(Bloomberg)—Cadre, a real estate startup backed by investors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Andreessen Horowitz and Jared Kushner, lost a top executive in its investments team.
Tom Stults, a managing director for investments, left in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity. Stults, who is still listed on the company’s website, joined Cadre in 2015 and previously worked at the Baupost Group and Goldman. A Cadre spokesman declined to comment, while Stults didn’t respond to requests for comment.
His departure follows that of other senior staff. Connor Lewis, another managing director focused on investments, joined KKR & Co. in March, while Elizabeth Hall, a human resources executive, left to join marketing startup Splash in April. Sam Mischner, the company’s chief commercial officer who joined in January, now leads the team Stults once oversaw, and Stults will remain a consultant to the company, said one of the people.
Cadre, which provides a platform for investing in commercial property, has drawn unwanted scrutiny during the past two years because of its affiliation with the Kushner family. The company was co-founded by Jared Kushner, now a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, and Jared’s brother Josh Kushner, a venture capitalist.
Jared Kushner lists a stake in federal disclosures, Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital is listed as an investor on Cadre’s website, Cadre’s principal offices are in a Kushner-owned building, and its first completed deal cycle -- from purchase to sale -- was with the family’s real estate company.
Last year, the SoftBank Vision Fund -- which derives much of its $100 billion war chest from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- weighed investing in Cadre, but ultimately took a pass. Jared Kushner’s wide-ranging White House portfolio includes Middle East policy, and he has developed a close relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.
In a January story for the cover of Forbes Magazine, Ryan Williams, Cadre’s chief executive officer and co-founder, dismissed the involvement of the Kushner family.
“I would be lying if I said the political angle wasn’t frustrating or concerning,” Williams told the magazine. “There are people who won’t work with us, and we get that. But we have over 80 investors in the company. Jared is a passive investor who has no operational control.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at [email protected]; Caleb Melby in New York at [email protected]. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at [email protected] Michael J. Moore, Steven Crabill
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