William Blair announced the continued growth of the firm’s Private Capital Advisory team in Europe with the addition of industry veteran Delaney Brown. Brown, who joins as a senior director in London, will focus on providing fund placement and secondary advisory services to financial sponsors and limited partners across Europe.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Delaney to the team, where he will enhance our capabilities in providing integrated private capital solutions to clients,” said Mike Custar, Jerome Wallace and Brian Williams, co-heads of Private Capital Advisory at William Blair. “Delaney has an exceptional reputation and over 25 years of experience in capital raising and private equity investing, which will enable us to broaden and further strengthen our advisory and capital raising capabilities in Europe.” 

Before joining William Blair, Brown served as head of capital solutions at Bregal Investments, where he was responsible for capital formation, portfolio diversification, and strategic growth initiatives. Prior to Bregal, he worked for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for 10 years, where he most recently served as managing director and head of PE funds and secondaries. In that role, Delaney led a team of 50 professionals across multiple global offices focused on funds, co-investments, and secondary investments across North America and Europe. Before CPP, he was head of Americas at Hermes GPE and a professional at Almeida Capital. Delaney holds a first class honours B.Sc. from the University of Leeds in biochemistry and molecular biology. 

“I am excited to join the Private Capital Advisory group at William Blair and support the fund placement and secondary advisory capabilities in Europe,” Brown said. “William Blair has assembled a best-in-class team and has quickly scaled into one of the leading private capital advisory franchises. As a former GP and LP for over 20 years, I am a big believer in the integrated business model and bringing sector, product, and capital raising resources to bear that provide consistent advice and execution for clients and promote successful and aligned outcomes.”

William Blair’s Private Capital Advisory was founded in 2022 and today consists of over 50 professionals across eight offices in the United States and Europe. The team is led by co-heads Mike Custar, Jerome Wallace, and Brian Williams.