Personnel News From Freddie Mac, CBRE, Grandbridge Real Estate Capital

Freddie Mac Names Wendell Chambliss Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

Freddie Mac, McLean, Va., announced that Wendell Chambliss, a 20-year veteran of the company, has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

In this newly created role, Chambliss will be responsible for programs and initiatives to bring greater diversity, equity and inclusion to the company and to the housing industry. He will serve as a member of the company’s senior operating committee and will report directly to Freddie Mac CEO Michael DeVito.

Chambliss currently serves as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Mission, Strategic Business Advisory and Government Affairs within Freddie Mac’s Legal Division. He will start his new position on April 11.

The newly created CDIO will advance DEI across three main pillars: workforce diversity, supplier diversity and financial transactions. The CDIO will also oversee Freddie Mac’s Office of Inclusive Engagement. While the company has had senior leadership in chief diversity roles since 2010, in September Freddie Mac announced that the positions of Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer would become two distinct roles reporting to the CEO. Doing so is designed to bring greater focus to the company’s DEI efforts.

Freddie Mac, a majority-minority company, has a long-standing commitment to DEI. The company has a number of diverse individuals serving in leadership and has been recognized for LGBTQ equality and Disability Equality.

Hotel Finance Veteran Lawrence Britvan Joins CBRE

CBRE said industry veteran Lawrence Britvan joined CBRE Capital Markets as President and Vice Chairman, Institutional Hotels, Debt to focus on financing for commercial real estate sponsors and lenders.

Britvan has more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate and specializes in hospitality-related transactions, including debt, equity, joint venture and investment sales. He was involved in more than $6 billion in capital markets activity in 2021. Based in Los Angeles and New York City, he complements CBRE’s Debt & Structured Finance professionals focused on the hospitality sector that closed nearly $3 billion in financings in the U.S. during 2021.

Britvan joined CBRE from Hodges Ward Elliott, where he served as Group Head of Capital Markets since 2016. Prior to that, he was a member of the senior management team at CCRE and previously worked in the real estate finance team at Credit Suisse. He began his career in the industry as an attorney advising on real estate financing matters.

Grandbridge Real Estate Capital Hires Thomas Sanderson 

Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC said Thomas Sanderson joined the company’s Phoenix production office as a Commercial Real Estate Analyst. He will head the analyst team in the growing Phoenix office.

Prior to joining Grandbridge, Sanderson was an Acquisition Analyst for Century Communities in Houston, where he analyzed the feasibility of land acquisitions and development and assisted in reporting and financial duties. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Colorado – Leeds School of Business.