Carlyle CEO Kewsong Lee steps down

The private equity firm said in a statement that, with Lee’s five-year employment contract due to expire at year-end, Lee and board “mutually agreed as part of their discussions that the timing is right to initiate a search for a new CEO to lead Carlyle forward in its next phase of growth.”

Multiple media reports claim that contract negotiations broke down, Carlyle ultimately resolved against pursuing a renewal. Lee, on being informed of this decision, decided to step down immediately.

Lee joined the firm in 2013 following a 21-year career at Warburg Pincus. A senior-level lateral hire – which is relatively unusual in the industry – he led efforts to build a long-dated private equity strategy and reshape the credit business. He was named co-CEO in 2017 alongside Glenn Youngkin, who had been with Carlyle for more than two decades.

The transition was billed as an exercise in succession planning, with founders Conway, Daniel D’Aniello, and David Rubenstein scaling back their involvement. Conway and Rubenstein, previously co-CEOs, took on the chairman role, while D’Aniello shifted from chairman to chairman emeritus.

The Lee-Youngkin era lasted three years. Youngkin retired in 2020 – he was elected governor of Virginia last year – and Lee continued to lead Carlyle on his own.

As of June, the firm had USD 376bn in assets under management, including USD 260bn in fee-earning assets. Private equity exposure amounted to USD 167bn, with USD 143bn in credit, and USD 66bn in global investment solutions, which includes fund-of-funds, secondaries, and co-investment.

Carlyle has a sizeable presence in Asia, which accounts for 10 of its 26 offices globally. The firm is currently in the market with its latest flagship pan-regional buyout fund, reportedly seeking USD 8.5bn.

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