Local Lender Taps Veteran Finance Executive as CFO to Fuel National Push

A Pasadena private lender that has grown from a startup to a firm with more than $386 million in total loan originations in eight years has added a veteran financial executive to its leadership team.

Pasadena Private Lending, headquartered at 2 North Lake Avenue named Glenn Freed, Ph.D., CPA, its Chief Financial Officer on Tuesday. Freed will oversee financial reporting, capital planning and underwriting infrastructure as the firm scales a national lending platform, according to a company press release.

The hire comes during a period of rapid expansion for PPL, as the firm is known. The company secured a $150 million credit facility from KeyBank earlier this year, expandable to $300 million, and in March announced a national expansion strategy targeting $500 million in new loan commitments, according to company press releases.

Freed brings decades of experience across accounting and executive management to PPL, according to the press release. The California Society of CPAs, where Freed serves as a Council Representative to the board, describes him as having more than 30 years of experience in wealth management, tax and accounting research, education and tax advising. He served as Associate Dean of the Leventhal School of Accounting at USC and spent nearly a decade as a Vice President at Dimensional Fund Advisors, according to CalCPA. He also chairs CalCPA’s Personal Financial Planning committee, where he has been an active member since 2019.

His career has spanned investment management, tax advising and executive roles at several financial firms. He previously ran his own investment advisory firm, Vericimetry Advisors, which was based in Altadena.

“Glenn brings the financial acumen, strategic insight, and operational rigor necessary to help guide our next phase of growth,” Iain A. Whyte, PPL’s founder and CEO, said in the press release. “Just as importantly, he understands entrepreneurs and knows how to help businesses navigate both opportunities and challenges.”

As CFO, Freed will also bring his technical accounting knowledge to support team development and strengthen financial reporting practices among PPL’s borrowers, according to the press release.

PPL, a member of the Pasadena Private Financial Group, provides senior secured loans ranging from $2 million to $25 million to entrepreneurs nationwide, according to the company. Founded in 2018, the firm says it has grown to more than $182 million in outstanding loans, supporting over 42 active borrowers across 24 industries and more than 15 states, according to its most recent annual figures reported in February. The company says its team of former bankers delivers lending solutions to business owners across a wide range of industries.

“Pasadena Private Lending has built something unique in the market,” Freed said in the press release. “The company combines entrepreneurial thinking with disciplined underwriting and genuine long-term partnership. I’m excited to join a team that not only provides capital, but also serves as a strategic resource for borrowers and operators looking to grow their businesses and execute at a high level.”

Freed received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Florida and his PhD from USC’s Graduate School of Business. The press release states he has held teaching and leadership positions at institutions such as USC, California State University, Los Angeles and Caltech.

Additional information about Pasadena Private Lending is available at www.pasadenaprivatelending.com. Investor inquiries can be directed to hello@pasadena-private.com.

Freed will bring his accounting background to a firm that, after eight years on North Lake Avenue, is betting its next chapter will be written nationally.