NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bridge Growth Partners, LLC, a leading technology investment firm, announced today that Yves de Balmann, former Co-Chairman of Bregal Investments and Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of BT Alex. Brown, has been named an Executive Partner.
“I have known Yves personally and worked with him professionally for many years, and I am so pleased that he has agreed to dedicate more of his time to Bridge Growth,” said Alok Singh, Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Growth Partners. “I have always been impressed by the clarity of his judgement, and particularly by his keen ability to identify opportunities and assess risk, stretching back to our work together at BT Alex. Brown, where he oversaw that firm’s private equity and investment banking businesses. Over the past few years, Bridge Growth has benefitted significantly from his sage counsel as an advisor to our firm and as a board member of Finalsite, our educational technology platform. As our first fund successfully matures and we look to further develop our position as a leading technology investment firm, I am very confident that Yves’ investing experience and acumen will be even more helpful to our team, for the benefit of our investors and our portfolio companies.”
Joe Tucci, Chairman of Bridge Growth Partners, added, “We are gratified that an executive of Yves’ stature is joining our esteemed group of Executive Partners. Yves is well known and recognized as a seasoned, global financial executive and private equity investor who has proven time and time again his ability to help build market leaders. His wide-ranging corporate governance and investing expertise will be an excellent complement to our overall team.”
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to commit more time to working with Alok and the rest of the Bridge Growth team, for whom I have great respect,” said Mr. de Balmann. “Bridge Growth’s passion for recruiting and cultivating top talent, driving operational excellence and building great companies resonates well with the principles and values that have always guided me over the years as an investor and business leader. I am impressed to see this approach being put to work in their portfolio investment activities as well as in the values, vision and energy they are applying to building the firm, and this is why I look forward to collaborating even more closely with the talented Bridge Growth team in the years ahead.”
Beginning with the firm’s first investment in December 2014 in CRGT, a leading systems integrator and agile software development partner for federal government agencies, Bridge Growth and its co-investors have made control investments across five technology businesses where the aggregate fair market value of their invested capital is approximately $1 billion as of the end of September 2019.
Mr. de Balmann joins a highly accomplished group of Executive Partners who are part of the integrated Bridge Growth team, including Jack Welch, former Senior Partner at McKinsey; Don Callahan, former Global Head of Technology and Operations of Citigroup; Rob Ashe, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Cognos; Steve Mills, former Executive Vice President of IBM; and Steve Pusey, former Chief Technology Officer of Vodafone Group.
About Yves de Balmann
From 2002 to 2012, Mr. de Balmann was Co-Chief Executive Officer of Bregal Investments, a private equity firm that he built on behalf of the Brenninkmeijer family, now with a global presence and over $13 billion of invested capital in its more than 15-year history.
From 1999 to 2001, he was Co-Head of Deutsche Bank’s Global Investment Bank (GIB) and a member of the Board of the Bank’s Global Corporates and Institutions Division. As co-head of GIB, he also oversaw the firm’s private equity and venture capital investments. In addition, he was Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown.
In addition to his role with Bridge Growth Partners as an Executive Partner, Mr. de Balmann currently serves as a director for Exelon Corporation (a NYSE-traded company) and for ESI (a Paris SE-traded company), and on the advisory board of Altas Partners. Previously, Mr. de Balmann served as a director of Laureate Education, Inc. and as the non-executive Chairman of Conversant Intellectual Property Management. Mr. de Balmann also served as a director of Constellation Energy Group from 2003 to 2012 when Constellation merged with Exelon.
Mr. de Balmann received an M.S. in Operations Research from Stanford University in 1970 (where he was a Fulbright scholar), and an Engineering degree from the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. He is a Director of BGP-backed Finalsite, as well as ESI (a Paris SE-traded company), Exelon. He holds dual U.S. and French citizenship.
About Bridge Growth Partners
Bridge Growth Partners, LLC is a private equity firm that targets investments in the technology and technology-enabled services sectors. Bridge Growth Partners brings together in one team premier investment, financial, operating, and strategic business building talent. The firm is committed to relationship-based investing, with a focus on supporting growth, operational excellence and world-class governance at its portfolio companies to create value for investors.
For more information about Bridge Growth Partners, please visit http://www.bridgegrowthpartners.com/.