LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New Catalyst Strategic Partners, an independent alternative investment firm focused on providing solutions for Next Generation GPs, today announced the hiring of experienced private market veterans Ali Gray, Alice Wang, and Curtis Yasutake. New Catalyst also announced the addition of Monica Davis as Operating Partner.
“We are excited to welcome Ali, Alice, and Curtis as we continue to build a team with the experience, judgement, and relationships to invest in Next Generation GPs and collaborate with those sponsors as they launch and scale their businesses,” said New Catalyst Founder Jason Howard. “The experience and industry knowledge these new team members bring will strengthen our firm’s capabilities and enable New Catalyst to make a greater impact for Next Generation GPs. I am grateful for the wide-ranging support they have provided so far, and we’re excited about the significant opportunity in front of us.”
- Ali Gray, Head of Investor Relations, joins New Catalyst with over 10 years of relevant experience working in the private equity and asset management industries. Most recently Ali led investor relations at Newlight, an emerging manager spinout from Soros Fund Management, where she helped develop and implement investor relations best practices. Before Newlight, Ali managed relationships with institutional clients at BlackRock. Ali will lead investor relations at New Catalyst and help New Catalyst’s Partner Firms build high-quality investor relations functions.
- Alice Wang, Portfolio Manager, joins New Catalyst with over 8 years of relevant experience, including most recently at APG, one of the world’s largest pension investors, where she was a founding member of the Global Private Equity Secondaries strategy. At APG, she structured and underwrote a wide breadth of transaction types, including GP-led continuation funds, LP fund portfolio purchases, portfolio sales and primary fund investments. She has structured and underwritten deals across the whole spectrum of private equity including buyout, growth, and venture capital assets. Prior to APG, Alice was in investment banking with Barclays focused on structured products advising issuers on bespoke solutions across the equity and debt capital structures.
- Curtis Yasutake, Portfolio Manager, joins New Catalyst with over 15 years of relevant experience, including most recently as a Director of Investments at Pacific Current Group, a global multi-boutique investment management firm, where he led GP stake investments alongside the firm’s CEO. At Pacific Current Group, he was responsible for all aspects of the GP stakes investment process, including underwriting, sourcing, structuring, and deal execution, and was a board/management committee member for multiple private markets portfolio companies. Curtis also has extensive manager research experience from his previous role as a Senior Research Analyst at Russell Investments.
Alice and Curtis are primarily focused on sourcing, valuation, diligence, structuring, and execution of investments in addition to value creation services.
New Catalyst also announced that Monica Davis joins as an Operating Partner, an industry veteran who brings over 15 years in private equity investor relations experience. Monica will work alongside the New Catalyst team to help successfully execute the firm’s strategy.
In January 2024, industry veteran Jason Howard publicly launched New Catalyst Strategic Partners in strategic partnership with Apollo Global Management. The New Catalyst platform offers Next Generation GPs a range of solutions, including:
- Seeding new private market firms;
- Accelerating capital for existing firms;
- Co-sponsoring company acquisitions; and,
- Providing growth capital for launching new investment strategies, scaling investment teams, and other structured investments.
About New Catalyst Strategic Partners
New Catalyst Strategic Partners (“New Catalyst”) is a majority diverse-owned and independent alternative investment firm founded by industry veteran Jason Howard. New Catalyst seeks to acquire economic interests and minority ownership in Next Generation private markets firms, providing them with the flexible, strategic capital and value creation resources they need to grow and succeed. To learn more, please visit www.newcatalystsp.com.
