Major private equity hire strengthens Ashursts reputation as global leader in private capital

François joins from Dechert where he has been a partner for 12 years. François is a highly reputed corporate practitioner with deep industry expertise across telecommunications and digital, health and biotechnology sectors. He brings over 25 years’ experience acting for public and private companies representing investment funds, family offices, issuers and managers in their private equity transactions, including LBOs, as well as venture capital and growth capital transactions across France and internationally.

Jason Radford, Global Head of Corporate said:

“François is an outstanding addition to our European corporate team, particularly given his depth of experience in complex private equity and telecoms transactions across Europe and Africa. This combination is unique in the French market and aligns directly with Ashurst's priority sectors for investment and focus. His broader M&A and ECM experience will enhance our capability and bench strength in France and further builds on our strategic investment across Europe in the last year. We are absolutely delighted to welcome extraordinary talent like François to the firm as we continue to grow to meet increasing client demand.”

Philippe None, Managing Partner of the Paris office commented:

"This is a significant and strategic hire for our corporate practice in Paris, the result of a determined effort to strengthen our offering and industry-led strategy. François has had significant experience in cross-border PE and M&A transactions, as well as acting as a trusted advisor more broadly to his clients for many years. He will play a key role in further building our integrated offering of globally minded corporate experts. Off the back of several years of consistent growth, and soon after the arrival of a leading compliance team led by Olivier Dorgans in April, this is the next critical step in our continuing growth in Paris.“

François Hellot added:

"The firm globally, and the corporate team is dynamic and at an exciting stage in its growth trajectory. Coupled with that, the firm is committed to achieving excellence in client service delivery via a collaborative client-first strategy which aligns perfectly with how I operate.”

François’ appointment builds on strong continuing investment into Ashurst’s corporate team globally, which includes the recent appointment of Florian Drinhausen in Germany and three internal promotions to partnership in May. In the last year the firm also welcomed Fabio Niccoli in Italy; Stephan Hennrich in Germany; Melody He in Hong Kong, and Will Chalk, Jonathan Cohen, Richard de Carle, and Markjan van Schaardenburgh in London.