JPMorgan Chase Appoints Michelle Herrick as Head of Real Estate Bank – Business Observer
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JPMorgan Chase has a brand new real estate bank manager, Commercial Observer can report first. Michelle herrick takes the reins, starting Monday. she’s replacing Chad Tredway, who recruited her and recently left her post to start her own private equity firm after 13 years in the bank.
âWhat a privilege to be the new head of real estate banking,â Herrick told CO. âI admit I have some really big shoes to fill in at a top notch company and I’m extremely excited. I think the best part of this new promotion for me, personally, is how well positioned the company is for what lies ahead. We have a great team and we have the best customers.
Prior to his promotion, Herrick served as Market Manager for the Central Real Estate Banking Region, delivering strong results to the bank in the Midwest, Mountain and Southeast markets during his four-year tenure. . She started her career at LaSalle bank, remaining in the company after Bank of America acquired it in 2007, and has worked on over $ 15 billion in transactions since then.
It now reports directly to Al Brooks, the bank’s commercial real estate manager.
Herrick lives in Chicago with her husband and three children. She is a member of the board of directors of ULI Chicago and NAIOP Chicago. With community development at the heart of his concerns, Herrick helped develop the JPMorgan program. Chicago Yield program, which pairs emerging developers of color with seasoned developers from the ULI Chicago member community to advance projects in the South and West Sides of Chicago.
CO met with Herrick in New York to find out more about what she’s planning now that she heads real estate banking at one of the largest banks in the United States.
Commercial Observer: Congratulations on your new role! What were the steps leading up to this promotion?
Michelle Herrick: Thank you! I have worked in the banking industry my entire career and have focused on commercial real estate for the past 15 years. I joined JPMorgan four years ago – I was recruited by Chad Tredway – to lead our central real estate banking region. And what really attracted me to the firm was its management style. I really liked the idea of ââhaving the ability to execute a growth story in such a well established brand. Since joining the firm, my region has grown a few times, giving me a large geographic spread that matches previous roles I have held in the industry throughout my career. Over time, this evolved to become the new head of the real estate bank.
What are you most proud of, thinking back to those four years in the bank?
We have a great team and a great clientele, and I think real estate is best when it evolves to meet the needs of the communities around us. I love when we can help our clients not only achieve their own goals, but also make the communities in which those clients are active are a better place for everyone to exist.
The most obvious difficult environment over the past four years has been the pandemic – an environment none of us could have ever imagined. I am very proud that we have helped our clients navigate their way. There were some difficult points, but we came out validated against the themes on which we had focused [pre-pandemic]. We are very strong in the multi-family, and we have always had the industry as a core competency. In particular, our $ 30 billion pledge to advance racial equity – and the affordable housing component of that pledge is $ 14 billion – has never been more timely in the environment we find ourselves in today. ‘hui. It makes me very proud of what we are doing.
What has been a priority for you in Chicago in terms of community investment?
Chicago as a market is a prime example of our national focus. The company has been very, very visible by investing a commitment of $ 150 million in philanthropic capital, which will bring our total business and philanthropic investments to Chicago’s Black and Latino communities to $ 800 million by 2025. This investment has the same goal of supporting our communities as the broader $ 30 billion commitment to racial equity.
Affordable housing is an important component of our global initiatives. In every market – I can speak of Chicago, but there are national similarities – every product requires creative thinking. Most of the time there is a partnership with the public, private or non-profit [organizations], and there are challenges in getting projects started, for example increasing construction costs or zoning. The good thing we saw in Chicago is that everyone is coming together to think about solutions, but this is just one example of what is happening across the country in various markets. So it’s really fun to be part of the company that in many cases is leading these efforts.
Tell me about the Yield Chicago program, which you helped develop.
Performance is a good example of everyone working together. Yield’s specific mission is to drive development in Chicago’s historically underserved communities – both the South and West Side – by local developers, especially developers of color, in these neighborhoods.
What we’ve seen in the past is that when developers come in sometimes they come from outside the community and the wealth creation isn’t extracted. The yield is funded by grants from JPMorgan Chase and our partner, the Pritzker Traubert Foundation and the the organizations we have partnered with to help train and deploy the program are ULI and also Chicago Local Initiatives Support Society (LISC). While it’s still in its infancy, what we’re hearing is that there is a real benefit to sharing the knowledge and resources that seasoned developers can provide to emerging developers in these communities.
How do you feel about taking the reins of your new role as we emerge from the pandemic?
From a broader economic perspective, it’s really exciting that we’ve been supporting all of the industries that have been critical throughout the pandemic and we’ve been a major cash lifeline for those who may have. be going through a more difficult time. The economy is doing well today, and commercial real estate is obviously keeping up with economic growth, so it looks like we have some favorable winds on our backs, especially around investor interest, which is being fueled by the low interest rate environment.
There is also a lot more clarity. today At the height of the pandemic, it was a little more uncertain where the demand would be and what the space requirements of end users would be. We have seen this demand strengthen in various asset classes, and it is great to see transaction activity strengthen. I am very happy to lead a team in this environment for 2022 and beyond.
Are you replacing yourself in Chicago? Do you have a new person in your previous role?
Not yet, but we have a great team and it’s a great market. So that’s a priority for me right now.
Are you originally from Chicago?
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and went to the University of Miami. I had what is probably a very common story from there; I met my husband in college, we got work, we moved to town – Chicago is the employment epicenter of the Midwest – and frankly, I loved it. We’ve been here for two decades now.
Are you the first generation in your family to get into real estate?
My father worked at Procter & Gamble for almost four decades. He was an engineer who built some of their big factories. So I am the first generation to focus on real estate as an asset class. My parents were very committed to the work ethic and taught my sister and I that access to opportunities and access to education come with responsibilities. You need to go out, work hard, and do something that will make you, your family proud, but more importantly, positively impact everyone around you.
Cathy Cunningham can be reached at [email protected].
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