Chicago fund opens Sydney office: Hires local exec
Adams Street Partners has opened a local office to better target the trillions of dollars held by Australian pension schemes.
Shaun Thomas joins the US$52 billion private markets investment management specialist from Partners Group, where he managed distribution for the firm's private markets strategies for the private wealth, family office and wholesale market.
Previous roles include seven years at Grant Samuel Funds Management, where he was head of research and strategic accounts.
Earlier he was a senior business development manager at Australian Unity Investments and an associate director at HSBC Global Asset Management.
He also held other managerial roles at Macquarie, St George, Commonwealth Bank and ING.
The new lead is tasked with leveraging his relationships in the wholesale market whilst supporting institutional clients and consultant relationships across Australia and New Zealand.
Reporting to Ben Hart, Adam's Street partner & head of investor relations for Asia, Thomas will also work closely with clients and help oversee private equity programs.
"Institutional investors in Australia are increasingly focused on allocating to private markets," said Hart.
"We are seeing considerable demand from the Australian private markets community for solutions, including custom accounts and evergreen structured products.
"Shaun's unique experience and on-ground-access will allow us to better serve this growing market by strengthening our ties with existing clients and the Australian private markets community, helping us to continue to expand our existing relationships and create new ones as well."
AddedThomas: "I look forward to developing and maintaining institutional client and consultant relationships in Australia as we continue to consolidate our presence in this market."
Sydney is Adams Street's first location in Australia and fifth in the Asia Pacific region, joining Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, and Beijing.
Adams Street now operates 13 offices globally.
