A third major departure has rocked the world of private equity, with David Krasnostein announcing he would step down as the head of MLC Private Equity.

Krasnostein was NAB”s group chief general counsel from 1996 until taking the reins at MLC Private Equity in 2008.

The multimanager has over $3 billion under management, representing roughly 40 underlying general partners.

MLC Private Equity is wholly owned by NabInvest, whose investment director Nick Basile said of Krasnostein’s departure, in a note to staff: “After three and a half years commuting four days a week to Sydney, and spending many months each year overseas, David has decided to return to Melbourne and is looking forward to the opportunity to re-balance his personal and professional life.”

Basile said that under the direction of Krasnostein, who’ll leave at the end of May, MLC PE had doubled the value of its investments, expanded its portfolio to include China, India and Brazil, and introduced co-investment and venture capital capabilities.

Basile said he would commence a formal recruitment process, and in the meantime would oversee the day-to-day running of the business.