By Pritam Biswas
(Reuters) -Warburg Pincus said on Wednesday it has named veteran insider Jeffrey Perlman as its chief executive officer, in only the third generation of leadership for the private equity firm in its nearly 60-year history.
Succeeding longstanding CEO Chip Kaye, Perlman would begin in his new role on Sept. 2.
Perlman was named president at Warburg Pincus in 2023 and had helped the company expand its business into Asia Pacific. He oversaw the firm's private equity investing in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific real estate.
Private equity firms in Asia have been reshaping investment strategies and country allocations amid geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic headwinds.
Perlman's background at the firm "means that he has strong international ties and may hint at the importance of emphasizing Asia as a continued growth area for Warburg over the next decade or two", said Michael Ashley Schulman, a partner at Running Point Capital Advisors.
The appointment also comes at a time when global mergers and acquisitions grew at a slower pace in the second quarter of 2024, hurt by high interest rates, a hostile regulatory environment and frothy stock market that made valuations pricey.
But the pace of buyout activity led by private equity firms surged 41% to $286 billion during the first half of the year.
"I believe what most people will watch for is if he leads the company toward going public like KKR, Ares, Apollo and Carlyle," Schulman said.
Before joining Warburg Pincus in 2006, Perlman had worked in the real estate investment group at Credit Suisse.
"With Jeff's deep commitment to our firm's values, culture, and history ... the firm is well positioned to continue to deliver for our investors against a more complicated geopolitical backdrop," Kaye said in a statement.
Kaye had joined Warburg Pincus in 1986 and was its CEO for more than two decades. He led the company's foray into Asia in 1994, making it one of the first private equity firms to enter the region.
During Kaye's tenure, Warburg Pincus private equity funds had generated more than $100 billion in fund profits. He would now become the chairman, alongside Timothy Geithner — who was the company's president before Perlman.
Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has more than $83 billion in assets under management and its active portfolio spans over 225 companies.
Bloomberg News first reported about Perlman's appointment as CEO earlier on Wednesday.