Craig Huffman

CEO, Metro Edge Development Partners

Craig K. Huffman is a veteran of real estate private equity with nearly two decades of experience as an entrepreneur. Most recently, he served as Co-Founder and Principal of Ascendance Partners, a Chicago-based real estate private equity firm established in 2006 and focused on commercial real estate investments in metropolitan Chicago. Ascendance was an early sponsor of institutional investment funds that acquired real estate in economically underserved communities of Chicago and has sponsored real estate funds for foundations, endowments, pension funds, family offices and high net worth individuals. Notable Ascendance investors have included Bank of America, PNC Community Development Company, LLC, the Retirement Plan for Chicago Transit Authority Employees’ Trust and the University of Notre Dame. Prior to Ascendance, Huffman worked in diverse senior management roles in the sectors of entrepreneurship, education, non-profit and politics. Huffman serves on numerous philanthropic boards and is an advisor and investor for several emerging minority entrepreneurs. He holds a B.A. from Morehouse College and a master’s degree and MBA from the University of Chicago.