Cinven to transition leadership team

European private equity firm Cinven today announces that Hugh Langmuir (60) will become Executive Chairman of Cinven, and Stuart McAlpine (48) is appointed Managing Partner. The planned succession comes at a time of strong performance for Cinven’s €5.3 billion Fifth Fund which is now 76% drawn.

As Executive Chairman, Hugh Langmuir will lead Cinven’s next fundraise and will remain fully involved in the strategic direction and policy of the firm.

As the new Managing Partner, Stuart McAlpine will assume operational management responsibilities and lead the medium and long term strategic development of the business overseeing future funds and investment strategy.

Stuart joined Cinven in 1996. He was made a Partner in 2003 and joined the Executive Committee in 2007 and the Investment Committee in 2009. He has an outstanding investment track record and has led several of Cinven’s most successful investments including Amadeus (airline IT services) which generated 7x its original investment and realised gross proceeds of more than €1.6 billion; Phadia and Sebia (both medical diagnostics equipment) which generated 3.4x and 2.4x respectively and a combined capital gain of €1.5 billion. He has also been involved in more recent transactions including CPA Global (intellectual property management services) and Medpace (clinical research), both of which are performing strongly; and has led the acquisitions of Labco and Synlab (medical diagnostics laboratories). Historically, the core of Stuart’s investment focus has been in healthcare, although the breadth of his investment experience spans all of Cinven’s sectors.

Prior to joining Cinven, Stuart worked in the Leveraged Finance Group within the Royal Bank of Scotland and previously at Ernst & Young in Boston and London. He has a BAcc in Finance from Glasgow University.

Commenting on Stuart McAlpine’s appointment as Managing Partner, Hugh Langmuir said:

“During almost 20 years at Cinven, Stuart’s track record has been outstanding. He has led several of Cinven’s most successful transactions, which have generated substantial capital gains for its investors. He has also been a key member of the leadership team for the last decade and integral to the development of Cinven’s investment strategy. On behalf of all the Partners and staff at Cinven, I am delighted that he is stepping up to become Managing Partner, an appointment that is testament to his investment acumen, judgement and his leadership. I look forward to working with him to build on Cinven’s strength as one of Europe’s premier private equity firms.”

Stuart McAlpine added:

“Cinven has a unique culture of partnership and excellence, one that has been developed over several decades – initially in Europe and today with capabilities to grow European companies globally. We have an exceptional team, and I am privileged to have been chosen by my Partners to lead the firm as it moves into its next stage of development.

“I have tremendous respect for Hugh’s track record of achievement at Cinven; the performance of the Fifth Fund is testament to his leadership. I look forward to continuing to work with him to extend Cinven’s longstanding track record generating exceptional returns for its investors.”

Stuart McAlpine’s promotion to Managing Partner follows the successful and smooth transition of Robin Hall from Managing Partner to Chairman in July 2009 when Hugh Langmuir became Managing Partner. Hugh joined Cinven in 1991 as one of Cinven’s founding Partners and established and managed Cinven’s Paris office from 2001 to 2006.

Guy Davison, Partner (58) will be retiring in June 2016 after 28 years at Cinven. Guy joined Cinven in 1988 as one of the founding Partners and has enjoyed a long and successful career including his involvement with investments such as William Hill, Foseco and CeramTec.

Commenting on Guy Davison’s retirement, Hugh Langmuir said:

“I would like to thank Guy for his enormous contribution during his time at Cinven. He has been a highly valued member of both our Executive and Investment Committees and played a pivotal role in the growth of the business. We have enjoyed working with him enormously and wish him well in his retirement from June next year.”