Kipp deVeer and Blair Jacobson have been named co-presidents of credit manager Ares Management, effective immediately, a spokesman said.
The positions are new. DeVeer and Jacobson will both report to CEO Michael Arougheti.
“I look forward to continuing to work with them in their newly expanded positions for years to come,” Arougheti said in a news release.
In response to an analyst's question during Ares' fourth-quarter earnings call Feb. 5, Arougheti emphasized he was not changing his responsibilities but that the two new positions are an expansion of the management and strategic capacities of the firm.
"I've asked Kipp and Blair to work with me on the highest impact growth opportunities, which right now are to get the integration of GCP (International) right and position it for growth," he said.
In October, Ares agreed to acquire GCP International in a $3.7 billion deal that almost doubles Ares’ real estate business. Arougheti said the GCP deal will close in the first quarter. Some of the growth opportunities include real assets credit and exploiting Ares' "private credit capabilities alongside Aspida (Holdings)," a life insurance and annuity company backed by Ares. On Feb. 3, money manager T. Rowe Price Group and its alternative credit subsidiary Oak Hill Advisors announced a strategic partnership with Aspida.
In response to an analyst's question, Arougheti said there is a potential for the new strategic partnership with T. Rowe Price and Oak Hill to be a gateway to managing money for 401(k) plans.
"It's still early days in figuring out exactly how and on what time frame alts will find their way into the 401(k) market, but there are early discussions just around product development and a path forward to work together on various retirement product and obviously that would be super exciting if it came to fruition," he said.
In view of all of these growth opportunities, Arougheti said, "I'm not changing my priorities, but I think given the amount of opportunity that we have around the globe, it's now time to kind of fill those seats and just expand our capacity."
Both deVeer and Jacobson are also partners. DeVeer was head of the Ares' credit group, and Jacobson was co-head of European credit.
DeVeer and Jacobson will transition from their day-to-day management in Ares' credit business to helping Arougheti with strategic and operational initiatives, support investor and counterparty relationships, and develop the next generation of Ares leaders.
Partners Mitchell Goldstein and Michael Smith will continue as co-heads of Ares’ credit group. Partners Michael Dennis and Matthew Theodorakis will continue as co-heads of Ares’ European direct lending strategy.
In addition, Kort Schnabel, currently partner and co-president of the firm’s business development company, Ares Capital, is being promoted to CEO on April 30, replacing deVeer, who has been CEO of Ares Capital since 2014. Jim Miller, Ares Capital co-president, will become sole president.
