Leadership Team
Kewsong Lee is the Chief Executive Officer of Carlyle and was elected to the Board of Directors effective January 1, 2018. Mr. Lee joined Carlyle in 2013 as Deputy Chief Investment Officer for Corporate Private Equity and in 2016 he assumed the additional role of leading the Global Credit segment. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Lee was a partner and a member of the Executive Management Group at Warburg Pincus, where he spent 21 years. He currently serves as the President of the Lincoln Center Theater, Chairman of the US Chamber of Commerce China Center Advisory Board, Vice Chair of the US China Business Council, and Vice Chair of the Partnership for New York City. He also is a member of the Business Roundtable, serves on the board of FCLT Global, and is a Trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mr. Lee earned his AB in applied mathematics in economics at Harvard College and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mr. Buser is the Chief Financial Officer of Carlyle and has served in such capacity since December 2014. From May 2014 until December 2014, Mr. Buser served as Carlyle’s Interim Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Buser joined Carlyle in 2004 as a managing director and served as the firm’s Chief Accounting Officer until May 2014. He is also a member of Carlyle's Leadership and Operating Committees. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Buser was an audit partner with Ernst & Young, LLP. He began his career with Arthur Andersen in 1985 and was admitted to its partnership in 1997. Mr. Buser graduated from Georgetown University.
Mr. Clare is a member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Clare was elected to our Board of Directors effective January 1, 2018. Mr. Clare is the Chief Investment Officer of Corporate Private Equity, Chairman of the Americas and Chair of the US Buyout and Growth Investment committees. Mr. Clare previously served as the Co-Head of the US Buyout and Growth team and as Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the Company’s CPE segment. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Clare was based in Hong Kong and was a founding member of the Carlyle Asia Buyout team and continues to serve on the Carlyle Asia Buyout Investment Committee. In 2001 and 2002, Mr. Clare launched Carlyle’s initial investments in distressed debt, which led to the creation of Carlyle Strategic Partners. From 2004 to 2011, Mr. Clare served as the Global Head of the Aerospace, Defense & Government Services sector team. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Clare was with First City Capital Corporation, a private equity group that invested in buyouts, public equities, distressed bonds and restructurings. Prior to joining First City Capital, he was with the Merchant Banking Group of Prudential-Bache. Mr. Clare currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Sedgwick Claims Management. Mr. Clare has previously served on the boards of Booz Allen Hamilton, CommScope, Inc., Nouryon, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), Sequa and Signode Industrial. Mr. Clare is a magna cum laude graduate of Georgetown University and received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jeffrey W. Ferguson is a Managing Director and the firm’s General Counsel. Mr. Ferguson is based in Washington, DC. Mr. Ferguson joined Carlyle in 1999. In his capacity as the global General Counsel of Carlyle, he serves as the head of the firm’s legal and compliance functions. He is also a member of the Carlyle’s Leadership and Operating Committees.Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Ferguson worked as an attorney with Latham & Watkins and Vinson & Elkins. Mr. Ferguson received his law degree from University of Virginia School of Law in 1991. He also received an undergraduate degree in political science from University of Virginia, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Ferguson is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and Virginia.
She serves on the Board of Directors of Leading Educators. Ms. Helander received her M.B.A. from The Wharton School and her B.A. from Vanderbilt University.
Ryan Selwood is a Partner and Chief Development Officer at Carlyle based in New York. In his role, he is involved in a range of investment and management activities across Carlyle, working alongside many in leadership to drive major priorities including growth initiatives and corporate M&A. He will serve on Investment Committees across all segments of the firm. He is also a member of Carlyle's Leadership and Operating Committees. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Selwood spent over 15 years at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”), one of the world’s largest investors of private capital, where he was Head of Direct Private Equity and a member of the Global Leadership Team with responsibility for the firm’s CA$53 billion direct PE portfolio across North America and Europe. He also served on its Investment Decision Committee, which approves large investments across all asset classes globally, and its Private Equity Investment Committee. Prior to CPP Investments, Mr. Selwood was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch & Co. He has served on the boards of Waymo, Wilton Re, Dorna Sports, Antares, Ascot Group and AWAS Aviation Capital. Mr. Selwood earned his LL.B./MBA from Osgoode Hall Law School and Schulich School of Business at York University and his BA from Western University.