Scott Nuttall

Scott Nuttall
Born	Scott C. Nuttall
Nationality	American
Occupation	Investment executive, Co-Chief Executive Officer of KKR & Co. Inc.
Title	Co-Chief Executive Officer
Employer	KKR & Co. Inc.
Known for	Co-CEO of KKR & Co. Inc.

Scott C. Nuttall is an American investment executive who serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer of KKR & Co. Inc., one of the world's largest private equity and investment firms. Alongside his co-CEO Joseph Bae, Nuttall assumed the top leadership role at KKR in October 2021, succeeding the firm's co-founders Henry Kravis and George R. Roberts, who transitioned to the roles of co-executive chairmen. Nuttall and Bae represent the first generation of leadership at KKR beyond its founding partners, steering a firm that, as of 2024, managed approximately $553 billion in assets under management and had completed some 770 private equity investments with roughly $790 billion in total enterprise value. Under his leadership, KKR has expanded aggressively into new geographies and asset classes, with Nuttall playing a particularly visible role in the firm's growing presence in the Middle East, India, and other emerging markets. In 2024, Nuttall was among the highest-compensated chief executives in the United States.

Early Life

Limited publicly available information exists regarding Scott Nuttall's early life and upbringing. According to Fortune, Nuttall and Joseph Bae first met as young professionals early in their careers, and the two developed a long working relationship that would eventually culminate in their joint appointment as co-CEOs of KKR decades later. Their professional partnership has been compared to that of KKR's co-founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts, who were themselves cousins and longtime collaborators since their days together at Bear Stearns in the 1970s.

Career

Rise at KKR

Scott Nuttall built his career at KKR over more than two decades, rising through the firm's ranks to become one of its most senior executives. KKR was founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg Jr., Henry Kravis, and George R. Roberts, all of whom had previously worked together at Bear Stearns, where they completed some of the earliest leveraged buyout transactions. The firm grew to become one of the most prominent names in global finance, known for landmark transactions including the 1989 leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco and the 2007 buyout of TXU Energy, both of which were, at the time of their completion, the largest buyouts in history.

Nuttall's trajectory within KKR saw him take on responsibilities across multiple business lines. Prior to becoming co-CEO, he served in a variety of leadership capacities that gave him broad oversight of the firm's operations, investment strategies, and expansion initiatives. His deep familiarity with the firm's culture and operations positioned him as a natural successor alongside Joseph Bae when KKR's founders decided to step back from day-to-day management.

Appointment as Co-CEO

In October 2021, KKR announced that Scott Nuttall and Joseph Bae would serve as Co-Chief Executive Officers, with Henry Kravis and George Roberts moving to the positions of co-executive chairmen. The leadership transition was a watershed moment for KKR, which had been led by its founders for 45 years. Fortune noted that, like Kravis and Roberts before them, Nuttall and Bae brought a long history of working together to the top of the firm. The transition was widely observed in the financial industry as a test of whether one of the original leveraged buyout firms could successfully pass the reins to a new generation of leaders without losing its competitive edge or institutional identity.

Under Nuttall and Bae's stewardship, KKR continued to grow substantially. By the end of 2024, the firm reported assets under management of approximately $553 billion and fee-paying assets under management of $446 billion, reflecting significant expansion across its private equity, credit, real estate, and infrastructure businesses.

Global Expansion and Middle East Strategy

A notable aspect of Nuttall's tenure as co-CEO has been KKR's intensified focus on international markets, particularly in the Middle East and India. In October 2025, over 150 KKR professionals gathered in Abu Dhabi for an internal conference, signaling the firm's growing ambition in the region. KKR has maintained offices in Dubai and Riyadh as part of its global footprint, which spans 20 offices in 16 countries.

In November 2025, Nuttall personally represented KKR at the 9th Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he reaffirmed the firm's long-term commitment to the Kingdom. The event, one of the most prominent investment conferences in the Middle East, provided a platform for Nuttall to articulate KKR's strategy for deepening its presence in the region.

KKR's expansion into India has also accelerated under Nuttall and Bae's leadership. In November 2025, the Financial Times reported that KKR was doubling down on its investments in India, reflecting the firm's view of the country as a major growth market. The firm has maintained offices in Mumbai as part of its broader Asia-Pacific operations, which also include presence in Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.

Investment Philosophy and Market Outlook

As co-CEO, Nuttall has articulated KKR's investment philosophy in public forums and investor communications. In November 2025, KKR executives, including Nuttall, signaled optimism about investment returns and dealmaking prospects while seeking to allay concerns about rising credit defaults and slower private equity activity. According to Reuters, the executives characterized the environment as manageable and saw nothing alarming in the uptick in credit defaults, maintaining confidence in the firm's portfolio and pipeline.

KKR's business model under Nuttall and Bae has continued to reflect the framework described by founder Henry Kravis in a 2016 Bloomberg interview, which organized the firm's activities into three broad categories: private markets, public markets, and capital markets. The firm has expanded beyond its traditional leveraged buyout roots into a diversified global investment platform encompassing credit, real estate, infrastructure, and growth equity, among other strategies.

Insider Stock Purchases

In February 2026, Nuttall made a significant personal investment in KKR, purchasing 125,000 shares of the company's stock. The purchase was part of a broader show of confidence by KKR's top leadership during a challenging period for the asset management industry. According to Barron's, Nuttall and co-CEO Joseph Bae together purchased a combined $25.6 million worth of KKR stock during the same week, while KKR's top executives collectively bought approximately $35 million in stock. The purchases came during what Barron's described as "a tough week for asset managers," suggesting that KKR's leadership viewed the stock as undervalued relative to the firm's long-term prospects.

KKR's Historical Context

To understand Nuttall's role, it is instructive to consider the firm he leads. KKR was founded in 1976 when Jerome Kohlberg Jr., Henry Kravis, and George R. Roberts left Bear Stearns to establish their own firm focused on leveraged buyouts. The firm became synonymous with the leveraged buyout boom of the 1980s, most notably through its $25 billion acquisition of RJR Nabisco in 1989, which was chronicled in the book and subsequent film Barbarians at the Gate.

KKR continued to complete major transactions through the 2000s and 2010s. In the mid-2000s, the firm participated in several notable buyouts, including the acquisition of Toys "R" Us in 2005. Toys "R" Us would later file for bankruptcy in 2017, becoming one of the most scrutinized examples of the consequences of leveraged buyout debt structures.

The firm also made significant investments in media, technology, and healthcare during this period. Notable transactions included deals in the data services sector and the acquisition of Biomet in 2007. In the United Kingdom, KKR was involved in the buyout of Alliance Boots in 2007.

KKR's 2007 buyout of TXU Energy (later Energy Future Holdings) for approximately $45 billion was the largest leveraged buyout in history at the time of its announcement. The deal illustrated both the scale of KKR's ambitions and the risks inherent in highly leveraged transactions, as Energy Future Holdings would eventually file for bankruptcy in 2014.

By the time Nuttall and Bae assumed the co-CEO roles, KKR had evolved from a leveraged buyout specialist into a broad-based alternative asset manager. The firm went public through a listing on the New York Stock Exchange and became a component of the S&P 500 index, reflecting its scale and importance within the financial services industry.

Compensation

In 2024, Nuttall was among the highest-compensated chief executives in the United States. Quartz included him in its ranking of the ten highest-paid CEOs for the year, noting that 2024 was "a banner year for CEO pay" that "set new records."

Recognition

Scott Nuttall has received recognition as one of the most influential figures in global finance. In 2025, Fortune included Nuttall and co-CEO Joseph Bae in its ranking of the Most Powerful People, citing their leadership of KKR and the firm's continued growth and influence across global markets. The inclusion reflected their status as leaders of one of the world's largest alternative asset management firms, overseeing hundreds of billions of dollars in assets across multiple continents and investment strategies.

Nuttall's public profile has grown in tandem with KKR's expanding global footprint. His appearances at major international investment conferences, including the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia, have positioned him as a prominent voice in discussions about global capital flows, emerging market investment, and the future of private equity.