Gerstner to quit chair at Carlyle

Private-equity giant Carlyle Group says its chairman, Louis Gerstner, is to retire and become a senior adviser to the company's buyout funds.

Gerstner, who has been in the job since January 2003, said he had goals and interests yet to fulfil "requiring me to step back at Carlyle".

Before joining Carlyle, Gerstner was chairman of IBM. He was previously chairman and chief executive of RJR Nabisco.

His appointment was a departure from the usual Carlyle practice of choosing former senior government officials for the role.

Carlyle, which has long been branded a Washington insider with deep US government ties, has about $83 billion (£4.45 billion) of assets under management.

The group said that Gerstner would be advising it on its buyout funds in Asia, Europe, Japan and
the US from the end of September.