In an unexpected shakeup, the Private Equity Growth Capital Council announced on Tuesday that it has replaced its chief executive, Douglas Lowenstein, with Vice President of Government Affairs Steve Judge, who will serve as interim CEO as the trade group hunts for a new head.
“As the council continues to evolve and grow, this is the right time for new leadership. Steve and his team have the full support of the member firms, and we look forward to adding a proven executive who can lead the council into the next stage of its development,” PEGCC Chairman Mark Tresnowski said in a statement.
The read between the lines, of course, is that Lowenstein is not the person positioned to take the private equity industry trade group into the future. Lowenstein, who who founded the group in 2007, will step down September 1.
Lowenstein declined an interview request, but said in the statement: "I am proud of all we accomplished, including building bridges between policymakers and the industry during some of the most challenging economic times in a generation.… With the PEGCC and the industry it serves in a far better place than when we started, now is a good time to step aside for new leadership."
Before PEGCC, Lowenstein founded and served as president of the Entertainment Software Association for 13 years.
PEGCC represents the private equity and growth capital investment industry and counts the Blackstone Group, Apollo Global Management, and the Carlyle Group among its members. Last year, the group spent $2.4 million on lobbying, with much of its efforts aimed at the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill and combating an effort to increase the taxes that private equity managers pay on their compensation.
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