New Blackstone CFO on shortlist to succeed Schwarzman

 Michael Chae, the new global chief financial officer (CFO) at The Blackstone Group, is one of a handful of executives at the asset management firm most likely to succeed current chairman and chief executive Stephen Schwarzman, a source close to the firm told pfm. However, the source added that the firm would not “count on [Schwarzman] going anywhere for quite some time.”

Blackstone announced in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing last week that Chae would be replacing longtime CFO  Laurence Tosi, who will leave the firm August 7 to become global finance chief at home rental service Airbnb.

Leaders at Blackstone decided the firm’s new CFO should be “someone who could potentially run the firm, and that anyone in that position must have an investing background,” according to a Wall Street Journal article that cited anonymous sources familiar with the hire.

According to Reuters, other possible successors for Schwarzman are Jonathan Gray, global head of real estate; Joe Baratta, global head of private equity; Bennett Goodman, co-founder of the credit business; Tom Hill, who runs the hedge funds group; and Joan Solotar, recently-promoted head of multi-asset investing and external relations.

Blackstone declined to comment, but a source familiar with the matter noted that Tony James, Blackstone’s president and chief operating officer, is currently poised to succeed Schwarzman. The source said it was possible one of the six candidates would take the helm should Schwarzman and James both step down.

Chae, an 18-year Blackstone veteran, currently serves as senior managing director and head of international private equity and has been the head of private equity for the Asia/Pacific region since December 2010. Chae also oversees private equity investments in the media and telecom sectors, and helps oversee the investment process for Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities fund, according to the SEC filing.

An employee letter from Schwarzman and James announcing the appointment described Chae as “a tremendous talent who has repeatedly demonstrated his leadership skills, superb judgment and financial acumen” and noted that, with Chae in his new role, “we will have the strongest and deepest management team we have ever had.”