Cambridge Founder and CEO Has Passed Away

It is with profound sadness that Cambridge Realty Capital announces the sudden passing of its Founder and CEO Jeffrey Davis on April 18, 2022.

Jeff’s passing was unexpected and came as a tremendous shock to his Cambridge family. “Everyone at Cambridge is devasted,” Cambridge President Andrew Erkes stated. “Jeff was a friend and a mentor to everyone who works at Cambridge. He was greatly respected by his co-workers, his clients, and his business associates.”

Jeff’s passion for business began early in his life, and he channeled it into his studies at the University of Illinois, where he graduated with a degree in finance. He went on to pursue a graduate degree in Real Estate Investment Analysis and Appraisal from the University of Wisconsin in 1976. Upon graduation, he joined Baird & Warner Inc., a diversified Chicago-based real estate firm, and within just a few years became the youngest Senior Vice President in Baird & Warner’s 150-year history.

In spite of his fast track to corporate success, Jeff, like many businesspeople, had a burning desire to forge his own path, and in 1983 he left Baird & Warner to launch Cambridge Realty Capital. Cambridge initially provided general commercial real estate lending and merchant banking, and the company quickly gained a reputation for financial expertise and real estate acumen. Andrew Erkes joined forces with Jeff just a few years later, and in the 90’s they made the decision to shift Cambridge’s specialty to senior housing and healthcare lending. Over the course of three decades, Jeff grew the business from a staff of one to a company with over a dozen employees and 6.5 billion dollars in closed senior housing transactions.

“Jeff was a visionary and trailblazer in the senior housing and healthcare finance sector and saw its immense potential and growth long before others deemed it as a class outside of commercial real estate,” Erkes asserted. “Cambridge mourns this tragic loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with Jeff’s wife, Karen, his daughter, Taylor, and his extended family.”

He continued, “Perhaps the greatest legacy that Jeff Davis left for Cambridge is the talent and commitment of the senior management team he assembled. We can never replace Jeff’s brilliance or leadership, and we will honor him by continuing his passion for Cambridge and the senior housing and healthcare sector he so loved.”