London-based Providence Director, Sofian Lignier, was named as one of the "25 Rising Stars of Private Equity in Europe" by Financial News.
Sofian Lignier, director, Providence Equity Partners (Age 35)
Lignier is part of Providence’s 20-strong London team and has become the de facto leader of the firm’s education practice in Europe. He was instrumental in managing the group’s investment in Galileo Global Education, which Providence sold to a consortium of investors for $2.7bn in March last year. Lignier has also been involved in the firm’s investment in Globeducate, which has concluded 14 add-on acquisitions since Providence bought it in 2017. Lignier joined the $45bn asset manager, which is named after the Rhode Island city where it is headquartered, as a senior associate in 2016 and was promoted to director at the start of 2020. He is a member of the group’s diversity and inclusion committee and represents Providence on the board of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, a non-profit organisation to help students from ethnic minority or low socio-economic backgrounds with their future careers. In addition to speaking French, Moroccan Arabic (his mother is Moroccan) and a bit of Spanish, Lignier has been learning Russian for the past seven years.
Financial News 25 Rising Stars of Private Equity in Europe is awarded by Financial News, an independent, third party that is not affiliated with Providence, and Private Equity News, Financial News’ sister publication and an independent, third party that is not affiliated with Providence. According to Financial News, the editorial team conducted extensive research, scrutinized nominations, and canvassed a wide range of industry experts to decide on the final 25 rising stars under the age of 40, based in Europe. All were assessed on: achievements to date given their age (including career progression, expertise, performance and accomplishments in their market particularly in the past 18 months leading up to through March 4, 2021), firepower at their disposal, the stature of their mentors, and potential to reach a position of influence. The number of nominees reviewed for this recognition was not disclosed to Providence, and therefore, it and the percentage of nominees receiving the recognition, cannot be disclosed herein. Financial News’ recognition is not indicative of Providence’s future performance and was not based on the evaluations of clients or investors of Providence. Providence applied to receive the award with assistance from Sard Verbinnen & Co. Providence did not pay an application fee to participate in this process. Nominees were not required to be subscribe to Financial News to be considered.
