Johannes Huth’s success in building the KKR Europe team from the ground up into the 70-plus powerhouse it is today happened in tandem with the industry’s growth into a major asset class.

He said: "The industry has matured significantly during my time working in private equity. It is much more institutionalised now." KKR has also become a public company, and has grown from managing $6bn in private equity assets when Huth joined in 1999 to $40bn across eight funds today.