James D. Spaeth
Professor of the Practice of Finance
Contact
CB 3440, Kenan Center Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Jim Spaeth’s expertise is real estate finance and development. He is especially interested in the intersection of the built environment and the innovation economy.
He is passionate about helping UNC Kenan-Flagler students and alumni build their organizations and advance their careers.
Professor Spaeth teaches courses in applied real estate finance, which includes an MBA real estate development course, a real estate case-based course for undergraduates which serves as the capstone course for the real estate minor, and an MBA real estate case-based course.
He served as executive director of the Leonard W. Wood Center for Real Estate Studies from 2013 to 2022, and remains actively involved with the center. He supported faculty, academic programs, students and extracurricular activities. He developed and executed strategic initiatives to maintain the program’s national prominence. He oversaw student development activities associated with School’s “Real World Real Estate” focus. He worked closely with alumni, industry participants, and community leaders to interact with the program.
He joined UNC Kenan-Flagler as associate director of career management for the Full-Time MBA Program in 2011.
Before he joined UNC Kenan-Flagler, Professor Spaeth served as president of Remora Partners, LLC; chief financial officer for Sonata Health Care, LLC; senior vice president at Mainsail Development Group; and vice president of Realty Capital Advisors. He also worked as a senior investment banking analyst for the CNL American Property Fund and a real estate investment banking analyst with Raymond James.
He received his MBA from the University of Florida, where he also earned his BS in finance and his BA in political science.
