VICI Properties has appointed John M. Sullivan as an independent director, adding a veteran real estate executive to the board of one of the largest experiential real estate investment trusts. The company announced the appointment on 8 September 2026.
John M. Sullivan will join the board once customary regulatory approvals are complete, expanding it to eight directors, and is set to serve on the compensation committee and the nominating and governance committee. His appointment continues a steady refresh of the board as VICI Properties builds out its governance to match a portfolio that has grown rapidly since the company was spun out.
Sullivan brings a career centred on large scale commercial property. He spent around a quarter of a century at Cadillac Fairview, the Canadian real estate group, and led it as chief executive, overseeing one of North America's most significant portfolios of office and retail assets. He currently serves as vice chair of Forum Asset Management, a real estate and private capital firm, and has held board roles across property, financial and institutional organisations.
VICI Properties owns a portfolio of gaming, hospitality and entertainment real estate anchored by trophy assets on the Las Vegas Strip, and has expanded into other experiential categories through sale leaseback and financing deals. As a triple net lease trust it depends on long term tenant relationships and disciplined capital allocation, and the company has emphasised board experience in real estate investment and corporate governance as it scales.
The trust has grown from its spin out into one of the most valuable names in its category, and each board addition is watched closely by the institutional investors who own the stock. Sullivan's decades of experience owning and operating property give the board a voice that has sat on the other side of the leasing table, a perspective directly relevant to how the company evaluates tenants and assets.
Sullivan's operating background complements a board that oversees a business built on acquiring and financing property rather than managing it day to day. His experience running a major landlord gives the board a perspective on asset quality, tenant credit and development that is directly relevant to the assets the company underwrites.
The addition reflects a wider trend among the largest trusts, which have broadened their boards with directors who bring both operating and capital markets experience as investors scrutinise governance more closely. For VICI Properties, the appointment strengthens the real estate depth of a board guiding one of the sector's fastest growing names.
Sullivan's arrival also underlines the company's cross border reach on governance, drawing on a Canadian executive with a global track record at a time when the trust is widening the range of assets and geographies it will consider.
