James C Zelter has agreed to join Apollo Management firm as the managing partner of the firm's capital markets business.
James C Zelter has agreed to join Apollo Management firm as the managing partner of the firm's capital markets business.

Zelter joins Apollo with 20 years of investment experience, having spent the last 12 years at Citigroup where he served on the firm's Global Fixed Income Management Committee and was most recently responsible for managing a portfolio of USD 5 billion of proprietary capital. The portfolio focused on investments across the capital structure of companies in the US, Europeand Asia.

In his new role at Apollo, Zelter will oversee the expansion of the firm's multi-billion dollar capital markets activities. These activities currently include Apollo Investment Management, the manager to the publicly traded business development corporation (NASDAQ:AINV) and Apollo's other value-oriented investment funds. In addition, Zelter's experience investing in global markets will further enhance the firm's investment activities in current and new international markets. He will also serve on the various Apollo Investment Committees.

"I am pleased to welcome Jim as a senior partner of the firm,' says Leon Black, founder of Apollo Management. 'His 20years of experience are a great complement to our team and will enable us to explore attractive new opportunities consistent with our value-oriented approach. Jim has demonstrated a great track record of success and we look forward to leveraging his abilities at the firm across both existing and new product lines."

Commenting on his new role, Zelter says: "As one of the world's pre-eminent private equity firms, Apollo has established an outstanding record of success. I am delighted to join the firm and I am particularly excited to be part of an investment organization comprised of so many talented and proven individuals."

Zelter, 43, who has been with Citigroup and its predecessor companies since 1994, has been responsible for the global expansion and strong financial performance of the Special Situations Investment Group, a proprietary investment group that he founded within Citigroup's Fixed Income Division. Previously, from 2003 to 2005 he was Chief Investment Officer of Citigroup Alternative Investment, and prior to that he was responsible for the firm's global high yield and leveraged finance business.

Background note: Apollo, founded in 1990, is among the most active and successful private investment firms in terms of both number of investment transactions completed and aggregate dollars invested. Since its inception, Apollo has invested over USD 16 billion in a wide variety of industries both domestically and internationally. The firm's most recent private equity fund, Apollo Investment Fund VI, LP has capital commitments of USD 10.1 billion.