CVC Capital Partners has appointed Fred Watt as chief operating officer responsible for the private equity firm's finance and operations and as a member of its group management committee and board.

Previously, Watt served as chief financial officer of Royal Bank of Scotland Group between September 2000 and February 2006.

“We are pleased that Fred has agreed to join the senior management team at this important juncture in our development,” says CVC Group Chairman Michael Smith. “Against the backdrop of rapid growth, the convergence of public and private equity markets and calls for greater transparency, we welcome the skills Fred brings and look forward to his engagement in helping us to manage a business whose operations and portfolio companies have come to span the globe.”

CVC Capital Partners was founded in 1981 as the European private equity arm of Citigroup, but is currently independently owned by its management following a buyout in 1993.