MANDARIN NOT REQUIRED - 6th to 7th year PE / M&A US associate needed at a top US firm and PE practice in Hong Kong

If you are at the 6th or 7th year level and have mostly PE / M&A experience from a top tier US firm and PE practice group, and you have an interest in moving to Hong Kong, then please contact our Asia Recruiting Team at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com.

hong-kongIf you are at the 6th or 7th year level and have mostly PE / M&A experience from a top tier US firm and PE practice group, and you have an interest in moving to Hong Kong, then please contact the Asia Recruiting Team at Kinney Recruiting at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com. Our team just returned to the US from a 32 day stay in Hong Kong and this new search comes from their meetings with various of this firm’s Hong Kong PE partners in recent weeks. Robert Kinney will be returning to Hong Kong January 20 to 31 and it’s most likely the interviews for this position will be well under way by then. If you happen to be based in New York or London, team members will be in New York in early January and Robert will be in London January 11 to 18. Of course, Robert or any of our other Asia team recruiters (Yuliya Vinokurova, Danielle Cyr, Jack Hopper, Rachel Huey and Peter Gutensohn)would be happy to discuss this position by phone.

This opening is very rare in the market, considering the PE / M&A opportunity in general, how selective this firm is in Hong Kong / China, and its almost always requiring Mandarin for its associate level hires in Hong Kong / China (and most top end US senior US associate corporate / transactional positions requiring Mandarin at all top US firms in general in Hong Kong).

In fact, our team, which has made over 150 US associate placements in Asia in recent years, says they have never before seen such a great opportunity in Hong Kong / China for a 6th or 7th year M&A US associate where Mandarin is not required.

The firm is a global PE powerhouse. There is realistic opportunity for a partner track and there are plenty of very strong US associates, fluent in Mandarin, at the more junior levels, to help this new hire run deals. It is a clear opportunity to work on high end and market leading PE deals. This firm represents a large portion of the top tier mega PE funds, both in Asia and globally. Their PE practice in Hong Kong has both China and Pan Asia focus.

This new hire, if not fluent in Mandarin, is not going to have negative ramifications on partnership track because of it. It’s a strategic hire – for a star 7th or 7th year PE / M&A person to be plugged in on this firm’s great PE platform in Asia and run deals for institutional PE clients. There are also opportunities down the road for this new hire to be given a platform to build their own client base. This firm’s Hong Kong office has great institutional and global PE clients, but is also entrepreneurial and young partners there have been successful in building up new business as well.

This PE global practice group and their deal flow in Asia are easily good enough for the new hire to be able to keep his / her options quite open for a return to US or Europe in a few years. This comment is not said lightly because only a handful of PE practices in Asia can be put in this category. Further, this firm has a track record of transferring senior attorneys from Asia back to US for family and personal reasons, with those careers continuing to ramp up inside the firm.

They are going to be extremely selective regarding pedigree (JD academics and firm) and even more so regarding the type of practice background the senior associate candidate has. They are looking for top end PE / M&A experience, from the better PE practice groups in New York, London or other major markets. In fact, they prefer to find this person in a major western market where there have been better opportunities for sophisticated high end PE deal flow than there has been in Asia during the new hire’s career thus far. There are only a small handful of top PE practices in Asia and that candidate pool at the senior associate level is not large. Thus, their looking abroad now.

Kinney has made the made the vast majority of US associate lateral placements at this firm in Hong Kong since they opened there some years ago. Kinney has also made a key PE partner placement at this firm in Hong Kong in recent years.

This firm’s global management is fully committed to continuing to build upon and expand their already top flight PE practice in Asia. It’s one of the most sought after firms in all the major markets in Asia, whenever a US associate with M&A background is considering a lateral move in Asia. It has historically been one of the most selective firms in Asia when considering US associate M&A hires. Personality fit is usually a key determining factor when they are considering finalists for US associate positions in Hong Kong (personality fit is always important with any hire at any firm, but it’s at a higher than usual level of importance here).

Compensation is top market, including expat / cola allowance. This Hong Kong office has a strong reputation in the market for being a great environment to work in.

As always, please feel free to reach out to asia@kinneyrecruiting.com to hear more about the markets in Asia and job opportunities there, or to simply discuss your future career options and plans.

Happy Holidays!!