Campbell Lutyens loses APAC head Maltezos

George Maltezos, head of Asia-Pacific at Campbell Lutyens, has left the firm, Private Equity International has learned.

Maltezos, who was based in Hong Kong, left on 3 March, according to filings made with the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission. He is understood to be joining an asset management firm that is active in alternatives.

A spokesperson for Campbell Lutyens confirmed his departure.

Maltezos joined Campbell Lutyens as a partner in 2016 following a three-year stint as founder and chief executive of Sydney-based boutique capital advisory Maltisian Capital. He also served as Campbell’s head of sales in Asia-Pacific with specific responsibility for institutional relationships in Australia and New Zealand, as well as throughout Asia, according to a cached version of its website.

He previously spent more than seven years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as head of credit and alternatives for Australia and New Zealand. Prior to that, Maltezos was a director for Merrill Lynch.

Campbell Lutyens has Asia offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, and in December appointed Suvir Varma, a former senior partner at Bain & Company, as its Asia-Pacific chairman, per a statement at the time. The firm has advised on $7.6 billion in transactions in Asia-Pacific in the past two years.

Maltezos’ departure follows a raft of senior people moves in the Asia-Pacific placement agent community since the outbreak of covid-19, with many either jumping in-house or to rival firms. The placement agent model itself has also been forced to adapt to a rapidly changing fundraising environment.

Asia-Pacific-focused funds closed on $64 billion last year, the lowest annual total since 2014, according to PEI data. Appetites for the region were dented by long-standing pandemic restrictions and geopolitical tensions in China, among other factors.