Drew Anderman Starts New Role in CBRE’s Debt and Structured Finance Team
The industry veteran left his position at Meridian Capital Group in November
By Cathy Cunningham January 29, 2025 7:00 am
reprints
An air of optimism and the gentle whirring of a new market cycle are in the air as January draws to a close, and it’s also a brand-new start for industry veteran Drew Anderman.
Anderman, who left his position as a senior managing director at Meridian Capital Group in November after more than a decade at the firm, is now a vice chairman in CBRE’s U.S. debt and structured finance business.
Anderman’s first day was Jan. 28, and he reports into James Millon, CBRE’s president of U.S. debt and structured finance.
“With Drew’s addition to our team, we are enhancing our ability to position our capital markets business for significant growth as market conditions improve. His joining is a testament to our substantial investments in our strong CBRE platform,” Millon said in prepared remarks. “Drew’s expertise and proven success will further strengthen our ability to provide customized financing solutions for our clients.”
Anderman spent 25 years transacting in the commercial real estate industry at firms including Nomura, Deutsche Bank, CIBC and Credit Suisse. He joined Meridian in 2014, where his notable deals included arranging the $1.2 billion acquisition loan for RXR’s purchase of 1285 Avenue of the Americas in 2016.
“I was in Meridian for almost 11 years and it was a good run,” Anderman told Commercial Observer. “I’m very proud of what we accomplished while I was there, increasing the profile of the firm, increasing the type of deals we did and the level of sophistication of deals, and some of the groundbreaking deals we did there.”
Anderman’s was one of the most high-profile exits from the firm last year, his resignation following the departures of Seth Grossman, Ronnie Levine, Yoni Goodman and several others. When it was time to decide on his next chapter, Anderman spoke with “more than a few firms” in search of what was important to him.
“The culture of the firm and the people I’d be working for — and with — was paramount for me as I spend so much time in the office,” Anderman said. “I knew that coming out of the recent downturn, collaboration would be more important than ever amongst co-workers. I also spent a lot of time thinking about what clients look for and want from an adviser, and I felt that being at a firm that was a market leader in the sales business was important as clients — both existing and new — are looking for entrée and avenues into deals today. I also felt that having access to professionals that spend their time leasing space, whether it’s on the retail side or the office side, was an additional strength to offer clients access to information, and finding where deals are taking place if we’re pitching for transactions to really have the most accurate and complete set of information and data points.”
He takes his new seat at an interesting and busy time for the industry, bringing with him some of his Meridian team (who can’t yet be named).
“There’s a couple things I think we can all acknowledge,” Anderman said. “It doesn’t appear that rates are going to go back to anywhere close to where they were back in the beginning of `22, so we have to deal with that. We’re going to be very focused on deals that are maturing, loans that need to be refinanced. Office, obviously, is a challenging part of the market. It was a big part of the business we all did in the last 10 years, but I want to believe we’re past the lowest point of that, so I think that there will be continued opportunity to recapitalize office buildings. There’s a tremendous amount of capital that’s been sitting on the sidelines, looking for places to invest, and I think there’s going to be more opportunities for people that have access to capital.”
With his deep experience in multifamily financings, CBRE being a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lender was also a big selling point in his decision to join the firm, Anderman said.
“Multifamily, clearly, is a huge part of the market,” he said. “[My team has] done a lot of value-add deals, ground up and pre-TCO, and I think that part of the market’s going to remain strong. So, I think a lot of the things that we’ve done in the past will hold true going forward, and the common theme I think people that hire us and work with us for is because we’re able to figure things out, and we give it our all.”
“Drew’s strong reputation in the capital markets community precedes him,” said Jennifer Czubaja, senior managing director for CBRE. “His financial prowess, debt structuring expertise and leadership skills will be invaluable as we grow our market position in New York City and deliver best-in-class solutions to our clients.”
Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com