CVC creates president role as private equity firm prepares for succession

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CVC has named Peter Rutland to the newly created role of president, as the European private capital firm steps up its succession planning ahead of its next big fundraising.

The Amsterdam-listed group, which manages €200bn in assets, told staff on Wednesday that Rutland, who currently heads financial services buyouts for the firm, would take on the new position, according to two people familiar with the matter. CVC declined to comment. 

Søren Vestergaard-Poulsen, who oversees private equity in the Nordic region for the firm, will also be promoted to another newly created role as chief investment officer for its private equity division.

The Jersey-based group completed its long-awaited public offering in April last year, and has recently stepped up succession planning ahead of a fundraising for its next flagship buyout fund in 2027.

However, the transition to being a publicly traded firm has not gone smoothly for CVC, whose shares currently sit just below their €14 offer price.

“These new roles are intended to ensure an absolute focus from CVC on generating consistently strong investment performance for our clients across market and economic cycles whilst also representing a further step in our succession planning for the years to come,” read the note which was relayed to the Financial Times.

The FT reported in September that Rob Lucas, the firm’s current chief executive who assumed the role when the firm listed, was considering stepping down in the next two years and that Rutland was a leading candidate to replace him.

People familiar with the matter said at the time that the job could go to another of the firm’s partners or that Lucas could decide to remain as chief executive longer than anticipated.

Rutland joined CVC in 2007 and led the firm’s investment in retirement savings group Pension Insurance Corporation, which the firm recently agreed to sell to an insurance group backed by US private capital giant Apollo in a £5.7bn deal.

Vestergaard-Poulsen joined the firm in 1998 and co-chairs its private equity board. He led the firm’s investment in German retailer Douglas in 2015, according to PitchBook, which listed in Frankfurt last year after almost a decade under CVC’s ownership.