New York, NY — Meridian Capital Group, LLC, one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate mortgage brokerages, announced today the addition of Marty Lanigan as Senior Managing Director of Origination and Strategic Initiatives. Mr. Lanigan will be responsible for overseeing the company’s origination efforts nationally and implementing key strategic initiatives designed to enhance Meridian’s product and service capabilities. He will report to Ralph Herzka, Meridian’s President and CEO.

Mr. Lanigan joins Meridian at a pivotal point in its history and strategic growth plan. Meridian, founded by Mr. Herzka in 1991, has placed more than $100 billion in commercial real estate debt since its inception, assuming an undisputed position as a national market leader in commercial real estate mortgage finance. In 2009, Meridian added an important agency lending platform to its product line by establishing a correspondent relationship with Beech Street Capital, LLC, a Bethesda, MD-based Fannie Mae DUS lender.

In his new role, Mr. Lanigan will work to leverage Meridian’s existing platform by expanding both the company’s production capacity and the breadth of its lending products. "What attracted me most about Meridian is the opportunity to build on the enormous accomplishments that Ralph and his team have made to date," said Mr. Lanigan. "The challenge of continuing the firm’s ambitious tradition and further developing its reach, expertise and capabilities is especially exciting at a time when many others are retrenching or maintaining a defensive position."

"I am delighted that Marty will be joining our outstanding team at Meridian. I have no doubt that he can apply his vast skill and experience to maximize the potential of our origination capacity and product array," said Ralph Herzka, Meridian’s President and CEO. "This is a very exciting time in the growth curve for Meridian. By adding new key team members like Marty, we are positioning Meridian to become the leading U.S. commercial real estate mortgage finance company," added Herzka.

Mr. Lanigan’s extensive background in commercial real estate finance spans nearly 25 years. In 2001, he founded Mezz Cap, and as President and CEO, grew the company into the dominant mid-market commercial mezzanine lender, operating in conjunction with 18 senior lenders in the U.S. and Canada.

Prior to Mezz Cap, Mr. Lanigan launched the U.S. conduit lending programs at Prudential Mortgage Capital Company and GMAC Commercial Mortgage and subsequently managed the conduit and interim lending programs at these institutions. Earlier in his career, he spent several years at Freddie Mac in its multifamily group.

Founded in 1991, Meridian Capital Group, LLC is one of the nation's largest commercial real estate finance and advisory firms. Meridian is headquartered in New York with offices in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Florida and California. Working with a broad array of capital providers, Meridian arranges financing for transactions ranging from $500,000 to more than $500 million for multifamily, co-op, office, retail, hotel, healthcare, student housing, self-storage, industrial, and construction properties.