Thierry Timsit
CEO and Managing Partner
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- Full Name
- Thierry Timsit
- Title
- Executive Chairman and Co-Founder (CEO from 2018 until May 2025)
- Firm
- Astorg
- Firm Type
- Private equity (pan-European mid- and large-cap buyout / LBO firm) — *not an angel investor*
- Investment Stage
- Control buyouts / majority-stake LBOs (growth-stage and mature companies) — *not seed*
- Check Size
- Mid-cap fund targets companies valued ~€100m–€400m; flagship funds (Astorg VIII and successors) target ~€500m+ enterprise value; majority positions typically in businesses with enterprise values of roughly $150m–$2bn
- Target Company Profile
- Established, cash-generative European (and US) businesses suited to majority-control buyouts
- Sector Focus
- Healthcare (the firm's largest sector), software, business-to-business services, and technology-based industrials
- Geographic Focus
- Europe (plus the US), with offices in Paris, London, Milan, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, and New York
- Location
- Paris, France
Background
Thierry Timsit is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Astorg, one of Europe's leading private equity firms, which manages roughly €24 billion in assets across a 27-year track record. He is a French national based in Paris and a graduate of ESCP Europe (ESCP Business School).
Timsit began his career in 1989 at Banque Indosuez, holding several positions in London and Paris, primarily in the project finance division. He then spent about four years with the direct investments / private equity team at Suez before co-founding Astorg in 1998. Under his leadership, the firm evolved from a French small-cap LBO specialist into what it describes as one of Europe's top-ten private equity houses.
He served as CEO of Astorg from 2018 until May 2025, a period of rapid growth in which assets under management expanded past €20 billion. On 15 May 2025, Astorg announced a leadership evolution: Benjamin Cordonnier (previously Head of Portfolio Performance) became CEO and Judith Charpentier became Co-Managing Partner, while Timsit moved to the role of Executive Chairman. In that capacity he continues to steer strategic direction, preserve the firm's culture, lead investor engagement, and retain his seat on all of Astorg's Investment Committees. Over his career he has led numerous investments with a particular emphasis on healthcare, and he also sits on the board of Astorg Philanthropy Investment.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Invests through control buyouts (majority LBOs) in established European and US companies — a fundamentally different mandate from the "angel / seed" label in the source stub, which appears to be an error.
- Concentrates on four core sectors: healthcare, software, B2B services, and technology-based industrials; healthcare is Astorg's largest sector, with more than €6.5bn deployed.
- Targets companies with enterprise values from roughly €100m–€400m (mid-cap funds) up to €500m+ (flagship funds), typically taking majority ownership.
- Emphasizes a distinctive culture summarized in the firm's tagline, *"uncovering value through the art of listening"* — a collaborative, partnership-oriented approach to management teams.
- In his own words on the firm's philosophy: *"'Growing without losing ourselves' has been our mantra and compass. I'm proud of how far we've come—from our entrepreneurial roots to becoming a leading player in European private equity."*
Notable Investments
- CordenPharma — leading pharmaceutical CDMO acquired from ICIG; one of the largest European healthcare PE deals of its year; subsequently bolted on AmbioPharm (peptides).
- Nemera — world leader in drug-delivery devices for pharma, biotech, and generics (co-owned with Montagu; LGT Capital Partners joined as minority shareholder).
- IQ-EQ — global investor-services group (fund administration/compliance), 4,750+ staff across 25+ jurisdictions, >$750bn assets under administration.
- Clario, Cytel, Echosens, HRA Pharma, OPEN Health, Nexpring — healthcare/tech portfolio companies across diagnostics, clinical research, and pharma.
- Redslim — global data-management and integration platform for CPG and consumer-healthcare markets.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific microbiology business — carve-out acquisition of a global microbiology unit.
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