Chris Witkowsky and Kirk Falconer

The departure comes as Blue Owl seeks $13bn for its sixth GP stakes fund, which the firm has been raising since 2023.

New faces that are attracting capital in very lean times.

Buyouts has identified 10 intriguing first timers that are today braving a brutal fundraising market. Reflecting an array of backgrounds and strategies, we plan to keep close tabs on them in the months ahead.

LPs like emerging managers as a source of outsized returns. However, LPs also view them as risky, and the decision to back a new team is made tougher when incumbents are returning to market quicker and with many products.

Will dealmaking roar on or will GPs instead exercise restraint? Will vigorous fundraising continue or will LPs pull back? And how will the industry manage a full agenda of pressing issues, including everything from ESG to transparency?

New managers with senior GPs and strategies spun out of brand-name firms may have an edge even in a pandemic-battered market.

Recent experience suggests new managers with senior GPs and strategies spun out of brand-name firms could have a fundraising edge, even in a pandemic-battered market.