Quilvest Private Equity, the backer of restaurant chains Yo! Sushi and Dunkin' Donuts, has hired 3i's former head of southern Europe Guy Zarzavatdjian as chief executive, in an unusual move for the private equity sector, where firms tend to promote from within.

Zarzavatdjian will join Quilvest, which has around $5 billion in assets under management, next month, according to a statement from the firm.