For the leadership of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, it seemed like an abrupt way to begin a new year.
Jim Woolery, who had joined the firm in 2013 and was expected to become chairman in 2015, told his partners earlier this month that he was leaving to start an asset management firm with Douglas Braunstein, the former chief financial officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
In an interview, Pat Quinn, the firm’s managing partner said, “We weren’t expecting it at this time, but once we understood what he was doing and what the opportunity was, we acclimated to the idea pretty quickly.”
That “idea” is a firm -- Hudson Executive Capital LP -- that will combine investing with “constructive engagement with managements, boards and shareholders,” according to a Jan. 20 statement. The company has an initial $250 million investment from the two founders and 14 current and former chief executive officers.
Woolery, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, said their goal “is not just to invest in companies.” Instead, “we’ll have an idea about a company and we’ll go forward and sell that idea and convince folks it’s the right thing to do to create value,” said Woolery, who before joining Cadwalader was co-head of JPMorgan’s North American mergers business.
Cadwalader began advising Braunstein on Hudson Executive last summer, Woolery said. His decision to join Hudson was recent. “It all came together when the group of CEOs endorsed the idea and put their money in,” he said.
For Quinn, Woolery’s departure won’t have much impact. He’s been managing partner-elect since the beginning of 2014 and will now run the firm as a single executive, in keeping with Cadwalader’s longstanding practice of having one partner at the helm.
Woolery “was more outward facing in terms of clients and the media,” Quinn said. “My job is to run the operations of the firm, so in terms of how the firm operates it’s business as usual.”
Additionally, Chris Cox, who had been co-chair of the corporate department with Woolery, will now head that group.
Woolery will remain at Cadwalader for an indefinite time helping to transition his clients, he said.