Five Questions With … David Marchick, Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, The Carlyle Group

1. As an attorney for Covington & Burling, you focused on international trade and regulation and worked on some big cross-border deals. On Oct. 22, you’re going to assume a newly created post as global head of regulatory affairs for the Carlyle Group. Tell us how this job came to be.

With 33 offices in 21 countries, Carlyle’s geographic reach compares to some of the largest companies in the world. So it makes sense for Carlyle to have dedicated resources to work with government. The co-founders of the firm have felt for some time the need for a focused approach to dealing with governments and regulatory issues. They’ve obviously done extremely well, but as they’ve gotten substantially bigger and expanded globally, the complexity of issues has also expanded and they felt it was appropriate to have an in-house regulatory and government affairs specialist who could enhance the way they interact with governments and regulators around the world.

2. Do you expect to devote any of your time to private equity’s own set of regulatory issues—e.g., the carried interest tax debate—or will you focus solely on Carlyle’s deal-making and portfolio?

I see myself working on both Carlyle-specific issues and industry issues. The Private Equity Council is already up and running, but the industry faces a range of issues around the world, not just in the United States. I expect to play a role in those industry issues around the world. Secondly, I hope to be a resource to Carlyle’s investment professionals throughout the entire life cycle of their investments—from the due diligence stage to the investment stage to the management stage to the exit stage.

3. How much of your time will be spent on Carlyle’s overseas activities?

My time and energy will be devoted both to investments domestically and overseas—more than 50 percent of Carlyle’s investments are overseas—and to the industries in which there’s heavier regulation. In the real estate industry, consumer products industry and the retail industry, there’s not a lot of regulation. But there are other sectors that are more heavily regulated that will need more of my time.

4. What’s a real or hypothetical example of how a sophisticated regulatory approach by Carlyle would deliver benefits to a deal or portfolio company?

I’ll give you a real-life example of a deal I worked on for Carlyle. Carlyle sold two aerospace companies to an entity based in Dubai earlier this year, and that required a very sophisticated government-affairs and regulatory strategy. That strategy involved executive branch and congressional outreach, as well as outreach to other stakeholders and other opinion leaders, including the press.

5. Do you think you’ll be doing more of your work before a deal closes or after it’s closed?

This is a new job and a new function and some of it I’m going to have to make up as I go along. I’m going to focus on the areas where I can add the most value for our investors.

Edited for clarity.