Lightstone Capital Adds Elias Haddad to Run New Texas Office

Lightstone Capital has hired Elias Haddad from Cedar Ridge Capital Partners to lead debt originations in the central U.S. while also launching the lender’s first Texas office, Commercial Observer has learned. 

The debt platform of Lightstone Group added Haddad, who was managing director at Cedar Ridge since November 2024, to oversee commercial real estate loan activity in the Midwest and the Southwest. Haddad will work out of Lightstone Capital’s new Texas office in Austin as part of the firm’s expansion.

“He brings deep transaction experience, regional insight and disciplined underwriting expertise that will further scale our platform and capabilities as he helps launch our new office,” Eugene Rozovsky, senior vice president, real estate debt strategies at Lightstone Capital, said in a statement. “Our expansion throughout the Southwest and Midwest regions from our new Austin office strengthens our regional coverage and enhances our ability to source and structure investments in dynamic markets.” 

Haddad arrives at Lightstone with more than a decade of experience in CRE lending and investment banking with previous roles prior to Cedar Ridge at Madison Realty Capital, Pangea Mortgage Capital and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel Financial subsidiary, according to his LinkedIn profile. He most recently focused on high-yield credit, special situations and opportunistic real estate investments at Cedar Ridge. 

A graduate of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Haddad has executed or overseen more than $3 billion in transactions throughout his CRE finance career, according to Lightstone. 

“I’m excited to join the Lightstone Capital team at such a pivotal moment and to lead our expansion in Texas and across the broader central United States,” Haddad said in a statement. “We see strong demand for flexible, solutions-oriented capital, and establishing a local presence allows us to build closer sponsor relationships and move quickly on opportunities throughout the region.”

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.