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People

Howard Lutnick

Howard W. Lutnick is a financier and former commercial real estate services executive who served as chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Partners before becoming U.S. Secretary of Commerce in 2025. His CRE connection ran through BGC’s ownership of Newmark and Cantor Commercial Real Estate, rather than through a property-operator career.

Updated

Known For

  • Leading Cantor Fitzgerald from 1991 and overseeing its response after the September 11, 2001 attacks killed 658 Cantor employees, including his brother.
  • Building BGC Partners as a brokerage and financial technology business that expanded into commercial real estate services through Newmark.
  • Stepping down from Cantor and related company leadership after his 2025 confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Career and Focus

Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 after graduating from Haverford College. He rose through the financial-services firm and became its president and CEO in 1991. Following the September 11 attacks, which killed 658 Cantor employees, Lutnick led the effort to rebuild the business and support affected employees’ families. His leadership and Cantor’s institutional brokerage business form the core of his career; he was not principally a real estate developer or property investor.

The commercial property connection came through Cantor’s affiliates. BGC Partners, which Lutnick chaired and led, acquired Newmark and expanded commercial real estate brokerage, leasing and property management services. Cantor also developed Cantor Commercial Real Estate (CCRE), a commercial mortgage finance business. These links make him relevant to the CRE services and lending ecosystem, though not as a direct operator. Cantor announced that Lutnick stepped down from his positions after his confirmation as Commerce Secretary in February 2025 and that he would divest his business interests under government ethics rules. His public role has therefore changed materially: his biography should distinguish his former private-sector leadership from his current government service.

Related Pages

  • Investor People Hub
  • National Investor Benchmarks Hub
  • Newmark
  • Barry Gosin
  • Kevin Shannon
  • Source: Top 200 Global CRE People and Families

Sources