CRE Finance Council has announced that Stephen M. Renna has been named chief executive officer of the association. Renna brings 22-plus years of experience in the commercial real estate business to his new role, having held senior-level positions in legal and policy affairs as well as in trade association management. Renna recently served as president of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM), whose members manage investment capital on behalf of third-party investors in commercial real estate assets. Prior to serving as president of NAREIM, Renna was senior vice president and counsel for The Real Estate Roundtable, a Washington, D.C.-based national public-policy organization that represents the commercial and multifamily real estate industry.
“Today’s announcement concludes an exhaustive and thorough search for a chief executive officer of CRE Finance Council and, on behalf of CREFC’s Board of Governors, its Members, Executive Committee and Staff, I am very excited to have Steve on board. Steve is uniquely qualified to lead this association,” said Lisa Pendergast, president of CRE Finance Council. “CREFC is the leading voice in commercial real estate finance and we believe Steve’s extensive experience with major real estate associations, such as NAREIM, The Real Estate Roundtable, and the National Association of Realtors—combined with his vast experience on Capitol Hill – make him the perfect fit to lead CREFC and address the key issues facing the industry.”
Under Renna’s direction, the CRE Finance Council will continue its efforts to ensure that the market’s recovery in commercial real estate gains speed, and that the current rulemaking underway by federal regulators with respect to commercial real estate and commercial mortgage backed-securities (CMBS) securitization has the intended beneficial consequences of ensuring sound, secure CRE mortgages without limiting the availability of capital to the sector.
“I’m excited and honored to be named the CEO of CRE Finance Council,” said Renna. “Commercial real estate finance is crucial to the healthy function of the broader commercial real estate markets and to the larger economy, and CREFC is ideally suited to provide the real estate finance community with an inclusive platform for sharing information, developing market standards, and giving clarity of voice to lawmakers,” he said. “I look forward to working with the CRE Finance Council’s members and its highly professional staff to achieve the healthiest and most transparent industry possible.”
