Acquisition is the latest milestone in Jensen Partners' strong momentum and underscores its leadership in human capital advisory for the alternatives industry
Jensen Partners, the leading executive search and advisory firm in global capital raising, announced today that it has acquired the award-winning global executive search and consulting firm, Baier Associates (UK). Joining Jensen Partners will be Nishika Samaratunga, the firm's Co-Founder and CEO, who spent that last half-decade building Baier Associates into a premier specialist in alternative investment executive search. Ms. Samaratunga now brings her expertise and global client relationships to Jensen Partners, where she is helping to strengthen the firm's capabilities across EMEA in capital formation, investments, and board-level executive search and strategic advisory as Managing Director Co-Head of EMEA at Jensen Partners.
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Nishika Samaratunga, Managing Director Co-Head of EMEA at Jensen Partners
"I'm delighted to be joining the Jensen Partners team to help grow the EMEA business and unlock more ways for the firm and clients to succeed," said Nishika Samaratunga, Managing Director Co-Head of EMEA at Jensen Partners. "I look forward to leveraging my network, expertise, and Jensen's unique data capabilities to deliver differentiated insights designed to help firms identify and hire the best talent for expanding and enhancing their businesses."
Baier Associates has earned distinction as a premier specialist in executive search for the alternative investment sphere and was most recently recognized as "Best Executive Search Firm" by the Hedgeweek US Awards 2025. The firm's reach spans Europe, North America, and Asia, and it serves as a strategic partner to top-tier private market and hedge fund clients across front-office, capital formation, and senior leadership mandates.
Ms. Samaratunga brings a deep track record advising at the intersection of investor relations, capital raising, investments, portfolio company leadership, and board appointments across private equity, private credit, real assets, infrastructure, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, wealth management platforms, and family offices. She also led the firm's global expansion and helped build Baier Associates into a recognized alternative-investment recruitment brand.
"The addition of Nishika and the Baier (UK) team represents a major step forward in our EMEA expansion," said Sasha Jensen, Founder CEO of Jensen Partners. "Their track record and relationships across private and liquid markets complement our global platform and deepen our ability to deliver integrated executive search, market intelligence, and strategic advisory services; and we're excited to have her on the Jensen team."
Prior to founding Baier Associates, Ms. Samaratunga led the Capital Formation and Distribution platform at One Ten Associates in London and held senior leadership roles in Private Markets, Asset Management, Investment Banking, and Board practices at Stonehaven International.
This acquisition follows a landmark year of expansion for Jensen Partners, marked by several key strategic hires and the continued strengthening of its global platform. In the last twelve months, veteran executive search professional Sara Katz took the helm of Jensen Partners' Junior Practice, broadening the firm's reach into the next generation of capital formation talent and building pathways for emerging professionals across the alternative investment ecosystem. Kevin Gurry, who joined from Selby Jennings, was added to Ms. Katz's team, focusing on junior and mid-level search mandates within alternatives-further reinforcing the firm's commitment to serving clients across the full career lifecycle.
Additionally, Cara Bianchini joined Jensen Partners as a Consultant from Ferguson Partners, bringing deep experience in executive search across investment management and private markets. Her addition expands the firm's execution capacity and supports Jensen Partners' growing roster of mandates across the U.S. and EMEA.
Samantha McEnery, who joined from Heidrick Struggles within the past year, now co-leads Jensen Partners' EMEA business alongside Nishika Samaratunga. Ms. McEnery was recently recognized on The Hedge Fund Journal's Private Markets: 50 Women Leaders 2025 list, underscoring the firm's emphasis on building a leadership team that reflects a commitment to industry excellence, global perspective, and dynamic female leadership.
Together with the acquisition of Baier Associates (UK), these milestones position Jensen Partners for its strongest year yet-one defined by innovation, global reach, and continued leadership in human capital advisory for the alternatives industry.
Jensen Insights: Jensen Partners is renowned for its proprietary technology, Jensen Insights, an established competitor intelligence and organogram mapping platform that visualizes team structures-including titles, LP channel specialization, and geographic coverage-and serves as a key tool for helping clients evaluate and design market-leading distribution strategies that drive AUM growth. The platform offers a highly detailed and accurate view of the talent landscape, tracking movement, compensation, career progression and fundraising performance across alternatives.
About Jensen Partners
Jensen Partners is the largest executive search and advisory firm exclusively dedicated to the global capital raising and investment space. Founded in 2012, the award-winning firm specializes in placing top-performing investor relations, fundraising, and distribution professionals within the alternative asset management industry. A strategic partner to many of the world's leading private markets and hedge fund firms, Jensen Partners provides clients with comprehensive human capital consulting, market intelligence, competitor compensation analysis and capital formation organizational design insights.
Learn more at https://www.jensen-partners.com/.
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