NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, today announced the promotions of Mary Armstrong, Rodrigo Catunda, Gordon Cruess, Andrea Joseph, Andy Papadakos, Annie Paydar, Kelly Pettit and Luiz Ribeiro to Managing Director; Fred Carvalho to Operating Partner; Lexie Bartlett, Sharad Bhojnagarwala, Tom Hussey, Sam Lerer, Simon Liu and Varun Talukdar to Principal; and Hilary Lindemann to Operating Principal. In addition, the firm has promoted Christian Braunfisch, Phyllis Chen, Georgia Dowdall, Ingrid van der Hoorn, Alex Ong, Kerri Rauschenbach, Maria Ribeiro and Emily Tung to Vice President; and Lindsay Bedard, Henry Portwood and Alex Stahl to Operating Vice President. The promotions will be effective as of January 1, 2022.
“We are proud to promote this group of extraordinary leaders, and we thank them for the dedication and expertise they bring to our portfolio company management teams, our capital partners and our firm,” said Bill Ford, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic. “We look forward to their continued contributions in the years ahead.”
Promotions to Managing Director
Mary Armstrong is based in New York and leads the firm’s marketing and communications efforts. Ms. Armstrong also serves on the firm’s Operating Committee and helps direct the firm’s philanthropic activities as a Board Member of the GA Foundation. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2018, she was the Director of Communications, Americas at Warburg Pincus, where she also served on the Environment, Social and Governance Committee. Before that, she was a Director at Brunswick Group, a global advisory firm specializing in business-critical issues, where she worked in the New York, Shanghai and San Francisco offices. Ms. Armstrong earned a B.A. in English and Spanish from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Rodrigo Catunda is based in São Paulo and co-leads the firm’s investments across various sectors in Latin America. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2011, Mr. Catunda was an Investment Banking Associate at J.P. Morgan in São Paulo and New York, focused on Latin America. He earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas and a P.L.D. from Harvard Business School.
Gordon Cruess is based in New York and oversees legal advice on portfolio investments and liquidity transactions globally as part of the firm’s Legal and Compliance team. Before joining General Atlantic in 2015, Mr. Cruess was a Corporate Associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Prior to that, Mr. Cruess was a Corporate Associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from University of Toronto and B.C.L./LL.B. degrees from McGill University Faculty of Law.
Andrea Joseph is based in Palo Alto and leads the firm’s capital partnering efforts on the West Coast. Before joining General Atlantic in 2018, Ms. Joseph served as the Head of Investor Relations at Oak Hill Capital Partners. In this role, she was responsible for fundraising and investor relations activities. Prior to that, Ms. Joseph worked as an Associate at Oak Hill Capital Partners, focusing on investments in the Technology group, and as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Morgan Stanley. She earned a B.B.A. in Business Administration from University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Andy Papadakos is based in Stamford and oversees the global finance and accounting operations of the firm’s investment entities as part of the Finance and Accounting team. Before joining General Atlantic in 1998, Mr. Papadakos was an Audit Manager at Deloitte. He has extensive experience in managing all aspects of a global private equity fund, including treasury, investment fund structure, regulatory, tax and investor reporting matters. Mr. Papadakos is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Private Equity Chief Financial Officer Association (PECFOA). He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Connecticut and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Annie Paydar is based in New York and leads the firm’s human capital and talent development initiatives. Ms. Paydar also serves on the firm’s Operating Committee. Before joining General Atlantic in 2018, she spent 14 years at The Carlyle Group, where she held several human resources leadership roles in North America and EMEA. Prior to that, Ms. Paydar served on the Human Resources team at The Blackstone Group. She earned a B.S. in Speech Communication and Political Science from University of Utah.
Kelly Pettit is based in New York and leads the investment funds practice, oversees the global regulatory compliance program and assists with general corporate matters as the firm’s Chief Compliance Office and as part of the broader Legal & Compliance team. She also serves on the firm’s Operating Committee. Before joining General Atlantic in 2010, Ms. Pettit was an Associate at the New York law firm Hutner Klarish LLP. She earned a B.A. in Political Psychology from Lafayette College and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.
Luiz Ribeiro is based in São Paulo and co-leads the firm’s investments in Brazil and leads its investments in Colombia. Before joining General Atlantic in 2016, Mr. Ribeiro worked as a Director at Advent International, where he concentrated on the financial services and healthcare sectors while based in the São Paulo and Bogota offices. During his time at Advent, he served on the boards of numerous investments and served as CFO of Atmosfera. Mr. Ribeiro earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas and completed the P.L.D. at Harvard Business School.
Promotion to Operating Partner
Fred Carvalho is based in São Paulo and provides strategic support and financial expertise to the firm’s investment teams and portfolio companies, with a focus on the Latin America region. Before joining General Atlantic in 2012, Mr. Carvalho served as Chief Operating Officer of the Merchant Banking division at BTG Pactual Group. Previously, he was a Partner in Deloitte’s Transaction Services group in São Paulo, leading deal advisory, corporate reorganization and diligence services for major private equity investors and strategic clients in Brazil. Mr. Carvalho earned a B.A. in Economics from Universidade de Brasília, an L.L.B, Law from UDF Centro Universitário, an L.L.M. Tax Law from UDF Centro Universitário and an L.L.M. Taxation from Boston University.
Promotion to Principal
Lexie Bartlett is based in New York and focuses on investments in the firm’s Consumer sector. Before joining General Atlantic in 2020, Ms. Bartlett worked at Warburg Pincus and Bain Capital, where she focused primarily on consumer and healthcare investments. She started her career in the Private Equity Group at Goldman Sachs. Ms. Bartlett earned a B.A. in Engineering from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Sharad Bhojnagarwala is based in Mumbai and focuses on investments in the firm’s Technology sector in India and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2011, Mr. Bhojnagarwala was an Investment Professional at TVS Capital, where he focused on investments in the mid-cap consumer sector, among others. Before that, he worked in technology roles at various companies in Boston, including EMC, Lucent Technologies, Trebia Networks and ZipDiner.com. Mr. Bhojnagarwala earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a M.B.A from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Tom Hussey is based in London and focuses on investments in the firm’s Technology sector in EMEA. Before joining General Atlantic in 2013, Mr. Hussey worked in corporate development at 21st Century Fox. Previously, he worked at The Boston Consulting Group in London, where he concentrated on private equity and technology, media & telecommunications. Mr. Hussey earned an M.A. (Oxon) in Economics and Management from The Queen’s College, Oxford University.
Sam Lerer is based in New York and focuses on investments in the firm’s Consumer and Technology sectors. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2013, he was an Investment Banking Analyst at Evercore Partners in the Telecommunications advisory group based in New York. Mr. Lerer earned a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Computer Science from the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Simon Liu is based in Beijing and focuses on the firm’s investments in China. Before joining General Atlantic in 2018, Mr. Liu was an Assistant Vice President at GIC, where he focused on the technology and consumer sectors. Prior to that, he was an Investment Banking Analyst at Citigroup. Mr. Liu earned a B.A. in Finance from City University of Hong Kong.
Varun Talukdar is based in Mumbai and focuses on the firm’s investments in the India & Asia-Pacific region. Before joining General Atlantic in 2013, Mr. Talukdar was an Investment Professional at Premji Invest, where he concentrated on investments in the retail, consumer and education sectors. Prior to that, he worked with the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Estate in New York to manage and unwind its Indian private and public equity assets. Mr. Talukdar has also worked at Bayside Capital, the Miami-based credit investment arm of H.I.G. Capital, and in the Industrials Investment Banking division of Bank of America in New York. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Kenan Flagler Business School, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Promotions to Operating Principal
Hilary Lindemann is based in New York and leads the firm’s portfolio management process. Before joining General Atlantic in 2011, Ms. Lindemann was an Investment Banking Analyst at Greenhill & Co. in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Restructuring Advisory groups. She earned a B.B.A. in Business and Finance from University of Texas at Austin.
Promotions to Vice President
Christian Braunfisch
Phyllis Chen
Georgia Dowdall
Ingrid van der Hoorn
Alex Ong
Kerri Rauschenbach
Maria Ribeiro
Emily Tung
Promotions to Operating Vice President
Lindsay Bedard
Henry Portwood
Alex Stahl
About General Atlantic
General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $86 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of September 30, 2021, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Stamford.
For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.