Six months after being restructured out of ING Investment Management, Martin Donnelly is back, running business development and client relations for the local arm of a New York-based private equity giant.

Donnelly has joined Blackstone Group as a managing director in its Sydney office, its second employee of that title after Phil Levinson opened the beachhead in December 2009.

Donnelly is charged with attracting and servicing clients in Australasia for Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM), the Group division which provides customised hedge fund solutions for institutional investors.

The global head of BAAM, J. Tomilson Hill, commented: “As investors look both for attractive returns and capital preservation, they are increasingly turning away from traditional investment vehicles to our customised solutions, using tailored combinations of hedge funds and other proprietary vehicles created by BAAM.””