Astorg, a leading pan-European private equity firm, continues strengthening its investment team with two senior hires: Chris Benson will join the firm in early July as a Partner for the Mid-Cap Fund, leading the Business Services sector across Europe and responsible for coverage in the UK, and Daniel Pang will join the Healthcare team as a Managing Director for the Flagship Fund.
These appointments highlight Astorg’s commitment to reinforcing its investment expertise and expanding its strategic reach in key sectors. Consistent with the firm’s strategy and expertise, Astorg’s Mid-Cap fund seeks to invest in European-based, international B2B niche leaders that benefit from secular and resilient growth and attractive and profitable business models.
Astorg Mid-Cap is currently about 50% deployed. Chris Benson’s appointment reflects Astorg’s ambition to continue to deploy capital in business services, reinforcing the firm’s position across products in this space following investments like IQ-EQ, Normec, Fastmarkets, Third Bridge, Steliau, and IPCOM, and further building its UK business.
Pang’s appointment will further support the healthcare team, led by Judith Charpentier, which aims to identify and build high-quality healthcare businesses that solve critical pain points in the B2B value chain, like existing investments Clario and Corden Pharma. This latest appointment reflects Astorg’s continued commitment to its healthcare strategy, which represents, on average, about 40% of Astorg’s total investments.
Benson will join Astorg in July and will be based in London. A British citizen, Benson brings over 17 years of professional experience, including 12 years at Advent International focused on European business and financial services. His background also includes roles at Actis and OC&C Strategy Consultants. Benson holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Pang joined Astorg in June and is based in New York. Daniel is a US citizen with over 17 years of experience working in M&A and private equity. Pang held the role of Principal in the Healthcare Group at Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe. Prior to that, he has also held positions at Arsenal Capital Partners and GTCR, specializing in building healthcare businesses. Pang started his career in investment banking in the Global Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Merrill Lynch and he holds a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are delighted to welcome Chris to the team. His deep industry knowledge and network, as well as his investment track record, will be very additive to our team as we continue to strengthen our focus on business services across Europe. Astorg has already built a strong track record in the sector, and we see great investment opportunities ahead in the middle market. Chris’ personality and experience fit very well with Astorg’s entrepreneurial and thematic approach to investing, and we look forward to working with him.”
– Lionel de Posson and Edouard Pillot, Co-Heads of Astorg Mid-Cap
“Daniel has a wealth of experience identifying and building value across many sub-sectors of the healthcare industry and we are pleased to have him on board. His expertise will be a great asset as we continue to capitalize on the vast opportunities within the healthcare sector and deliver on our mission to build global B2B niche leaders in the space.”
– Judith Charpentier, Head of Healthcare and Co-Head of Flagship Fund
