sales, and has provided award-winning skill and knowledge to the boards of a variety of housing, real estate and marketing organizations.

Prior to his involvement with BrightStar, John spent more than 25 years as the President of an international marketing and public relations firm which he founded, providing “blue chip” clients with a host of consulting services in real estate development. Before that, he ran the marketing and sales divisions of two of Canada’s most successful real estate firms.

John has been the recipient of many sales, marketing and public relations awards, including one of the industry’s most prestigious awards, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association Award of Honour.

Jim Buckler
BSc, C.A., CPA,
Vice President and C.F.O.

Jim Buckler has over 30 years of experience in financing, accounting, taxation and financial reporting for small and large businesses, both private and public. He has an extensive background in the acquisition, development and sale of commercial, industrial and residential real estate. And he has also been involved in the development and commercialization of environmental technologies, including electronics recycling, site cleanup, soil remediation and solid waste processing.

Jim Buckler
BSc, C.A., CPA,
Vice President and C.F.O.

Jim Buckler has over 30 years of experience in financing, accounting, taxation and financial reporting for small and large businesses, both private and public. He has an extensive background in the acquisition, development and sale of commercial, industrial and residential real estate. And he has also been involved in the development and commercialization of environmental technologies, including electronics recycling, site cleanup, soil remediation and solid waste processing.

Prior to joining BrightStar, Jim was the Vice-President, Finance of Armbro Inc., the real estate development subsidiary of Armbro Enterprises Inc., now Aecon Group Inc. While with Aecon, in addition to his real estate responsibilities, Mr. Buckler played a senior financial role in the public/private partnership with the Ontario government that designed, built and operated Highway 407, Express Toll Route – a $1 billion project that was the largest civil infrastructure undertaking of its time.

Jim has also served with Deloitte, and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario and the South Carolina Board of Accountancy.

Linas Saplys
OAA, MRAIC,
Chief Operations Officer

Lin Saplys has been responsible for over $1 billion worth of multi-unit residential, retail and industrial construction projects over the past 25 years. Working with both his successful private practice and larger well-known architectural firms such as Arcos Incorporated and Chamberlain Architects Services, Lin has played a senior role in such projects as: Ottawa General Hospital’s new MRI wing and the building of the Ottawa Civic Hospital while also becoming a leader in the hospitality industry in Ontario and Alberta.

Linas Saplys
OAA, MRAIC,
Chief Operations Officer

Lin Saplys has been responsible for over $1 billion worth of multi-unit residential, retail and industrial construction projects over the past 25 years. Working with both his successful private practice and larger well-known architectural firms such as Arcos Incorporated and Chamberlain Architects Services, Lin has played a senior role in such projects as: Ottawa General Hospital’s new MRI wing and the building of the Ottawa Civic Hospital while also becoming a leader in the hospitality industry in Ontario and Alberta.

This experience led Lin into teaching fire prevention and Ontario Building Code eccentricities as a Professor at Algonquin College in the 1980s.

More recently, Lin’s primary focus has been on scheduling and providing direction to project architects during the process of interacting with municipalities, consultants and trades, detail implementation, mentoring in code issues and ensuring projects stay on track and budget.

Greg Black
B. Journalism (Hon),
Senior Vice President, Project Development and Communications

Greg Black brings to BrightStar his experience in the management of community development projects on behalf of public and private sector partners; strategic communications and planning; government relations; community and stakeholder relations, marketing research, and marketing and sales activities.

Greg Black
B. Journalism (Hon),
Senior Vice President, Project Development and Communications

Greg Black brings to BrightStar his experience in the management of community development projects on behalf of public and private sector partners; strategic communications and planning; government relations; community and stakeholder relations, marketing research, and marketing and sales activities.

For more than 20 years, Greg has been providing a wide array of consulting services, and successfully completed a broad range of innovative projects and contracts for private sector developers, national corporations, non-governmental organizations, municipal governments, community-based organizations and political entities.

Greg’s varied business experiences have included positions as an Executive VP for one of Ontario’s foremost public affairs companies; as a strategic advisor to the Ontario Minister of Health; as a manager with the world’s largest marketing research firm. He has also worked as a realtor, and started his career as a television news journalist.

Valerie Rasmussen
Director of Sales

Valerie Rasmussen is a real estate Broker -- Valerie Rasmussen Real Estate, Broker of Record. She joined the BrightStar team and managed the successful sales launch of their flagship project Crates Landing in Keswick on Lake Simcoe. She previously worked for other home builders, including The Georgian Group, Regal Crest, and for six years Kylemore Homes at Angus Glen.

Valerie Rasmussen
Director of Sales

Valerie Rasmussen is a real estate Broker -- Valerie Rasmussen Real Estate, Broker of Record. She joined the BrightStar team and managed the successful sales launch of their flagship project Crates Landing in Keswick on Lake Simcoe. She previously worked for other home builders, including The Georgian Group, Regal Crest, and for six years Kylemore Homes at Angus Glen.

Valerie initially trained as a teacher, and then went on to work for the Weston Group of Companies. She was in charge of marketing, merchandising, sales and staff training in the textile divisions of 30 stores covering an area in the UK of London, East Anglia, Oxfordshire, Essex and Kent. Moving to Canada, she obtained her RIBO license and worked as an insurance broker. In 1988 she obtained her Real Estate License and chose to sell new homes working under contract for several builders.