ILPA appoints former business development exec to lead Europe office

The Institutional Limited Partners Association has hired a former business development head and consultancy professional to lead its first outpost outside of North America.

Bart van Dijk joins the industry body as managing director and head of Europe from CSC, a global compliance firm, according to a statement. His LinkedIn profile shows he is based in Amsterdam, and Private Equity International understands he will be London-based for the role.

“It’s a pivotal time for the industry as we consider our next chapter, and an exciting time of global growth for ILPA,” van Dijk said in the statement. “I’m delighted to be joining the team already in London and look forward to all the ways we can expand our offerings and service to our European members – who today make up more than a fifth of ILPA’s global membership.”

At CSC, van Dijk was responsible for business development, commercial strategy and marketing focused on private markets in Europe. He liaised with regional teams across the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. He also has experience as an independent director on private equity-backed company boards, according to the statement.

Prior to CSC, van Dijk spent more than six years at business consulting services firm Vistra, where he was business unit director of private equity and alternative investments in his last post there, his LinkedIn profile shows.

Van Dijk will focus on building out ILPA’s presence in Europe; steering and supporting engagement with its growing membership in the region; and strengthening its visibility and relationships with industry partners and policymakers.

He will work with senior managing director Greg Durst and two other staff based in London to engage with the European private markets community.

ILPA said in April last year it was opening a London office to better serve its European members and to expand its activities. The London outpost is its third, besides its headquarters in Washington, DC, and a further office in Toronto.

ILPA represents more than 600 LP institutions with $3 trillion of private equity assets under management, according to its website.

The industry body has been working on various projects to help LPs better navigate a more complex private markets environment. In August it released its guidance on NAV-based facilities to help LPs better engage with GPs on the leverage tool.

This year it has been taking industry feedback on a proposed quarterly reporting template that aims to provide an industry framework for performance management. The draft template contains 12 tabs of information and mapping tables, and the overall aim is to help LPs seek a greater level of transparency and amount of disclosure from their managers.

Europe-focused funds accounted for just 10 percent of global private equity fundraising in the first half of this year, with multi-regional funds and North America-focused vehicles accounting for the bulk of raises, according to PEI data.