Abrdn’s global head of private equity has left the company after less than two years and will not be replaced.
The departure of Mark Redman, 53, has fuelled speculation that the asset manager is considering selling its private equity business, which it spun out into a separate unit last year to profit from the boom in private equity deals.
A spokeswoman for the company said it had “no desire” to sell the private equity business and that Redman had left the company to pursue other opportunities: “Mark is an experienced and successful private markets investor and leader who leaves our private equity business positioned for the future.”
Redman did not respond to a request for a comment. The private equity leadership team will now report to Chris Demetriou, 38, who oversees Abrdn’s investment teams across the UK, Europe and the Americas.
Before joining Abrdn, Redman was global head of private equity with Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, one of Canada’s biggest pension funds, where he started their European private equity operations.
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The separation of the private equity business at Abrdn from property and infrastructure investment was designed to give it a more effective operating model with a focus on taking equity stakes in companies.
It formed part of an effort to reverse the fortunes of Abrdn, which was created in 2017 from the merger of Standard Life with Aberdeen Asset Management. It manages £542 billion of assets through funds and pension fund mandates. Under Stephen Bird, a former Citigroup banker, it has pushed deeper into retail and commercial property investment. When Bird joined in 2020 he said he wanted to increase investment in private companies.
Abrdn said the private equity team’s “underlying investment processes and teams” would be unchanged.
