Ethan Penner Joins CBRE Investors

LOS ANGELES-Ethan Penner, a CMBS pioneer and former principal of Lubert-Adler who has long been known for his leadership in real estate finance, has joined CB Richard Ellis Investors as an executive managing director and member of the executive committee. Penner, in a statement, says that the current market environment has created new opportunities and that CBRE Investors provides “an excellent platform with which to approach the marketplace.” Penner cites CBRE Investors’ “strong investment programs, global reach, quality research and a highly regarded brand.”

Penner is a 24-year industry veteran who first rose to prominence as the founder and CEO of the Capital Company of America/Nomura Capital, the largest real estate lender in the US during the 1990′s and a pioneer in the CMBS market. At Lubert-Adler he was responsible for sourcing and underwriting new investments with a primary focus on deals in the debt and the securitized markets. Before he joined Lubert-Adler, he was the manager of Penner Global Properties and a founding partner of Pacific Star Capital, both private real estate investment companies.

Penner, know for his insightful observations about real estate investment and the capital markets, was a keynote speaker at Real Estate Media’s RealShare Investment & Finance Summit last fall in New York City. In his remarks there, he called for changes to prevent a recurrence of the current credit crisis, including a retooling of the way rating agencies work.