Zade Zalatimo will join Houlihan Lokey in September as a managing director in the firm’s Corporate Finance business. Zalatimo will be based in Dubai and will spearhead the expansion of the Private Funds Group.

Zalatimo most recently worked at The Carlyle Group as the senior executive officer of Carlyle MENA responsible for leading the firm’s business activities in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Prior to The Carlyle Group, he was a partner and CEO, Saudi Arabia, for Investcorp in Bahrain, responsible for the strategic direction and deliverables for the business in addition to overseeing the majority of Investcorp’s institutional clients in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

“Zade has an outstanding track record raising capital across a broad range of investors in the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, his many years of in-house experience at Carlyle and Investcorp further supports our ability to provide general partner clients with the benefits of a more strategic service offering,” said Bob Brown, global head of the Private Funds Group. “We’re confident that he will be tremendously valuable to our clients and look forward to welcoming him aboard soon.”

“With its unparalleled blend of fundraising and advisory experience, and combined with Houlihan Lokey’s depth of financial sponsor relationships, the Private Funds Group is a truly differentiated practice in the world of placement agents. I’m excited to partner with my new colleagues in the Private Funds Group and across the firm to deliver the superior client service for which Houlihan Lokey is known,” said Zalatimo.

Since the formation of the Private Funds Group following the acquisition of BearTooth Advisors in May, Houlihan Lokey has added a number of officers to the group in addition to Zalatimo. These hires include Colin Hannaway and John McCarthy, a director and vice president, respectively, based in New York and Tom Carlyle, a vice president  based in London.