Charlesbank Capital Partners has named Brandon White and Sandor Hau as co-managing partners in a significant leadership transition at the $22bn-plus middle-market investor, with long-time CEO Michael Choe stepping back after 12 years at the helm.
White, currently managing partner and co-head of private equity, and Hau, managing partner and head of credit, will jointly lead the firm. White will continue to lead its private equity business alongside David Katz, who has been promoted to co-head of private equity, while Hau will retain responsibility for Charlesbank’s credit strategy, the firm said.
Choe will become managing partner emeritus after almost 30 years with Charlesbank and its predecessor organisation, including 12 years leading the firm as president and subsequently CEO. He will remain a member of both its private equity and credit investment committees.
Charlesbank is also broadening its executive committee as part of the transition. Managing directors Katz, Pedro Vaz and Carolyn Wintner will join White, Hau and chief operating officer Josh Klevens on the committee, which oversees firmwide management.
White has been a member of the Charlesbank investment team since the firm’s inception, having joined predecessor Harvard Private Capital Group in 1997. He currently co-leads its private equity strategy and has focused on healthcare and industrial investments.
Hau joined Charlesbank in 2016 from Nomura Securities, where he was managing director and head of corporate credit and special situations. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs, where he was a managing director and head of credit investing and private equity within its principal strategies group.
His elevation comes after a significant expansion of Charlesbank’s credit platform. The firm closed Credit Opportunities Fund III on $1.5bn in early 2024, beating its $1.25bn target and stepping up from $1.1bn of commitments across its second credit fund and companion overage vehicle.
Charlesbank said at the time that its credit team had invested more than $4bn since launching the strategy. The predecessor Credit Opportunities Fund II initially closed at its $700m hard cap in 2020 before Charlesbank subsequently added its credit dislocation overage vehicle.
The firm’s most recently disclosed flagship private equity fundraise saw Charlesbank Equity Fund X reach its $3.75bn hard cap in 2021, less than six months after launch. It simultaneously raised an $800m overage vehicle, giving the strategy up to $4.55bn of additional capital.
Fund X was a step up from the $3bn raised for Fund IX in 2017, with existing LPs accounting for 94% of commitments to the successor vehicle.
The leadership changes also follow a reshaping of Charlesbank’s investment platform earlier this year. Its Technology Opportunities team completed its spinout as independent firm Eterna Growth Partners in February, taking with it two funds with $2.3bn of combined committed capital and 19 portfolio companies. Charlesbank has retained its wider technology and technology infrastructure investment activities.
Charlesbank said its investment strategy, investment committee processes, portfolio oversight and client service model will remain unchanged following the leadership transition.
The firm had more than $22bn of assets under management as of June 2025 and invests through its middle-market private equity and opportunistic credit strategies.
Copyright © 2026 AltAssets
