The CRE Finance Council Names Leland Bunch as Chair of Executive Committee

NEW YORK, June 10, 2025 ~ The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) has announced the appointment of Leland F. Bunch III, Managing Director at Bank of America, as the Chair of the CREFC Executive Committee and the Board of Governors for 2025-2026. The announcement was made at the Annual Conference held in New York City.

Mr. Bunch, a veteran with 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate finance industry, has been an active member of CREFC for 20 years. He takes over from outgoing Chair Bob Foley, Partner at TPG Real Estate and Chief Financial Officer of TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc.

In his current role as Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets and Banking for the US RESF group at Bank of America, Mr. Bunch oversees commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) structuring, securitization, large loan execution, and warehouse finance. He has been responsible for over $30 billion in large loan CMBS 2.0/3.0 originations and also serves as the GSE relationship manager. Prior to joining Bank of America 17 years ago, Mr. Bunch held positions as Head of European CMBS at UBS and began his Wall Street career with JPMorgan in New York before moving to London.

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Expressing his gratitude for being selected as CREFC Chair, Mr. Bunch stated that he recognizes the organization's important role in representing various members such as lenders, issuers, loan servicers, investors, rating agencies, and other commercial real estate market participants in a $6 trillion industry that significantly contributes to the nation's economy. He also acknowledged the work done by outgoing Chair Bob Foley and CREFC's CEO Lisa Pendergast in promoting the growth and efficiency of the commercial real estate market.

In her statement on behalf of CREFC, President and CEO Lisa Pendergast congratulated Mr. Bunch on his new role and expressed confidence in his ability to address the industry's needs as an established CREFC member and seasoned CRE professional. She also thanked outgoing Chair Bob Foley for his dedication and leadership over the past year and welcomed him to continue serving as past chair.

Along with Mr. Foley's transition, CREFC also announced the members of its 2025-2026 Executive Committee, including Lissette Rivera-Pauley (Regions Financial Corp.) as Chair-Elect, Elaine McKay (Ares Management LLC) as Vice Chair, Kim Diamond (NYU) as Secretary, Adam Behlman (Starwood Property Trust) as Treasurer, Daniel Olsen (KeyBank Real Estate Capital) as Long Range Planning & Investment Committee Chair, Toby Cobb (3650 Capital) as Membership Chair, Rick Jones (Jackstay Ventures) as Policy Committee Chair, and Mary Jane Potthoff (Morningstar DBRS) as Program Committee Chair.

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The association also welcomed new members to its Board of Governors: Nitin Bhasin (KBRA), Josh Cromer (Rialto Capital Advisors), Marshall Glick (AllianceBernstein), David Harrison (Midland Loan Services), Adam Hayden (NY Life Real Estate Investors), Spencer Kagan (Barclays), Sean Ryan (JLL), AJ Sfarra (Wells Fargo), and Lindsey Wright (KKR).

In her closing remarks, Pendergast welcomed the new members of the Executive Committee and Board of Governors and expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with them on key issues that directly impact the industry and its members.

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