Tikehau adds Nomura vet, Citigroup fundraiser to senior ranks

Tikehau Capital has fleshed out its senior ranks with the hiring of two senior executives for its asset management platform and one of its initial senior hires in the North American market.

The Paris-based firm brought on former Nomura sales official Frédéric Giovansili as the deputy chief executive for Tikehau Investment Management and former Citigroup credit fundraiser Nithin Johnson as its executive director of business development, the firm said in statements.

Giovansili led the northern and western Europe sales efforts across the global and also led its client financing solutions group, which provides deal financing. Prior to that, Giovansili also worked at Citi, where he was global head of markets for Belgium, France and Luxembourg.

“With over 20 years’ experience in global markets in both London and Paris working in various structuring, sales and management roles across a range of products, his arrival is part of our clear and ambitious asset management growth strategy,” Tikehau Investment Management’s chief executive Henri Marcoux said in a statement.

At Citi, Johnson was previously the head of Americas at firm’s international fund distribution business, where he also worked on private equity and real asset vehicles, in addition to debt funds. Funds the firm helped raise, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, include the $32.5 million HPS CLO Fund 2015 and the $6.69 billion Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund II.

He said in a statement: “[Tikehau’s] long-term outlook, entrepreneurial and partnership-oriented approach with both LPs and GPs, and the extent of alignment with investors through its strong shareholders’ equity and balance sheet supporting the group’s investments makes them an exciting story to share and continue in the Americas.”

Tikehau opened a New York office – where Johnson will be based – last year, as part of the firm’s effort to expand its product set beyond Europe. There are at least two people that will be part of his team, including a mid-level executive.

The firm has set two goals in which Giovansili and Johnson could play an integral role: reaching €35 billion in assets and reporting a €100 million operating profit from its asset management unit, both by 2022. It currently oversees €22 billion, covering private equity, real estate, private debt and liquid strategies across fixed income and equities.

The company maintains a strong balance sheet, which the firm could use to expand its business in North America. It made a similar move when it bought real estate firm Sodify, which let Tikehau move into the real asset space.