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Meet the team
Maud Brown
Partner
Maud joined PAI in 2019 and heads PAI’s US Team. She has been involved in the Refresco, Alphia and Tropicana Brands Group transactions.
She was previously with Investcorp where she spent more than 18 years in London and New York, most recently as a Managing Director in New York and a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. She started her career in M&A at Salomon Brothers and Merrill Lynch in London.
Maud graduated from ESCP and holds a Master’s in Corporate Law from the University Paris XI.
Gaëlle d’Engremont
Partner
Gaëlle joined PAI in 2004 and is the Head of the Food & Consumer Team. She has been involved in a number of investments including Asmodee, B&B Hotels, Chr. Hansen, Ecotone, European Camping Group, Euro Ethnic Foods, Froneri, Innovad, Labeyrie Fine Foods, NovaTaste, Perstorp, Roompot, The Compleat Food Group and United Biscuits.
She started her career at Unibail, where she spent two years, before spending four years at Group Casino.
Gaëlle graduated from ESSEC in 1997.
Richard Howell
Managing Partner
Richard joined PAI in 2009 and is a member of the firm’s Management Committee and Investment Committee. He also heads the Client & Capital Group and is responsible for managing all interactions with the firm’s investors, as well as its debt financing activities.
He started his career at UBS in London and Hong Kong. He then worked at Lehman Brothers (and following its acquisition, Nomura) where he became Managing Director and Head of the European Corporate & Leveraged Finance group, and was also a member of Lehman’s Global High Yield Commitment Committee and European Investment Banking Executive Committee.
Richard graduated from the University of Birmingham.
Andreas Kumeth
Partner
Andreas joined PAI in 2014 and is Head of the Flagship Fund Team in DACH and the Nordics. He has been involved in several investments including Atos Medical, B&B Hotels, DomusVi, Theramex, Veonet, Xella and Zahneins.
He started his career in private equity at Apax Partners in Munich and London, and also worked at Waterland Private Equity in Düsseldorf.
Andreas graduated with a double degree from the Technical University of Munich (Mathematics) and the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (Economics).
Guillaume Leblanc
Partner
Guillaume joined PAI in 2011 and is Co-Head of the Business Services Team. He has been involved in several investments including Apleona, AS Adventure, Cyrus, Gravity Media, Froneri, Infra Group, Innovista Sensors, Refresco, Roompot and World Freight Company.
Guillaume started his career at Time Equity Partners, a private equity firm involved in growth capital transactions in the technology, media and communications industry.
He graduated from HEC in 2008.
Neil Mcllroy
Partner
Neil joined PAI in 2019. He is Co-Head of the Business Services Team and a member of the UK Team. He has been involved in the Audiotonix, Azets and HKA and M Group Services investments.
He joined PAI from H.I.G. Capital where he spent nine years covering growth equity and leveraged buy-out investments in Europe completing many successful investments, with a particular focus on Industrials, Business Services and FinTech. Previously Neil spent four years at Cinven where he focused on investments in Industrials and Healthcare. He started his career in the Investment Banking Division of Morgan Stanley concentrating on European and UK mergers and acquisitions.
Neil graduated from Queens University Belfast with an MSc in Finance and the University of Ulster with a B.A. in Business Studies.
Bertrand Monier
Partner
Bertrand joined PAI in 2011 and is Consumer Services Lead in the Food & Consumer Team as well as PAI Performance Group Lead. Bertrand has been involved in a number of investments including Areas, Asmodee, Atos, Ecotone, European Camping Group, Euro Ethnic Foods, Froneri, Hunkemöller, Labeyrie Fine Foods, Marcolin, Motel One, Perstorp, Roompot and The Looping Group.
He started his career as a strategy consultant at Boston Consulting Group, where he worked for two years.
Bertrand graduated from HEC in 2009.
Shane O’Driscoll
Partner
Shane joined PAI in 2016 and is a member of the Client & Capital Group. He is focused on fundraising, LP coverage and management of the portfolio’s debt financing activities. Shane was previously Co-Head of the Investment Group from 2018 until 2023.
Shane joined PAI from Credit Suisse where he was most recently a Director in EMEA Leveraged Finance Capital Markets. Shane’s role involved underwriting and syndicating primary high-yield bonds and leveraged loans on behalf of private equity backed companies. Prior to that, Shane held a number of roles within Credit Suisse’s EMEA Leveraged Finance franchise, having joined the firm in 2007.
