The head of TPG Real Estate Finance Trust is stepping down next month.
Company CEO Greta Guggenheim, who joined the commercial mortgage REIT in 2016, will depart on March 31, Commercial Observer reported.
“I have been thinking about my retirement for some time, actually since late 2019, after having helped build the company and with the intention of leaving it well positioned for future growth,” Guggenheim said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday morning. “This was delayed a bit, but with the strength of our balance sheet restored, our strong liquidity position, and with our experienced management and origination team, I feel now is a good time to move on.”
TPG RE Finance’s president, Matthew Coleman, will take over the day-to-day responsibilities while the company looks for a new CEO.
Guggenheim, who previously co-founded Ladder Capital and served as the company’s chief investment officer, joined TPG Real Estate five years ago to build out the company’s real estate debt platform. She shepherded the REIT through a tumultuous period last year when TPG and other lenders faced significant liquidity issues at the onset of the pandemic.
Starwood Capital Group ended up providing the REIT with $325 million to recapitalize its platform in May. TPG Real Estate was forced to sell off more than $1 billion in assets to meet margin calls. The company also delayed its dividend in March amid the cash crunch.
TPG Real Estate Finance Trust reported a loss of $136.8 million for 2020 on revenue of $177 million. [CO] — Rich Bockmann