Carlyle Changes Europe Buyout Leadership Amid Fundraising Push

(Bloomberg) — Carlyle Group Inc. is switching up the top ranks of its European buyout team.
The alternative-asset manager told investors and staff that the group’s co-heads, Marco De Benedetti and Jonathan Zafrani, are ceding leadership roles. Michael Wand, who co-heads the European technology strategy, will assume more responsibilities managing the region’s buyout platform.
Wand was elevated in May to head of Europe private equity, a role overseeing both tech and buyout strategies in the region, and the new leadership changes bring the European buyout team even further under his purview.
Washington-based Carlyle communicated the decision to clients and staff in the past week and midway through raising its latest Europe buyout fund — signaling to investors that a reset is underway.
A spokesperson for the firm confirmed the leadership changes and declined to comment on other matters.
Sluggish Fundraising
Carlyle is looking to shore up confidence in the middle of slower-than-expected fundraising in Europe. The firm has raised about 1 billion euros for Carlyle Europe Partners VI, a fraction of its original goal. It’s continuing to seek money from investors.
Chief Executive Officer Harvey Schwartz, who took charge last year, has made it clear that the firm is prepared to make changes where it hasn’t met investor expectations. He has been augmenting his C-suite team and shoring up support among Carlyle’s founders.
Executives had hoped in early 2022 to raise a fund larger than the earlier version that took in about 6.4 billion euros. But the firm delayed Fund VI’s launch to early 2023 amid significant changes at Carlyle, including the departure of then-CEO Kewsong Lee. Many investors were also reluctant to part with cash as interest rates rose.
Carlyle’s 2018 Europe buyout fund was delivering a net internal rate of return of about 8% at the end of March, and the firm runs the risk of not being able to collect its share of profits if it drops more.
In contrast, the European tech funds Wand helps oversee have been among Carlyle’s highest performers in private equity.
The overhaul scales back roles for two longtime dealmakers. De Benedetti, based in Milan, has been with Carlyle since 2005. He’ll become chair of Italy, where he’ll continue sourcing regional deals for the European team and working on the Italian portfolio. 
Paris-based Zafrani has been at the firm since 1999 and will become a senior adviser.
–With assistance from Swetha Gopinath and Gillian Tan.
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