Carlyle CFO to step down

The Carlyle Group managing director and chief financial officer, John Harris, is scheduled to leave the firm soon, a spokesman confirmed.
“John has indicated he is going to leave sometime late summer or so,” said Carlyle spokesman Chris Ullman. “He is leaving for family and personal reasons that are all positive and will enable him to fulfill some personal goals.”
Harris has overall responsibility for the firm’s investor reporting, internal controls and financial management. As CFO, Harris is said to have been instrumental in structuring Carlyle’s private equity funds and negotiating terms with limited partners. In addition, he has coordinated the development of Carlyle’s global compensation programs.
Since its founding in 1987, Carlyle has grown into the largest private equity firm in the world, according to a recent ranking of private equity firms from sister publication Private Equity International’s PEI 50 ranking of the world’s largest private equity firms. Carlyle has more than $56 billion under management and more than 780 employees across the firm’s 19 offices. According to its website, the firm has invested $26.4 billion in 601 transactions.
Before joining Carlyle in April 1997, Harris was a vice president with Golub Capital, a private equity firm. At Golub, Harris focused on middle market transactions. Previously, he was a senior manager with accounting firm Arthur Andersen. Harris graduated from the University of Virginia.
In March, Carlyle co-founder William Conway reportedly criticized the credit decisions of lenders to the private equity industry and suggested that his own firm should start targeting less risky deals with lower returns. The comments were made in an internal memo, seen by trade publication Financial News.
Conway’s comments could involve a significant shift in strategy for the firm, which has been expanding to the Middle East and North Africa region, and Asia. “Liquidity has led to a significant reduction in risk premiums. Our strategy should evolve to take lower risk deals and earn lower returns,” he said in the memo.
The only solution, said Conway, was for Carlyle to take a more cautious approach to investments: “We should redouble our focus on deals with downside protection – asset coverage, multiple and early exit paths, strategic partners, government protection, consumer needs, controllable capital expenditures and defensible market positions.”
A search for a new Carlyle CFO is already underway. “We’re looking now, so as soon as we find the right candidate, that person will come on board,” said Ullman. Harris is expected to continue his association with Carlyle, acting as a senior advisor following his departure.