Our team
Better people make better lending
We lend billions of dollars to commercial real estate projects every year. But it’s not just capital that distinguishes us. It’s the empowered nature of our workforce. Our advisors are experienced experts whose sole focus is to deliver financing
strategies that enable you to achieve greater success.
Our Better Lending culture – three decades in the making – is built on the skill that comes from pure mortgage lending. Because we start from a position of knowledge about you, your project, and your market, we can design solutions that
are fit for your purpose. And because accountability is in our nature, we meet our commitments.
Better by design, better by nature, better for you in every corner of the country.
Brandon Popalis
Brandon is a member of:
Team Cook
Senior Analyst, Commercial Financing
brandon.popalis@firstnational.ca
416.597.5231
Meticulous. Diligent. Organized.
“I add value by focusing on efficiency, listening intently, working hard and organizing with precision.”
Brandon rejoined the First National team in June 2025 as a Senior Analyst, bringing full-circle a career that began in Commercial Funding in June 2018. He transitioned to the underwriting side in October 2019, steadily advancing from Junior Analyst to Senior Analyst before departing in July 2024. During his time away, Brandon worked as an Associate at CBRE Capital, where he focused on commercial brokerage across all asset classes—multi-family, retail, industrial, and office—gaining a broader perspective on the industry.
A graduate of St. Francis Xavier University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2018, Brandon is known for his thoughtful approach and relentless drive. He reflects on each task to uncover ways to improve efficiency, listens with intention, and brings care and precision to every project. His strong organizational skills allow him to build systems that support high performance and consistent results.
Outside of work, Brandon finds joy and challenge on the golf course and ski slopes, where he channels the same focus and energy that define his professional life.