HIG Capital Names Brian Schwartz as CEO in Leadership Transition

HIG Capital named Brian Schwartz as its chief executive officer on Monday, marking the first leadership handoff at the firm since Sami Mnaymneh and Tony Tamer co-founded it more than three decades ago.

Schwartz, who has worked at the firm since 1994 according to Bloomberg, and most recently served as co-president, will take over a platform that now manages $74 billion in capital across private equity, credit, real assets, and infrastructure. Mnaymneh moves into an executive chairman role, a position he will share with Tamer, and will continue to sit on the firm's investment committees.

Doug Berman, who has run HIG Capital's U.S. private equity business, was promoted to co-president alongside Rick Rosen, who already held that title. The reshuffling places three longtime insiders in the firm's top operational seats.

A Three-Decade Tenure Sets the Stage for Sami Mnaymneh's Transition

Mnaymneh, who directed HIG Capital's growth after co-founding the firm in 1993, built what began as a small Miami-based middle-market investor into an operation spanning 18 offices across nine countries with more than 1,000 employees and over 3,500 completed transactions. Before HIG Capital, he had served as a managing director at The Blackstone Group and began his career at Morgan Stanley in New York.

"For more than three decades, HIG has built a leading position in the middle market, combining global reach with an operational approach to value creation that has delivered exceptional results for our investors," Mnaymneh said in a statement. "Brian has been instrumental to our success and a key driver of the firm's growth. I am confident that under his leadership, HIG is very well positioned to further build on its middle market leadership position."

Tamer, who co-founded the firm alongside Mnaymneh, also remains in the executive chairman role he has held. Both founders retain seats on the firm's investment committees, meaning day-to-day management transfers to Schwartz while the co-founders preserve oversight of capital deployment.

Schwartz Inherits a Broader HIG Capital Platform Than the One He Joined

Few executives at the firm have had a more direct hand in building what HIG Capital has become. Schwartz joined in 1994, a year after the firm's founding, and over the following three decades held a range of senior roles before becoming co-president roughly six years ago. During that stretch, he oversaw daily operations and served on every fund's investment committee.

"It is an honor to step into the role of CEO and to lead HIG at this important point in its evolution," Schwartz said. "I am deeply grateful to Sami and Tony for building a firm defined by disciplined investing, operational focus, and a strong culture. With our differentiated platform and experienced team, we are well positioned to capitalize on opportunities and continue delivering strong outcomes for our investors."

Berman, joining him in the co-president ranks, has been with HIG Capital since 1996. A member of the executive committee, he oversaw the expansion of the firm's U.S. middle-market private equity portfolio and will focus on investment discipline and portfolio execution in his new role.

What the Transition Signals About HIG Capital's Direction

Elevating Schwartz, Berman, and Rosen simultaneously is consistent with how large alternative asset firms tend to manage succession — anchoring continuity in executives who were already deeply embedded in day-to-day operations rather than recruiting from outside. HIG Capital's current portfolio holds more than 100 companies with aggregate revenues exceeding $53 billion, a scale that places it among the larger middle-market-focused managers globally.

Berman addressed the firm's priorities directly: "My priority is to ensure we stay disciplined in how we invest, stay close to our portfolio companies, and continue to execute at a high level across the firm. I look forward to partnering with Brian and Rick as we continue to execute on the opportunities we see in our markets."

HIG Capital is headquartered in Miami and maintains offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Stamford, along with affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogota, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Dubai, and Hong Kong.