Europe- and Asia-focused private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has announced the appointment of Istvan Szoke, who will be responsible for building the firm’s business within central and
Europe- and Asia-focused private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has announced the appointment of Istvan Szoke, who will be responsible for building the firm’s business within central and eastern Europe starting in April.
CVC is currently raising CVC European Equity Partners V, with a target of EUR11bn in commitments, and the firm says the development of investment opportunities within central and eastern Europe will be an important consideration for the fund’s investment strategy.
Szoke was previously a partner at rival private equity firm Advent International, focusing on its investments in central and eastern Europe from offices in London and Warsaw. While at Advent, he led or co-led investments including CCS, Bolix and Oskar Mobil, and was a director of portfolio companies including Ultimo and Kamax.
Before joining Advent in 1999, Szoke was a founding managing partner of Eastern Heritage Capital, a Swiss asset management firm, and he has also worked for Vontobel Asset Management and Bankers Trust, in each case focusing on investing within central and eastern Europe.
‘I am looking forward to joining CVC and building a team to pursue investment opportunities in central and eastern Europe, further bolstering the firm’s international investment platform,’ Szoke says.
Managing partner Rob Lucas says: ‘CVC has been seeing increasingly interesting investment opportunities across the central and eastern European markets. Istvan brings a wealth of experience to our team and with a combination of our financial resources and network, he will be well positioned to build our business across the region.’
