Industry veteran Chelby Sanders has joined Cresa, the world’s leading occupier-centric commercial real estate firm, as a managing principal, announced Sharon Morrison, managing principal, and Texas market leader. She will be based in the firm’s Dallas office.

A well-respected advisor who has negotiated some of the largest, highest-profile deals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area over the years, Sanders was most recently an executive vice president with CBRE’s transaction advisory services group. She focuses on corporate work, helping her clients navigate the complex, post-pandemic world of office occupancy. A prolific dealmaker, she and her team averaged more than 100 transactions per year for office users. During her career she has arranged more than 40 million square feet of transactions valued at $4.0 billion plus. Notable transactions Sanders has secured are: American Airlines’ 1.5 million-square-foot headquarters campus lease in Fort Worth; JC Penny’s 1.2 million-square-foot sale-leaseback in Plano; Charles Schwab’s 500,000-square-foot lease in Westlake; and Hilton Worldwide’s headquarters relocation from Los Angeles to Tysons Corner, VA. Her diverse client list also includes: Gainsco, Enovis, Riveron, KnollMiller, Goosehead Insurance and Brunswick.  

While at CBRE, Sanders was awarded the Gary J. Beban Teamwork Award, which recognizes an individual’s multi-disciplinary approach to client service (2017). She was also an annual Americas and Dallas Top Producer.

Prior to CBRE, Sanders served as a vice president at JLL and a vice president at The Staubach Company. 

Sanders is committed to philanthropic endeavors, and currently serves on the board of directors at Fair Park First, working to preserve and enhance Dallas’ cultural and civic landmark which serves as the permanent home of the State Fair of Texas. She also served as the chair for the annual Go Red for Women lunch, the American Heart Association’s signature women’s initiative, in 2015-16 and chair emeritus in 2016-17. In addition, she has devoted time to the YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas serving on its board of directors from 2006-2012. 

Sanders earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Texas at Tyler. A native Texan, Sanders and her husband own QB 6666’s Ranch in West Texas and are active cattle ranchers. 

Cresa continues to grow its Texas operations and Sanders’ addition to the team is just the latest in a series of moves the firm has made to bolster its services in the state in the last 18 months.  In 2022 Cresa expanded its Dallas footprint with the acquisition of esrp and in Austin with the acquisition of Elevate Growth Partners.