Rede hires former Credit Suisse fundraiser

Former Credit Suisse director Tom Donovan has joined Rede Partners to lead the firm’s North American business, the firm announced in a statement. 

Donovan, who is based in Chicago, will be tasked with leveraging his relationships with institutional investors as the relatively new placement agent expands its business in North America.

Before joining Rede, Donovan spent eight years at Credit Suisse, where he was a member of the firm’s senior distribution team and covered North American institutional investors. He resigned from the firm in February. Prior to that, he was an associate director of debt capital markets at JP Morgan Securities. 

At Credit Suisse, Donovan worked with Adam Turtle, who went on to found Rede with former Lazard managing director Scott Church and Sharare Hau of Royal Bank of Scotland in January 2011. 

Donovan

“In terms of the market itself, fundraising is global,” Hau told Private Equity International. “We knew we needed a North American presence. And through Adam we had a good understanding and knowledge of Tom’s calibre.”

The placement agent has already advised one successful fundraise for AnaCap Financial Partners, which closed its second credit opportunities fund on a £350 million hard-cap after only six months of active fundraising. 

AnaCap, which had a £250 million target, received commitments from the State of New Jersey Division of Investment, Hamilton Lane and the Ohio Public Employees’ Retirement System, AnaCap said. The fund has a three year investment period and an eight year life-span. 

“We were very excited about it. It was our first fundraising mandate. We worked on a number of assignments as well, but none of which involved [a] fundraising component,” Hau said. Rede is advising three other fundraises and expects to work on a fourth soon. 

In addition to assisting with fundraises, the firm will also advise clients on how to engage with their investors between marketing efforts. The strategy is designed to confront how the private equity landscape has changed in recent years, with LPs demanding more transparency and communication from their fund managers, Hau said. 

“It’s about what you are doing for your investors between fundraisings, and that’s what we’re trying to focus on,” she said.