Blackstone’s Top Private-Equity Executive Is Preparing to Leave Firm
Joseph Baratta would be the latest of several senior executives to leave private-investment giant
Blackstone’s BX 1.15%increase; green up pointing triangle top private-equity executive, Joseph Baratta, is preparing to leave the firm, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest in a series of departures by senior leaders from the private-investment giant.
Baratta, who has been with Blackstone for nearly three decades, has been the firm’s global head of private equity since 2012 and is one of its most senior executives. He is also a Blackstone board member and part of the firm’s management committee. The exact timing of his departure hasn’t been determined, but it is likely to come around the end of this year, the people said.
A spokeswoman for Blackstone confirmed Baratta’s pending departure.
Senior executives at Blackstone have long faced the reality that Jonathan Gray, the firm’s 56-year-old president, is expected to succeed CEO Stephen Schwarzman. Schwarzman, 79 years old, co-founded Blackstone in 1985. That leaves few paths for growth for someone as senior as Baratta, 55.
Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Nadeem Meghji, Blackstone’s global head of real estate, was leaving the firm.