July 25, 2025

E191: Randal Quarles: From Fed Vice Chair to Private Equity Trailblazer

53 minutes

Randal Quarles has been at the helm of some of the most influential institutions in finance and government. From his tenure as Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve and Under Secretary of the Treasury, to his leadership role at The Carlyle Group, Randal brings a rare blend of private market acumen and public sector insight. Today, he's the Chairman and Co-Founder of The Cynosure Group—an investment firm anchored by the Eccles family and built to solve the very structural misalignments that plague private equity for families and foundations.

In this conversation, we explore the evolution of private equity, the mismatch between GP incentives and family office needs, the importance of long-duration compounding, and how Cynosure is creating a modern investment firm inspired by the early days of Lazard and Rothschild.

Highlights:

Why traditional private equity isn’t always aligned with family offices—and how Cynosure is solving that

The challenges of long-hold investing and how cash-flowing businesses unlock structural advantages

How Cynosure is organized: six subsidiaries across PE, credit, OCIO, ultra-high-net-worth advisory, hedge funds, and sports investing

Why Randal prefers growth equity in “unloved” sectors like HVAC and sanitation—rather than chasing tech

Lessons from working with David Rubenstein at Carlyle and deploying capital through the Great Financial Crisis

The philosophy behind building an enduring investment firm—and the one piece of advice he’d give his younger self

Guest Bio:

Randal Quarles is the Chairman and Co-Founder of The Cynosure Group, a Salt Lake City–based investment firm anchored by the Eccles family. He brings over 40 years of experience across financial services, public service, and private equity. Prior to founding Cynosure, he served as Vice Chair for Supervision at the U.S. Federal Reserve, U.S. Executive Director at the IMF, and Under Secretary of the Treasury. In the private sector, he was a longtime partner at The Carlyle Group, where he led its financial services fund.

Randal’s specialties include financial services investing and financial services policy. At Cynosure, he’s built a modern investment firm modeled after the early days of Lazard and Rothschild—designed to meet the structural and tax challenges faced by families, endowments, and long-term investors.

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LinkedIn:

David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/

Randal Quarles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randal-quarles-4b09788/

Links

The Cynosure Group: https://cynosuregroup.com/

Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at [email protected].

(0:00) Episode preview

(0:06) Private equity funds vs family offices and tax implications

(2:10) Evergreen structures, pension funds, and Cynosure Group overview

(7:12) Transition to private investments and recruiting challenges

(11:07) Cynosure's business structure and growth equity strategies

(19:53) Asset class supply and demand dynamics

(24:43) Asset allocation framework and sports investing strategies

(26:16) Philosophical approaches to team building and recruitment

(28:25) Initial impressions of Carlyle's leadership

(32:48) Carlyle's Model T approach in private equity

(36:02) Deploying a financial services fund during the Great Recession

(38:13) Transitioning from law to investing and government influence

(41:37) Career advice and investment principles

(49:38) Encouraging career flexibility and understanding risk

(51:00) Lessons on self-belief and meeting aspirational peers

(51:38) The Eccles family's impact on Utah Jazz

(52:46) Closing remarks

...more

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By David Weisburd

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