Jeffrey Perlman is set to become president of Warburg Pincus
A US private equity giant is turning to Asia as it upgrades its management team, with Warburg Pincus today announcing that it will promote Jeffrey Perlman to president.
“Jeff is at the core of a very talented next generation of leaders at the firm,” said current Warburg Pincus president and former US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. “His proven track record and deep experience, working with entrepreneurs and investors across many geographies in Asia and across both private equity and real estate, make him well-suited to help the firm navigate this more complicated investment landscape.”
Perlman, who has been serving as head of Southeast Asia and of Asia Pacific real estate for the firm, is taking on what is considered the second-ranking executive role with Warburg Pincus while Geithner ascends to chairman and Chip Kaye continues as CEO.
The move comes fifteen years after Perlman, now 40, began leading Warburg Pincus’ real estate business in Asia, with the executive expected to maintain a leading role in the firm’s property strategies while continuing to spend meaningful time in Asia.
Team in Place
“I am humbled and excited to help chart the future of Warburg Pincus,” Perlman said. “The firm’s biggest asset is its people, and Chip has built a talented, deep, global team that is highly experienced across our key sectors and geographies.”
Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will become chairman of Warburg Pincus
During the development of Warburg Pincus’ real estate strategies in the region, the firm has built a team which will now be led on the ground by partners Ellen Ng in Hong Kong and Fan Li in Singapore as well as Qiqi and Chloe Zhang (no relation) in Shanghai, Mingtiandi understands.
Perlman will continue to serve as chairman and non-executive director of ESR as Stuart Gibson and Jeffrey Shen, both co-founders and co-CEOs provide day-to-day leadership for the Hong Kong-listed developer and fund manager.
“As we continue to expand the firm and its offerings, preserving a culture where performance and collaboration go hand in hand will remain a top priority,” Perlman said. “I’m thrilled to be taking on this new challenge at a time when we are exceptionally well-positioned to do what we do best; build great companies and find new ways to deliver long-term value for our investors.”
In addition to its real estate strategy, Warburg Pincus, which has more than $83 billion in assets under management worldwide, has been an active investor in private equity in Asia having put in place an India team led by Vishal Mahadevia, a China division headed by Frank Wei and Saurabh Agarwal as a partner in the Southeast Asia business.
Capital to Deploy
Pointing to the company’s track record of identifying new investment opportunities, Kaye said that this is the right time for Warburg Pincus to put in place new leadership.
“We are actively investing out of our latest global flagship fund,” Kaye said. “With significant uncalled capital, we are well-positioned to take advantage of the complex investing environment that plays to our strengths as a firm.”
Warburg Pincus is known for having worked with entrepreneurs to co-found some of Asia’s most successful startups, including ESR, DNE Group and data centre operator Princeton Digital Group, with that track record is reflected in Perlman’s role, with the executive serving on the boards of companies including ESR and Princeton Digital, Vietnam’s BW Industrial Development and MoMo, as well as Singapore-based self-storage operator Storhub.
Perlman first joined Warburg Pincus 17 years ago and has been a member of the firm’s executive management group since 2018. Under his leadership the company has invested $8 billion in 60 real estate ventures, with the company having closed on $2.8 billion in equity for its first Asia-wide real estate fund in 2021.
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