Credit Suisse poaches Ritchie Capital senior management for heading Asian private equity ops

Business Standard reports that Credit Suisse has hired Harjit Bhatia from Ritchie Capital to head Credit Suisse Private Equity Asia and has roped in a team of six professionals for the same. The team comprises Hemang Raja, Rakesh Mital, Soma Ghosal Dhar, Isiah Zhang and Imelda Tham. Heath Zarin, who started Credit Suisse’s Asian private equity investment activities, will also be joining the team. Harjit Bhatia, Rakesh Mital, Isiah Zhang and Imelda Tham will be based in Hong Kong, and Hemang Raja and Soma Ghosal will be based in Mumbai.

Harjit Bhatia is joining as managing partner and head of Credit Suisse Private Equity Asia. He was till recently chairman and CEO, Asia Pacific of Ritchie Capital Management in Hong Kong. Hemang Raja and Rakesh Mital are joining as managing directors. Prior to joining Credit Suisse Hemang Raja was the head of India operations for Ritchie Capital. While Rakesh Mital worked closely with Bhatia at Ritchie Capital. Also joining the team are Soma Ghosal Dhar, previously a director at Ritchie Capital in India; Isiah Zhang worked at McKinsey in China prior to joining Ritchie Capital; and Imelda Tham, who worked at the Carlyle Group in Washington DC in real estate acquisitions before Ritchie Capital.