David Bluff, a former partner and managing director of global investment firm The Carlyle Group, has been named as the Future Fund’s new head of private equity.
Mr Bluff spent 14 years at Carlyle, serving as head of Australia and New Zealand and as a member of the firm’s Asia-Pacific leadership team. Prior to Carlyle, he was a corporate finance executive at SAB Miller and investment banker at J.P. Morgan.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Future Fund said that Mr Bluff would join its established private equity team and report to Alicia Gregory, who has been acting head of private equity since 2021, when she was promoted to the role of deputy chief investment officer.
Ms Gregory said that she was delighted to have secured an executive of Mr Bluff’s calibre for the head of private equity role.
“He has deep investment experience across private markets globally and is a well-respected leader in our industry. David joins an experienced team overseeing a significant, global portfolio of private equity investments,” she said.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Bluff said that he was excited by the opportunity to be able to contribute to Australia’s prosperity.
“It’s a privilege to join the Future Fund team and to participate in such a large and diverse portfolio at a time of significant change in global financial markets,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Future Fund also confirmed the appointment of Sarah Azzi as a director on its private equity team.
Ms Azzi previously served as an investment director at Anacacia Capital and as a member of Mercer’s private markets team covering global managers.
In its latest portfolio update, the Future fund reported a -3.7 per cent return for the 2022 calendar year, dragging down the total assets of the sovereign wealth fund to $196.1 billion.
