FIRSTavenue, a global private funds placement agent and investment advisory firm specialising in private credit, real assets, private equity and associated capital solutions, has made five new hires across the firm’s Project Management and Marketing teams.
The appointments across the firm’s London and New York offices will serve to enhance its client advisory services to blue-chip GPs globally, as well as to strengthen the firm’s distribution capabilities to institutional investors.
Joanna Andrews has joined as a Managing Director in the Project Management team, where she will focus on advising infrastructure and private equity GPs. Andrews was previously a member of the Private Funds Group at Weil, Gotschal & Manges, where her work focused on serving Strategic Advisory clients on first-time funds and new product launches by established managers. She also has extensive in-house experience, having served in investor relations roles at Foresight Group and Permira.
John Linger will work with FIRSTavenue’s team in the United States as a Senior Advisor where he will focus primarily on real estate private credit. Prior to joining FIRSTavenue, Linger was a Managing Director with Prospect Avenue Partners, a boutique placement firm in the United States focused on real assets. Previously, John led global capital formation for Square Mile Capital, Cherokee Investment Partners and the real estate private equity group at Lehman Brothers.
Jason Melser has joined as a Director, Private Credit Marketing and Origination in FIRSTavenue’s New York office. Melser joins the firm from Bridgepoint where he led the business development and capital formation effort in North America. Earlier, he spent seven years at CVC As Vice President of Business Development and Capital Origination.
Nick Oates joins as a Director on the US marketing team covering Texas and the South West and specialising in the RIA market. Oates brings over fourteen years of private markets experience, joining from iCapital where he served as Vice President, Investment Products & Research. Previous to this, Nick held positions at Fred Alger Management Inc, and he started his career at Credit Suisse.
Benjamin Thibaudat has joined as a Director in the Marketing team at the firm’s London office, where he will support the distribution of the firm’s mandates to institutional investors based in France, Benelux and French-speaking Switzerland. Prior to joining the firm, Thibaudat was a Business Development Director at International Asset Management. Earlier, he spent five years on the International Business Development team at EnTrust Global in London.
These hires follow the recent appointment of Nick Chronias as Global Head of the Capital Solutions Group in June 2022.
