Kristen Ankerbrandt, formerly a principal at The Carlyle Group, has been named chief financial officer at Compass, ending an eight-month search that began shortly after a massive funding round in March greatly expanded the company’s scale.
In the new role, Ankerbrandt will oversee all financials, including acquisition strategy, new growth and investor relations while reporting directly to Compass co-founder and CEO Robert Reffkin, Compass announced Monday.
Kristen Ankerbrandt. (Credit: Compass)
“[Ankerbrandt] is an inspirational leader with deep expertise in the technology sector,” Reffkin said in a statement. “Her experience growing investments in fast-growing technology companies will power Compass’ next stage of hypergrowth as we capitalize on our Series F funding and expand internationally.”
Prior to joining Compass, Ankerbrandt was a principal at The Carlyle Group, a global asset management firm, where she focused on technology, media and telecommunications. She led technology investments for the company’s $18.5 billion fund and oversaw multi-billion investments in tech companies around the world.
The Carlyle Group’s only current real estate investment is VBHC Value Homes, a low-cost pre-fab home building startup based in India, according to the company’s website.
Previously, she worked at Goldman Sachs in the investment banking division, where she also focused on technology. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Columbia University and a master of business administration from Harvard Business School.
“Compass was founded on a commitment to revolutionize the real estate industry by empowering agents through technology,” Ankerbrandt said. “I’m thrilled to join Compass, one of the few companies in the world that has been able to achieve triple-digit growth on top of nine-figure revenue, to drive continued growth through innovation for agents and their clients.”
Compass parted ways with its previous CFO David Snider, back in March, after just six months on the job. A source at the time told Inman, it was in part as a result of a $550 million Series E funding round late last year that greatly magnified the company’s scale. Compass secured an additional $400 million in late September of this year.
When Compass began the search for a new CFO in March, it was valued around $2.2 billion. The privately held company now says it’s valued around $4.4 billion.
A spokesperson for Compass declined to comment on whether the new hire means the company is any closer to an initial public offering.
