Principal/Managing Director

Position Summary – Global Portfolio Solutions (GPS) – Asia CIO We are seeking an exceptional technology leader to join the Global Portfolio Solutions (GPS) – Asia team, working directly with the Asia Head of Global Portfolio Solutions. This individual will serve as Carlyle’s primary technology value creation resource for Asia, partnering with portfolio management teams, deal teams, and GPS functional peers to accelerate technology-driven value creation across Carlyle’s Asia Buyout portfolio. The GPS Asia CIO role will be the connective tissue between Carlyle’s investment professionals and the technology leadership at our portfolio companies – translating strategic investment theses into concrete technology execution roadmaps, and converting lessons learned across the portfolio into scalable playbooks, partnerships, and community. This person will be a member of a lean, but highly-capable, GPS Asia team and will work collaboratively with other Global GPS functional leaders. Above all, this person will serve as a trusted, technology expert to deal teams and portfolio company technology leaders alike – leveraging deep technical and operational expertise, strong listening skills, and a practitioner’s credibility to drive outsized technology value creation across the portfolio. Primary Responsibilities Value Creation & Portfolio Engagement • Partner directly with portfolio management teams, deal teams, and GPS functional peers to develop and execute technology value creation roadmaps aligned to each company’s investment thesis and stage of ownership • Advise portfolio companies on how to architect and execute large-scale technology transformation programs, including carve-outs, acquisitions, modernization, platform consolidation, and cloud migration initiatives • Evaluate portfolio companies’ technology spend, identifying opportunities to optimize across labor, software, hardware and services that can drive meaningful impact on profitability • Advise portfolio companies on optimizing their technology operating models, including decisions around onshore/offshore organizational structures, build vs. buy vs. partner tradeoffs, and vendor management • Build and maintain a network of high-performing technology leaders that can fill permanent or temporary vacant roles at portfolio companies • Serve as a thought partner to portfolio company CIOs, CTOs, and CPOs on strategic technology investment prioritization, product engineering capacity, and organizational design Knowledge Creation & Dissemination • Develop and curate technology-focused case studies and playbooks that capture best practices in technology execution, transformation, and investment across the Carlyle portfolio • Maintain a living body of GPS technology knowledge, including frameworks, assessments, and reference architectures, made accessible to deal teams and portfolio companies through the GPS resource portal • Partner with GPS peers across functional areas (commercial excellence, pricing, digital/AI, cost optimization) to integrate technology perspectives into cross-functional value creation initiatives Community & Events • Lead the design and execution of Carlyle’s annual technology leadership summits, convening C-level Technology, Product, and Engineering leaders from across the portfolio to share best practices, benchmark performance, and forge peer relationships • Convene periodic community webinars and forums for portfolio company technology leaders to exchange insights on common challenges, emerging technologies, and vendor experiences • Build and sustain a trusted peer-to-peer network among portfolio company technology executives, acting as a connector and convener across the community Strategic Partnerships • Identify, evaluate, and foster strategic partnerships with technology product and service providers – including software vendors, systems integrators, cloud providers, and managed services firms – that can deliver value at scale across the portfolio • Develop and manage a curated network of technology consultants, contractors, and implementation partners that GPS and portfolio companies can engage for high-priority initiatives • Evaluate and pilot emerging technology solutions, including AI/ML platforms, automation tooling, and data infrastructure, for applicability across the Carlyle portfolio in Asia Deal Support • Partner with deal teams to provide technology expert opinion, diligence support, and risk assessment on prospective investments, with particular focus on technology architecture, product roadmap maturity, platform scalability, engineering team capability, and technical debt • Contribute to investment committee materials and value creation planning for new platform and add-on investments Requirements The candidate will be a highly-accomplished technology executive or senior practitioner, likely having served as a CTO, CIO or equivalent at a PE- or venture-backed company that has successfully executed a meaningful technology transformation, or as a senior leader within a top-tier technology consulting or advisory firm. In addition to 10 - 15 years of overall professional experience, they will have: • Deep expertise across the technology value creation landscape, including product engineering, software architecture, infrastructure modernization, digital transformation, and AI/ML adoption • Demonstrated ability to lead or oversee large, complex technology transformation programs in environments with competing priorities and significant organizational change • Experience advising on or executing technology operating model design, including onshore/offshore hybrid models, platform team structures, and vendor management frameworks • A track record of translating strategic technology investments into measurable business outcomes – revenue growth, cost reduction, margin expansion, or enterprise value creation • Familiarity with the private equity deal cycle, value creation planning, and the expect