BlackRock's head of Asia Pacific private credit Celia Yan is leaving the firm for Apollo Global Management, according to people familiar with the matter.
Hong Kong-based Yan will join Apollo as partner at the end of June, where she will lead the firm’s hybrid efforts in Asia Pacific, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private matters.
Apollo’s hybrid business offers debt and structured equity capital to firms that want to transform their businesses without giving up control. These products have a shorter hold period than private equity, but a longer than private credit.
Spokespeople for Apollo and BlackRock declined to comment. Yan didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.
Yan will remain at BlackRock through the middle of June, ensuring an orderly transition of her responsibilities, which includes overseeing the firm’s integration with HPS Investment Partners, according to a BlackRock’s internal memo.
Maheshwar Nataraj in India, Stephen Allan in Australia, Yik Ley Chan for Southeast Asia, Simon Chan for North Asia and Yue Lu, head of execution and portfolio monitoring, will continue to lead their respective teams, the memo showed. In addition, Lu will take a greater leadership role within the firm’s Asia Private Credit Investment Committee during the transition.
BlackRock last year agreed to buy HPS in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $12 billion, a purchase that will propel the world’s largest asset manager into the highest ranks of private credit. The transaction is expected to be completed in the middle of this year, pending regulatory approval.
Following the expected close of the HPS deal, the combined platform will expand to 22 private market investment professionals with senior investor additions in both Singapore and Sydney, the memo showed.
Yan joined BlackRock in 2020 and was appointed head of APAC private credit in 2023, the memo showed. Her team has deployed over $200 million in 2024, over $1.8 billion historically and been able to generate a 16% gross internal rate of return in the Asia Pacific Credit Opportunities II fund, the note showed.
