Ellie Rubenstein, the daughter of legendary private equity underwriter (PEU) David Rubenstein, resigned from the Alaska Permanent Fund board amid conflict of interest allegations. Ellie referenced the time consuming nature of APF board service in order to remake the organization in PEU image. Chris Ullman, former Communications Director at The Carlyle Group, served as Ellie's spokesman.
Ullman said, “Ellie has concluded that the scope and pace of change necessary to fully institutionalize the Permanent Fund are not compatible with the demands of leading her private equity firm.”
Fully institutionalize? Nice dig on the way out. Of course Ellie had the gratitude of new board officers and Alaska's Governor for her fine work. Never mind that Vice Chair Ellie Rubenstein was slated to assume the Board President role. From rising President to resignation. That's a big shift.
Ullman also hangs a Declaration Partners shingle, according to a recent press release. The insider money funnel has been good to Chris. Ullman has his own communications firm and is a senior advisor to Narrative Strategies.
Chris whistled the National Anthem at a Baltimore Orioles home game in early June. Ellie's father recently purchased the Orioles. Lead owner David Rubenstein co-founded The Carlyle Group before establishing his Declaration Partners family office.
Declaration now competes with Carlyle by soliciting investor funds and doing deals. Ellie resigned from the APF board so she could spend more time on her PEU, Manna Tree. Her father is an investor in Manna Tree. It sounds like a conflict of interest maelstrom.
There are no conflicts of interest in PEU land, just personal connections that provide insiders multiple paydays for doing part time work.
There's one less barbarian in the boardroom of the Alaska Permanent Fund as of August 1st. It's a win but not one worth whistling over.
