Greystone Appoints Hafize Gaye Erkan as CEO

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June 27, 2022 9:00 AM EDT

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Founder and CEO Steve Rosenberg to continue to serve as the Executive Chair

Further expansion of core commercial, multifamily real estate lending and capital markets business to come alongside entrance into new financial service sectors

NEW YORK, June 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greystone, a leading national real estate finance company, announced today that the Company has appointed Hafize Gaye Erkan as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately. Her executive responsibilities will commence in September 2022. Ms. Erkan will report to Steve Rosenberg, who will continue to serve as the Executive Chairman of the Board.

Ms. Erkan most recently served as Co-CEO, President and Board Member at publicly traded First Republic Bank, where she helped deliver substantial growth in wealth management, deposits, and total assets. Prior to joining First Republic, Ms. Erkan was the Head of Financial Institutions Group Analytics and Strategies for Goldman Sachs, where she worked for nearly a decade advising financial institution Boards of Directors and executive management teams.

On the appointment, Mr. Rosenberg said: “I am thrilled to welcome Gaye to our firm to drive the next generation of investment and innovation as we pursue strategic growth opportunities, both organically and through acquisitions. She is an inspiring and visionary leader with a successful track record in financial services spanning two decades. She shares our ideals of caring for employees, partners, and clients, and giving back to our communities, and I am excited to partner with her to lead Greystone into a new phase of growth. Together, our ambition is to continue building a world-class organization whose commitment to its clients and employees is second to none.”

Ms. Erkan and Mr. Rosenberg will partner closely to execute on a two-part joint vision for the next phase of Greystone’s growth. First, they will accelerate Greystone’s core commercial and multifamily real estate lending and capital markets business, through investments in technology, operations, and people. This will include continued commitment to Greystone’s strategic joint venture with Cushman & Wakefield. Second, leveraging Greystone’s client-centric approach, they will expand the business into adjacent financial services, including expanded lending products, and private wealth management, as well as real estate and fintech fund management. Ms. Erkan and Mr. Rosenberg are also exploring private banking and residential mortgage lending opportunities.

“I am honored to become CEO at this exciting moment in Greystone’s history and to serve our clients, partners, and dedicated colleagues. I look forward to utilizing my expertise in banking and wealth management to expand Greystone into new areas of financial services and build on the Company’s strong foundation in real estate finance,” Ms. Erkan said. “Steve has built an impressive business that does well by doing good, and it is my privilege to work alongside him and Greystone’s very talented leadership team to further that legacy and maintain a people-first culture.”

About Hafize Gaye Erkan, Ph.D.

Ms. Erkan is a proven financial services leader with deep expertise in banking, investments, risk management, technology, and digital innovation. She spent nearly eight years at First Republic Bank, in roles including Co-Chief Executive Officer, President, Board Member, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Deposit Officer, and Co-Chief Risk Officer.

Previously, she spent almost a decade at Goldman Sachs. As Managing Director and Head of Financial Institutions Group Analytics and Strategies, Ms. Erkan advised the Boards and executive management teams of large U.S. banks and insurance companies on balance sheet management, stress testing and capital planning, risk management, and M&A.

In March 2022 Ms. Erkan joined the Board of Directors at Fortune 500 firm Marsh McLennan, and she served on the Board of Directors for Tiffany & Co. from 2019 through the company’s acquisition by LVMH in 2021. She also serves on the Advisory Council for the Princeton University Operations Research and Financial Engineering Department.

In 2019, she was named to Crain’s list of Notable Women in Banking and Finance, and American Banker’s Women to Watch list. In 2018, she was named to San Francisco Business Times’ 40 Under 40 and Crain New York Business’ 40 Under 40 lists. According to San Francisco Business Times’ research in 2018, she was the only woman under 40 holding a President or CEO title at America’s 100 largest banks.

Ms. Erkan serves on the Board of Directors for the Partnership for New York City and is an active supporter of the National Coalition of Girl’s Schools. She is the founder of the Hafize Gaye Erkan First Republic Fellowship Program, a first-of-its kind program that guides young women from underserved backgrounds to a purpose-driven life through STEM education, mentorship, and professional development. She is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the International Women’s Forum.

Ms. Erkan graduated as valedictorian of Boğaziçi University in Turkey with a B.S. in Industry Engineering and earned a Ph.D. in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University. She is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program and the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program in Leadership.

About Steve Rosenberg

Mr. Steve Rosenberg founded Greystone over three decades ago to provide a unique solution to restructuring distressed real estate assets. From its modest beginnings in the back of a friend’s music store in Atlanta, Greystone has since grown into a mature commercial real estate finance firm with a national reputation as a lender, advisor, and top-ranked Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) partner.

Mr. Rosenberg has focused on pursuing strategic opportunities to further Greystone’s growth, particularly across the affordable housing sector. He has expanded the firm to provide a robust suite of holistic debt and equity solutions, asset management and loan servicing, property management, and most recently led the formation of a strategic joint venture with Cushman & Wakefield in 2021 to expand access for clients to investment sales and advisory services.

In 2014, Mr. Rosenberg launched Harmony Housing, a nonprofit organization that focuses on acquiring and preserving affordable housing to serve low- and moderate-income families and the elderly, which housing projects are managed by Greystone. In 2021, AbleHearts, a nonprofit organization serving the skilled nursing and healthcare sector was launched in a similar vein.

Mr. Rosenberg’s approach to business is rooted in philanthropy, which has enabled Greystone to maintain a committed position as a highly charitable organization, donating more than half of its profits annually to both charitable causes and individual families in need. Mr. Rosenberg established The Murray & Sydell Rosenberg Foundation in his parents’ names as a nonprofit foundation to reduce suffering and provide aid to humanitarian causes worldwide.

Prior to Greystone’s founding in 1988, Mr. Rosenberg worked in CRE finance at Dean Witter Reynolds. He earned a concurrent M.B.A. from the Wharton School and D.M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry.

About Greystone

Founded in 1988, Greystone is a private commercial real estate finance and investment company with unmatched expertise in debt, equity, investment sales and loan servicing solutions. The firm is the number one ranked Federal Housing Administration multifamily and healthcare lender by firm commitments*, and a top 10 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily real estate lender.

In 2021, Greystone produced $19 billion in CRE transaction volume and currently manages a combined primary and special loan servicing portfolio of over $80 billion across a wide variety of commercial property types. In addition, that year Greystone entered into a strategic joint venture with Cushman & Wakefield, the number two ranked brokerage in the nation as reported by Commercial Property Executive. Together, the partners are able to provide full-service investment sales, advisory and lending services. Greystone also manages more than 14,000 affordable housing units on behalf of nonprofit Harmony Housing.

Above all, giving back remains a core tenet of Greystone’s culture, and the business donates a substantial percentage of its profits to global charitable causes.

*Ranking based upon combined originations for HUD’s 2021 fiscal year by Greystone Servicing Company LLC and Greystone Funding Company LLC. For more information, visit www.greystone.com.

PRESS CONTACT:Karen MarottaGreystone212-896-9149[email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/70af1080-b916-4a1d-a991-189278627223