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

CREFC Welcomes New Members to its Executive Committee and Board of Governors at Annual June Conference

NEW YORK, June 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) announced today the selection 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 at its Annual Conference in New York City. Mr. Bunch, a 25-year veteran of the commercial real estate finance industry, has been actively involved in CREFC as a member for 20 years. He succeeds outgoing Chair Bob Foley, Partner at TPG Real Estate and Chief Financial Officer of TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc.

Mr. Bunch is a Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets and Banking for the US RESF group. He joined Bank of America 17 years ago and oversees commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) structuring, securitization, large loan execution, and warehouse finance. Mr. Bunch also has been responsible for more than $30 billion of large loan CMBS 2.0/3.0 originations and is the GSE relationship manager. Before joining the Bank, Mr. Bunch was the Head of European CMBS at UBS, and he started his Wall Street career with JPMorgan in New York while finishing in London.

"CREFC is an important voice for a wide range of members it serves – lenders, issuers, loan servicers, investors, rating agencies, and other commercial real estate market participants - in a $6 trillion industry that plays a key role in the nation's economy," said Mr. Bunch. "For three decades, CREFC has worked to ensure the commercial real estate market is efficient, liquid, transparent, and continues to grow. I look forward to serving as CREFC Chair in the coming year and continuing to support the work and priorities promoted by Bob Foley and Lisa Pendergast, CREFC's CEO."

"On behalf of CREFC, I'd like to congratulate Leland Bunch on being selected to lead the Executive Committee and Chair our Board of Governors. As an established CREFC member and seasoned CRE professional, he will help us articulate and address the industry's needs," said Lisa Pendergast, President and CEO of CREFC. "I would be remiss if I also didn't thank Bob Foley for his time, effort, and dedication over the last year as chair. We are grateful for his leadership and commitment and look forward to his continued service as past chair."

In addition to Mr. Foley's transition, CREFC also announced members of its 2025-2026 Executive Committee:

• Chair-Elect: Lissette Rivera-Pauley (Regions Financial Corp.)
• Immediate Past Chair: Bob Foley (TPG Real Estate and TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc.)
• Vice Chair: Elaine McKay (Ares Management LLC)
• Secretary: Kim Diamond (NYU)
• Treasurer: Adam Behlman (Starwood Property Trust)
• Long Range Planning & Investment Committee Chair: Daniel Olsen (KeyBank Real Estate Capital)
• Membership Chair: Toby Cobb (3650 Capital)
• Policy Committee Chair: Rick Jones (Jackstay Ventures)
• Program Committee Chair: Mary Jane Potthoff (Morningstar DBRS)

The association also welcomes and congratulates new members to its Board of Governors, including:

• 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)
• Lindsey Wright (KKR)

"We want to welcome the newest members of the Executive Committee and our Board of Governors. We look forward to collaborating with you on key issues that have the greatest significance and directly impact our industry and its members," added Pendergast.

About CREFC
The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) is the trade association for the $6 trillion commercial real estate finance industry, with a membership that includes approximately 400 companies and 19,000 individuals. Member firms include balance sheet and securitized lenders, loan and bond investors, private equity firms, servicers, rating agencies, and borrowers. For more than 30 years, CREFC has promoted liquidity, transparency, and efficiency in the commercial real estate finance markets, and functioned as a legislative and regulatory advocate for the industry, playing a vital role in setting market standards and best practices and providing education for market participants.

SOURCE CRE Finance Council