Michelle Herrick Named Head of CRE at JPMorgan Chase

“I am honored to head our industry-leading CRE business,” said Herrick. “Al has built a franchise that continually raises the bar in product offerings and customer service, and I look forward to continuing that legacy as our exceptional team serves clients across the country.”

The Chicago-based industry veteran got her start at LaSalle Bank, which Bank of America acquired, before joining J.P. Morgan in 2017 as market manager for real estate banking (REB) in the Midwest, Mountain and Southeast regions, delivering impressive results for the bank throughout those markets during her four-year tenure in the role. 

Herrick was elevated to head of REB in 2021, before being named deputy head of CRE in March, working alongside Brooks. 

She’ll fully take the reins on J.P. Morgan Chase’s CRE portfolio — which comprises agency lending, community development banking, commercial term lending (CTL) and real estate banking — as soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. 

“I’ve really enjoyed my time here, and this is a fun business to be a part of,” Herrick said of her tenure thus far. “Having the backing of a firm that has existed for hundreds of years — and will continue to do so — allows you to offer the type of products, customer service, and the certainty of execution that is necessary to properly serve clients. We’re in a business that doesn’t exist without our clients, and we’re always incredibly focused on them.” 

Herrick steps into the new role at an interesting time for CRE. A wave of optimism is finally in the air following the Federal Reserve’s September interest rate cut, but much of the past five years’ dislocation and distress has yet to be worked through. She underscored the importance of having a long-term view around the industry’s cyclicality. 

“It’s really hard sometimes to keep a long-term view in this business,” Herrick said. “It’s easy to be reactionary, but I’m very happy to be at a firm that has one of the longest views in the market, and always is running a variety of scenarios to make sure our balance sheet stays acceptable to our clients and sets us up to be incredibly well positioned in our client relevance and relationships. Wherever we are in the cycle, we bank a lot of clients with that same long-term view.” 

Like many lenders, J.P. Morgan Chase has seen its transaction pipeline increase this year as a wave of hope around a less painful rate environment blankets the industry and inspires deal activity. While new transaction volume returns, there’s also a tidal wave of loan maturities requiring refinances headed our way — which means Herrick’s team should be busy on all fronts. 

“We spend a lot of time thinking about how we’ll be ready to service our client population as we watch these trillions of commercial real estate loans mature over the next five years,” Herrick said. 

A consistent honoree on Commercial Observer’s Power Finance list, the J.P. Morgan team took the No. 1 spot the past two years — and for good reason. While several banks have retrenched amid the higher interest rate environment, allowing non-bank lenders an opportunity to step up and take more market share, J.P. Morgan has consistently remained in the market for its clients.

“We’ve watched the overall bank piece of the debt pie be a little less active — for a variety of reasons that may continue — and that may or may not switch back to banks feeling comfortable with their exposure or wishing to grow their exposure,” Herrick said. “At J.P. Morgan, we’re very comfortable with our exposure. Again, it doesn’t start with a dollar amount of debt, it starts with a desire to serve clients and their needs, and what ends up on our balance sheet is more of a reflection of that.” 

With that in mind, the bank intends to be more active in 2025 as it supports its clients.

“The core assumption here is that transaction volume ramps, and the rate environment feels a little bit more comfortable, and less volatile to transact in,” Herrick said. “We may or may not find ourselves there, but that’s what we’re preparing for next year.” 

Herrick has some big boots to fill, of course. Brooks became J.P. Morgan Chase’s head of CRE in 2015, and has spent more than 20 years at the bank. Before that, he was president of CTL for Washington Mutual, which J.P. Morgan took over. Under his leadership, J.P. Morgan’s CRE business has racked up more than $240 billion in loans over the last decade alone, and is the country’s top multifamily lender. It’s also now one of the top affordable housing lenders. 

“I think the core lessons I’ve learned from Al, as he continues to raise the bar over decades in this industry, is how you can delight clients and how you can be quicker and more thoughtful, giving clients a better experience, both in efficiency and turn times,” Herrick said. “It’s been a lot of fun working together, and I’m glad that will continue.” 

With Herrick soon to be in the driver’s seat, she said she sees what she describes as a “road map” ahead. “It’s very exciting. We’re thinking about what products and which investments we can make to help our clients in their day-to-day business,” she said. “That’s a really fun road map — especially right now at this point in a cycle in this industry — and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be stepping into this role, and for what this team can accomplish.”

In prepared remarks, Simmons said he was “thrilled” to announce Herrick as the new head of CRE. 

“Michelle brings a wealth of experience and deep sector expertise to this role,” he said.  “Her exceptional leadership and client-centric approach have been instrumental to our success, and I’m confident she will continue to strengthen our business and deliver for our clients.”

Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com