North Bridge, a leading provider of real estate credit solutions, today announced the appointment of Kelly Souza as Managing Director, Strategy & Growth. In this role, Souza will lead West Coast originations, manage lender partnerships, and help drive the firm’s strategic growth initiatives. She is a veteran commercial real estate finance executive with more than 20 years of institutional experience in lending, capital markets, advisory and sustainable finance.
“Kelly brings a rare combination of strategic insight, industry-wide relationships, and hands-on capital markets experience that will meaningfully accelerate our growth,” said Laura Rapaport, founder and CEO. “Her leadership will help us expand our presence on the West Coast, strengthen our partnerships and continue to build a private credit platform that meets the needs of institutional borrowers and senior lenders alike. We are thrilled to welcome her to North Bridge as we scale our impact across the industry.”
Souza joins North Bridge from Wells Fargo, where she most recently served as managing director, leading sustainable finance for the CRE business. During her tenure, Souza championed the integration of C-PACE into the bank’s credit platform, helping expand lender acceptance and demonstrating its effectiveness as a complementary capital solution. Her prior roles at Wells Fargo include leadership positions in real estate banking, real estate managed assets and Multifamily Capital. She has been recognized with multiple industry honors, including the San Diego Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” award.
Souza holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of San Diego. She is based in Seattle.
