Kingsley Gate Partners Names Leader of Financial Services Practice for the Middle East and Asia-Pacific
February 9, 2023 – Private equity-backed Kingsley Gate Partners has expanded with the addition of Firoze Patel as head of the financial services practice for the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. He will be based in Dubai. “We are thrilled to have Firoze join the Kingsley Gate team,” said Umesh Ramakrishnan, CEO. “With his wealth of search experience and credibility in building world class executive search businesses from scratch, he brings valuable expertise that aligns with our commitment to providing exceptional executive recruiting services in both the Middle East and Asia. As we expand, his addition to our team will also enable us to attract top talent to support our clients in India and the entire region.”
Mr. Patel has more than 20 years’ executive search experience, building trusted relationships with senior business leaders and boards. He will focus on mandates for senior leadership roles, primarily in the financial services sector.
Mr. Patel most recently served as managing partner of India and Singapore for DHR Global, overseeing all business activities in both locations. He also led the firm’s financial services practice in Asia-Pacific (APAC) and was a member of the APAC management committee. Mr. Patel was formerly a managing director at Russell Reynolds Associates in Mumbai and a senior client partner at Korn Ferry. Before he joined the executive search industry, Mr. Patel spent five years as head of finance and accounts for a large export house in India.
“I’m delighted to join Kingsley Gate Partners,” said Mr. Patel. “The opportunity to work with the firm’s global leadership team and like-minded colleagues, coupled with Kingsley Gate’s innovative use of technology to ever-improve the executive search process, is a winning formula.”
Related: Kingsley Gate Partners Expands in London
Founded in 2015, Kingsley Gate Partners recruits senior leadership for private equity and venture capital portfolio businesses and Fortune 100 companies. Headquartered in New York, the firm employs consultants and recruiters with expertise in private equity, life sciences, financial services, technology, manufacturing, and professional services. Kingsley Gate has completed searches with over 1,700 clients in 33 countries.
Recent Investment
Last year, Kingsley Gate secured an investment from Crescent Cove Advisors, a multi-asset investment firm focused on technology investments. The equity partnership is expected to fuel the search firm’s growth through global expansion and accelerate a push into talent acquisition AI-enabled software. Mr. Ramakrishnan, one of Kingsley Gate Partners’ co-founders, has been named CEO.
Kingsley Gate Partners Acquires The Omerta Group
Kingsley Gate Partners has acquired London-headquartered The Omerta Group (TOG), an executive search firm specializing in financial services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “To have a truly global financial services practice, you must be in three locations: New York, London, and Hong Kong,” said Umesh Ramakrishnan, CEO of Kingsley Gate Partners. “This acquisition strengthens our position in these key markets. ”The Omerta Group will complement Kingsley Gate Partners’ strength in the U.S. and will accelerate the firm’s growing footprint across the U.K., continental Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. The acquisition brings the addition of 50 experienced global financial services specialists and also builds on Kingsley Gate Partners’ existing financial services expertise, particularly in asset management.
Kingsley Gate marked the first private equity investment for Crescent Cove and expands the firm’s capital solutions for founder-led technology companies. “As organizations are reshaped during and post-pandemic, we are excited to partner with the Kingsley Gate Partners team and support the company in redefining executive recruitment through the use of technology-driven solutions,” said Jun Hong Heng, founder and chief investment officer of Crescent Cove.
“The global executive talent management industry is large and growing, yet little has changed in how companies approach talent acquisition,” said Andrew Holmes, partner and head of private equity at Crescent Cove. “Umesh, Nancy, Buster, and the talented team at Kingsley Gate Partners are recognized leaders in developing proprietary and differentiated technologies to help its global client base improve the speed and accuracy in their hiring processes. We cannot think of a better time to make this investment given today’s global talent shortage and the premium companies place on talent acquisition. We are honored to join as partners in this exciting mission.”
The Right Time for Growth
“We had spent a little over five years building the foundation for a tech-enabled global services firm – with over 10 proprietary digital products, Synchronous Fit (our new search framework), and passionate consultants that supported that evolution,” Mr. Ramakrishnan said. Kingsley Gate, he said, can now scale the firm to a size that would disrupt SHREK firm domination of the industry.
“To do this, it was important to find the right partner – not just one with an appetite to invest in a large global expansion on a progressive platform, but one that was aligned with our vision of what search should look like today,” Mr. Ramakrishnan said. “We spent over a year on that journey, and once we found Crescent Cove, we knew that our search was over. We are ready.”
Related: Kingsley Gate Partners Expands in London
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
