It is with profound sadness and great regret that we inform you of the sudden and unexpected death of our association’s long-standing colleague and friend, Roderick ‘Rory’ Macmillan, 59, IE Chair-elect and Managing Director, Global Government Affairs, The Carlyle Group. Rory leaves behind his husband, Koen Kleyn.
Rory was well known to us all, and his significant contributions to Invest Europe’s growth and success on behalf of the Carlyle Group cannot be overstated. Rory, whose passion and commitment remained constant through his personal and professional lives, spent almost a decade dedicated to the European private equity industry.
Testament to Rory’s wide-ranging and continuous involvement in Invest Europe were the myriad positions he occupied - often in parallel - over the years:
Invest Europe Board of Directors in June 2013 with three “3-year” mandates (2013 to 2016, 2016 to 2019 and 2019 to 2021)
Member of the Invest Europe Audit and Financial Committee since 2013
Chair of the EPER association representing the Large BO platform of Invest Europe since 2015, and, as a result, Vice-Chair of Invest Europe since 2015
Member of the Communications Advisory Group since 2012
Member of the Public Affairs Executive since 2016
Appointed Invest Europe Chair-elect by the Board in July 2019
Thierry Baudon, Chair, Invest Europe, stated: “I was truly looking forward to passing the chair of Invest Europe on to Rory, confident his wisdom, experience and passion would be incredibly beneficial in helping to guide our members through the current economic crisis and pandemic. I will miss him enormously.”
Eric de Montgolfier, Chief Executive Officer, Invest Europe, added: “Rory’s death has left us all shocked and deeply saddened; our association won’t be the same without him. And while we remember all that he gave, we can genuinely honour his memory by continuing to focus on matters relating to ESG and gender, diversity and inclusion within the private equity sector - issues very much close to Rory’s heart.”
The Carlyle Group said: “Carlyle is deeply saddened by the passing of our colleague and friend, Rory Macmillan. For close to a decade, Rory was committed to promoting the private equity industry across Europe and played an integral role at the BVCA, Invest Europe and EPER. He was a cherished member of the Carlyle family. We will remember him for his kindness, generosity, intellect, and great sense of humour, and his commitment to many charitable causes will have a lasting impact. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. He will be greatly missed.”
While we, at Invest Europe, will sorely miss Rory’s attentiveness, engagement and presence, Rory’s legacy is a body of critical and tireless work on behalf of the private equity community – one that will remain perpetually alive, and active.
Invest Europe intends to donate to a charity close to Rory and his husbands’ hearts, World Child Cancer, in his memory and invites the membership community to do the same:
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