James Busk

James Busk serves as the Managing Director of Real Estate at Creative Planning Business Services, where he leads the oversight and management of distressed commercial real estate (CRE) assets. With more than 30 years of experience and involvement in more than 120 foreclosure cases, James brings to his role deep expertise in receivership, asset recovery and strategic real estate advisory across a diverse range of property types and jurisdictions.

James has served as a court-appointed receiver and lead agent for residential developments, low-income housing, hospitality properties, retail centers, gas stations, restaurants, warehouses and redevelopment projects. His work spans Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Nevada, Texas, North Carolina and West Virginia, with frequent appointments in Cook, Will, DuPage and McHenry Counties in Illinois. His broader experience includes representing debtors, creditors, secured lenders and investors as well as providing financial consulting on operational assessments, cash flow forecasting, cost reductions and vendor negotiations.

Signature engagements include completing a $4 million construction project that led to $32 million in condominium sales in Chicago, managing ten real estate developments in foreclosure across five states, and serving as receiver for five Gas City Inc. truck stops. He has also acted as the owner’s representative on a high-rise condo project in Las Vegas and a large mixed-use portfolio in downtown Chicago.

Prior to joining Creative Planning, James spent 23 years at a Chicago-based restructuring boutique firm involved in more than 1,000 engagements — with more than 350 of those engagements including significant real estate components. James previously held various roles at an international accounting firm’s corporate finance group and served as the Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis at the world’s largest manufacturer of garage door openers.

James holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Business Adminsitration degree from Loyola University Chicago. He has served as an adjunct professor at both Loyola and Robert Morris University, developing and teaching graduate-level courses in turnaround management and business strategy. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) and a member of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA), where he was part of the award-winning team recognized with the 2023 TMA Global Non-Profit Turnaround of the Year¹ and TMA Midwest Small Transaction of the Year in 2023.² He is also a licensed real estate broker in Illinois and Indiana and a member of the National, Illinois, Indiana and Chicago Associations of Realtors as well as the Chicago Bar Association.

¹Awarded each July based on data from a 12-month period through March 31. ²Awarded each July based on data from a 12-month period through March 31. For additional disclosures regarding rankings, please visit: https:/creativeplanning.com/important-disclosure-information/