Kushner Companies named Laurent Morali as the firm’s new president Monday. Morali had previously served as head of acquisitions and capital markets.
Jared Kushner will continue to head the development company as CEO.
Morali, who joined Kushner in 2008 from Calyon Securities, is the firm’s first president in a decade. He had a key role in $3.2 billion worth of acquisitions since he joined the firm in 2008, according to Real Capital Analytics, and $14 billion in deals when including sales and financing.
Most recently, Morali headed the firm’s expansion into retail investment and lending. The Real Deal broke the news in May that Kushner Companies is a lender on JDS Developments and Chetrit Group’s supertall Brooklyn project at 9 Dekalb Avenue. Kushner bought a portion of Fortress Credit’s $115 million acquisition and pre-development loan for $57.5 million earlier this year. “We looked at the basis and pricing and thought it would be a great risk-adjusted investment,” Morali recently told TRD.
In April, Kushner Companies and RFR Realty agreed to buy two Dumbo buildings owned by Jehovah’s Witnesses for $700 million. The partners previously bought a five-building portfolio in the same neighborhood from the religious group in 2013.
The Associated Press reported earlier this month that Jared Kushner has emerged as arguably the most influential voice in his father-in-law Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.