PGIM expands Middle East secondaries business with senior hire

PGIM is strengthening its secondaries business in the Middle East with the appointment of Lucas Radal as head of Middle East Secondary Investments for Montana Capital Partners (MCP).

Radal will be based in Abu Dhabi and will focus on sourcing and executing secondary investment opportunities globally, while also supporting PGIM’s efforts to raise capital from Middle Eastern investors.

The appointment forms part of PGIM’s broader expansion of its secondaries platform as institutional investors increasingly use the secondary market to rebalance private markets portfolios, manage exposures and generate liquidity from existing investments.

MCP is PGIM’s dedicated secondaries investment group. PGIM, the global asset management arm of Prudential Financial, has approximately $1.5tn in assets under management.

Radal’s role will combine global investment responsibilities with a specific mandate to deepen PGIM’s relationships with sovereign wealth funds, institutions and other investors across the Middle East.

PGIM has been active in the region for several decades and established an Abu Dhabi office in 2024 as part of a broader effort to expand its local presence.

Since then, the firm has developed partnerships with organisations including the Abu Dhabi Investment Office and Kuwait-based Kamco Invest, as it seeks to establish itself as a long-term investment partner in the region.

The expansion comes as Middle Eastern institutions become increasingly active across private markets and look for ways to manage portfolio construction, liquidity and exposure through secondary transactions.

PGIM has also been broadening the scope of its secondaries strategy beyond traditional private equity.

Earlier this year, the firm expanded MCP into private credit secondaries, targeting approximately $1bn of deployments in the asset class over the following two years.

The move builds on MCP’s acquisition by PGIM in 2021, when the business was already established as a private equity secondaries specialist.

The addition of private credit provides PGIM with another avenue for deployment as secondary transactions become increasingly important to private markets investors seeking liquidity and portfolio flexibility.

PGIM also brings substantial experience in private credit, having operated in the asset class for around 75 years.

MCP CEO Stephan Wessel said Radal’s experience would strengthen the firm’s global sourcing capabilities while deepening relationships with investors and other market participants.

Radal joins PGIM from Mubadala Capital, where he served as a senior investment executive.

Previously, he spent more than a decade at Ardian working within its secondary investment practice, giving him extensive experience across private markets transactions.

He holds a master’s degree in general management from IAE Nantes and a master’s degree in international finance from IAE Aix-Marseille, where he also lectures in private equity.

The appointment gives PGIM an additional senior presence in Abu Dhabi as it seeks to grow both its regional investor relationships and its global secondaries origination capabilities.