Ruulke Bagijn

Ruulke Bagijn is a transatlantic business builder and finance leader with a distinctive perspective at the intersection of private markets, geopolitics, and policy. With senior leadership experience across the U.S. and Europe, she is recognized as an authority on global investments and private capital, bringing insight into how macro forces—from AI and energy to infrastructure and defense—shape economies, portfolios, and investment strategies.

Having built her career across London, Amsterdam, and Paris, Ruulke has been based in New York City since 2019. As Global Head of Carlyle AlpInvest, Carlyle’s private equity solutions platform with nearly $100B AUM, she is part of Carlyle’s leadership team, one of the world’s largest investment firms with $465B AUM. She oversees one of Carlyle’s three primary business segments and is leading more than 250 professionals across New York, London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, and Singapore who drive investment activity spanning primary fund commitments, co-investments, secondaries, and portfolio financings. She also serves on the AlpInvest Global Investment Committee, influencing decisions across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia on behalf of more than 600 global investors. Under her leadership, AlpInvest has sharpened its focus on scalable opportunities, including secondaries, portfolio financings, and expanding into private wealth distribution.

Recognized for her vision and ability to deliver growth and resilience in complex environments, Ruulke has negotiated cross-border transactions, built global platforms, partnered with leading institutional investors, and cultivated strong relationships with pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurers, family offices, and private wealth managers. She was previously Co-CIO at PGGM, sharing responsibility for a €200 billion portfolio and serving as a member of the risk management committee. She also held senior roles at AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets and ABN AMRO.

Rooted in The Netherlands and operating globally, she is committed to advancing European competitiveness while leveraging the depth of U.S. markets. Named a Wall Street Journal Pro PE Woman to Watch and a Trailblazer by the Women’s PE Summit Europe, she was founding chair of Level 20 Netherlands, holds an MSc in economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam, is a CFA charter holder, and serves on the Board of the Netherland-America Foundation. Outside work, she enjoys skiing, gardening, and regular trips to Amsterdam to enjoy performances by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.