BlackRock dismissed three managing directors from its private equity division, citing a coordinated effort to leave the world's largest asset manager.
Konnin Tam, Steve Lessar and Veena Isaac helped manage a $3 billion strategy in the private equity group's secondaries unit, according to a memo to BlackRock employees that disclosed their departures.
"The action we took reflects how seriously we take our commitment to putting the interests of our clients first and how the actions of these individuals fell short of what we expect of our employees," Edwin Conway, global head of BlackRock Alternative Investors, and Russell Steenberg, global head of BlackRock Private Equity Partners, said in the memo seen by Bloomberg. "BlackRock made the decision to terminate all three employees after learning of their intention to depart the firm in a coordinated fashion."
Messrs. Tam and Lessar and Ms. Isaac couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Lynn Baranski, global head of investments at the private equity partners unit, will lead the secondaries fund, according to the memo.
New York-based BlackRock has been growing its presence in private markets. Its alternative investing business has $330 billion in managed and committed capital, according to the company.
