TA Associates (“TA”), a leading global growth private equity firm, announced the expansion of its leadership team with the appointments of Jennifer Barbetta as Chief Operating Officer, Lori Stachelski as Chief Talent Officer and Darlene Karis as Global Head of Human Resources. The investment in senior leadership aims to support TA’s accelerated growth, affirm its commitment to developing talent and position the firm for the future.
As Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, Jennifer Barbetta will be responsible for general oversight and day-to-day management of all global non-investment operations, partnering closely with TA’s senior leadership. Her role will include overseeing TA’s global offices, and guiding the firm’s Financial, Human Resources, Talent, Marketing and Information Technology functions.
“TA has a longstanding history of delivering value for portfolio companies and investors, fueled by the firm’s hard-working, passionate team and collaborative culture,” said Barbetta. “I am proud to join the talented team, and will aim to further empower TA’s people, foster innovation and enhance the firm’s operations in my role as COO.”
Barbetta joins TA from Starwood Capital Group, where she served as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Managing Director. Prior to Starwood, Barbetta was a Partner at Goldman Sachs where she spent over 23 years in various leadership positions in the firm’s Asset Management division, including Chief Operating Officer and Global Head of Strategic Client Service. Most recently, Barbetta helped lead the firm’s Global Portfolio Solutions Group, its multi-asset class products and solutions business.
“Jen has demonstrated an impressive track record of success enhancing operations and driving measurable results throughout her career,” said Ajit Nedungadi, Chief Executive Officer at TA. “She is a valuable addition to our team, and I am confident that her wealth of experience will contribute to TA’s continued growth and industry leadership.”
As part of the leadership expansion and TA’s thoughtful succession planning, Jeffrey C. Hadden will transition his Chief Operating Officer responsibilities to Barbetta and assist with her onboarding. Hadden will continue at TA as General Counsel and Managing Director.
“TA has a proven history of scaling productively and strategically developing leadership to best serve our team, portfolio companies and investors,” said Hadden. “The addition of Jen will help strengthen the firm’s foundation and benefit us for years to come.”
The firm has simultaneously brought on Lori Stachelski as Chief Talent Officer and promoted Darlene Karis to Global Head of Human Resources, with both positions reporting to Barbetta. These newly created roles underscore TA’s deep commitment to its people and will lay the groundwork for continued investment in team development and company culture.
Lori Stachelski’s role of Chief Talent Officer will focus on TA’s internal talent lifecycle – internal organizational design, pipeline development, recruiting, training, professional development and performance reviews. Prior to joining TA, Stachelski was the Chief Talent Officer at Abry Partners, where she was responsible for all facets of talent management for the firm’s investment professionals. Before Abry Partners, she spent a decade at Cambridge Associates in several key leadership roles, including Global Head of Talent Management and Head of Investment Operations. Earlier in her career, she worked in the Investment Banking division of J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. Before entering the private sector, Stachelski served as a Logistics Officer in the United States Marine Corps for eight years and was the principal assistant to the Secretary of the Navy, where she worked with senior leadership in the White House, Department of Defense, Congress and foreign countries.
Since joining the firm in 2013 as Director of Human Resources, Darlene Karis has been essential to enhancing the employee experience at TA. Through her promotion to Global Head of Human Resources, Karis will be charged with fostering firm culture, managing benefits, compensation benchmarking and leading employee relations and engagement initiatives, including TA’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program. Prior to TA, she was the Human Resources Director at Bain Capital and also held several roles at KPMG, including Recruiting Manager and State and Local Tax Manager.
“Building on the strong work of Darlene and TA’s broader human resources team, we are excited to welcome Lori and introduce this important new role to TA. We look forward to working with her to shape the future of our firm,” said Jennifer M. Mulloy, Managing Director at TA, who led the Chief Talent Officer search. “Both Lori and Darlene possess a remarkable level of expertise and acumen. They will be excellent complements to one another as we seek to augment our internal structure, with an eye toward ensuring all members of the TA team can realize their full potential.”