Newmark Hires Nina Russo as Managing Director in Atlanta

Meridian Capital Group’s recent woes notched a win for Newmark, which found a leader for its capital markets business in Atlanta.

The firm hired Nina Russo as a managing director in its debt and structured finance division, part of the firm’s broader effort to grow its capital markets presence across the Southeast, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.

Based in Atlanta, Russo will split her time between the firm’s local office and its New York headquarters. Meridian was under investigation by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac starting in late 2023 for a suspect loan. Even though it was taken off the blacklist last month, it’s suffered losses to its talent pool.

Russo structured more than $2 billion in financing as vice president of Meridian, primarily for multifamily properties, a sector she said is dominant across the Southeast.

She began her career as a financial analyst at KeyBank and brings over a decade of experience in commercial finance to the role. Her addition comes as Newmark looks to build on its existing national capital markets footprint by expanding its influence in high-growth Sun Belt metros.

“We’ve got a lot of deep credibility in New York and nationally, and we’re growing that influence nationwide,” Russo told the outlet. “My role here in Atlanta is going to be to leverage that momentum and establish a strong presence here.”

Newmark is ranked as the sixth-largest commercial real estate brokerage in Atlanta by transaction volume, according to the outlet.

The firm has been aggressively expanding in the region in recent months. In March, it tapped Chris Scott to lead its operations across Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, and last year, it poached a trio of high-profile office sales brokers — Jay O’Meara, Justin Parsonnet and Ryan Reethof — from CBRE.

But the expansion hasn’t come without its stopgaps. Newmark gained a group of six multifamily brokers who defected from Eastdil Secured in March, but Eastdil sued, saying the brokers stole deals and documents from the firm and handed them to Newmark. They’ve since accused Eastdil of quelling competition and enforcing illegal noncompetes.

— Judah Duke