Corporate MovesJuly 21, 2023

Hamilton Lane Names New CFO in Leadership Shuffle

Revamp taps three other executives for new roles and follows elevation of Andrea Kramer to chief operating officer in May.

Reported by Larry Light

Asset manager Hamilton Lane announced a management restructuring, including a new chief financial officer, in a bid to ready itself for future growth.

The revamping involves three executives already at the firm and one outside hire. These moves, which are effective August 8, come after the May promotion of Andrea Kramer, who had served at the company since 2005, to chief operating officer.

“We are delighted to strengthen Hamilton Lane’s leadership team with a group of long-tenured, experienced professionals who bring innovative perspectives, strategic insights and a forward-looking, global mindset to our firm,” the firm’s CEO, Mario Giannini, said in a statement.

Hamilton Lane, based outside Philadelphia, has $857 billion in assets under management and specializes in private assets. When founded in 1991, it was an investment consultant to pension funds, but over the years, it has expanded into private asset management and now has 23 offices worldwide. It still does consulting work, and Giannini has twice been named to CIO’s list of top Knowledge Brokers.

The new CFO is Jeffrey Armbrister, who had led the firm’s direct equity investment business, which earlier this year closed a new investment fund with more than $2 billion in investor commitments. He replaces Atul Varma, who is departing the company to pursue other interests.

Andrew (Drew) Schardt will become a vice chair while retaining his role as head of investment strategy. Nayef Perry will assume sole control of the firm’s credit business as head of direct credit, after previously serving as co-head with Schardt. Ken Binick will join Hamilton Lane as head of execution on the direct equity team, reporting to Schardt. Binick previously was co-head of the co-investment business at Portfolio Advisors LLC.

In February, the New York State Common Retirement Fund earmarked $300 million within its private equity portfolio to the Hudson River Co-Investment Fund IV, managed by Hamilton Lane. The fund aims at middle-market companies in New York state, primarily in the healthcare, technology, transportation, business services and manufacturing sectors.

Publicly traded Hamilton Lane has enjoyed steady expansion of revenue. Its earnings slumped 25% in the fiscal year ending March 31, to $109 million, due to what the company described as poor 2022 market conditions. The stock is up by slightly more than one-third in the calendar year.