# Christopher Abate

> Christopher J. Abate is CEO and a director of Redwood Trust, a California-based housing finance company. He joined in 2006, served as controller, CFO and president, and became CEO in May 2018. His leadership has included expansion through CoreVest, institutional capital partnerships and growth in mortgage banking platforms. His public writing connects those activities to his experience growing up in suburban Michigan, where he expected homeownership to be a normal part of adulthood.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Redwood Trust, Inc.
- **Organizations:** Redwood Trust, Inc., PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (former employer), Structured Finance Association (former board chair), Heritage Commerce Corp (appointed director in August 2025)
- **Education:** B.A. in accounting and finance, Western Michigan University, M.B.A., University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University
- **Known for:** Advanced from controller and CFO to CEO during a career at Redwood beginning in 2006., Led Redwood when it agreed to acquire CoreVest in 2019., Served as Structured Finance Association board chair from October 2019 through December 2021.

## Career timeline

- **—** — Worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as an auditor and consultant before joining Redwood.
- **2006-04** — Joined Redwood Trust.
- **2009-01 to 2013-03** — Served as controller.
- **2012-03 to 2017-08** — Served as chief financial officer.
- **2016-07 to 2018-05** — Served as president.
- **2017-12** — Joined Redwood’s board of directors.
- **2018-05** — Became CEO, succeeding Marty Hughes.
- **2019-10** — Redwood announced its approximately $490 million acquisition of CoreVest, net of in-place financing.
- **2019-10 to 2021-12** — Chaired the Structured Finance Association board.
- **2024-03** — Presented at Redwood Investor Day and rang the NYSE opening bell for the company’s 30th anniversary.
- **2024-10** — Met Federal Reserve staff with Armando Falcon to discuss proposed credit risk capital requirements.
- **2025-08** — Appointed to the boards of Heritage Commerce Corp and Heritage Bank of Commerce.

## Achievements

- Advanced from controller and CFO to CEO during a career at Redwood beginning in 2006.
- Led Redwood when it agreed to acquire CoreVest in 2019.
- Served as Structured Finance Association board chair from October 2019 through December 2021.
- Led Redwood during its 2024 CPP Investments partnership and 2026 Castlelake joint venture announcement.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — On October 13, Abate said Redwood distributed more than $8 billion of mortgage loans in Q3 and ended September with approximately $190 million of cash and cash equivalents. Full Q3 results were scheduled for November 3, 2026.
- **2026-07** — Q2 results showed more than $8 billion of mortgage banking production, $40.1 million of mortgage banking platforms’ GAAP net income and a consolidated GAAP loss of $0.03 per common share.
- **2026-04** — Redwood and Castlelake announced a joint venture contemplating purchases of up to $8 billion of Sequoia-sourced prime jumbo loans.

## Links

- Website: https://www.redwoodtrust.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-abate-a984a716a

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/christopher-abate
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23