Global investment firm The Carlyle Group has announced a strategic shake-up of its senior leadership that will take effect on January 1, 2026, positioning the firm for sustained fundraising success and global expansion in an intensely competitive alternatives market.
Under CEO Harvey Schwartz, who joined Carlyle in February 2023, the firm is advancing a multi-year transformation across its operating model, compensation structure, and business lines. These reorganizations reflect the firm’s aim to scale beyond its private equity roots and reinforce its position in credit, real assets and wealth management.
Carlyle has elevated three long‐time executives to the newly created posts of Co‑Presidents: John Redett, currently CFO, will continue overseeing private equity, corporate private equity, and real assets. Mark Jenkins, head of Carlyle’s global credit and insurance platform, will maintain leadership in those areas. Jeff Nedelman, leader of client business operations, will remain focused on investor relations and client platforms.
This leadership team is set to work closely with Schwartz, aligning operational execution across business lines and reinforcing integrated decision-making at scale.
Additional shifts include the appointment of Justin Plouffe, currently Deputy CIO of the credit platform, who will succeed Redett as CFO in 2026. Michael Wand, who leads Carlyle’s European private equity activities, will assume the role of Head of EMEA Investments, reporting to the Co‑Presidents. Admiral James Stavridis, vice chair of global affairs, will take on the title of Vice Chairman.
These moves reflect Carlyle’s emphasis on continuity and institutional knowledge, drawing from internal talent cultivated over the firm’s decades-long history.
At the end of 2024, Carlyle managed approximately $453 billion in assets under management, diversified across private equity, credit, real assets, and AlpInvest funds. The new leadership structure aims to better align with the firm’s broadening platform while accelerating growth and fundraising capacity.
Analysts view the restructuring as a proactive strategy to diversify decision-making, enhance deal execution across varied business lines, and sharpen operational focus in an asset management landscape crowded with firms such as Blackstone, KKR and Apollo. The creation of a tri‑presidential leadership model is intended to help Carlyle compete more effectively at scale.
Since Harvey Schwartz assumed the CEO role in early 2023, Carlyle has embarked on a transformation that includes cost discipline, leadership refreshes, and an updated compensation model intended to incentivize cross-platform performance. The appointments of Jenkins, Nedelman and Redett reflect this agenda packaged as governance enhancements ahead of the major 2026 shift.
Carlyle has already seen notable internal reshuffling across its EMEA business. In Europe, leadership of the buyout unit was recently consolidated under veteran executive Michael Wand, following disappointing performance in the firm’s flagship Carlyle Europe Partners (CEP) funds and multiple high-profile departures. Wand was promoted in 2024 to lead Europe private equity, intensifying a focus on core sectors amid fundraising headwinds.
By tapping insiders for its senior leadership posts, Carlyle aims to reinforce consistency amid transition while leveraging the deep experience of executives who already manage key platforms. Co‑President John Redett brings finance expertise and oversight of Carlyle’s most critical asset classes, while Mark Jenkins and Jeff Nedelman anchor continuing momentum in credit and client relationships, respectively.
This leadership shift also reflects broader trends in alternatives: firms are increasingly structured to run multiple businesses under unified governance, encouraging coordination between private equity, real assets, and credit. Carlyle’s model seeks to mirror this evolution while positioning the firm to compete head‑on with integrated alternatives firms.
As the firm prepares for the 2026 rollout, investors and industry watchers will closely monitor how the new leadership team drives fundraising, cross‑platform synergies, and portfolio outcomes. With over $450 billion in assets and a global footprint, Carlyle’s leadership realignment signals its intent to sustain growth and sharpen strategic positioning amid intensifying competition in private capital.
