The long-time head of Macquarie Funds Management’s private equity funds-of-funds, John Brakey, will leave to join another household name in the unlisted assets space.

Brakey will join the Australian office of KKR from February 1, 2009 to head its fund raising, product development, and investor relations effort here.  He is expected to work closely with KKR’s Australian placement agent, Principle Advisory Services.

Brakey spent nine years at Macquarie FM building its Macquarie Alternative Investment Trusts. He will be replaced by Michael Lukin, who has been with the firm almost as long as Brakey and has taken on more day-to-day responsibility for the trusts in recent years, as Brakey spent increasing periods offshore raising funds.