Draper and Kramer, Incorporated, a national full-service real estate firm, today announced the promotion of Bill Stewart and Matthew Wurtzebach to senior vice presidents in the company’s Commercial Finance Group (CFG), the largest single-office commercial mortgage banking group in the country.
“Our Commercial Finance Group has an incredible heritage dating back more than 125 years to the founding of Draper and Kramer,” said Todd Bancroft, president and CEO of Chicago-based Draper and Kramer. “Over those decades, it has become one of the most respected commercial banking offices in the country, and that reputation has been earned through the hard work and dedication of team members like Bill and Matthew. We’re proud to promote them to senior vice presidents in recognition of their accomplishments and leadership within our commercial finance team.”
Stewart is a 15-year veteran of Draper and Kramer who has been involved in several billion dollars of commercial real estate financing during his tenure with the firm. He currently oversees $1 billion to $2 billion in debt and equity placements for CFG annually, working with a variety of sources including the firm’s correspondent life insurance companies, banks, CMBS lenders, pension funds and private equity firms. He joined Draper and Kramer in 2004 as an analyst and also served as an assistant vice president before being named vice president in 2008. In addition to working with third-party clients spanning all asset classes and dealing across all capital sources, he also handles all of Draper and Kramer’s internal secured commercial financings.
“As we continue to grow Draper and Kramer’s portfolio of multifamily assets, both here in Chicago and nationally, Bill has been instrumental in securing very favorable terms for a number of recent transactions,” said Bancroft. “Having his expertise available to us in-house has been a huge advantage as we move our acquisition strategy forward, particularly in entering new markets.”
Active in the Mortgage Bankers Association, Stewart is also a member of the Strategic Alliance Mortgage network of mortgage bankers and participates with a number of local community-based volunteer organizations. He is a graduate of Knox College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and political science.
Wurtzebach joined Draper and Kramer in 2005 and has since underwritten, negotiated and conducted due diligence on more than 360 funded commercial real estate debt and equity transactions totaling $5.5 billion. In 2019, he is running 70% above his production for all of 2018 and was one of the office’s top two producers for the first half of the year. Wurtzebach has worked with clients ranging from small private buyers to institutional investors across all asset classes. Through that work, he has cultivated relationships with nearly 30 correspondent life companies as well as over 250 bank, CMBS, pension fund and equity financing sources for all property types nationally.
“Matthew is incredibly adept at finding creative solutions for his clients, which is so valuable in the world of CRE finance where markets are always shifting,” said Bancroft. “He has built a strong network on both the client and lender sides, and he’s used those relationships and resources to successfully close deals that others may not have been able to.”
An active member of the Urban Land Institute, Wurtzebach also sits on the board for the DePaul Real Estate Alumni Alliance and teaches real estate finance for the Real Estate Associate Program (REAP), an industry-backed program that provides minority professionals a bridge to commercial real estate careers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago and earned an MBA at DePaul University.