BlackRock dismisses 3 managing directors for engaging in 'coordinated' effort to quit
The trio will join Apollo Global Management as it looks to expand its secondary solutions business
FOX Business Flash top headlines for April 11
Here are your FOX Business Flash top headlines for April 11.
BlackRock dismissed three managing directors in its private equity division for engaging in a "coordinated" effort to leave the investment management firm.
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Steve Lessar and Konnin Tam both served as managing directors and the co-heads of secondaries and liquidity solutions for BlackRock's Private Equity Partners business. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2018, Lessar and Tam served as managing directors and the global co-heads of the Vintage Funds business for Goldman Sachs' Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) Group.
Meanwhile, Veena Isaac, who also worked as a managing director for secondaries and liquidity solutions for BlackRock's private equity business, joined the company in 2019 after serving as a partner at Jasper Ridge Partners LP and a principal at Pantheon Ventures, according to her LinkedIn profile.
BlackRock has dismissed three managing directors in its private equity division for engaging in a "coordinated" effort to leave the investment management firm. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"The action we took reflects how seriously we take our commitment to putting the interests of our clients first and how the actions of these individuals fell short of what we expect of our employees," Edwin Conway, global head of BlackRock Alternative Investors, and Russell Steenberg, global head of BlackRock Private Equity Partners, reportedly wrote in a memo obtained by Bloomberg confirming the departures. "BlackRock made the decision to terminate all three employees after learning of their intention to depart the firm in a coordinated fashion."
The memo reportedly states that Lynn Baranski, global head of investments at the private equity partners unit, will lead Blackrock's secondaries fund moving forward. A representative for BlackRock declined to comment.
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Meanwhile, the trio is headed to Apollo Global Management.
"We will soon welcome Konnin, Steve and Veena to Apollo, and are pleased by the caliber of talent that we continue to attract to the firm as we expand into new growth opportunities such as secondary solutions," an Apollo spokesperson told FOX Business.
In April 2021, the firm launched Apollo Credit Secondaries, a platform with $1 billion in assets to deploy to private credit secondary transactions.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLK | BLACKROCK INC. | 760.45 | +10.48 | +1.40% |
| APO | APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT | 110.60 | +2.97 | +2.76% |
Isaac, Lessar and Tam did not immediately return FOX Business' request for comment.