Blackstone reshuffles tactical opportunities management team
Blackstone has named founding member and chief operating officer of its tactical opportunities platform Chris James global head of tactical opportunities, as part of a wider reshuffle.
James will succeed David Blitzer, who will transition to chairman of the business at year end.
Blackstone also announced the elevation of two senior tactical opportunities partners to expanded leadership roles in the business. Jas Khaira will be head of tactical opportunities Americas and Qasim Abbas will be head of tactical opportunities international.
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Blackstone launched its tactical opportunities platform in 2012 to invest across private investment opportunities outside of traditional private equity and private credit.
Today, the platform has $37bn (£29bn) of assets under management (AUM), making it the largest structured capital solutions platform in the world.
The team invests globally across asset classes, industries, and geographies, seeking to deliver risk-adjusted returns by identifying and executing on differentiated investment opportunities.
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“Chris James is the ideal choice to lead tac opps,” said Steve Schwarzman, Blackstone co-founder, chairman, and chief executive, and Jon Gray, president and chief operations officer. “He helped found the business and has run it day-to-day alongside David since its inception – playing an integral role in its success.
“Tac opps is thriving in the current environment and we are confident CJ, Jas, and Qasim will continue its strong momentum. We are also quite pleased that David – who has done a world-class job building the tac opps franchise from scratch – will continue as chairman of the business.”
James added: “We believe tac opps’ differentiated platform – with scale and flexible capital that benefits from the vast intellectual capital across Blackstone – is incredibly well positioned to continue delivering highly compelling opportunities for our investors.”
Last year, Blackstone announced the record close of Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund IV (BTO IV). Including other single-investor vehicles pursuing the same strategy, the combined BTO IV platform is currently expected to have nearly $10bn of new capital in its fourth fundraising vintage.
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