About
The Carlyle Group is a global investment firm founded in 1987 by Bill Conway, Daniel A. D'Aniello, and David M. Rubenstein, headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia. Operating as one of the world's largest alternative asset managers with $426 billion in assets under management, Carlyle deploys capital across three primary business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit, and Global Investment Solutions. The firm's investment thesis emphasizes long-term value creation through active portfolio management, operational support, and strategic oversight, leveraging sector expertise and local market insights to identify opportunities and drive growth. Carlyle's global private equity segment manages over 260 portfolio companies and 640+ active investments across diverse sectors including aerospace, defense, government services, consumer goods, media, retail, and financial services. The firm demonstrates particular strength in defense and national security investments, a focus area since its inception. With a team of 672 professionals including 347 partners, Carlyle maintains a distributed operating model with significant presence across major financial centers globally. The firm's investment approach combines buyouts with growth capital strategies, supported by subsidiary operations including AlpInvest, a dedicated secondaries and fund-of-funds platform acquired in 2011. Carlyle ranked first among private equity firms by capital raised from 2010-2015 according to the PEI 300 index. As of early 2026, the firm maintains an active portfolio of 608 companies with recent investment activity including participation in 6 funding rounds and 7 acquisitions in the preceding 12 months. The firm's value proposition centers on combining deep sector expertise with operational capabilities to support portfolio company growth, while institutional investors gain access to diversified private market exposure across geographies and investment strategies.