(HarbourVest) April 4, 2011 – HarbourVest Partners, LLC (“HarbourVest” or the “Firm”), a leading global private equity firm, announced that Jeff Keay, Karin Lagerlund, Sebastiaan van den Berg, and Scott Voss have been promoted to Managing Director. These promotions attest to HarbourVest’s continued commitment to build and maintain one of the most experienced teams of senior investment professionals in the private equity industry worldwide.
In addition to these promotions, HarbourVest is continuing to grow its global presence. The Firm is in the process of establishing a local presence in Latin America and continues to invest in the expansion of its Asia team. HarbourVest currently has team members located in Boston, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. The London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo subsidiaries were established in 1990, 1996, and 2010, respectively.
Announcement of New Managing Directors
“We are pleased to recognize these individuals, who each focus on different aspects of our business and represent the breadth of our firm,” said Brooks Zug, Senior Managing Director of HarbourVest. “These promotions illustrate the growing leadership of our firm, our commitment to the development of the next generation of our firm, and the depth of our team.”
Jeff Keay joined the Firm in 1999 with a focus on global secondary investments in both limited partnerships and portfolios of direct investments.
Chief Financial Officer Karin Lagerlund joined the Firm in 2000 and oversees the finance teams who coordinate the Firm’s global accounting operations.
Sebastiaan van den Berg joined HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Limited in Hong Kong in 2005 with a focus on investments in Asia Pacific and emerging markets.
Scott Voss joined the Firm in 1999 focuses on primary partnership investments in the U.S., Asia, Latin America, and cleantech.
Expanding Global Presence in Latin America
HarbourVest is also establishing a team in Bogotá, Colombia and expanding its team in Asia.
“HarbourVest is investing in areas where we see growth, including Latin America and Asia Pacific,” said George Anson, Managing Director of HarbourVest Partners (U.K.) Limited. “We were one of the first global fund-of-funds to establish a team in Europe in 1990 and in Asia in 1996. We have continued to build a strong global franchise with local teams and regional expertise over the past two decades and look forward to continued growth to support our investment activities and investor relationships.”
Managing Director Peter Lipson is leading the effort to establish a presence in Latin America and has recently moved to Colombia.
“The partners at HarbourVest are enthusiastic about the opportunities for private equity in Latin America. As an early investor in the region in the 1990s, we have seen the markets go through challenges and now move to a much stronger economy and private equity culture,” said Peter Lipson, Managing Director of HarbourVest.
Team Expansion in Asia
In Asia, HarbourVest is expanding the team and actively positioning the firm for future growth. As part of our firm’s long term planning, Philip Bilden, Managing Director of HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Limited since its inception in 1996, has announced plans to transition to a Senior Advisor role in 2012 and become less involved in the management of the Firm. As a Senior Advisor resident in Hong Kong, Philip will remain engaged with senior level relationships with our general partners, investors, and LP advisory boards in the region.
As part of this planned transition, Sebastiaan van den Berg, who is a long-standing resident of Hong Kong with over a decade of Asian investment and private equity experience, will assume day-to-day responsibility for the management of the Hong Kong team as Managing Director. In addition to Sebastiaan and Tatsuya Kubo, Managing Director of our Japan team, the Asia team will be further strengthened through two additional Managing Directors and a Vice President, who are expected to relocate from Boston and London in the third quarter of this year, in addition to two recent regional hires.
Brooks Zug, Senior Managing Director and Co-founder of HarbourVest Partners, LLC, noted, “Philip Bilden has been instrumental in building our Asian franchise over the past two decades. On behalf of our limited partners, he has travelled the globe extensively and worked tirelessly during his 15 years in Hong Kong and 20 years with the firm, leading a team of very capable investment professionals in building portfolios of the highest quality Asia Pacific partnerships over many vintage years. His continued presence as a Senior Advisor to HarbourVest will assure us access to his wisdom and judgment. And, of course, he will remain a close friend of all of his partners for years to come.”
Philip Bilden commented, “I have had the great privilege to build a leading franchise in Asia thanks to the efforts of our dedicated Asia team and the vision and early pioneering work of our founding partners. Looking forward, I am committed to helping my partners and colleagues take the franchise to the next level. The firm’s commitment to the region and the expansion of our local team will allow HarbourVest to continue building valuable long term relationships and top performing investment portfolios at a time of rapid expansion and growth in the region.”
About HarbourVest
HarbourVest Partners, LLC is an independent global alternative investment firm and an SEC-registered investment advisor. HarbourVest provides investment programs for institutional investors to invest in venture capital, buyout, mezzanine debt, and distressed debt. HarbourVest invests in these sectors globally through primary partnerships, secondary purchases, and direct investments. HarbourVest and its subsidiaries have more than 230 employees, including more than 70 investment professionals deployed in Boston, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. In nearly 30 years of investing in private equity, the team has committed more than $22 billion to newly-formed funds, representing relationships with 200 private equity managers. The team has also completed over $7 billion in secondary purchases and invested $4 billion directly in operating companies. The firm’s clients consist of 300 institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, foundations, and financial institutions throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, Latin America, and Japan. To learn more about HarbourVest, visit www.harbourvest.com