Sebastien Burdel and Luca Salvato joined Ares Management as partners in the firm’s secondary solutions group.
Burdel and Salvato will work alongside Ares’ existing teams in both New York and London to directly originate new secondary market investment opportunities and leverage Ares’ presence in the United States and Europe.
Burdel, who is based in London, and Salvato, who is based in New York, are the two founding partners of Spring Bridge Partners, a specialist investment firm they established in 2017 to focus on private equity secondary market transactions. They bring more than $150 million in assets under management to Ares.
Prior to co-founding Spring Bridge Partners, Burdel was a partner at Coller Capital, which he joined in 2003. While at Coller Capital, he served on the firm’s global investment committee and strategic committee and on the advisory boards of underlying investments. Prior to joining Coller Capital, Burdel began his career with General Electric, where he held several positions in the firm’s private equity and M&A units.
Prior to co-founding Spring Bridge Partners, Salvato was also a partner at Coller Capital, which he joined in 2000. While at Coller Capital, he served on the firm’s global investment committee and on the advisory boards of underlying investments. Prior to joining Coller Capital, Salvato worked at Credit Suisse First Boston in its investment banking group in London.
In addition to Burdel and Salvato, Clement Beaudin will also join Ares’ secondary solutions group in London as a principal. Prior to joining Spring Bridge Partners in 2019, Beaudin was an investment manager at Coller Capital, which he joined in 2015.
“We are pleased to welcome Sebastien, Luca and Clement, who collectively bring deep experience in utilizing bespoke and customized liquidity solutions across both limited partner and general partner transaction types,” Francisco Borges, partner and co-head of Ares’ secondary solutions group, said. “We have known them for many years, and they are highly-regarded professionals in our asset class with demonstrated direct origination capabilities and a unique understanding of global market dynamics. Their substantial experience, relationships and shared values complement our longstanding, experienced Ares secondary solutions team as we continue to expand our global platform.”
“Luca, Clement and I are excited to be joining Ares at this dynamic time for both the company and the secondaries asset class,” Burdel said. “In founding Spring Bridge four years ago, Luca and I saw the remarkable potential for secondary market growth and an opportunity to build a great business through strong networks and a specialized investment focus. Over that time, we have successfully grown Spring Bridge, and we believe that by combining with Ares’ secondary solutions team, we will be able offer more comprehensive and differentiated solutions to our counterparties.”
“We have long known and admired the Landmark Partners team and have seen the key benefits of the highly strategic decision to partner with Ares,” Salvato said. “By joining Ares’ leading global platform, we believe we will have significant advantages to further scale our business in the rapidly growing secondaries sector. Importantly, we share a deep understanding of investors’ needs as well as an entrepreneurial mindset and focus on collaboration that further strengthens our excitement in becoming part of the Ares team.”
