Future 40 Leaders – 2023: Fundraisers

Martin Haarmans, 33
Director, head of UK investment partners
Eurazeo

Nominated for this list by several people, Eurazeo’s Martin Haarmans is variously described as “one of the most talented business development professionals in the industry”, “both knowledgeable and amicable” and “a rock star”. 

Since joining Eurazeo in 2021 to head up its investment partners team in the UK, Haarmans is understood to have helped the firm build out its presence in the region, developed relationships with new and existing LPs, and driven the expansion and diversification of its investor base and consultant coverage.

Haarmans has been lauded by his peers for his product knowledge, technical abilities and interpersonal skills. According to one advocate, Haarmans “epitomises the next generation and new guard in fundraising”. 

Jay Kim, 38
Managing director
Campbell Lutyens

Having joined Campbell Lutyens in January 2021 as vice-president, Jay Kim is understood to have been integral in expanding the firm’s reach across Asia-Pacific.

He has been particularly impactful in Korea, having raised funds from seven of the country’s 10 largest investors. In total, he secured $1.6 billion in just over two years across private equity, infrastructure and private credit. 

Kim is also making strides identifying new business in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei.

It’s not surprising then that he has already been promoted twice – first to senior vice-president in mid-2021 and then to managing director in 2022.

Julia Kuo Chen, 36
Principal, investor relations
Spectrum Equity

Julia Kuo Chen joined Spectrum Equity as an investment associate in 2011 before later moving to the investor relations team. Over the last nine years, she has developed new relationships with investors and played a key role in raising four core funds for the growth equity firm, including Spectrum Equity X, which closed on its $2 billion hard-cap last year. Kuo Chen’s accomplishments include overhauling the firm’s marketing and communications processes, leading a rebrand and relaunch of the firm’s website, and developing email marketing, content and social media strategies. She is also an active participant in the firm’s DE&I initiatives.

George Lee, 30
Investor relations vice-president
17Capital

George Lee joined 17Capital’s investor relations team in 2017 when the firm was in the middle of raising its fourth fund. In the six years since, 17Capital has raised over $8 billion, including its fifth fund which closed on $2.9 billion in 2021 and its debut private credit fund, which closed on €2.6 billion last year. Over the same period, Lee was promoted an impressive three times. 

Described by a market onlooker as the “key point of contact with many of 17Capital’s largest investors”, Lee is now a vice-president at the firm, where he primarily focuses on fundraising in the UK and the Nordic region. 

Jason Proctor, 33
Founder and managing director
Truffle Private Markets

Jason Proctor is managing director at private markets solutions provider Truffle Private Markets, which he founded in 2018 with the aim of enabling wealth managers, family offices and finance boutiques to access alternative assets. Tapping into the growing democratistion wave in the industry, Proctor focused Truffle on the B2B space, developing bespoke private markets programmes for partners such as wealth managers that would meet the needs of their end clients. 

Proctor oversees the development and execution of Truffle’s business model and has overall responsibility for the firm’s investment sourcing and due diligence on all investment decisions. In 2022, with Proctor’s support, the firm’s capital deployment more than doubled, as did the size of its team. 

William Rosener, 38
Managing director, Strategic Partners
Blackstone

New York-based William Rosener heads up investor relations activities at Blackstone’s secondaries business, Strategic Partners. With more than 15 years at the firm under his belt, Rosener was instrumental in the fundraising process for the world’s largest dedicated secondaries vehicle to date – Strategic Partners IX, which closed on $22.2 billion earlier this year. Rosener also played a pivotal role in raising the firm’s debut GP-led secondaries fund, Strategic Partners GP Solutions, which gathered $2.7 billion in commitments. 

Rosener, who was described by a peer as being “a leading capital raiser from a young age”, also finds time to support the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, including participating in mentoring activities as part of the firm’s LaunchPad programme. 

Jacob Shulman, 32
Director, investor relations
Oak Hill Capital

Oak Hill Capital director Jacob Shulman is said to have had a transformative impact on the firm’s investor relations team. Known for his “hard work and unmatched knowledge of the business”, Shulman has been praised by peers for the way in which he has developed new LP relationships, streamlined processes and supported the development of team members. 

Shulman, who has been at Oak Hill since 2018, is involved in all aspects of fundraising for the firm’s fifth and sixth flagship funds, co-investments and continuation funds. He serves as the primary contact for Oak Hill’s global institutional and retail investor base. 

Amanda Siciliano, 31
Vice-president, private funds group
Evercore 

Amanda Siciliano leads Evercore’s LP coverage efforts in the Southeastern US and Eastern Canada. In the seven years Siciliano has been with the firm, she has been recognised by peers for her combination of tenacity and patience, demonstrating a clear focus on building long-term, value-add relationships. Despite the challenging fundraising environment, Siciliano closed a number of deals last year, including for the likes of Symphony Technology Group, Arctos Sports Partners and Alpine Investors. 

Siciliano is described by peers as a “trusted voice and partner on both sides of the fundraising table”. Advocates say that Siciliano’s LPs value her in-depth knowledge of their programmes, processes and priorities, as well as her ability to anticipate and flag opportunities.

Matt Swain, 28
Global CEO
Triago

The youngest person to make this year’s list aged just 28, Triago global chief executive Matt Swain has had a meteoric rise through the advisory firm’s ranks. Swain built Triago’s fastest-growing business, its primary directs group, from scratch in the four years since he first joined the firm as an associate from Eaton Partners.

In the past two years, Triago has executed 30 of these deals, helping to drive overall revenue growth fourfold in 2021 and a revenue increase of 20 percent in 2022. Swain has also built up the firm’s expertise in GP-led secondaries with a range of hires. Swain’s dealmaking acumen is understood to have led to new business for Triago’s traditional fundraising and secondaries operations.

Lena Ulrich, 35
Managing director, investor relations – EMEA
Nordic Capital

After joining Nordic Capital in 2019 as a key relationship director, Lena Ulrich was promoted in early 2021 to the role of managing director in the investor relations group, with a focus on Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She has quickly become a highly respected fundraiser within the team and is credited for her substantial contributions to Nordic Capital’s three latest fundraises: Nordic Capital X, which closed on €6.1 billion in 2020; Evolution I, which closed on just over €1.2 billion in 2021; and Nordic Capital XI, which closed on €9 billion in 2022. Ulrich has also raised significant amounts of co-investment capital for the firm.

Ulrich is known internally as a team player who always has time to mentor and support her colleagues. She is also said to be recognised by LPs for her “tireless energy, commitment and high service levels”.

James Varela, 36
Principal
Rede Partners

James Varela leads Rede Partners’ investor coverage across the Middle East, Switzerland and Southern Europe. He helped drive successful fundraising outcomes totalling over $24 billion in 2022 alone and has played a pivotal role in many of Rede’s highest-profile fundraisings, including raising new capital for firms such as GHO Capital, Summa Equity, Paragon Partners, Monterro and Synova.

Key to Varela’s success are his “natural relationship-building abilities and outstanding commitment to getting the best result for each and every client”, according to peers. Varela is involved in firm-wide strategic initiatives such as helping build out Rede’s coverage in Asia-Pacific as well as the high-net-worth space. He also helps train and mentor individuals both at Rede and externally, including working with mentoring charity ReachOut. 

Elizabeth Yates, 37
Director, investor relations
Thoma Bravo

Since joining Thoma Bravo in 2016, investor relations director Elizabeth Yates has participated in 13 fundraising campaigns, including four first-time funds and six bespoke co-investments, and has been instrumental in the firm’s AUM growth. In 2022, Yates helped lead the firm’s record-breaking close of three buyout funds, totalling more than $32.4 billion in capital commitments. 

Other accomplishments for Yates include raising Thoma Bravo’s first institutional capital from Latin America without a placement agent, an achievement that has been attributed to her “ability to make connections with LPs outside of Thoma Bravo’s traditional reach”. She also established the firm’s first global private wealth platform relationship. Peers say she combines her technical skills with a strategic approach that is sensitive to “allocators’ priorities and programme dynamics”.