The Carlyle Group Names Rodney Cohen Head of New U.S. Equity Opportunity Team; Group Will Specialize in Smaller Private Equity Transactions

New York – Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group today announced that Rodney Cohen has joined the firm as a Managing Director and Head of the new U.S. Equity Opportunity team. The group will draw upon Carlyle’s diverse geographic, product and sector resources to make control, joint-control and structured minority investments of up to $150 million across a range of industries and opportunities, including, smaller buyouts, corporate divestitures, corporate partnerships and platform build-ups.

Mr. Cohen comes to Carlyle from Pegasus Capital Advisors, a middle-market investment firm with approximately $2 billion of assets under management, where he was a Co-Managing Partner. Reporting to Carlyle Chief Investment Officer William E. Conway, Jr., Mr. Cohen is based in New York.

Carlyle Managing Director Brooke Coburn, Head of the U.S. Growth Capital team, will maintain his current position overseeing three funds with $1.4 billion in committed capital and take on expanded duties as Deputy Head of the new equity opportunity team. Mr. Coburn, a Carlyle veteran since 1996, has led and worked on more than 20 buyout and growth equity investments. During his tenure at Carlyle, Mr. Coburn has invested in numerous sectors, including education, business services, media, telecommunications and technology.

Mr. Conway said, “Rodney is a great addition to our global investment team. His joining will enable us to make investments in companies and situations that we have not focused on in recent years. Combining his opportunistic investment approach with Brooke’s small buyout experience and Carlyle’s global network gives us the rare ability to bring exposure and relationships to small cap companies looking to expand in international markets.”

Mr. Cohen said, “I am excited about this chance to work with Carlyle – to combine an opportunistic investment approach with a return to Carlyle’s small buyout history. The diverse Carlyle platform will generate investment opportunities and magnify our efforts as we seek, diligence and execute transactions that the firm until now would not have pursued because they were too small or unusual. The past 14 years at Pegasus have been deeply satisfying and I sincerely appreciate the time I spent with my friend and mentor Craig Cogut and his outstanding management team.”

In his two decades of private equity investing, operational restructuring and legal advisory work, Mr. Cohen has invested in a variety of sectors, including commodities, natural resources, media, consumer, financial services, security and industrials.

Mr. Cohen joined Pegasus in 1996. From 1993 to 1996, he consulted and managed several diverse business ventures. Prior to that Mr. Cohen practiced law with Anderson Kill Olick and Oshinsky P.C.

Mr. Cohen, age 44, earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and his B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College. He serves as a trustee and executive committee member of the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation, a director of the FLEOA – Federal Law Enforcement Officers Foundation, on the Franklin and Marshall Leadership Council and as a board member of the After School All Stars.

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