Prudential installs new PE leadership as long-time LP chief retires

Prudential Financial has rearranged leadership of its private equity program, installing co-heads to head the group as long-time chief Susan Garrett retires.

LP turnover has long been a challenge for many institutions, especially on the public side, as the loss of a veteran leader can disrupt the knowledge and plans of the portfolio built under his or her tenure. This is mainly a problem in the public pension space, where compensation often can’t keep up with that of the private sector.

At Prudential, Garrett was replaced by Nina So and Jonathan Raskin, co-heads of private equity, according to a source with knowledge of the company. So and Raskin both updated their LinkedIn profiles with the new titles.

So and Raskin have been on board for several years. Raskin joined the team in 2019 from AT&T’s corporate pension, where he worked starting in 2013 working on private equity. So has been with the company since 2015, where she started as a senior associate. Before, she worked at Adveq in private equity, according to her profile.

Garrett, whose title includes managing director in alternative investments, has not updated her profile and it’s not clear if she is still at the company. A Prudential spokesperson declined to comment.

Garrett joined Prudential in 2013 to lead private equity from AIG Asset Management, where she worked on private equity since 2011. Prior to AIG, Garrett worked at MetLife from 1997 to 2010, mostly focusing on private equity and mezzanine strategies, affiliate publication Private Equity International previously reported.

The group has quietly been an active investor in private equity as a limited partner and co-investor. Prudential’s already large PE portfolio was expanded with “risk transfer” deals with Verizon and General Motors in past years, sources told PEI in prior interviews.

The company’s private equity portfolio totaled about $7.5 billion, according to its first quarter earnings report.