News Release
Carlyle Makes Leadership Announcement in Americas Corporate Private Equity
Washington, DC and New York, NY – Global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) made a leadership announcement within Americas Corporate Private Equity, part of its Global Private Equity segment, effective immediately.
- Sandra Horbach, a respected industry pioneer with nearly two decades at Carlyle, will become Chair of Americas Corporate Private Equity. In this role, Sandra will continue to serve on the investment committees of US Corporate Private Equity funds, support management of new and existing investments, and offer valuable advice and insights to the Corporate Private Equity investment teams. Additionally, she will help drive the firm’s strategic growth initiatives, including expanding Carlyle’s private equity products in the Wealth channel and integrating artificial intelligence and data analytics into investment strategies.
- Steve Wise, currently Global Head of Healthcare, will join Brian Bernasek as Co-Head of Americas Corporate Private Equity, overseeing the firm’s private equity business across the Americas region and reporting to Chief Executive Officer Harvey Schwartz. As one of Carlyle's leading investors, Steve has a proven track record and extensive experience driving Carlyle's success across various deal types, including global collaborations with Carlyle’s investment teams around the world. He has led Carlyle’s healthcare investment team for close to a decade, executing significant transactions such as the investment in Medline Industries, Inc., the largest healthcare leveraged buyout ever, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), one of Carlyle’s most successful investments, and Sedgwick, one of the largest multiline claims management firms in the world. He has also expanded Carlyle’s reach into new investment areas with the acquisition of Abingworth, Carlyle’s leading Life Sciences platform.
- Senior partners Joe Bress and Robert Schmidt, long-term members of Carlyle’s Healthcare team, will succeed Steve as Global Co-Heads of Healthcare. With 30 years of combined experience on the Healthcare team, Joe and Robert will leverage their complementary expertise to enhance and drive value across Carlyle’s leading Healthcare practice.
Continued leadership across Americas Corporate Private Equity’s four additional sectors includes:
- Jim Burr and William McMullan, Global Co-Heads of Financial Services
- Ian Fujiyama, Global Head of Aerospace and Government Services
- Patrick McCarter and Anna Tye, Global Co-Heads of Technology
- Martin Sumner, Global Head of Industrials
Harvey Schwartz, said, “Carlyle’s greatest asset is its deep bench of talent. Over the course of her career, Sandra’s influence in private equity has been groundbreaking, shaping our firm and industry. We congratulate her on this new role and look forward to her taking on these additional corporate responsibilities, while continuing to help advance our Americas platform.” Schwartz continued, “Steve is a world-class investor with an impressive track record leading one of our largest investment sectors for over a decade. We appreciate the ongoing contributions of our talented team as we move forward.”
Sandra Horbach said, “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved over the last two decades across Carlyle’s Americas Private Equity platform. I’m excited to assume these expanded responsibilities, working closely with Harvey to help drive our strategic growth initiatives and chair the Americas PE business. We have a world-class team of investors, and I have great confidence in Brian and Steve. I look forward to helping them continue to advance our Americas franchise.”
Brian Bernasek said, "I have had the pleasure of partnering with Sandra, whose inspirational leadership, commitment to management excellence, and deep investment experience have greatly contributed to our success. I am delighted to welcome Steve as my co-head, who brings to our sector teams valuable perspectives and an impressive history of, and passion for, high investment performance and creative dealmaking.”
Steve Wise said, "I am excited to step into this role alongside Brian and look forward to continuing to strengthen our platform. By building on our current momentum and collaborating closely with our team across sectors and geographies, I am optimistic about the opportunities ahead."
About Sandra Horbach
Sandra Horbach is a Partner and the Chair of Americas Corporate Private Equity at Carlyle, based in New York. In this role, she serves on the investment committees of Carlyle’s US Corporate Private Equity (CPE) funds, supports the management of new and existing investments, provides valuable advice and insights to the CPE teams, and helps drive several of the firm's strategic growth initiatives.
Previously, she was Co-Head of Americas Corporate Private Equity, overseeing more than $70 billion in assets under management as of Q1 2024. Since joining Carlyle in 2005, she has led major investments across various industries and is a founding member of Carlyle’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. Before Carlyle, she was a partner at Forstmann Little and worked in Morgan Stanley's M&A department. Sandra holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in Chinese Studies from Wellesley College.
Sandra currently serves as a director on the board at Hexaware, and as a trustee at Rockefeller University and Wellesley College. She was a member of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Advisory Council for 15 years, including serving as Chair for four years. Sandra has been recognized in Barron’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Finance list since its inception and the Yahoo! Finance HERoes Top 100 Women Executives List in 2021 and 2020.
About Brian Bernasek
Brian A. Bernasek is a Partner and Co-Head of Americas Corporate Private Equity at Carlyle, which has over $70 billion in assets under management as of Q1 2024, with diversified investments spanning industries, geographies, and strategies. He also serves on several firm investment committees. He is based in Washington, DC.
Mr. Bernasek previously served as Co-Head of US Buyout and Growth as well as Head of the Global Industrial team. Mr. Bernasek has overseen some of Carlyle’s most successful investments, including Allison Transmission, Atotech, and Signode Industrial Group.
Mr. Bernasek joined Carlyle in 2000 and previously held positions in New York with Investcorp International, a private equity firm, and Morgan Stanley & Co., in its Investment Banking Division.
Mr. Bernasek currently serves as a director on the boards of Nouryon and ManTech International. He has served as a director on the boards of several Carlyle investments, including Allison Transmission, Atotech, HD Supply, The Hertz Corporation, Novolex, and Signode Industrial Group. He is also a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Washington Jesuit Academy.
Mr. Bernasek is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
About Steve Wise
Stephen H. Wise is a Partner and Co-Head of Americas Corporate Private Equity at Carlyle. He is based in New York. Since joining Carlyle in 2006, Carlyle’s Healthcare team has invested nearly $20 billion of equity in healthcare companies around the world. Mr. Wise has led or been a key contributor to several Carlyle investments including CorroHealth, a business service provider for healthcare companies, Curia, a contract research and drug manufacturing organization, Medline, a leading global branded medical products manufacturer with a wholly-owned vertically integrated distribution network, MedRisk, a physical therapy-focused workers’ compensation solutions company, Millicent Pharma, a pharmaceutical company, MultiPlan, a scaled independent preferred provider organization, QuidelOrtho, a global provider of in vitro diagnostic solutions for screening, diagnosing, monitoring and confirming diseases, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), a global contract research organization, Rede D’Or São Luiz, a hospital provider in Brazil, Resonetics, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in complex micro-manufacturing of components for medical device original equipment manufacturers, Sedgwick, a global multiline claims management firm, TriNetX, a global health research network optimizing clinical research, Unchained Labs, a global life science tools company, and WellDyneRx, an independent pharmacy benefit manager. Mr. Wise also led Carlyle’s broader life sciences efforts, including the acquisition of Abingworth.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Wise worked with JLL Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, where he focused on health care-related investments. Previously, he worked with J.W. Childs Associates, a Boston-based private equity firm, and prior to that, in the leveraged finance group of Credit Suisse.
Mr. Wise serves as a director on the boards of Curia, Launch Therapeutics, Medline, Resonetics, and Sedgwick. Mr. Wise also serves on the advisory board for the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health.
Mr. Wise earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Bucknell University and received his master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School.
About Joe Bress
Joe Bress is a Partner and Global Co-Head of Healthcare. He is based in Los Angeles.
Since joining Carlyle in 2007, Mr. Bress has been involved in investing and managing over $5 billion of equity investments in healthcare companies globally. He is currently a member of the boards of Acentra Health, Curia, CorroHealth, Launch Therapeutics, Millicent Pharma, Orsini Specialty Pharmacy, Saama Technologies, TriNetX, and WellDyneRx. He is also involved in Carlyle’s broader life sciences efforts, including the acquisition of Abingworth, as well as Carlyle’s investments in Included Health and Rede D’Or Sao Luiz. He was previously a member of the boards of Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), Visionary RCM, and X-Chem. Prior to Carlyle, Mr. Bress worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at UBS.
He received an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and an AB from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude.
About Robert Schmidt
Robert R. Schmidt is a Partner and Global Co-Head of Healthcare. He is based in New York.
Since joining Carlyle in 2011, Mr. Schmidt has been involved in a number of the firm’s investments globally, including Beats Electronics, Included Health (fka Grand Rounds), Medline, MedRisk, One Medical, QuidelOrtho (fka Ortho Clinical Diagnostics), Resonetics, Sedgwick, and Unchained Labs. He is currently a member of the board of directors of Included Health, Medline, MedRisk, QuidelOrtho, Resonetics, and Unchained Labs.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Schmidt worked at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm focused on healthcare and technology investments, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, focused on buyouts in North America.
Mr. Schmidt received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is currently a member of the External Advisory Board at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
About Carlyle
Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit, and Global Investment Solutions. With $425 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2024, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies, and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,200 people in 28 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on X @OneCarlyle and LinkedIn at The Carlyle Group.
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Brittany Berliner
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