Citi appoints US director with KKR, Landmark experience

Citi has added a director to its North American private funds group as the investment bank continues to build out its secondaries team.

Sola Adeleye has joined from the New York office of placement agent and secondaries advisor Cebile Capital, where he was a principal, according to two sources with knowledge of the move. He will focus on GP-led deals across private equity and real assets, according to one of the sources.

Prior to Cebile, Adeleye spent one year with KKR, according to his LinkedIn profile. For six years until 2018 he was with Landmark Partners, leaving as vice-president.

Secondaries Investor reported in May that Citi was searching for one vice-president/director-level recruit in New York and one in London, its first dedicated secondaries professional in Europe. It is not clear if the London post has been filled.

The private funds group at Citi is led by Orcun Unlu, who joined from UBS in 2017. Secondaries Investor reported in 2018 that Citi had entered the secondaries advisory business.

Cebile has appointed two replacements, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. In June, it hired Babar Rafique as a New York-based vice-president. He spent four years with intermediary Setter Capital, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The firm also appointed former Evercore and UBS associate Marc Fitorre as a vice-president, Secondaries Investor understands. He joined in December, according to US regulatory filings.

Citi and Cebile declined to comment.