Pictet Group
Pictet Alternative Advisors expands direct private equity team
Contact
Sarah Weigall
Pictet Group
Corporate Communications
UK media
+44 20 7847 5412
The team is to be led by Edmund Buckley, Global Co-Head of Private Equity and Head of Direct Private Equity, based in London, who was recruited in April 2022 from THI Investments to build the direct franchise. Edmund brings over 20 years of experience investing in the European mid-market with a strong track record and depth of experience across a broad range of sectors and geographies.
Nikolaus Hubmann has joined PAA as Head of DACH and is responsible for research, origination, due diligence and oversight of investment opportunities within the region. Prior to joining Pictet, he was a Principal at Sun Capital Partners. Nikolaus is a specialist in the DACH middle-market, with 12 years’ experience originating and executing both buy-side and sell-side transactions in Germany and the wider DACH region, with a focus on the Industrials and B2B Services sectors.
Sean Howard has been hired as an Investment Manager and will support Edmund and the regional heads in the origination and oversight of investment opportunities and portfolio companies. He was previously in Ares Management’s private equity group, where he focused on UK buyout investments across B2B Services, Healthcare and Technology sectors.
Jan Dreesen has joined as an Investment Associate. Prior to joining Pictet, Jan was an Investment Professional at Aurelius Group, where he focused on origination, due diligence, deal execution and strategic support to portfolio companies in the European
middle-market.
Hugo Hickson has been hired as a Value Creation Principal. He has a focus on strategy, digitalisation, operational improvements, sales and pricing optimisation and ESG. Hugo brings over 10 years’ experience in helping European businesses improve and grow, primarily built up over his tenure at McKinsey & Company.
The experienced team will continue to grow through 2023, and will draw on Pictet’s global infrastructure and investment resources including ESG, Tech, Legal and Compliance. Ultimately, the team will expand its activities once the UK entity has obtained its regulatory authorisation.
We are delighted to welcome all members of this experienced team to help Edmund drive the expansion of our direct private equity business. Edmund and his team bring not only very strong credentials, but also a bottom up approach to investing, and focusing on both quality businesses but at reasonable valuations, something that we think will be important in the next decade. The investment style is also a long term approach with a partnership mindset, aiming to be good stewards of a business, focusing on value creation, in particular on sustainability and responsible investing criteria.