Asset manager Carlyle Group has restructured the top of its European buyout team, moving Michael Wand into a new role where he will help manage the region’s buyout platform.
As part of the shifts, Caryle Group confirmed to Bloomberg that the group’s co-heads Marco De Benedetti and Jonathan Zafrani will be ceding their leadership roles. It is understood that the changes have been communicated throughout the organisation and to clients within the past week.
The Bloomberg report states De Benedetti will become chair of Italy, while the Zafrani will become a senior adviser to the firm. Both have been with Carlyle Group for considerable periods—Zafrani joining the firm in 1999, with De Benedetti joining six years later in 2005.
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This shift within Carlyle’s European team comes the same week that the firm released its financial results for the second quarter of the year.
Those results indicate that the firm saw its total revenues increase more than twofold between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024, rising from $462.1m to $1,069.7m over a year. At the same time, total AUM rose 13% year-over-year. Despite this, total segment revenues fell from $977.9m to $788.9m in this time, with expenses of the same also falling from $589.1m to $445.7m.
In a note accompanying the release of the results, Harvey M. Schwartz, chief executive officer of Carlyle Group, said: “The first half of 2024 reflects strong momentum across our business, with activity accelerating with improved market sentiment. This momentum is reflected in our results, where we generated record Fee Related Earnings, record FRE margins, record assets under management, and strong fundraising for the first half of 2024.”
He added: “We have made significant progress compared to where we were just one year ago and as the environment continues to improve, Carlyle, and our stakeholders, are well positioned to benefit.”
According to Caryle’s website, Wand is currently head of Europe private equity and is based in London.
Caryle writes: “Mr. Wand has led numerous technology investments, notably P&I AG, FRS Global, UC4/Automic, Foundry, eggplant, and Dept, and advised on a dozen completed realisations. Mr. Wand is currently a member of the boards of directors of Shopware, SER Group, HSO, Dept, Jagex, Disguise, LiveU, and Incubeta.”
In addition, Carlyle said that Wand sits on Carlyle’s European Private Equity Executive Committee which was formed in 2022 to drive deeper collaboration across all the firm’s Corporate Private Equity activities in the region.
It adds: “Prior to joining Carlyle in 2001, Mr. Wand worked for approximately 10 years in investment banking, the last seven years of which were in the technology sector. As a managing director, he was responsible for the European software and Internet research team at Deutsche Bank in London. Prior to that, he worked as a European software analyst for Paribas in London and BHF-Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. During his banking career, Mr. Wand was the underwriting analyst for European technology innovators such as SAP, Autonomy, SurfControl, Utimaco, and nCipher.”
