executive & advisory team

VIRTU’s global team leads the concept and creation of a portfolio that is one-of-a-kind and in high demand. Our ideas and goals are new to the real estate, hotel and leisure markets. With great enthusiasm we assist land owners and developers in creating cutting-edge sustainable wellness real estate, leisure and hotel destinations for purpose of encouraging personal renewal and wellbeing.

“VIRTU intends to change the way the hospitality industry and wellness real estate sector look to the future.” Founder and Chief Executive Officer Sandi Lesueur states. “VIRTU truly is a team effort. The exceptional group of individuals I have brought together over the past several years work closely to create sophisticated sustainable, healthy-lifestyle concepts with ambitious construction and operational standards that the hospitality sector will want to follow through our creative designs, highest measurable efficiency targets and innovation.”

Each executive brings with them decades of experience from innovative sustainable design to exceptional wellness projects where local cultural experiences and heritage add importance to the exceptional hospitality, stakeholder profit and positive community development VIRTU can create and share.  

Each plan we design is unique and requires the optimal operations team to consistently remain in the lead. VIRTU combines our team’s knowledge of sustainable wellness with established, operational groups to work together in managing stand-out real estate, hotels, leisure, and spa brands.

SANDI LESUEUR
FOUNDER & CEO

  • This creative, global brand builder and wellness executive is devoted to sustainable healthy living with a focus on forward-thinking wellness, plant medicine and authentic cultural experiences. She is a board member of various successful medical/wellness companies collaborating with physicians, research scientists, universities, impact investors & developers, legal policy makers and Indigenous healers. Sandi is based in Vancouver.

ALBERTO APOSTOLI
LEAD ARCHITECT & DESIGN

  • Recipient of 50+ awards including the DNA Paris Design Award 2024 in the Hospitality Category, 2022 Health & Spa Awards for Interior Design, Best Destination Spa Award, Big See Interior Design Award, and 2020 & 2021 World Spa Award. With over 25 years of practice the Chief Architect for all VIRTU locations is the founder of Studio Apostoli International, a multi-disciplinary design company which operates within architecture, engineering, interior design, and product design. Alberto and his Studio have designed several products for international brands that have become icons in the wellness sector. He is based in Italy.

JEROEN GULICKX
HOSPITALITY REAL ESTATE & ASSET MANAGEMENT & FUNDING

  • BBA, BHA, Black Belt, Six Sigma with 30 years experience in hospitality management and hotel administration with executive experience in strategic asset management and market feasibility analysis. Development advisory, management company selection and site evaluation. Researches and identifies new business opportunities internationally. Preparing and allocating budgets, acquisitions and evaluating performance. Jeroen resides in Sweden.

SUZARA VIRAY
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, VIRTU

  • With over 25 years of senior leadership experience, Suzara Viray serves as the Chief Financial Officer of VIRTU. Her expertise spans corporate and operational finance, strategic planning, and capital structuring, with a focus on sustainable real estate and hospitality. Suzara excels in performance optimization, risk management, and driving financial success through innovative, scalable business models that prioritize environmental responsibility.

    Her ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including governments and Indigenous communities, ensures that VIRTU’s projects are both financially viable and environmentally sustainable. A visionary leader, Suzara continues to shape the financial strategy at VIRTU with a commitment to fostering sustainable growth.

PROFESSOR CORI DERICKSON
CHIEF INDIGENOUS OFFICER

  • Through experiences gained from her previous career in business development through Bank of Montreal, Cori helps build constructive relationships between VIRTU and Indigenous communities. She advises where Sustainable Wellness developments could be built on sacred and traditional lands and provides information and updates to Indigenous property owners regarding project opportunities and planning. Cori is an academic, an Indigenous healer and holistic practitioner, author, performer and culture keeper for the Syilx Okanagan. She has a interdisciplinary Graduate Master’s Degree from UBC and utilizes knowledge passed down from her ancestral line of Indigenous elders, herbalists, and medicine women/men. Cori is based in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.

LUCY BRIALEY
SUSTAINABLE WELLNESS LEAD

  • Founder and Director, the Sustainable Wellness Group. The world’s leading sustainability organization for the spa and wellness sector. With 25 years experience in the hospitality industry, Lucy delivers spa & wellness strategies linked with measured sustainability projects from around the world, connected to wellness. Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Initiative for the Global Wellness Institute and World Panel Expert for Sustainable Hospitality at HospitalityNet. Lucy is based in London, U.K.

SHEILA MCCANN
GLOBAL WELLNESS OPERATIONS

  • Founder Director of Enflingo Global Limited, Sheila is an accomplished thought leader with over 35+ years experience within the hospitality/wellness/spa sector with international strategic, project and senior roles with iconic industry brands. Her award winning experience combined with a passion for sustainability links health, the environment and business. Sheila is an associate member of the British Society for Lifestyle Medicine, Sustainable Spa Association, Hospitality Think Tank Wellness Pillar, and is the recipient of Global Wellness Institute’s Leading Women in Wellness. Sheila is Canadian-born and currently resides in the U.K.

CLAYTON JAMES
MARKETING

  • Clayton James is a leading authority in the luxury hospitality industry with a remarkable track record of success. As creative director, he has launched and led some of the world's most prestigious hotel resort and casino brands, inclusive of their respective spas, business centers, loyalty clubs, celebrity chef restaurants and entertainment venues. Beyond his leadership roles in hospitality, Clayton co-founded Victor + James. Clayton's vision for sustainable luxury is set to usher in a transformative era. His extensive experience and commitment to sustainability promise to redefine standards in the luxury hospitality sector. His work in hospitality includes:

    Aria Las Vegas,
    Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas
    Vdara, Las Vegas
    Palms Place Condo/hotel
    Planet Hollywood Resort Las Vegas
    Baja Mar, Nassau
    Galaxy Macau
    Montage Resorts & Hotels
    Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
    Virgin Hotels Loyalty Program
    LIVE Hotel & Casino, Philadelphia and Baltimore
    Wynn Las Vegas
    Reserve at Red Rock, Las Vegas
    Mirage Resort, Las Vegas
    Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas
    L’Auberge Du Lac, Lake Charles
    MGM Resorts International
    Crystals Shops at City Center, Las Vegas
    Borgata Hotel & Casino, and Waterclub All-suites hotel, Atlantic City

JOSEPH LEVEY
LLP, HOSPITALITY LICENSING

  • Joseph is one of the top rated Government Relations attorneys in New York, NY. A founding partner and Chair of Helbraun & Levey’s Licensing Division, Joseph is in charge of all New York State Liquor Authority and other licensing matters including cannabis for his firm. This NY premier full-service law firm focuses on the legal and licensing needs of the hospitality industry. He is a recipient of "Super Lawyer" designation for the past 4 years. Joseph is based in New York City.