Wallace and Williams join William Blair in New York as managing directors and co-heads of Private Capital Advisory. They join Mike Custar who moved in 2022 and leads the firm’s Secondary Advisory practice.

The two hires boost William Blair and its fundraising capabilities, providing financial sponsors with a fully integrated Private Capital Advisory practice.

Furthermore, the pair have worked together for 13 years and collectively have more than 30 years of private markets experience. Previously, they were members of the senior leadership team of the Credit Suisse Private Fund Group.

Before Credit Suisse, Wallace was at Lazard in the Private Capital Advisory Group and Stanwich Advisors before that.

Williams was at Stanwich Advisors before Credit Suisse where he was head of project management and had distribution responsibility for institutional investors.

“Our expansion of fund placement and advisory provides financial sponsors with an even broader suite of solutions tailored to their unique needs across all stages of the private equity lifecycle, including fundraising, fund management, portfolio management, and portfolio company alternatives,” said Brandon Lower, head of financial sponsors at William Blair.

“Jerome and Brian are proven business leaders with an outstanding network of GP and LP relationships. Most importantly, they possess a high degree of integrity and are a strong cultural fit.”

“William Blair is uniquely positioned to address the ever-evolving needs of financial sponsors,” Wallace said. “We look forward to building a highly differentiated, best-in-class fund placement business in support of our clients.”

“We are thrilled by the quality of the team that has come together at William Blair and will be forever grateful for the trust and support of our clients,” Williams said. “William Blair is a world-class firm and the perfect platform to partner with in building a fully integrated private capital advisory business.”