Former UDG Healthcare chief executive Liam Fitzgerald has been hired by New York private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to help drive healthcare investments.
Mr Fitzgerald oversaw 30 acquisitions during his time as chief executive of UDG between 2000 and 2016, a period in which the company’s market value soared by more than 500 per cent and its earnings grew at a compound annual rate of more than 20 per cent.
Mr Fitzgerald (51) stepped down as chief of UDG last February and retired from the board seven months later, with his remuneration for the year to the end of September falling as a result to €2 million from €2.6 million for the prior year.
"Liam is a recognised leader who has a demonstrated record of driving sustained enterprise growth, market share gains and value creation on a global scale," said CD&R partner David Novak. "He brings valuable healthcare industry expertise, deep market insights and a broad network, particularly in Europe where we are enthusiastic about the investment opportunities presented by strong secular trends in the healthcare space."
Mr Fitzgerald, who will work out of CD&R’s London office, said now is a “a very exciting time to invest in healthcare”, adding that he looks forward to being involved in opportunities in Europe and the US.
Founded in 1978, the US firm has managed the investment of $22 billion in 72 businesses representing a broad range of industries.
