Abe Hannigan, 32

Abe Hannigan got a foretaste of the competitive nature of commercial real estate finance during his college soccer career at Emory University in Atlanta.

Hannigan was a three-time all-conference goalkeeper at Emory, where he double-majored in economics and international studies. He pivoted from the soccer pitch to CRE deal-making soon after graduating college via an analyst role at Berkadia before ascending into the associate director position he has held the past five years.

“Once I transitioned to originations, it felt like a competitive sport with published rankings and how much production you’re doing, deals closing — so the motivation is similar to soccer,” Hannigan said. “I looked at it the same way, which keeps me coming back every day.”

Hannigan got an introduction to real estate before Emory — both his parents worked on the affordable housing side of the business. That prompted him to pursue a CRE career in the first place. He interned at the Durst Organization in the summer of 2015, and kicked off his run at Berkadia in fall 2016.

The largest deal Hannigan has so far been involved with consisted of a refinance for multifamily properties in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood that was north of $300 million and that closed in December 2018. 

Outside of Berkadia, the New York City-based Hannigan has been a board member of the Mortgage Bankers Association and active with the CRE Finance Council. Hannigan also stays engaged with his alma mater through the Emory University Real Estate Alumni Group, which holds an annual event he helps organize. 

“That’s proven to be good networking and my way of giving back, and it’s relatively new,” Hannigan said. “We are trying to build it up like some other prestigious real estate schools such as UNC and others.”