TPG appoints Debevoise attorney as new legal chief

Nasdaq-listed alternative asset management firm TPG has hired Jennifer Chu to become partner, chief legal officer and general counsel, effective March 31. 

Chu will succeed Bradford Berenson, who will remain at TPG as a senior adviser before retiring from the firm at the end of the year. 

Chu will join TPG from Debevoise & Plimpton, where she has been deputy co-chair of the law firm’s M&A group and a member of its private equity group and healthcare and life sciences group. According to her profile, she has been with Debevoise since 2006 and has advised TPG on at least three M&A deals.

Berenson joined TPG in 2017 as partner and general counsel. Before that he was vice president for litigation and legal policy at General Electric. He was previously a partner at law firm Sidley Austin. Earlier in his career he was associate counsel to the President of the US from 2001 to 2003 and clerked for Judge Laurence Silberman of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the US Supreme Court. 

Jon Winkelried, CEO of TPG, says in a statement: ‘We are very pleased to welcome Jen to TPG. Throughout her career, [she] has proven adept at guiding her corporate and private-equity clients through complicated commercial transactions and other matters. As our firm continues to grow in size and complexity across a range of asset classes and geographies, we will benefit from Jen’s depth of experience, leadership expertise and judgement. 

‘Brad has been a trusted partner and adviser to many across the firm. He was instrumental in TPG’s IPO and transition to a public company, as well as our acquisition of Angelo Gordon… [W]e thank him for his many contributions to TPG over the years.’