Ken Mehlman former head of the RNC and the public affairs chief at KKR is now the top lobbyist for the private equity industry. Mr. Mehlman was elected on Thursday to be the chairman of The Private Equity Growth Capital Council.
PEGCC is the most prominent advocacy group for equity and capital firms such as TPG Capital, Silver Lake, Apollo Global Management, Carlyle Group and Blackstone Group. PEGCC was launched in 2007 and is currently being run by president and chief executive officer Steve Judge. Mehlman is succeeding Mark Tresnowski in this position. Tresnowski was a top lawyer for Madison Dearborn Partners.
“As a member of the PEGCC’s Board of Directors, Ken has long been a driving force behind our major initiatives,” said Steve Judge, PEGCC President and CEO. “We’re very pleased to have him as our new chairman. Ken is a unique talent with two decades of experience at the highest levels of government, politics and business. The PEGCC and our members will benefit tremendously from his leadership, advice and counsel.”
Mr Mehlman's primary responsibilities will be to help expand the PEGCC's outreach as well as educate and engage stakeholders about the value of the private equity industry. At KKR Mr. Mehlman has had a large role in formalizing KKR's outreach efforts including creating robust environmental, social and governance programs for the firms and its portfolio companies.
“I’m privileged to succeed Mark as Chairman of the PEGCC,” said Mr. Mehlman. “I have enormous respect for the PEGCC’s important work engaging with public policy makers to encourage more economic growth and retirement security for millions of Americans. I also share the PEGCC’s goal of building a community of investors who seek superior returns while also emphasizing active, responsible governance, long term investment and measuring success in years not quarters.
“I would personally like to thank Mark for his invaluable contributions and leadership for PEGCC and the industry as a whole throughout his tenure as Chairman,” said Steve Judge, PEGCC President and CEO. “From our many legislative battles over carried interest and the Dodd-Frank Act to the 2012 presidential election that brought our industry into the national spotlight, Mark provided the PEGCC with exceptional leadership."
Ken Mehlman, the public affairs chief at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. who was previously a leading Republican operative in Washington, is now the top lobbyist for the private equity industry.
Mehlman was elected Thursday as the chairman of The Private Equity Growth Capital Council, the most prominent industry advocacy group for firms like TPG Capital, Silver Lake, Apollo Global Management, Carlyle Group and Blackstone Group.
He will continue several long-running fights in Washington, including higher taxes for PE firms from a potential change in the treatment of carried interest and increased registration and disclosure rules from the Dodd-Frank Act.
Mehlman succeeds Mark Tresnowski, the top lawyer for Madison Dearborn Partners. PEGCC, launched in 2007, is also led day-to-day by president and chief executive officer Steve Judge.
Mehlman joined KKR in 2008 from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where he was a partner in the law firm's legislative and regulatory counseling practice. He is best known for his work on behalf of conservative politicians before: chairing the Republican National Committee and running George W. Bush's presidential reelection campaign in 2004.
Mehlman is also a prominent gay rights advocate and serves as a director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights.
Mehlman's primary responsibilities will be to "help expand the PEGCC's outreach efforts to educate and engage a broad set of stakeholders about the value of a vibrant and dynamic private equity industry," according to a statement from the association.
"I have enormous respect for the PEGCC's important work engaging with public policy makers to encourage more economic growth and retirement security for millions of Americans," Mehlman said. "I also share the PEGCC's goal of building a community of investors who seek superior returns while also emphasizing active, responsible governance, long term investment and measuring success in years not quarters."
Mehlman also credited Tresnowski for his work in helping block changes to carried interest taxes as yet and countering negative views of the private equity industry that emerged during former Bain Capital executive Mitt Romney's failed presidential bid.
—By CNBC's Lawrence Delevingne