The private equity firm Warburg Pincus has appointed Robert B. Knauss, a corporate partner at the firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson in Los Angeles, as general counsel and managing director.
Mr. Knauss, who has already begun work at the firm, will succeed Scott A. Arenare, who is leaving the company to “pursue a new business opportunity,†according to a statement on Thursday.
Mr. Arenare had acted as managing director and general counsel for Warburg since 1998, and will stay with the firm long enough to help Mr. Knauss with his transition. Mr. Arenare’s departure date was not immediately clear.
Mr. Knauss will join Warburg’s executive management group and will oversee the company’s legal and regulatory matters from New York. A former clerk for the former supreme court justice William H. Rehnquist and Walter R. Mansfield, a United States appellate judge, Mr. Knauss’ focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and securities and private equity at his previous firm. His clients at Munger, Tolles & Olson included the Yucaipa Companies, the investment firm run by the billionaire Ronald W. Burkle, and Moelis & Company, a global investment bank.
“Rob is a talented lawyer who brings to the firm a tremendous amount of relevant experience,†said Joseph P. Landy, co-chief executive of Warburg Pincus.
News of Mr. Knauss’ appointment comes days after another private equity firm, the Carlyle Group, announced it had hired away Kewsong Lee, one of Warburg’s top executives.
Founded in 1966, Warburg manages more than $35 billion and has raised 13 private equity funds with investments around the world.
