KKR Hires Soros Director For Infrastructure Team

KKR & Co has tapped Waldemar Szlezak to work as a managing director on its infrastructure team, a spokesperson for the firm confirmed Wednesday.  

Szlezak previously worked as a senior managing director at Soros Fund Management, George Soros’ family office, KKR's website shows. Before that, he worked at Soros Private Equity Investors/TowerBrook Capital, according to the website.

Szlezak isn’t the first employee to leave Soros Fund Management this year. In January, Ted Burdick, who served as the firm’s chief investment officer for eight months before moving into a role on its credit investing team, left to become the co-head of Strategic Value Partners’ North American investment team.  

At KKR, Szlezak will focus on communications infrastructure investing in the Americas, according to KKR’s site. While at Soros Fund Management, Szlezak focused on communications and real estate deals.  

Prior to working for Soros Fund Investment, Szlezak worked as an associate for Soros Private Equity Investors and at TowerBrook Capital Partners prior to that, according to KKR. Before that, Szlezak worked at Credit Suisse First Boston, where he did work on mergers and acquisitions, according to KKR. 

A spokesperson for Soros Fund Management did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. It is unclear at present whether the firm has hired someone to replace Szlezak.  

[II Deep Dive: Former Soros CIO Burdick Joins Strategic Value Partners] 

KKR has been active this month when it comes to hiring. The firm hired Kate Richdale from Goldman Sachs Group to lead its strategy and business development in Asia, it said in a March 3 statement.  

The firm's hiring focus has been on expanding in Asia, with David Luboff joining from Macquarie Group to oversee Asia-Pacific infrastructure investing in January, the firm said at the time.