Third time’s a charm? Compass hires Carlyle exec as new CFO

Kristen Ankerbrandt replaces Craig Anderson, who left in March

Kristen Ankerbrandt
Kristen Ankerbrandt

Eight months after a C-suite shakeup and split with its CFO, Compass has tapped a Carlyle Group executive to help oversee the firm’s “hypergrowth.”

The SoftBank-backed firm said Monday it hired Kristen Ankerbrandt as chief financial officer, overseeing its financial operations, acquisitions and investor relations effective Nov. 26.

Ankerbandt replaces Craig Anderson, a former COO and CFO of cycling chain Flywheel, who lasted seven months before being pushed out in March. Anderson was hired to replace David Snider, one of the startup’s earliest hires.

Ankerbandt comes from the Carlyle Group, where she led tech investments for the private equity firm’s $18.5 billion fund. A Harvard MBA graduate, she previously worked at Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division, where her work focused on tech and media deals.

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Robert Reffkin and Maelle Gavet

In a statement, CEO Robert Reffkin said Ankerbandt will help to oversee Compass’ “next stage of hypergrowth,” which includes an international expansion.

The New York-based firm, which launched in 2012, has nearly 200 offices across 80 cities. Since landing a $450 million investment by SoftBank last December, Compass has added 5,500 agents for a total of more than 7,000. It’s also opened 100 new offices in 80 cities, in part by acquiring San Francisco-based Pacific Union and Paragon Real Estate Group. Compass is targeting revenue of $1 billion this year.

In addition to Ankerbrandt, recent C-level hires include chief marketing officer Khurrum Malik from Spotify, chief revenue officer Matt Rosenberg from Eventbrite and chief sales strategy officer Michael Coscetta from Square.