Former BlackRock PE exec joins NYS Common

Leo Chenette, a former managing director with BlackRock Private Equity Partners, joined the New York State Common Retirement Fund as a senior investment officer focused on private equity, sources told Buyouts.

Chenette is among a handful of executives who have moved back and forth from the GP to the LP side of the business (or vice versa). LP institutions are always in need of private equity experience to help lead their programs into the growing and shifting markets. GPs, meanwhile, are usually looking for LP talent to help them attract capital from increasingly allocation-constrained institutions.

Chenette joined NYS Common in April, according to his LinkedIn profile. A spokesperson for the system did not return a comment request as of press time.

Chenette worked at BlackRock from 2007 to 2020, his profile said. He worked on capital raising and relationship management for the Private Equity Partners team, and in more recent years, he worked on the long-term fund, his profile said.

Before, he spent around four years at Paul Capital Partners, where he led capital formation and investor relations, his profile said. Earlier in his career, Chenette spent time working at Credit Suisse and CIBC, his profile said.

NYS Common, which managed about $279.7 billion as of year-end, had an about 12.3 percent actual allocation to private equity with a 10 percent target, according to PEI data updated as of this month. Recently, the system committed $100 million to Insight Partners XII Buyout Annex Fund, and $150 million to Apollo Impact Mission Fund.