HarbourVest’s listed arm loses COO

HarbourVest Partners‘ listed private equity arm has lost its chief operating officer Stuart Howard, Secondaries Investor has learned.

Howard joined HabourVest Global Private Equity Limited (HVPE) in 2012, after working at 3i Group for more than 10 years. He left HVPE on 31 October this year, a spokesperson for the firm told Secondaries Investor’s sister publication Private Equity International.

Howard was based in London and was responsible for overseeing HarbourVest’s role in the operations of HVPE and HarbourVest Senior Loans Europe, another listed investment company managed by HarbourVest.

HarbourVest declined to comment on what Howard’s future plans are, other than that he will take up a “CEO role with a private financial services-focused company operating in the UK”. Howard could not be reached for comment at press time.

“Senior professionals at HarbourVest Partners will continue to manage all aspects of the company business and its relationships with shareholders until a successor is appointed, at which time a further announcement will be made,” HarbourVest said in an emailed statement.

Peter Wilson and Brooks Zug, HarbourVest’s managing directors and the non-independent directors of HVPE, will remain involved in all aspects of the company’s business, as will chairman Sir Michael Bunbury, HarbourVest said. Richard Hickman and Billy Macaulay also work full time on HVPE from the firm’s London and Boston offices respectively.

HVPE invests in HarbourVest vehicles. About 48 percent of its capital is committed to primary funds, 34 percent committed to secondaries funds and 18 percent used to make direct investments, according to the fund of funds’ website. HVPE is a limited partner in HarbourVest’s last two secondaries funds: Dover Street VII, which closed on $2.9 billion in 2009 and Dover Street VIII, which raised $3.6 billion last year.