Shearman & Sterling appoints new PE head

Paul Strecker is understood to be taking over as co-lead of the Shearman & Sterling’s private capital group following the resignation of Mark Soundy.

Strecker has been with the firm for 19 years, and is a partner in its mergers and acquisitions group. He currently leads the Asia (ex Japan) private equity practice, and has extensive experience advising US- and Asia-based private equity funds on investments in Asia, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The private equity team, which is part of the wider private capital group, will otherwise remain unchanged.

Soundy’s resignation marks the end of a three-year tenure at the firm, during which he focused on UK and international M&A work, and specialized in complex restructuring. It is not known what he will do next. He joined the Shearman and Sterling after an eight-year stint at Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Soundy’s decision to leave follows a recent restructuring at the firm, which introduces a second non-equity tier to the partnership.

Shearman intends to consolidate its practice groups “to create a more efficient practice group and management structure” it said in a firm-wide email published on Above the Law in late September.