New Hire Helps Sabal Evolve Tech Platform

NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Sabal Financial Group LP has hired Matthew Stoehr as chief information officer, based in the firm's local office. Stoehr, who brings 20 years of experience in technology and real estate to the firm's IT division, previously served in high-level technology positions at Compellon Inc. and Caruso Affiliated; he will oversee Sabal's technology planning, network infrastructure and communications network.

The hire comes at a time of increased technology innovation in Sabal's lending business, having recently announced its commercial real estate term lending division, which employs a proprietary technology platform called SNAP (Secure Next-Gen Application Process) to generate live quotes on loans of $1 million to $10 million for stabilized properties nationwide.

GlobeSt.com caught up with Pat Jackson, founder and CEO of Sabal, to discuss what Stoehr's areas of focus mean to the firm, why now was the right time for this hire and the company's plans for future growth.

GlobeSt.com: What do technology planning, network infrastructure and your communications network mean to Sabal?

Jackson: When we started the company, we said it's great to have real estate expertise, but we have to do it to scale. Technology is a huge part of our success to date, and our team continues to build. Matt thinks strategically, and he will help evolve our technology platform to keep up in the marketplace and where we're going. It's all interrelated around the parts of our business.

GlobeSt.com: Why was now the time to make this hire?

Jackson: We continue to add staff in the technology area. The company is in its sixth year, coming up on our seventh, and much of our business initially was on distressed debt and advisory services—and we've done a good job there. But now we have three lending companies expanding that area of the business. We're doing a lot more work for banks, and we continue to be ahead of the curve as far as technology. This is an appropriate time to add this role, to really act strategically rather than tactically.

We have to keep the lights running and continue to stay current in what we're doing, but we want to take a much bigger leap forward as the market evolves. Simply coming out with a lending platform the same way it's been done for the last two decades is not something we wanted to do. The SNAP system is a fully integrated technology of front-end internal systems running together in a seamless way. It's a way to differentiate ourselves in the market going forward. By working with the banks, we see this as the wave of the future. Many of them feel it's better to outsource than not, so why not go with the very best in class while still being able to operate in a regulatory environment?

GlobeSt.com: What are your plans for future growth?

Jackson: We've been continuing to grow in the principal-investment space, and there's still a lot of opportunity there. We're spending dollars on our new businesses, taking a more normalized view in the market. There's still a lot invested in real estate—that's not being deemphasized—and we can lever that to build out our new businesses. We launched our term lending program mid-year, and our latest business has taken off in more than a satisfactory way. The technology demonstrates that we're different.

We'll be coming out with other lending programs later, but we're very cautious about coming out with too many different things at once. We want to do it really well, not in a diluted way. Because of our platform, it gives us the opportunity to add additional products, and we will be making an announcement soon about product we will be rolling out through SNAP. We're very excited about that. It's the natural evolution of where we're going in the term-lending space. We need to be perceived as market leaders in the $1-million to $10-million space—that's important to us.