Doug Lowenstein exits as CEO of Private Equity Growth Capital Council, says it is ‘the right time to catch my breath.’

Doug Lowenstein, founding president and CEO of the $8 million-revenue Private Equity Growth Capital Council,

Lowenstein

stepped down as head of the organization Sept. 1 but will remain in an advisory position as the group hunts for his replacement.

PEGCC did not spell out reasons for Lowenstein’s departure in its Aug. 23 announcement of the change, but said that Steve Judge, current vice president of government affairs, was named interim president. A Fortune.com report, citing anonymous sources, alleged Lowenstein was terminated, but he declined to comment on the report when reached by CEO Update by email. The article also indicated that one reason might have been what some saw as Lowenstein’s lukewarm defense of the industry against Dodd-Frank regulation.

Lowenstein told CEO Update he turned 60 in April, so now was a good time for him to “stop, look and listen.”
“These last five years have been intense, quite different than what we thought they would be, and filled with non-stop crisis management,” he said. “With scars from many battles, and a lot less hair, it is now the right time to catch my breath, and the right time for PEGCC to look for new leadership.”

Mark Tresnowski, PEGCC chairman, said in a statement that Lowenstein “did a remarkable job building a highly effective and talented organization from scratch.”

Lowenstein helped found PEGCC in 2007 as a Washington, D.C.-based trade group representing private equity firms.

Before joining the group, Lowenstein was founder and president of the Entertainment Software Association. His previous employment included work as a public policy consultant, Hill staffer and correspondent for Cox Newspapers.
The two trade groups had different clienteles, but in a 2010 interview with CEO Update, Lowenstein said the “nuts and bolts of launching an organization” are much the same no matter the association.

“To me, the most important objective when you’re trying to build an organization is to make sure that the interests of the members are fully aligned,” he said. “So adding members for the sake of growing numbers or even adding revenue can be very destructive.”

PEGCC said a search for a permanent replacement for Lowenstein is under way but provided no details.