Private equity firm Blackstone has promoted Vik Sawhney, the chief operating officer of its PE business, as its first chief administrative officer (CAO), and the global head of its investor relations and business development arm.
The New York-headquartered Blackstone said the appointment will be effective from January next year, the company said in a statement.
Sawhney will report to Blackstone president and chief operating officer Jon Gray, and will assist in the day-to-day operations of the asset manager. He will also continue to oversee the firm’s capital markets business and will partner with its business groups, regional offices and support teams on key strategic initiatives.
Gray said Sawhney has earned the trust of Blackstone’s limited partners (LPs), and that he would help deepen the integration of the firm across business lines. “I am thrilled to have Vik stepping into this new role,” Gray said.
Sawhney, who joined Blackstone in 2007, has overseen LP relationships, fundraising and also day-to-day management responsibilities for the group.
Blackstone has named Robert Ramsauer, a senior managing director in its PE group in London as the new COO of Blackstone Private Equity. Ramsauer has been working with the firm since 2004.
Prior to joining Blackstone, Sawhney worked as a managing director in the financial sponsors group at Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for managing the firm’s relationships with Blackstone and several other PE firms. An alumnus of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Sawhney has also worked with law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Blackstone is one of the world’s largest and investment firms, and currently has over $545 billion worth of assets under management. Its vehicles include private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, growth equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds.
