Our people

As Head of The Carlyle Group’s Global Investment Solutions, one of the firm’s three business segments, Ruulke Bagijn is part of the leadership team of one of largest global investment firms in the world. She also serves as Chair of the Board of AlpInvest, Carlyle’s dedicated private equity primary fund, co-investment, and secondary solutions platform with $80 billion AUM (per Q1 2024) and investment professionals in New York, San Francisco, London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In addition, Ms. Bagijn is a member of the AlpInvest Global Investment Committee, which makes all investment decisions in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia, and Australia on behalf of its 450+ investors worldwide.

Based in New York, Ms. Ruulke has 20+ years of experience in global investments and a deep knowledge of private capital portfolios. She joined AlpInvest from AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, where she was the Global Head of Real Assets Private Equity and a member of its Management Board. Before that, she was Co-Chief Investment Officer of Investment Management and Chief Investment Officer of Private Markets at PGGM, with direct responsibility for managing investments in infrastructure, hedge funds, structured credit, private equity, insurance-linked securities, and private real estate, and held senior roles at ABN AMRO.

A passionate advocate of the business case for diversity, including involving more women in private equity, Ms. Bagijn has been named a Wall Street Journal Pro PE ‘Woman to Watch,’ sits on the Carlyle Diversity & Inclusion Council and is an inaugural member of the Milken Institute’s Center for Inclusive Capitalism. Born in the Netherlands, she was also the inaugural chair of the Dutch committee of Level 20, the not-for-profit body established to inspire women to join and succeed in the Private Equity industry in the Netherlands.

Ruulke received an MSc in economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam, is a CFA charterholder, and serves as a Board member of the Netherland-America Foundation (NAF), which supports high-impact exchange between the two countries.

Erica Herberg is a Partner and the Chief Financial Officer of Global Investment Solutions. She is a member of the AlpInvest Partners Board and Chair of the Operating Committee.

Previously, Erica was Chief Financial Officer of Carlyle’s Global Credit segment and before that she was responsible for the Fund Management Operations of Carlyle’s Europe based private equity funds, based in Luxembourg and London. Prior to this role Erica led the Real Assets Partnership Accounting team in Washington D.C. office. She joined Carlyle in 1999 from KPMG, LLP.

Erica earned a BS in accounting from Boston College.

Eric is a Managing Director in the Secondary and Portfolio Finance team where he is responsible for sourcing, evaluating and executing transactions in North America. He joined AlpInvest in 2011 from Jefferies, where he was an Investment Banking Analyst. Prior to Jefferies, Eric was with B.C. Ziegler and Company where he focused on mergers and acquisitions. Eric received a B.A. from Colgate University.

Omar is a Managing Director in the AlpInvest Co-Investment team where he is responsible for sourcing, evaluating and executing transactions in North America. He joined AlpInvest Partners in 2018 from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, where he was a Senior Investment Manager in the Private Equity Department.

Omar received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

John is a Managing Director and Client Relationship Manager in the Global Investment Solutions segment, focused on working with investors in the Americas. He is based in New York. Prior to working in Investor Relations, Mr. Borys worked on AlpInvest’s Co-Investment team focused on both private equity and mezzanine transactions globally. Mr. Borys joined AlpInvest from Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2011, where he worked in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Investment Banking group. Mr. Borys earned a BSc in finance from Pennsylvania State University.

Vjerana Burleigh is a Managing Director on the Secondary and Portfolio Finance team focusing on the Portfolio Finance strategy. Vjerana rejoined AlpInvest in 2019 from 17Capital, a London-based credit manager, where she was an Investment Director.

She first joined the AlpInvest team in 2012 as an Investment Analyst pursuing equity and credit secondary investments in Europe and globally. Vjerana received a BSc in Economics summa cum laude from the University of Zagreb, an MSc in International Finance from the Amsterdam Business School and an executive diploma from the Said Business School.

Louis Choy is a Managing Director on the AlpInvest Secondary and Portfolio Finance team, where he focuses on European transaction execution and origination. He is based in London. Prior to joining AlpInvest, Louis was a Senior Principal at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, where he focused on secondaries in Europe, Asia and North America. Previously, he worked at Pantheon Ventures, focused on European secondaries. Louis received his BBA and BMath (Double Degree) from Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo, where he graduated with Distinction and on the Dean’s Honour List.

Peter is a Managing Director responsible for analyzing the economic and financial environment for private equity markets and examining the implications for AlpInvest Partners’ strategic asset allocation. He joined the firm in 2005 from Royal Dutch Shell, where he was Group Chief Economist. Previously, he was Chief Economist and Director of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Program. Prior to that, he was head of international economic research at Deutsche Bank and a senior economist with the International Monetary Fund. Peter studied at the London School of Economics and the University of Göttingen where he received his doctorate in Economics. He has been a visiting professor at Leuven Gent Vlerick Management School and a visiting scholar at Harvard University. He is the author of International Investments in Private Equity (Elsevier, 2011) and a co-author of Mastering Illiquidity (Wiley, 2013).

Neal is a Managing Director in the Secondary and Portfolio Finance team. Based in London, he focuses on European transactions and leads the European secondary sourcing effort. He originally joined AlpInvest Partners in 2003 in New York, where he helped found the AlpInvest US Secondary Investments team. Over the course of his tenure at AlpInvest, he has also led the firm’s Asia Secondary efforts via the Hong Kong office, and the European efforts from the Amsterdam office.

Neal also spent time with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, where he led the Secondary and Co-investments business in Europe. Previously, he was also with CIBC World Markets’ Mergers & Acquisitions Investment Banking division. He currently serves as a Director on the Columbia University Business School Private Equity Board. Neal received his MBA from Columbia University in New York and an Honors Business degree (HBA) from the Ivey School of Business at Western University in Canada. He is also a CFA® Charterholder.

Piet-Hein is a Managing Director in the Primary Fund Investments team where he is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing fund opportunities in the EMEA region. Piet-Hein represents AlpInvest on a large number and variety of GP advisory boards. He joined AlpInvest Partners in 2008 and has 15 years of experience at AlpInvest and in the private equity industry. Piet-Hein received an MSc, cum laude, in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Marleen is a Managing Director in the Primary Fund Investments team where she is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing fund opportunities in Europe. She joined AlpInvest Partners in 2009. Marleen received an MSc, cum laude, in Financial Economics and a LLM in Financial Law from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Rich is a Managing Director and co-head AlpInvest Partners’ Co-Investment team with a focus on transactions in the Americas. He is a member of the Investment Committee. Rich joined AlpInvest in 2004 and has 15 years of related investment experience. Prior to joining AlpInvest, Rich worked in the Investment Banking Division of Citigroup Global Markets and he received a BA in Economics, summa cum laude, from Boston College. He represents AlpInvest Partners on several portfolio company boards as well as fund advisory boards.

Joeri is a Managing Director in AlpInvest Partners’ Co-Investment team and focuses on equity transactions in Europe. He joined AlpInvest Partners in 2012 from McKinsey & Company, where he was an Engagement Manager, working in both the corporate finance and the strategy consulting practice mainly focused on utilities and oil and gas (service) companies. Joeri received an MSc in Applied Physics from the Eindhoven Technical University and an MBA from INSEAD. Furthermore he studied Econometrics at the Free University of Amsterdam.

Rob is a Managing Director and Partner of AlpInvest Partners’ Co-Investment team with a focus on Europe. He is also a member of the Operating Committee. He joined AlpInvest Partners in 2001 from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was a Senior Consultant for Corporate & Operations Strategy, responsible for advising and assisting multinationals and governmental organizations on developing corporate and business strategies. Prior to PricewaterhouseCoopers, he worked for Ernst & Young Management Consultants. Rob received an MSc in Business Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Cameron is AlpInvest’s Chief Compliance Officer and based in the New York office. He joined AlpInvest Partners in 2011 from Ropes & Gray, where he was a lawyer focusing on M&A and investment management, including private equity fund formation. Cameron received a J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

Jeffrey Gruccio is a Managing Director with the Primary Fund Investments team focusing on U.S. transactions. He is based in New York.

Prior to joining AlpInvest Partners, Jeff was an Investment Vice President with Prudential Financial, where he was responsible for sourcing and leading new fund commitments and direct co-investments on behalf of the insurance company in both the U.S. and Europe and was a member of the Alternative Assets Group Investment Committee. Previously, he was with Portfolio Advisors, LLC, a private equity advisor and fund-of-funds manager, where he held roles in the U.S. and Europe.

Jeff received a B.S. in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University.

Michael Hacker is a Partner, Managing Director and Global Head of Portfolio Finance. Michael is also the Chairman of AlpInvest’s global Investment Committee. He represents AlpInvest Partners on numerous Advisory Boards, including The Audax Group, Court Square Capital Partners, Dubin Clark & Co., GSO Capital Partners, Kinderhook Industries, Lee Equity Partners, Manulife Private Equity Partners, the Stagwell Group and Sumeru Equity Partners. Michael joined AlpInvest Partners in 2007 from UBS Investment Bank, where he was an Associate Director in the Private Funds Group responsible for providing Secondary Market advisory services. Previously, he was an Associate in the Leveraged Finance Group of CIBC World Markets. Michael received a BA in History, cum laude, from Williams College and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Yasu Kanda is a Managing Director and Client Relationship Manager in the Investment Solutions segment, focused on working with investors in Japan. He is based in Tokyo. Mr. Kanda joined the firm from McKinsey and Company, where he was an engagement manager. Prior to that, he worked at Tokio Marine Asset Management for nearly 10 years, first as Head of Research of their U.S. entity covering Japanese institutional investors for their alternative investments, and thereafter as the Chief Executive Officer of their London entity. He has also worked at AIFAM Inc, a hedge fund of funds based in New York, and Mizuho Financial Group (international business development). Yasu received his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his bachelor of economics from University of Tokyo.

Broes is a Managing Director in AlpInvest Partners’ Co-Investment team, where he is responsible for sourcing, executing, and monitoring equity transactions in Europe. He joined AlpInvest Partners in 2005 in the Portfolio & Risk Analysis team and moved to Co-Investments in 2008. Broes received a Master of Civil Engineering from Delft University in 2003, and an MBA from Erasmus University.

Sid is a Managing Director in the Co-Investment team where he is responsible for transactions in North America. He joined AlpInvest Partners in 2012 from Wafra Partners, where he was a Vice President in the private equity group based in New York. Sid received a BS in Finance and Information Services from the Stern School of Business at New York University and an MS in Accounting from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, and is a licensed CPA in the state of New York.

Christophe is a Managing Director and Partner in the Secondary and Portfolio Finance team. He is also a member of the AlpInvest Operating Committee. He joined the firm in 2012 and co-leads the European transaction sourcing and execution effort. Christophe has over 20 years of private equity investment experience that includes European and US secondaries at Morgan Stanley and direct buyouts at Permira. His prior professional experience was in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Broadview (now Jefferies) in London and BNP in Hong Kong. Christophe received an MBA from Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris (“ESCP”).