Dustin Stolly Joins Walker & Dunlop’s Capital Markets Team

When Dustin Stolly exited Newmark last October, the industry was abuzz with where the superstar broker might start his next chapter. 

Now, we know. 

Stolly has joined Walker & Dunlop’s (W&D) capital markets team in New York as a senior managing director, alongside Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz and Adam Schwartz, Commercial Observer can first report.

Today is Stolly’s first day with the company, and the move represents a reunion for the fivesome, who were previously teammates at JLL. 

“The addition of Dustin to our exceptional New York capital markets team is simply fantastic and will drive significant growth in our debt and equity placement across the country,” Willy Walker, chairman and CEO of Walker & Dunlop, said in prepared remarks. “Dustin’s experience, coupled with our existing team, will make W&D’s capital markets and structured finance team one of the very best in the industry.”

Stolly, one of the heaviest hitters in the advisory world, was most recently co-president of debt and structured finance at Newmark. He joined the brokerage in 2017 after a decade at JLL, where he closed $25 billion of capital markets transactions.

Over the course of his career, Stolly has closed more than $100 billion in transactions and made a name for himself tackling the most complex of financings, equity raises and joint ventures through up and down markets.

As such —just like his new fellow senior managing directors at Walker & Dunlop—  Stolly has been a consistent honoree on Commercial Observer’s Power Finance list over the years. In the 12-month period ending March 31, 2023, Stolly co-facilitated more than $29 billion of loans and $5.18 billion of equity plus $1.3 billion of loan sales alongside Jordan Roeschlaub, Stolly’s fellow Newmark co-president of debt and structured finance. The two also led the brokerage’s charge into equity raising for both platform and programmatic JVs in 2023.

Now, with this coming home of sorts for Stolly, the sky’s the limit. 

In 2024, W&D’s capital markets group arranged capital totaling $16 billion from non-agency lenders, and represented many of the commercial real estate industry’s top developers, owners and operators. The hiring of Stolly highlights the firm’s “commitment to attracting top-tier talent and growing market share,” according to a release. 

“Walker & Dunlop represents everything I am looking for in my next chapter — scale, vision and a relentless drive to lead the industry,” Stolly said. “Willy and the leadership team have built an incredible platform, and the opportunity to partner with Aaron, Keith, Jon, and Adam is second to none. We share the same commitment to excellence, innovation and client service. Our goal is to build an unmatched capital markets powerhouse — one that not only delivers the best outcomes for our clients but also differentiates Walker & Dunlop in a meaningful way.”

 Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com