The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Anuj Ranjan, chief executive officer of Brookfield's private equity business, has an ambitious goal for the next five years: to at least double the size of the company's $130-billion (U.S.) private equity portfolio. The Globe's James Bradshaw writes that Mr. Ranjan, 45, has been groomed for the task through a long apprenticeship under Cyrus Madon, who co-founded Brookfield's private equity arm in 2001 and has led it since 2006. Mr. Madon, 58, is now executive chair of private equity and leads the division's board, staying closely involved in dealmaking. Brookfield pools billions of dollars from some of the world's biggest investors to buy private companies, turn them around over a period of years and sell them to generate investment returns. That business is smaller at Brookfield when compared with the asset manager's real estate, infrastructure and credit portfolios, which manage a combined $684-billion (U.S.) of assets. The plan to expand Brookfield's empire includes a push into the Middle East with a dedicated fund, making targeted investments in India and grabbing a larger share of the global pool of funds committed to private equity managers by large investors.