Who we are

Tim Carden

A founding partner of The Public Private Strategy Group, Mr. Carden has compiled a diverse record of accomplishment in financial services and change management in the public sector. He began his career in senior management positions in state government, followed by ten years as an investment banker at Kidder, Peabody and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Among the projects he has spearheaded at PPSG are:

A comprehensive property inventory and disposition program for state government that will generate over $200 million in financial benefits through sale, lease and redeployment of public property;
Generating over $300 million of revenue for passenger rail corporation through the sale and leaseback of property, securing the participation of a foreign money center bank to underwrite the transaction;
Coordination and expediting of state highway reconstruction and access permitting on behalf of a major national developer; and
Adviser on the execution of tax advantaged leases of capital equipment and real property to generate millions of dollars in funds for public enterprises through the sale of depreciation rights.

As a partner at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, Mr. Carden specialized in financings that capitalized and transformed government agencies and non-profit corporations, including:

A landmark $380 million affordable housing bond issue which supported development projects throughout the State of New Jersey;
Design and financing of an environmental trust fund for the State of Delaware to fund open space acquisition with mortgage recording tax receipts;
Financial restructuring of over $2.5 billion of New Jersey Turnpike Authority debt, accompanying a revision of its spending authority and mission;
Advising the Texas Land Commissioner on the expansion of a multi-billion dollar loan program to support Texas veterans' ability to acquire ranch land and homestead properties; and
Securing investment grade financing for an urban hospital and subsequently advising on its sale to a suburban competitor, creating a $150 million health care foundation with the proceeds of the sale.

Appointed Commissioner of Human Services, the state's largest agency, in 1981, Mr. Carden was the youngest Cabinet Officer in the State's history. He launched an audit of all administrative and support personnel to rationalize and streamline Department staffing, and managed the agency's over $2 billion budget during the first round of federal budget reductions under President Reagan. As Cabinet Secretary to New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne in the late 1970's, Mr. Carden was responsible for overseeing all administrative initiatives of the Governor, including the investigation of a series of unexplained deaths at a state institution, state government's first information technology needs assessment in 1979 and a targeted effort to reduce unemployment in Atlantic City which remained persistently high despite the advent of numerous casino projects.

Currently, Mr. Carden is a member of the board of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and chairs the Authority's Audit and Finance Committee. He also chairs a Newark based non-profit for at risk youth and serves on the board of two non-profits that provide housing and support services for developmentally challenged individuals. A resident of Montclair , Mr. Carden is a 1971 graduate, cum laude, of Harvard University.