Judge to step down from PEGCC

Steve Judge, president and chief executive of the Private Equity Growth Capital Council (PEGCC), the industry’s frontline defense against onerous regulation or new taxes, is leaving his post after eight years.

Judge plans to step down August 15, according to a letter circulated to the group’s 36 member firms seen by Bloomberg. PEGCC spokesperson James Maloney confirmed the news, stating that PEGCC’s board of directors, which includes The Blackstone Group senior advisor Wayne Berman and Apollo Global Management CCO John Suydam, have already begun a search for Judge’s replacement.

Judge has been successfully battling cancer over the past 2.5 years, helping him realize “that time is the most precious asset and that he cannot commit to leading the PEGCC,” Maloney said in an emailed-statement. The PEGCC is searching for someone who could commit to the CEO position for at least five years.

“[Judge’s] unique and powerful combination of strategic insight, bipartisan relationships and generous spirit have made him an invaluable asset to the private equity and growth capital industries and the millions on whose behalf we invest,” said in a statement PEGCC chairman Ken Mehlman.

Under Judge’s leadership, the PEGCC expanded membership beyond the industry’s largest buyout shops into one serving the needs of mid-market players as well. Recently, the PEGCC also began hosting job-specific outreach events, including its first annual “Chief Financial Officers’ Day” late last year.