Newmark Expands Debt Platform in Partnership with U.S. Capital Markets Team; Industry Powerhouse Jonathan Firestone to Join and Co-Head

Firestone, Bringing 25 Years of Experience, Joins Newmark's Los Angeles Office, Furthering Newmark's Talent Expansion and Unification Strategy.

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK) ("Newmark"), a leading commercial real estate advisor and service provider to large institutional investors, global corporations, and other owners and occupiers, announces the hiring of Jonathan Firestone as Co-President, Global Debt & Structured Finance. Firestone will run Newmark's debt platform alongside Co-President, Global Debt & Structured Finance Jordan Roeschlaub.

Based in Los Angeles, Firestone joins Newmark from Eastdil Secured after 23 years, where he was instrumental in building its debt, structured finance and loan sale businesses, having served as a Managing Director and a member of its management committee. As one of the most influential institutional finance professionals in the industry, Firestone hired, trained and mentored some of the most respected debt professionals in the country. He has executed $175 billion of financing and loan sale transactions over his career, encompassing some of the most prominent and high-profile assets on behalf of top-tier institutional sponsors. Firestone and Roeschlaub will work in partnership with the entire capital markets team, including debt, equity and structured finance advisors, and our investment sales professionals throughout the country to advance our full suite of owner/occupier services.

"We've assembled a best-in-class real estate investment banking and advisory business for the next chapter in client services with the broadest international reach and influence, the best and the brightest professionals in all disciplines and the highest-performing Capital Markets platform," said Barry Gosin, Newmark's Chief Executive Officer. "Firestone is a generational talent who will work with Newmark's top-tier professionals across our full-service platform to embrace change and growth. Newmark continues to advance by widening its reach and broadening its expertise, with a focus on providing market-leading service to its clients."

Chad Lavender, Newmark's President of Capital Markets for North America, added, "The debt and equity platform will work as a team across Capital Markets as a single collaborative organization, with Newmark's expanded capabilities to advise clients holistically, an approach that sets us apart from our peers."

"The lines between debt and equity are becoming increasingly blurred as the market continues to face headwinds, and asset sales are often being driven by lenders with loan sales, rescue equity and workout transactions becoming a larger portion of the market," said Doug Harmon, Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets. "Having worked with Firestone before, I am well acquainted with his institutional prowess; he will integrate seamlessly with our New York-based team and senior capital markets executives across the U.S. to play a crucial role in expanding our client service across equity, debt and loan sales, facilitating the best advice and execution in all major markets, across all property types and transaction forms."

On the heels of Newmark's high-profile role as financial advisor to the FDIC in connection with its receivership disposition of approximately $60 billion Signature Bridge Bank loan portfolio assignment¹, Firestone said, "What an amazing time to join forces with a structured finance and loan sale leader in commercial real estate. I am excited to bring my years of experience and transaction history to collaborate and materially grow this important business line."

Roeschlaub, who will serve alongside Firestone as Co-Head of Global Debt and Structured Finance, is based in New York and covers a wide range of institutional clients across national deal activity and large portfolio executions. During their time at Newmark, Roeschlaub and Dustin Stolly (who will continue as part of the broader group leadership) have been instrumental in Newmark completing over $150 billion of debt placement and mortgage brokerage². 

"Of utmost importance to Newmark is to put our client's goals and objectives first and deliver the best execution available in the capital markets. This unification strategy will ensure our clients have the best deal teams specialized to execute any transaction," stated Roeschlaub. "For over seven years, we have consistently expanded our presence to match the needs of our clients. Jonathan has been recognized and revered as the top debt advisor on the West Coast for the last 15 years. With a track record of financing some of the most noteworthy assets nationally, his addition further validates our commitment to thoughtfully building out our best-in-class team in a way that aligns clients' needs and expectations."

As part of Newmark's unification strategy, Firestone and Roeschlaub will collaborate with Co-Heads of U.S. Capital Markets Doug Harmon, Adam Spies, Kevin Shannon and Rob Griffin, who lead the Company's national investment sales teams, as well as with Shannon's Southern California team and Executive Vice Chairman and President, Western Region Capital Markets Steve Golubchik and his Northern California team. As Co-heads of the debt platform, the duo will oversee Newmark's other debt professionals, including West Coast's Ramsey Daya, Bill Fishel and David Milestone, and New York partners, Dustin Stolly, Nick Scribani and Chris Kramer, further elevating the platform's unmatched expertise coast-to-coast.

"I am thrilled to join Newmark and partner with Jordan, Dustin and the wider group to formally establish its national and global debt platform. Working closely with Newmark's professionals and their teams, many of whom I have had the privilege of working with previously for over a decade, we aim to build the most revered one-stop-shop capital markets practice," said Firestone.

Firestone's announcement follows on the heels of Newmark's hiring of a significant number of the industry's top professionals in 2023, adding specialists across an array of asset classes and transactional segments. For example, Newmark announced that Harmon and Spies would serve as Co-Heads of U.S. Capital Markets in February. In March, the Company announced it had hired Jack Fraker as President, Global Head of Industrial & Logistics Capital Markets. In August, Newmark announced the hiring of investment banker Brent Mayo to lead the firm's Data Center and Digital Infrastructure Group. In November, the Company hired Andrew Warin, a real estate investment banker with previous stints at Citigroup and Sera Global, to head Newmark's Strategic Advisory and Programmatic Equity Practice.

Gosin concluded, "Our strategic vision is to establish ourselves as the leading global Capital Markets firm. We are committed to providing our clients with the best information, the most talented professionals, cutting-edge technology and unparalleled results. Together, we will achieve excellence in every aspect of our business." 

About Newmark
Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK), together with its subsidiaries ("Newmark"), is a world leader in commercial real estate, seamlessly powering every phase of the property life cycle. Newmark's comprehensive suite of services and products is uniquely tailored to each client, from owners to occupiers, investors to founders, and startups to blue-chip companies. Combining the platform's global reach with market intelligence in both established and emerging property markets, Newmark provides superior service to clients across the industry spectrum. For the year ending December 31, 2022, Newmark generated revenues of approximately $2.7 billion. As of September 30, 2023, Newmark's company-owned offices, together with its business partners, operate from approximately 170 offices with 7,400 professionals around the world. To learn more, visit nmrk.com or follow @newmark.

Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements about Newmark
Statements in this document regarding Newmark that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include statements about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business, results, financial position, liquidity and outlook, which may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to the risk that the actual impact may differ, possibly materially, from what is currently expected. Except as required by law, Newmark undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see Newmark's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information set forth in these filings and any updates to such risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information contained in subsequent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q or Form 8-K.

¹ For more information, please see various announcements, press releases, and other information on the FDIC website, including "FDIC Announces Upcoming Sale of the Loan Portfolio from the Former Signature Bank, New York, New York", "SIGF-23 Sale Announcement $18.5 Billion All Cash Loan Sale", "SIGCRE-23 Sale Announcement $33.22 Billion Commercial Real Estate Loan Portfolio", "FDIC Signature Bank Receivership Sells 20 Percent Equity Interest in Entity Holding $9 Billion Rent-Stabilized / Rent-Controlled Multifamily Loans", "FDIC Signature Bridge Bank Receivership Sells Five Percent Equity Interest in Entities Holding $5.8 Billion of Rent-Stabilized / Rent-Controlled Multifamily Loans", and "FDIC Signature Bridge Bank Receivership Sells 20 Percent Equity Interest in Entity Holding $16.8 Billion of Commercial Real Estate Loans".

² Newmark mortgage brokerage volume from 2015 through 3Q23; Roeschlaub joined in 2014 and Stolly joined in 2017.

SOURCE Newmark Group, Inc.