The co-CEO of Carlyle is out after 25 years with the private-equity giant, and his next chapter might not be in the finance industry at all

• Private-equity firm The Carlyle Group said on Tuesday that its co-CEO Glenn Youngkin will step down in September after 25 years with the firm.
• Kewsong Lee, Young's co-CEO, who has been with Carlyle since 2013, will take over as chief executive when Young departs later this year.
• In a statement, Young said he's interested in pursuing opportunities in public service "as the world continues to face so many challenges today."

Private-equity firm The Carlyle Group said on Tuesday that its co-CEO Glenn Youngkin has decided to step down in September after 25 years with the firm.

Kewsong Lee, who currently serves alongside Youngkin as co-CEO, will take over responsibilities as the solo chief executive of the firm, which has $217 billion in assets under management.

Youngkin and Lee were both tapped to take over as co-CEOs by Carlyle cofounders David Rubenstein and William Conway in 2018. Now, less than three years after his appointment, Youngkin will officially retire from the firm on September 30.

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"As the world continues to face so many challenges today, and as Carlyle is well-positioned, now is a natural point to focus my full-time efforts on community and public service efforts that I believe can make a meaningful impact," Youngkin said in a statement.

"It has been the professional journey of a lifetime and my honor to be part of building Carlyle into the global institution it is today," he added.

Prior to assuming his role as co-CEO alongside Lee, Youngkin was Carlyle's president and COO from May 2015 to December 2017, and, before that, held various senior positions within the finance group. He joined Carlyle in 1995, having previously been a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.

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Lee has been with Carlyle since 2013, starting as its deputy chief investment officer for corporate private equity, and then adding oversight of the firm's global credit segment in 2016. Lee was appointed co-CEO alongside Youngkin in 2018. Both men, Youngkin and Lee, graduated with MBAs from Harvard Business School.

"I recruited Glenn to Carlyle a quarter century ago, and have been pleased to see him grow into an exceptional private equity professional," said David Rubenstein, The Carlyle Group's cofounder and co-executive chairman, in a statement. "I certainly understand the pull of the kind of public service activities to which Glenn is committed."

And, as Youngkin transitions into this next chapter of his career, Lee, in a statement, had a supportive message for him: "I know he will have a tremendous impact on the issues he chooses to make the focus of his talents and energy in his next chapter."

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