Carlyle Co-CEO’s Abrupt Exit Caps a Long, Awkward Power Struggle

Carlyle Group’s co-leaders were meant to be complementary: a swaggering dealmaker and an operations guru who would carry the torch for its founders. But inside the firm, Kewsong Lee started small talk with a jab to Glenn Youngkin. “How’s the infrastructure group?” Lee asked in front of others. That was Youngkin’s domain -- and it wasn’t going well.

One of the private equity industry’s boldest attempts at succession planning unraveled with Youngkin’s abrupt announcement on Tuesday that he’s stepping down to focus on public service.

Kewsong Lee

Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg

Yet for many inside the $217 billion alternative asset manager, the breakup was ...