Grandbridge Real Estate Capital Announces COO’s Retirement Plans

Charlotte, N.C.—Grandbridge Real Estate Capital today announced the upcoming retirement of the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer David A. Roberts. The announcement was made by Chairman and CEO Thomas S. Dennard.

Roberts joined Grandbridge when the company was formed in 2007 through the merger of Laureate Capital LLC and Collateral Real Estate Capital LLC. Roberts served as the president and CEO of Collateral, having built the firm into one of the largest privately held full-service commercial mortgage banking firms in the country.

Roberts serves on the Grandbridge Board of Managers and oversees the company’s agency lending and underwriting groups, the servicing and asset management divisions, the legal and closing areas, and the appraisal and corporate training functions. In addition he oversees Grandbridge’s proprietary lending subsidiary, BB&T Real Estate Funding LLC, which originates interim commercial real estate loans for its own portfolio.

Recognized industry wide for his work with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Roberts is a member of MBA’s 2013 Board of Directors. He also currently serves on the Multifamily and MORPAC Steering Committees of MBA, and is vice chair of the MBA’s GSE Multifamily Task Force.  His past MBA posts include chair of the MBA’s Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors (COMBOG), chair of MBA’s Multifamily Steering Committee and chair of the Fannie Mae DUS Advisory Council. Roberts has also served on numerous task forces and working groups of MBA throughout the years dealing with key commercial and multifamily finance issues. He earned his Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation from MBA in 2002.

In recognition of his dedication and service to MBA and the real estate finance industry, the MBA awarded Roberts with its CREF Distinguished Service Award in 2012.

An Illinois native, Roberts began his career in the real estate department at The First National Bank of Chicago and has been involved in all types of commercial real estate lending and mortgage banking for approximately 38 years. Locally Roberts served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama. He is a member of the Alabama CCIM Chapter, the National Multi-Housing Council and numerous other professional and civic organizations. Roberts holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in business administration from DePaul University.