October 5, 2026 — The Port of Oakland announced the appointment of Carl Cade as its new Chief Real Estate Officer effective Sept.14, 2026. Cade will lead the agency’s effort to develop and revitalize various real estate assets within its jurisdiction, including Jack London Square, Oakland Estuary, and Oakland Airport Business Park.
“Carl’s expertise and vast experience from leading high-profile developments will help the Port elevate its greatest public asset for its highest purpose – a waterfront that serves everyone,” said Kristi McKenney, the Port of Oakland’s Executive Director. “Under Carl’s guidance, we look forward to creating both new economic opportunities and new experiences that will benefit Oakland’s residents and the entire region.”
An Oakland native, Cade will oversee the development, leasing, use and maintenance of the Port’s real estate assets. He brings over 25 years of experience leading real estate development, asset management, finance and strategy, and construction teams across retail, office, industrial, residential, and infrastructure portfolios.
Career highlights include helping to create and lead a $15 billion school construction program that produced 150 new schools for the Los Angeles Unified School District, redeveloping major shopping malls at Westfield, redeveloping the LA Times real estate portfolio at Tribune Real Estate Holdings and revitalizing San Francisco’s Ferry Building with Hudson Pacific’s Northern California repositioning and construction teams.
He serves as Vice Chair of Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco and Vice Moderator of the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco. He previously served as Commissioner of LA Fire & Police Pensions and Chair of the LA Neighborhood Land Trust. He is a proud graduate of Oakland’s Laurel and Hawthorne Elementary Schools and Calvin Simmons Jr. High, and earned a BA in Political Science and Urban Studies from Vassar College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
