Steve Koltes Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Steve Koltes

• Steve Koltes, an American banker and businessman, is currently based in Switzerland. He is renowned as the co-founder of CVC Capital Partners, Europe’s leading private equity firm.

• In seventh grade, Steve had the desire to learn French, but he was unable to pursue it due to the subject being fully booked at his school. As a result, he opted for German instead. During an interview, Steve reflected on this and stated, “When I was in seventh grade, we had to select a language to study. I randomly chose French without any specific reason. However, being just twelve years old, I wasn’t equipped to make the best language decision at that age. Unfortunately, I later discovered that the French class was already at capacity, so I had to pick another language. Without any clear justification, I ended up choosing German as an alternative.”

• After finishing his formal education, Steve was hired as an executive officer by Citigroup. He worked in various locations including Zurich, London, and New York, where he was responsible for overseeing corporate banking and corporate finance for the organization.

• In 1982, he took on the role of managing director at Citicorp Venture Capital London.

• In 1993, Citicorp Venture Capital London was acquired by a group of individuals, namely Steve Koltes, Michael Smith, Hardy McLain, Donald Mackenzie, Iain Parham, and Rolly Van Rappard. Following the acquisition, they decided to rebrand the company as CVC Capital Partners.

• Koltes served as a director at Automotive Sealing Systems Limited from 27 January 2000 until 20 February 2002.

• Steve Koltes was the director of CVC Advisers Limited from December 17, 2003 to July 20, 2008.

• In 2012, Koltes took over as chairman of CVC Capital Partners alongside Donald Mackenzie and Rolly Van Rappard, succeeding Michael Smith.

• In 2014, he was bestowed with the Alumni Award of Merit from the William Penn Charter School.

• In 2015, the United Kingdom-based gambling company, Sky Betting & Gaming, was acquired by CVC Capital Partners.

• Afterwards, CVC Capital Partners acquired Starbev, a company that specializes in manufacturing alcoholic beverages, Samsonite, a company renowned for producing suitcases, and the printing systems division of Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik (BASF).

• After suffering significant financial losses, the organization decided to acquire Formula One. However, they eventually sold it to Liberty Media, owned by John Carl Malone, for a whopping $8 billion. A photograph was taken during a press conference, depicting Steve Koltes speaking to the media.

• He later joined Evonik Industries and Elster Group, serving as a member of their respective boards.

• In 2021, CVC Capital Partners invested a total of Rs. 5,600 crores to acquire the IPL team known as Gujarat Titans.

• In October 2022, Steve Koltes resigned from his position as chairman of CVC Capital Partners. However, he will continue to be involved with the company as a non-executive board member. In an interview, Donald Mackenzie, Steve’s close friend and business partner, discussed Steve’s departure from the chairmanship, expressing sadness at his leaving and recognizing his valuable contributions to CVC. Donald also mentioned their longstanding friendship and partnership since the beginning of CVC, highlighting Steve’s ability to maintain balance and guide the organization’s culture, which will be greatly missed by him personally and by everyone at CVC.

• The trio consisting of Steve Koltes, Donald Mackenzie, and Rolly Van Rappard have earned the title of the buyout kings of Europe due to their successful acquisition of numerous global companies. [2]Daily Mail