Robby Winarta joins private equity behemoth Carlyle from Credit Suisse
The Carlyle Group, the world’s top private equity firm in terms of fundraising, is boosting its Southeast Asia team with two senior hires in Jakarta and Singapore.
Carlyle has hired Robby Winarta as Managing Director and Long Hoang as Director of its Asian private equity platform, respectively, according to an anouncement. Based in Jakarta, Credit Suisse veteran Winarta will lead Carlyle’s investment activities in Indonesia starting from July 2.
Hoang, who joins Carlyle from alternative asset manager TPG, will start work in Singapore starting June 1, where he will focus on investment activities in Vietnam. The company’s Southeast Asia team will now comprise eight investment specialists targetting market opportunities mainly in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Carlyle Ramps up SE Asia Presence
The hires come as NASDAQ-listed Carlyle, which has $201 billion of assets under management globally, is seeking to ramp up its activities in Southeast Asia. The US-based firm now has nine offices in Asia, after setting up a presence in the region 1998, and its Asian private equity platform currently has $16.3 billion of assets under management. Carlyle is said to be working on closing a $6.5 billion Asia private equity fund, its biggest ever in the region.
“We are delighted to have two senior veterans with significant industry experience and deep understanding of these local markets join us as we expand our Southeast Asia presence,” commented Greg Zeluck, managing director and co-head of the Carlyle Asia buyout team. “Carlyle seeks to further expand its presence in the region, where we believe there will be increasing numbers of attractive investment opportunities going forward,” he added.
Execs Bring Investment Banking, PE Expertise
Carlyle Group co-chief executives Glenn Youngkin (left) and Kewsong Lee are shaking up the leadership in Asia
Winarta, an Indonesian national, has nearly two decades of investment banking experience in the world’s fourth-most-populous country. Based in Jakarta for the past 16 years, he most recently worked as Head of Indonesia Investment Banking Coverage at Credit Suisse for five years. Prior to that he worked with the Swiss financial services firm in New York and Singapore, after graduating from Northwestern University.
“Indonesia is a dynamic and fast-growing country, which I expect to yield interesting investment opportunities driven by attractive demographics and a rising middle class,” commented Winarta in the statement, noting that his role would involve creating long-term value for local companies.
Hoang formerly served as a Vice President at TPG Capital Asia Growth with responsibility for Singapore and Vietnam. His previous roles include serving as a director at private equity firm Navis Capital Partners, and working at Standard Chartered Private Equity in Singapore, as well as Dragon Capital Group and Vinacapital Group, both in Vietnam. The executive holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Han Chen Takes Charge of China Real Estate
The hires follow the departure of Jason Lee, head of Asia real estate and Adam Metz, the firm’s US-based head of international real estate last month. Han Chen, a 14-year veteran of Carlyle, serves as the company’s new head of China real estate, while according to an account in PERE, the Asia real estate role has been scrapped.
Private Equity International (PEI) ranked Carlyle this year as the industry’s top fundraiser, having amassed more than $60 billion for private equity over the past five years.
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