Swiss alternative investment expert Partners Group has appointed a new co-CEO. The man credited with establishing the firm in Asia is changing role but will stay with the company.

Layton 160David Layton (pictured left) will take Christoph Rubeli’s job as co-CEO, Partners Group said in a statement on Thursday. He will assume the new responsibilities at the beginning of next year and work alongside André Frei, who has held the role as co-CEO for the past five years. Rubeli will stay at the wealth manager as a partner.

Layton has been with the company for 13 years and most recently was the global head of the private markets business. Before taking this job in 2017, he also managed the U.S. business in New York. In 2016, he founded the regional Americas headquarters in Denver, which today has 150 members of staff.

Successful Asian Business

Rubeli 160Predecessor Rubeli (pictured left) has also been a co-CEO for five years. He joined the firm in 1998, coming from UBS. He established the business in Asia and spent several years in Singapore as head of the branch. In Asia, Partners Group has offices in Mumbai, Singapore, Manila, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo and Sydney.

«In my new role, I will support the further build-out of the investment platform globally, with a particular emphasis on the entrepreneurial governance of our portfolio companies,» Rubeli was quoted as saying.

Across all 19 offices globally, Partners Group has some 1,000 employees and manages $78 billion in assets. Its global headquarters are in Baar, close to Zug.