Adams Street announces succession plans after reshuffle

Chicago-based Adams Street Partners has announced succession plans following a bit of internal reshuffling with the departure of CIO Hanneke Smits.  Starting July 1 Jeff Diehl, currently head of investments, will also take on the title of managing partner.

Bon French will also change from CEO to chairman. French will maintain his current involvement in all parts of Adams Street Partners' investment process and management of the firm. He will also continue as a member of Adams Street Partners board of directors, executive committee, and portfolio construction committee.  He will be full time through the end of 2017.

“Many people have asked me why we feel compelled to plan for a succession that will not ultimately take place for nearly three years,” French said in a statement. “The answer is simple; long-term visibility into the leadership of a private equity firm is very important and is something that we, as Limited Partners, appreciate from our underlying General Partners.”

In September, Diehl was promoted to head of investments following a shift in Adams Street Partners' overall investment committee. In that role, Diehl took on responsibility for all elements of the firm's investment process, teams and strategies. He also took on a leadership role in the portfolio construction committee joining Partners Miguel Gonzalo and Ray Chan.

Gonzalo took on the title of head of investment strategy in the shift, and Chan became head of risk management and advanced analytics.

Kelly Meldrum, a partner in the firm's Menlo Park, California office was promoted to head the primary investment team in July to absorb many of the responsibilities of departing CIO Hanneke Smits.