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 is currently the President of Lincoln Center Theater, Vice Chairman for the US Chamber of Commerce China Center and Vice Chair for the Partnership for New York City. He also is a member of the Business Roundtable, serves on the board of the US China Business Council and 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.
Curtis L. 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. 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 and is Co-Head of the U.S. Buyout group. Effective June 1, 2021, in addition to continuing to serve as Chief Investment Officer of Corporate Private Equity, Mr. Clare will assume the role of Chairman of the Americas and serve as Chair of the US Buyout and Growth Investment committees. Mr. Clare previously served 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 Nouryon and Sedgwick Claims Management as well as several private U.S. buyout portfolio companies. Mr. Clare has previously served on the boards of Booz Allen Hamilton, CommScope, Inc., Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), Sequa and Signode Industrial. Mr. Clare serves on the Board of Directors of Georgetown University. 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 the General Counsel of Carlyle and has served in such capacity since 1999. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Ferguson was an associate with the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP. Mr. Ferguson received a BA from the University of Virginia, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He also received his law degree from the University of Virginia, and is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia and Virginia.