13 Jan 2023

Permira Appoints Kelly Grier as Senior Adviser

Kelly brings unrivalled experience in leading one of the most successful professional services companies globally through a period of robust growth. We’re extremely fortunate to have her join the Permira team. We look forward to benefitting from Kelly’s perspectives as we continue to execute on our global strategy in the Services sector and help our management teams develop world-class people propositions.
Daniel Brenhouse, Partner at Permira, and Caroline Carr, Partner and Chief Human Resources Officer
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New York, 13 January 2023 – Permira, the global private equity firm, today announced the appointment of Kelly Grier as a Senior Adviser to its global Services team.

Kelly recently retired as US Chair and Managing Partner and Americas Managing Partner of Ernst & Young (EY). At EY, she oversaw more than 81,000 people in 31 countries, with annual revenue of over $21 billion. During her 31-year tenure at EY, Kelly served in a variety of leadership roles before becoming US Chair in 2018. She brings extensive experience working with many of the world’s largest, most innovative companies and entrepreneurs. Kelly presently serves on the Board of Directors of ITW and is involved in various other private endeavours.

At Permira, Kelly will leverage her global network, expertise and decades of experience in leadership development, risk management, financial reporting, and corporate governance, to support the firm’s investment activities and portfolio value creation. Permira is one of the world’s most active investors in the Services sector, having deployed over $11.5 billion to partner with more than 40 companies globally. Current investments from the Permira funds in the sector include: AlterDomus, Axiom, Cielo, Clearwater Analytics, DiversiTech, Engel & Völkers, Kroll, Motus, Relativity and Reorg.

Kelly Grier said: “Over the course of my career, I’ve been focused on the powerful relationship between innovative, growth-oriented companies and seasoned business advisors to unlock the full potential of an organization and its people. I’m proud to be joining Permira and leveraging my experience to support the firm’s values-based investment approach and partnership philosophy, and to drive long-term value for Permira, its portfolio companies and stakeholders.”

Daniel Brenhouse, Partner at Permira, and Caroline Carr, Partner and Chief Human Resources Officer, added: “Kelly brings unrivalled experience in leading one of the most successful professional services companies globally through a period of robust growth. We’re extremely fortunate to have her join the Permira team. We look forward to benefitting from Kelly’s perspectives as we continue to execute on our global strategy in the Services sector and help our management teams develop world-class people propositions.”

Permira’s Senior Advisers help drive value by partnering with investment teams and management teams to both identify new opportunities and scale champions globally. Kelly’s appointment follows the recent appointments of Carolyn Everson, healthtech veteran Andy Eckert and tech industry experts Koen Köppen and Simon Segars in 2022.