Why Leading with Authenticity in CRE is a Competitive Advantage
In commercial real estate, long-term financial partnerships drive deals. At the recent Real Estate Pride Roundtable in New York City, CRE leaders shared how living openly with their LGBTQ+ identities has allowed them to lead with authenticity in the boardroom and in life. This Pride Month, Arbor celebrates authenticity in the workplace.
Inclusion and Authenticity Help Capital Allocation
Capital markets are open to quality deals and favor strong sponsors and assets in all economic cycles, several of the speakers noted.
Against that backdrop, the human element of deal-making remains essential. When LGBTQ+ professionals can show up fully as themselves — rather than expending cognitive and emotional energy managing their identity — they think more clearly, connect more genuinely, and ultimately perform better.
A 2025 analysis of 15 years of corporate data from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Whistle Stop Capital found that companies with stronger LGBTQ+ inclusion achieved higher revenue growth, delivered greater profitability, and showed more stable stock performance.
“If you don’t have to code-switch every time you enter a room, you make better decisions,” said David McCarthy, Managing Director and Head of Legislative Affairs at CREFC.
Using Identity as a Differentiator in Commercial Real Estate
While U.S. economic growth has been mixed this year and data center investment has attracted significant capital, the underlying fundamentals of the economy remain solid, several panelists said. The feared scenario of stagflation — a rare and painful combination of slow growth, high unemployment, and persistent inflation — has not materialized.
Healthcare infrastructure is emerging as the next major opportunity, said Onay Payne, Allyship Ambassador, investor and advisor, with demographic tailwinds and chronic undersupply creating compelling entry points across markets.
Despite economic disturbances, multifamily real estate and other related sectors have remained healthy throughout 2026.
“The U.S. economy is amazingly strong; think about all that it has been through in the past year and how resilient we have been,” said Kim Hourihan, Managing Director and Global Head of Strategy, Invesco.
Similarly, LGBTQ+ CRE professionals continue to lead by example, demonstrating that living openly is often an asset in managing challenges or operating in difficult environments.
“When I came out, I realized it wasn’t a liability — it was a differentiator,” said Matthew Scholl, Executive Director, Head of Investment Management Americas, Union Investment Real Estate GmbH.
In an industry where deals often come down to who calls who first, being memorable — and authentic — is a genuine competitive edge.
“Being open actually created stronger personal connections with clients for me — people respond to authenticity,” Lourdes Fisher, Managing Director, Bridge Investment Group.
Pride Roundtable’s Growth Demonstrates CRE Progress
The Real Estate Pride Roundtable, organized by the Real Estate Pride Council, has become the world’s largest gathering of LGBTQ+ professionals and allies in commercial real estate, and the 2026 event, with about 400 attendees, continued that trajectory, setting a record for attendance and expanding sponsorship.
The council, co-chaired by Sam Chandan, PhD, Founding Director of the Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance at the NYU Stern School of Business, and Founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Chandan Economics; and Jon Tilli, Chair, dbPride and Director, Commercial Real Estate Credit, Deutsche Bank, reaches more than 10,000 individuals in the U.S. and around the world, principally in institutional real estate investment, development, and capital markets.
While every room in CRE may not be as inclusive as the Pride Roundtable, Chandan said, the organization’s sustained growth is a very meaningful harbinger. To learn more about the Pride Council, visit https://www.pridecouncil.org/.
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