Steven Carter HIG Cronus

In 2005, New York financial services executive Steven Carter co-founded H.I.G. Cronus Capital, LLC, the real estate arm of H.I.G. Capital, a $9 billion private equity firm. Focusing on turnaround opportunities across the United States requiring between $5 million and $15 million in equity capital, H.I.G. Cronus acquired $400 million in real estate in its first four years. As an Executive Managing Director and co-head of the group, Steven Carter hired and managed a staff of more than 85 and oversaw the firm's investments in real estate, nonperforming notes, leveraged buyouts, and start-up ventures.

Steven Carter brought to H.I.G. Cronus Capital considerable experience in real estate acquisition and investment. He began his career as an Associate in Acquisitions and Finance at BlackRock, Inc., where he structured potential real estate investments, analyzed alternative ways to finance transactions, and created a proprietary system with integrated tax, accounting, and compliance functions. In his next position, as an Associate in Real Estate Investment Banking at Lazard Frères & Co., LLC, he advised financial institutions, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and real estate operating firms on strategic alternatives, such as mergers and acquisitions, and provided assistance in negotiating transactions. In this regard, Mr. Carter aided Cornerstone Properties in its $4.7 billion merger with Equity Office Management, LLC, and represented Rodamco Europe in the planned sale of 745 Park Avenue.

For five years before he helped start HIG Cronus Capital, Mr. Carter was a Principal of the Real Estate Merchant Banking Group at investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston/Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. As such, he structured and oversaw investments in real estate and companies involved in real estate, drawing on a $1.25 billion private equity fund. In one transaction that involved the acquisition and aggressive oversight of a warehousing logistics operation, Steven Carter managed to grow the company, chiefly through corporate acquisitions, from $25 million to $500 million in annual revenue. Today, in addition to feeding his entrepreneurial spirit through start-ups such as HIG Cronus Capital, he supports community efforts in education, safe and affordable housing, and positive government change.