John Major Appointed European Chairman of The Carlyle Group

LONDON - The Carlyle Group is pleased to announce that John Major, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, will be joining the firm as Chairman of Carlyle Europe.

In that capacity, Mr. Major will serve as Chairman of Carlyle's European private equity funds and their advisory boards. Mr. Major will also be involved in providing counsel and advice to the senior Carlyle investment professionals, now operating in Barcelona, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, and Paris. Carlyle's European private equity funds pursue and make investments in management buyouts, venture capital, and real estate.

As part of his activities, Mr. Major will serve on the boards of directors of several of the companies in which Carlyle's European private equity teams make investments.

In addition, Mr. Major will serve on Carlyle's Asia Advisory Board and will be involved with Carlyle's investment activities in other parts of the world.

Frank Carlucci, The Carlyle Group's Chairman, said: “John Major is an experienced, well-respected European and global leader. We are honoured that he has chosen to join Carlyle as he ends his political career and begins a new career in the business world.”

Mr. Major said: “I have enjoyed my time in politics but it is now time to move on. Carlyle is pre-eminent as a private equity firm and I have greatly enjoyed working with them over the past few years as a member of the European Advisory Board. The firm's strong commitment to Europe, its global reputation, and its unquestioned integrity were all factors in my decision to take on this role and I very much look forward to expanding my involvement with such a world class organisation.”