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Lisa Pendergast to retire as head of CREFC on Aug. 3
CREFC says it is still interviewing candidates to replace her after about a decade leading the CRE finance trade group, including a 30% membership increase.
Commercial Observer reports that Lisa Pendergast will retire as leadership of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, effective Aug. 3. The outlet says CREFC’s board is still interviewing potential replacements for the role.
Pendergast joined the trade group as executive director in September 2016, after earlier chairing CREFC in 2010 and 2011 and serving on its board of governors for more than nine years, Commercial Observer notes. It adds that her titles later changed to president and CEO in early 2025.
During her nearly 10-year run, the article says she helped guide CREFC through market cycles and challenges, including steering a 30% membership increase. Commercial Observer also says she established the organization as an influential voice on a range of commercial real estate finance issues in Washington, D.C., and beyond.
Before CREFC, Commercial Observer writes that Pendergast led commercial mortgage-backed securities strategy and risk at Jefferies from 2009 to 2016 and previously held senior positions at Royal Bank of Scotland and Prudential Securities. The outlet also quotes a New York University academic praising her as a defining voice in commercial real estate finance and credits her with expanding CREFC beyond its earlier focus on CMBS.