The Carlyle Group Names Steve Sterling Managing Director and Head of Research for U.S. Leveraged Finance Group; New Position Will Provide Valuable Insight into Investment Opportunities

New York – Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group today announced it has appointed Steve Sterling to the newly created position of Managing Director and Head of Research for the U.S. Leveraged Finance Group. Mr. Sterling joins Carlyle with 20 years of leveraged credit experience in leadership, originator and credit roles, most recently with Bear Stearns and, prior to that, Lehman Brothers and Bank of America. He begins his duties on January 15, 2008.

Based in New York, Mr. Sterling will oversee the research team and deliver actionable investment ideas and insight to the portfolio managers in the U.S. Leveraged Finance Group.

“The breadth and depth of Steve’s experience across all major industry groups, company sizes and transaction types will enhance our team’s ability to anticipate market opportunities and implement investment ideas,” said Michael Zupon, Carlyle Managing Director and Head of the U.S. Leveraged Finance Group.

Mr. Sterling said, “I am delighted to join the Carlyle Group’s U.S. Leveraged Finance Group and build upon the team’s strong track record of providing attractive risk adjusted returns across market cycles.”

Carlyle’s Leveraged Finance Group manages $9 billion globally. The U.S. Leveraged Finance team has 9 funds, totaling $5.2 billion that invest in below investment grade corporate loans, bonds and special situations in the U.S. The team focuses on industries in which The Carlyle Group has extensive expertise: aerospace, consumer products, defense, healthcare, industrial, telecommunications, media, transportation and technology. In addition, the U.S. Leveraged Finance team works with other Carlyle teams in their specialty areas to identify and evaluate investment opportunities and leverage their insight into the key trends at work in these sectors.

Mr. Sterling earned his M.B.A. in strategic management/finance from the Peter Drucker Graduate Management Center, The Claremont Graduate School and his B.S. in finance from California State University, Sacramento.

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