CEOInterviews.AI
Start App
Try: AI strategy tariffs earnings guidance layoffs interest rates growth

Joseph Bae

Co-CEO & Director, KKR

Search every verified Joseph Bae interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Joseph Bae, co-CEO and director of KKR, has been active in public discussions about the firm's strategy and the broader private equity landscape. At the 2025 Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, he noted that the private equity industry is in a period of transformation and acknowledged that after 22 years of outperforming public equities, the industry has underperformed in the last two to three years. He attributed this partly to strong tailwinds in the U.S. market, which have compressed alpha, and argued that Europe offers strong return potential due to market imperfections. Bae also described the expansion of alternative investments to individual investors as a form of "democratizing access," adding that the wealth channel will become a major part of the industry over the next 10 to 30 years. In a separate interview, Bae stated that global investors with heavy U.S. exposure are steadily shifting capital to Asia as the U.S. dollar weakens, and he described Japan as a "must-own country" for investors due to policy continuity. He said KKR has not pulled back from China but has narrowed its focus to domestic consumption sectors, avoiding sensitive areas like semiconductors and AI. Bae has also discussed KKR's internal growth and capital allocation. In March 2025, he said the firm manages roughly $640 billion in assets and has an ambition to reach $1 trillion under management by 2030. He noted that KKR expects to generate $25 billion in free cash flow over the next five years, which the firm plans to deploy across its insurance platform, strategic holdings, and asset management expansion, as well as share buybacks. Reflecting on his personal background, Bae has said he was not focused on Asian American and Pacific Islander issues for most of his life, but his involvement grew during the COVID-19 period dropped. He is a co-chair of the board of The Asian American Foundation.

Recent appearances

Other executives at KKR

  • Henry Kravis, Co-Founder & Executive Co-Chairman
  • Henry McVey, Partner & Head of Global Macro, Balance Sheet and Risk, Chief Information Officer of KKR Balance Sheet

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →