Private equity firm Permira has hired former S&P Global president and chief executive Douglas Peterson as a senior adviser to its Services sector team.
Based in New York, Peterson will advise portfolio company leadership teams on value creation plans while assisting the services team with due diligence and portfolio strategy. His appointment follows more than 40 years in financial and data services, including over a decade leading S&P Global.
During his tenure at S&P Global, the company acquired and integrated IHS Markit in 2022, expanding its market capitalisation from $16bn (£11.8bn) to more than $150bn (£111.3bn). Prior to that, Peterson spent 26 years at Citigroup, where his roles included chief operating officer of Citibank, chief executive of Citigroup Japan and chief auditor.
Permira funds have backed multiple private market infrastructure, administration, and data assets over the past 10 years, including Alter Domus, Carne Group, JTC, Octus, Clearwater Analytics, Acuity Analytics, Kroll and Tricor. Peterson also sits on the boards of Morgan Stanley, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Japan Society and Claremont McKenna College.
Dipan Patel and Brian Ruder, co-managing partners and co-chief executives of Permira, said: "Doug is an exceptional executive with a top-decile track-record in delivering growth at scale, and we are delighted to welcome him to Permira. Private markets are institutionalising fast, and value is accruing to the infrastructure it’s built on.
"Fund services, governance, data and analytics are long-time thematics for our Services sector team, and our portfolio companies and new investments will benefit tremendously from Doug being in the Permira family."
Daniel Brenhouse and Philip Muelder, Permira partners and co-heads of services, added: "Doug ran S&P Global for more than a decade and fundamentally reshaped it along the way. He knows what it takes to grow a data and financial services franchise across markets, through cycles and through a major integration, and he understands the regulatory and client dynamics that define this sector.
"Permira has been one of the most active investors in the infrastructure behind private markets over the past decade, and Doug’s experience will be invaluable to the management teams we back in the years ahead."
Peterson said: "Permira has a long history of backing services businesses and helping them grow through investment in people, technology and innovation. Having spent my career in data, analytics and financial services, I see enormous opportunity in helping these businesses grow.
"I am looking forward to working with Daniel, Philip and the team, and with the leadership of their portfolio companies, as they build the next generation of leaders in this sector."
