Ardian recruits Gailly as senior adviser

José Rojo
15 February 2016

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Pan-European GP Ardian has appointed former Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry chair Pierre-Antoine Gailly as senior adviser within its direct funds team.

Gailly's appointment marks his move to the private equity industry after decades as an executive in the corporate space. He was first distribution director at French games designer Miro, which he left in 1983 to become deputy managing director at games publisher Jeux Nathan.

He moved into the fashion retail segment in the 1990s, after being appointed as financial director at Groupe Zannier and CEO at Bon Marché, a department store owned by luxury group LVMH. In 1995, he went on to become CEO of publishing house Desfossés International, another LVMH business.

Having chaired the executive board of the Moulin Rouge cabaret between 1998-2005, Gailly was appointed as chair of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2011. In addition, he most recently founded consultancy firm Eolienne and is currently part of Caisse des Dépôts' supervisory committee.

As part of his new role, Gailly will advise Ardian on its direct funds operations, which represented $9bn under management as of mid-February 2016.

The business currently features four different investment arms: a mid-cap buyout team, which seeks companies within the €150m-1.5bn space after closing its €2.8bn latest dedicated fund in October 2013; the expansion arm, which deploys €15-50m tickets via a 2013-vintage €500m third fund; the growth unit, headed by Laurent Foata and targeting €10m investments in European SMEs through a €70m dedicated vehicle; and a co-investment arm, which has injected a total of €1.7bn into 34 portfolio companies and currently draws equity from a €1.1bn fourth fund.