Table of Contents
Private Equity
- Apollo appointed David Moffatt as chair of the firm’s operations in Australia and New Zealand. Moffatt, who has served as a senior advisor to Apollo since January 2019, brings more than 30 years of leadership experience to the new role, having held executive and senior leadership positions for corporations including Tesltra, Foxtel, GE and GE Capital in Australia, Europe, North America and Asia. The appointment comes as Apollo continues to grow its asset management and retirement services capabilities in Asia-Pacific, including through its ATLAS SP warehousing and securitization platform, a real estate debt strategic partnership with MaxCap and a lending joint-venture with Challenger, which is chaired by Moffatt.
- Left Lane Capital appointed Chris Taylor as its chief growth officer. Taylor brings over 20 years of experience in marketing and strategy consulting at companies including Mars, E*TRADE and 1800Flowers; he served most recently at SmartAsset, helping boost the company’s revenue past the $100 million mark. He is expected to play a key role in helping Left Lane Capital’s portfolio companies scale by adding strategic and operational value.
- ORIX USA named Benjamin Wu as managing director and head of East Coast for its growth capital business, which focuses on providing customized debt and equity solutions for growth-stage companies, particularly in the software and healthcare sectors. Wu joins from Brex Asset Management and brings more than 20 years of experience in private credit, growth equity and venture capital.
- Prelude Ventures welcomed Matt Eggers as a managing director. Eggers has held leadership roles in climatetech and biotech for more than 25 years at companies including Tesla, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Genentech, in positions ranging from sales and marketing to finance, and operations. His new role will focus on growing Prelude Ventures’ investment portfolio and building companies working to mitigate climate impact.
- 5th Century Partners (5CP) named Will Smith as an operating partner to lead its newly launched portfolio optimization group, which will work with the firm’s portfolio companies to accelerate growth, provide functional centers of excellence, and support thematic industry investing initiatives. Smith brings over 25 years of operating experience, including serving at private equity-backed One Call, to Chicago-based 5CP, a purpose-driven private investment firm focused on middle market companies.
Real Estate
- Hudson Valley Property Group has hired Ezra Azizo and Miles Cooper as asset managers and Chuck Marcelin as director of human resources. All three new hires will be based in the national affordable housing preservation company’s New York headquarters. Azizo joins from Clarion Partners, where he served as asset manager of more than 3,500 HUD multi-family units. Cooper joins from Slate Property Group, where he was responsible for a portfolio of multifamily mixed-use and transitional housing properties in New York. Marcelin joins from Kinly, a financial technology company focused on Black generational wealth.
- Elion Partners promoted Dalia Pearson to partner. Pearson joined Elion, a Miami-based investment manager focused on logistics real estate in 2015, prior to which she served at companies including Swire Properties. Her role at Elion focuses on functions including finance, treasury, reporting, compliance and fund administration.
- Inovalis Real Estate Investment Trust named Stéphane Amine as president and chief executive officer. Amine is the founder of Inovalis SA, the manager of the Toronto-based REIT that invests in office properties, primarily in France, Germany and Spain.
Hedge Funds
- Frances D’Alessio and William Yeskel have joined Boston-based quantitative investment firm PanAgora Asset Management. D’Alessio, who comes from Thornburg Investment Management, joins as senior strategic relationship manager. Her role will focus on consultant relations and relationship management for outsourced chief investment officer firms. Yeskel, who comes from Zentific Investment Management and previously served at BlackRock, will be working with PanAgora’s distribution and investment teams.
Service Providers
- Joe Schmitt and Will Russo joined Berkeley Research Group (BRG) as managing directors in the corporate finance practice division. Schmitt, who joins from AlixPartners, brings more than 20 years of experience managing complex, cross-functional retail transformations and will co-lead the BRG retail performance improvement team. Russo, who served as a BRG director from 2014 to 2018, is returning to the firm after a stint as CIO of The Community Preservation Corporation, a real estate finance company focused on affordable housing and community revitalization.
- Northern Trust expanded Dane Fannin’s role as global head of securities finance by granting him leadership of its global foreign exchange (GFX) business. Fannin started his career at Northern Trust’s securities lending division in London in 2006 and went on to hold various positions within the firm, including head of capital markets Asia-Pacific. As global head of global foreign exchange and securities finance, he will spearhead technology innovation and business growth within the business, reporting to Guy Gibson, executive vice president and global head of capital markets, banking and treasury services.
- Sean Thorsen joined Seward & Kissel’ a counsel in the real estate group in New York. He practiced most recently with a real estate finance group at both DLA Piper and McDermott Will & Emery and has advised financial institutions, private lenders and borrowers on commercial real estate financing over the course of his 15-year career.
- Due diligence provider Hilton Global Associates announced the addition of six directors. Pam Panzarino, Alejandra Jiménez and Allison DeWolfe join from Bishops Services/Sterling Diligence, bringing over 30 years, 10 years and 15 years of due diligence expertise, respectively. Rany Ballout has over 15 years of experience in risk intelligence, due diligence, financial services and language analysis, with a focus on the Middle East/North Africa region.Jonathan Collins, who has decades of investigative journalism, research and editorial expertise, served most recently at ABI Research.
- Carl Marks Advisors promoted Stephen Funnell to vice president and hired Matthew Dowell, also as vice president. Funnell, who joined the firm last year, works closely with owners, management teams, private equity groups, lenders and investors in industries including retail, manufacturing, consumer products and oil and gas firms. Dowell joins from Guggenheim Partners, bringing advisory experience on liability management transactions across industries including industrials, transportation, telecommunications and healthcare. Carl Marks Advisors is an investment bank providing financial and operational advisory services to middle market companies.