Architect of Morgan Stanley’s PE Business Moves to Intermediate Capital Group

London-based alternatives firm Intermediate Capital Group is expanding its presence across the pond.

The €38.6 billion ($42.6 billion) asset manager has hired formerMorgan Stanley executiveAlan Jones to build a private equity business in North America, ICG announced Tuesday.

“We have established a substantial business in North America and have a strong ambition to further expand our presence,” ICG chief executive Benoit Durteste said in a statement. “Building a private equity business focused on mid-market corporates is a key element of this plan and we are delighted to have attracted A.J. to help us achieve this goal.”

According to the statement, Jones will be responsible for hiring a team of private equity specialists to target investments in mid-market companies in North America. He will be based out of ICG’s New York office, where there is already a team of 57 employees investing across private debt, strategic equity, and credit fund strategies.

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Jones joins ICG after a 25-year career at Morgan Stanley, where he most recently served as vice chairman of private credit and equity. According to the ICG statement, Jones rebuilt Morgan Stanley’s private equity business in 2007 and served as head of private equity and chair of the firm’s private equity investment risk committee from 2007 to 2018.

Tuesday’s announcement continues a recent hiring spree by ICG, which has been building out its team in Germany in addition to expanding its U.S. presence. Earlier this month, the firm announced the appointments of managing directors Martin Preuss and Julia Beinker. Preuss was hired to lead European subordinated debt and equity investments out of Frankfurt, while Beinker has been tasked with building out ICG’s distribution capabilities in Austria and Germany.

Additionally, ICG last month announced the hiring of JPMorgan Private Bank executive Alex Jones. The firm’s new head of U.S. private wealth solutions has been tasked with developing ICG’s relationships withfamily officesand wealth management clients in the United States. In astatementat the time of the announcement, ICG head of marketing and client relations Andreas Mondovits noted that the U.S. made up a “significant proportion” of the private wealth market.

“The globalprivate wealth market is growing,” he said, adding that wealth management firms are “steadily increasing their clients’ exposure to private markets.”