Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. BAM-T has named Anuj Ranjan chief executive officer of its US$139-billion private equity business, as its previous leader Cyrus Madon moves to a new role as executive chairman.
Mr. Ranjan’s promotion was made official on Thursday, after he spent nearly two years as president of the asset manager’s private equity business. He has worked at the company for nearly 18 years, including time working from Mumbai, Dubai and now London.
Mr. Madon, a veteran private equity investor who has long been one of Brookfield’s key executives, will stay on the investment committee and will still be an executive officer of Brookfield Business Partners, the publicly-listed unit that manages US$82-billion of assets.
Mr. Madon will also join the private equity unit’s board of directors as executive chairman. Current director Jeffrey Blidner will relinquish his role as board chairman, but stay on as a director.
Led by Mr. Madon and Mr. Ranjan, Brookfield recently raised US$12-billion for its latest flagship private equity fund, Brookfield Capital Partners VI. That was its largest private equity fund to date, and gives it significant capacity to make new investments at a time when fundraising has been a steep challenge for the sector.
Brookfield said the succession comes “as we look toward the next phase of growth for our business,” in a letter to shareholders.
“Some of our best investments have been made during periods where capital is scarce and competition for assets and businesses is typically reduced,” Mr. Ranjan and Mr. Madon said in the letter.