Kushner Goes Outside The Family, Names Morali CEO
Kushner Cos. has named its new top executive, electing to move its president into the CEO role rather than a member of the family.
Laurent Morali will now take the reins as the CEO of the New York-based firm, multiple outlets reported Tuesday, as former CEO Jared Kushner builds his own firm in Florida.
Nicole Kushner Meyer, Jared Kushner's sister, is now the president, while their father, Charles Kushner, plans to maintain a senior role at the firm. The elder Kushner, who founded the firm but spent two years in prison after pleading guilty to 18 counts of violating election, tax and witness tampering laws, was given a pardon in the final days of Trump’s presidency.
Jared Kushner took on the CEO role in his father’s place before his 30th birthday, but left to run his father-in-law’s election campaign and then went on to a senior adviser role at the White House. With Jared at the helm, Kushner Cos. had paid $1.8B for 666 Fifth Ave., leveraged with a $1.2B debt bill that hung like a cloud over the property for years. Brookfield Asset Management paid $1.3B for a 99-year ground lease for the building in 2018, a deal that attracted congressional scrutiny.
Charles Kushner had been running the firm while his eldest son was in Washington D.C., though the CEO position has remained effectively open since he left. Kushner Cos. didn't respond to a request for comment.
The appointment of Morali marks the first time a non-Kushner has led the firm, The Wall Street Journal reports, as Jared Kushner is pursuing his own interests in Florida. He plans to launch a money management firm called Affinity Partners this fall, according to the publication, with a possible office in Israel.
After losing the 2020 presidential election, many speculated the Trumps and Kushners wouldn't return to heavily progressive New York City and would look to expand their reach elsewhere.
