Robert Gay, co-founder of Huntsman Gay Global Capital LLC, is stepping down as CEO at the private-equity firm for a full-time position with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Gay was called last month to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, a group of ecclesiastical leaders based in Salt Lake City.
He co-founded the Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm in 2007 with Jon M. Huntsman, the chairman of chemical maker Huntsman Corp. and the father of former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman.
Gay, 60, a former managing director at Bain Capital, resigned from that firm in 2004 after 15 years to volunteer in Africa for the LDS Church, according to Huntsman Gay's website. He is a supporter of former Bain Capital CEO Mitt Romney, a Republican candidate for U.S. president.
Jon M. Huntsman and Gay said in 2009 that they planned to give their share of their firm's profits to charity, a company spokesman said. Huntsman Gay's partners include Steve Young, the retired National Football League quarterback, and Gary Crittenden, a former Citigroup Inc. executive.
Huntsman Gay finished raising its first fund in 2009, collecting $1.1 billion amid an industry slump.