Carlyle CEO Kewsong Lee steps down after two years

Lee, who had been in the role for just two years, has left on mutual agreement with the board as he nears the end of a five-year employment contract that initially hired him as co-chief executive, according to a statement by the firm.

William Conway, who co-founded the firm, has stepped in as interim CEO as the sponsor launches a search for a replacement.

Under Lee, Carlyle has attempted to diversify away from its traditional buyout strategy toward other alternative assets like credit. In the year to date, the firm has raised USD 5.8bn for corporate private equity compared to USD 8.6bn for global credit.

It has been on the road for its eighth flagship buyout fund since at least early December 2020 and has not held a final close on a buyout fund since October 2019, with Carlyle Europe Partners V closing at EUR 6.4bn.

Carlyle VIII, which has a target of USD 22bn, has raised USD 13.6bn in capital commitments to date, according to financial reports. The fund’s predecessor, Carlyle Partners VII, closed in July 2018 after a year on the road at USD 18.5bn, above its hard-cap.

Lee swept aside fundraising obstacles in an interview with the Financial Times last month as “old news”, adding that demand for private credit, infrastructure and investment solutions is high.

In Europe, the firm has recently acquired Italian irrigation systems producer Ocmis at a EUR 270m valuation, as first reported by Unquote’s sister publication Mergermarket. It also sold Euro Techno Com (ETC Group), a French telecoms distribution company, to Cinven.

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