june 2007 private equity international page 1 global movers Global movers Our selection of the most influential people operating in private equity today brings together diverse strategies, geographies and personalities. The common denominator is their ability to shape events around them, adding their own sizeable footprints to the forward march of the asset class. Turn to the following pages and “Those included are the additions and subtractions you will uncover the identities of before we finally arrived at a list those private equity professionals helping to shape the that we felt best reflected what we who we have defined collectively evolution of the asset class were attempting to achieve. as “global movers”. This marks It could be argued, quite reason- the first occasion in which the at an absolutely crucial ably, that practitioners operating editorial team at PEI, following time in its history – when in North America and Western many discussions with those of Europe are over-represented in the you on the frontline, has drawn public scrutiny has never pages that follow. Certainly, it is up a global list of this nature. been higher and, too easy to assume that the world Which brings us immediately revolves around the more mature to a point of clarification: what consequently, so much markets when the reality is that follows is an alphabetical list, is at stake.” the profile (and, dare we say it, not a ranking. We have quite influence) of private equity’s deliberately assembled an eclectic emerging markets is increasing all mix, sprinkled with representatives from all corners of the time. Our list does capture some flavour of this, but the market: GPs, LPs, mega-deal merchants, mid-market we nonetheless anticipate an increase in representatives sponsors, venture investors, advisers and debt providers from Asia and the world’s other fast-growth regions in among them. To attempt to have positioned one over years to come. another would surely have been an exercise in futility. Others might feel that we have ignored too many of What is more, success is not part of our definition: the leading lights from the world’s largest buyout whether relative or absolute. As it happens, our list is houses. We can only plea in mitigation that we sought full to bursting with successful professionals. But that’s to select only the undisputed leaders in this segment so not the point. Or at least, not the whole point. Our that we could provide fair representation of everyone purpose here is to draw attention not to success per se, else. It’s probably fair to say that we could have drawn but to influence. We believe that those included are up a list such as this based on LBO professionals alone – helping to shape the evolution of the asset class at an and that therefore they had an extra mile to travel in absolutely crucial time in its history – when public order to make the cut. scrutiny has never been higher and, consequently, so Above all perhaps, we should stress that seeking to much is at stake. identify private equity’s most influential people is far Of course, we would not expect universal agreement more an art than a science. The fun is in the debating – with our choices. Indeed, this would be surprising given and we trust that you will join this debate by sharing the vast pool of candidates that warranted considera- your thoughts with us in due course. In the meantime, tion. Arriving at decisions within our team was, after enjoy finding out who, in our estimation, have the all, a far from straightforward undertaking. Many were power to make the earth move. I page 2 private equity international june 2007 Fifty finest Private Equity International is proud to present its selection of market- transforming individuals who give shape and character to private equity today. The list, which is not a ranking, is ordered alphabetically. For international private equity firms management as for its $2 billion price seeking to flourish in markets suspicious tag. In a country in which private equity of their motives, the approach of Carlyle was until then synonymous with vulture Group’s buyout team in Japan should investing, this was no mean feat. Carlyle perhaps be used as a template. The firm Japan managing director and orchestra- arguably made its breakthrough in the tor-in-chief Tamotsu Adachi has perhaps country in June 2004 with the acquisi- done as much as anyone to transform the tion of wireless data provider DDI perception of private equity in this slum- Pocket. According to many observers, bering giant of a market. tamotsu adachi, the deal was notable as much for the carlyle group Carlyle’s team’s ability to win the trust of Carlyle’s man in Tokyo sameer al ansari, dubai Two years ago, few industry professionals international capital would have heard of Sameer Al Ansari. Mid-East rising star Today, he is on his way to becoming a household name. Under his leadership, Dubai International Capital has become a prominent player in big-ticket private equity. A number of bold bets on prominent pub- lic and private companies in Europe propelled DIC onto the private equity firmament; ever since the recent sale of Madame Tussauds to Blackstone, its star has risen further. DIC’s pursuit of Liverpool Football Club also boosted its reputation as a serious acquir- er, even though the effort ended in disappointment earlier this year. As a well funded investment vehicle acting on behalf of the seriously ambitious Dubai government, DIC is one of the drivers behind the ongoing evolution of private equity in the Middle East and North Africa. Established in October 2004, the group currently looks after $6 bil- lion of invested and committed capital. Regional and international markets are part of the mandate, direct and indirect investment expertise make up the skill set. So rapid has been DIC’s advance that some observers have questioned the project’s sustainability. But Al Ansari is unfazed: his is a firm commitment to making sure that people equate the group’s name with “smart money from the Middle East”. hareb al darmaki, “ADIA is by far the most powerful LP in abu dhabi investment authority the Middle East – nobody really knows Secretive but substantial how powerful because it is such a secre- With executive director Al Darmaki in the somewhere between $300 and $500 bil- tive organisation, but it invests huge driving seat, the Abu Dhabi Investment lion. Private equity is an important com- amounts of capital in private equity glob- Authority (ADIA) has become one of pri- ponent in ADIA’s allocation strategy. It ally.” Other powerful LP groups based in vate equity’s biggest institutional LPs. invested $600 million in the flotation of the region include the Kuwait Investment Founded in 1976, ADIA is also one of the AP Alternative Assets, the Apollo Authority (KIA), which manages Kuwait’s most secretive investors in the asset class. Management vehicle listed on financial reserves, the Qatar Investment Its funds under management have not Amsterdam’s Euronext exchange, in Authority and the Kuwait Fund for Arab been made official but are believed to be August 2006. Says one Paris-based GP: Economic Development. june 2007 private equity international page 3 milton berlinski, Whenever a huge buyout is announced – think TXU - chances are high that goldman sachs Goldman Sachs is the lead banker. And in these cases, chances are even higher that The big deal dealer the deal began with Milton Berlinski walking into the meeting room. The highly respected co-head of the financial sponsors group (Alison Mass is the other co- head) took the helm after serving as vice chairman of Goldman’s financial institutions group. Berlinski’s high profile has helped his firm exponentially grow its business with large buyout firms, aided of course by the fact that its largest clients have ballooned in recent years (in part to keep pace with Goldman’s dominant merchant banking arm). leon black, apollo management Capital markets maestro During a recent discussion on private equity at a Milken Institute conference, fel- low panelists David Rubenstein, David Bonderman and Thomas Lee on more than one occasion deflected tough questions by saying, “Ask Leon.” Indeed, Black’s Apollo Management isn’t the biggest private equity firm, but it may have the greatest appetite for complexity - not surprising given Black’s scarily virtuosic abil- ities in the capital markets. When not executing “hairy” deals, Black is expanding his firm’s horizons through intricate public listings on Euronext, Nasdaq and a new private exchange being launched by Goldman Sachs. Go ahead and ask Leon what he’s doing next, but the former Drexel pro won’t tell. antonio bonchristiano, Bonchristiano, the co-head of Brazil’s GP gp investimentos Investimentos, pursues an aggressive and Sao Paulo player globally minded form of investment in South America’s largest private equity market. After obtaining a degree in politics, philosophy and economics from the University of Oxford, Bonchristiano worked at Salomon Brothers in London and New York before joining GP Investimentos in 1995. His firm profited though innovative deals with Chicago’s Sam Zell as well as taking an affiliated entity public on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. As LPs show more demand for the B in BRIC, Bonchristiano is among the most sought after private equity investors. The pool of teachers at Tulane david bonderman, University’s school of law is not the most TPG well known breeding ground for great The gutsy professor investors, but David Bonderman is exceptional in this and many other respects.