CITIC Private Equity recruits ex-CalPERS PE head
Réal Desrochers, formerly head of private equity at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), has joined Beijing-based CITIC Private Equity (CITIC PE) as a managing director.
The GP confirmed Desrochers started work in April. He is responsible for strategic development, operational improvement, compliance and risk control, as well as investment product design and development. Desrochers will also support the Chinese firm at it looks to expand into North America.
The appointment coincides with CITIC PE's latest fundraising effort. The GP is currently seeking to raise $2 billion for its latest US dollar-denominated China-focused fund, according to sources in the LP community.
Prior to joining CalPERS in 2011, Desrochers spent more than 11 years as private equity portfolio manager at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and then had a brief stint as CIO of Saudi Arabian Investment Company (Sanabil Investments).
Private equity has been CalPERS’ best-performing asset class over the past 10 and 20 years, returning 9.9% and 11.2%, respectively, as of the end of January. Of the pension fund's $312 billion in total assets, about $26 billion was deployed in private equity, CalPERS said in a release announcing Desrochers’ departure in April.
By the end of last year, CITIC PE managed over RMB100 billion ($14 billion) across US dollar-denominated funds, renminbi funds, fund-of-funds, mandates, and dedicated public market funds. It has invested in more than 100 companies and of these 40 have been buyouts.
The firm focuses on six areas: industrials and energy; financial and business services; consumer and leisure; medical and health; technology and the internet; and real estate. Most of the buyouts have come in the first four categories. The GP has set up an operational team to provide value-added services to portfolio companies.
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