Doug Lowenstein to set up trade body

Just before the holidays, Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein announced his departure both from his position at the ESA and the game industry as a whole.

While it was already known he would leave to help form a trade group, specific details of his new venture have since been announced. Next month, Lowenstein will become president and CEO of the Private Equity Council (PEC) as it formally begins operations. He will leave his current role at the same time.

Initial members of the PEC will include Apollo Management, Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Silver Lake Partners, Texas Pacific Group, and Thomas H. Lee Partners.

The Washington, DC-based association states its purpose will be "to conduct research and provide information about the [private equity] industry to policy makers and others interested in understanding what private equity is, how it operates, and the increasingly important role this alternative asset class plays in the US and global economy."

Lowenstein was the first president of the Interactive Digital Software Association, which was formed in April 1994 and became the ESA in 2003. GameSpot recently interviewed Lowenstein about his decision to leave the ESA and what lies ahead for the industry.