Seeking Profitability, Compass Taps Cushman Exec Kalani Reelitz As New CFO

Real estate brokerage Compass Inc. named Kalani Reelitz, previously a Cushman & Wakefield executive, as its new chief financial officer, effective Nov. 15.

He will "focus on building sustained profitability and free cash flow generation," according to a statement by the company. 

As the new CFO, Reelitz faces not only the same economic headwinds as the rest of the real estate industry but also woes specific to Compass.

Founded in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, Compass has grown into a residential brokerage giant by deal volume but has yet to post a profit in the nine years since its founding, The Real Deal reports.

The company lost nearly $800M during the 18 months spanning 2021 and the first half of this year and will report further results in the second week of November. 

In the meantime, investors aren't too keen on its stock. Trading of Compass shares began on April 1, 2021, at a little more than $20 per share. On Friday, Compass traded for about $2.50.

This summer, SoftBank's Vision Fund said that its stake in Compass had lost about half of its value — down to $543M compared with the $1.08B it invested across three rounds of funding.

The New York-based Compass has already taken steps to stem its losses, including a layoff in June that affected about 10% of its full-time workforce and the closing of Modus, a title business that Compass bought in 2020. In September, there was another round of layoffs.

Reelitz joins Compass with nearly 20 years of experience across the real estate and retail industries, serving in several senior roles at Cushman & Wakefield Americas, including CFO and chief operating officer. Prior to Cushman, Reelitz spent 12 years at Walgreens in a variety of roles.