The Carlyle Group has signalled a shift in strategy for its troubled €550m ($701m) European venture fund with the appointment of David Fitzgerald as managing director and co-head of the venture team alongside Wolfgang Hanrieder.

Fitzgerald joins Caryle from Apax where he was a partner focusing on later stage deals in European technology companies. His appointment underlines a shift in strategy at Carlyle away from early stage start-up financing and into later stage revenue-generating investments of between €15m and €30m.