Experienced growth investor Charlie Winward is the latest partner to join YFM Equity Partners (YFM), adding further portfolio support as the firm targets significant growth, with the number of portfolio businesses expected to grow by around 40 per cent over the next three years. Based at YFM’s London office and working across its offices in London and Reading, Winward takes on the new role of head of portfolio (South), complementing colleague Steve Harrison who is head of portfolio (North), supporting the teams in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.

POLARIS Investment Advisory AG (POLARIS) has added three investors as senior advisors to its advisory board – Dajana Brodmann, Marc Lau and Pablo López de Ayala. The trio will support POLARIS with the selection and assessment of new investment opportunities in the areas of Private Equity, Private Debt and Infrastructure. In addition, the appointments reflect the increasing importance of the Asian markets for POLARIS’ private markets activities and the necessary country-specific competencies. Brodmann is responsible for E.ON’s private equity and infrastructure portfolio, Lau is a managing partner of Axiom Asia, a specialist in private equity strategies in Asia, while López

Lower-mid market private equity firm NorthEdge has made a series of promotions and a new appointment across its Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham offices, including the appointment of two new partners – Lucie Mills and Phil Frame. Mills has been instrumental in driving NorthEdge’s value creation approach and embedding it across the portfolio since joining the business in 2019, as Head of Business Transformation.    She will continue to work closely with portfolio management teams to deliver on their value creation plans, as well as build on NorthEdge’s ESG credentials, which recently saw the firm achieve top performer status in the

G2 Venture Partners, a venture capital firm dedicated to building and supporting technology companies sustainably digitalising traditional industries, has hired Matt Jensen as an Investor. Prior to joining G2, Jensen spent several years as an investor at Golden Gate Capital. There, he was responsible for developing investment theses, leading transactions, and partnering with seasoned management teams across a diverse set of traditional industrial sectors, with particular focus on energy and  technology businesses.  Jensen has deep experience working with industrial incumbent market-leaders as they navigate evolving competition and customer expectations. He has served in strategy/advisory and technology-oriented roles, both directly and

Vortex Energy, a renewables-focused investment vehicle in Europe, managed by the private equity arm of EFG Hermes, has appointed Ana Peris Caminero as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) and member of the Investment Committee.

Horizon Capital has promoted Emily Hickley and Matt Morris to investment director, reflecting their contribution to the business as well as the firms commitment to developing talent.

Orva, a full-service e-commerce platform specialising in the sale of footwear, apparel, accessories and home products from leading consumer brands, has hired Joseph Falcão as Chief Financial Officer. In this newly created role, Falcão will focus on scaling Orva’s financial infrastructure to promote innovation and drive future growth for the company.   Falcão brings more than two decades of experience constructing, institutionalising and scaling the finance functions of businesses across growth and large cap stages. He joins Orva from Thrasio, where he served as Chief Financial Officer, SVP of Finance and Treasurer during a period of significant sales growth and

HIG Capital (HIG), a global alternative investment firm with USD48 billion of capital under management, has appointed Antonio Botija as a Managing Director in HIG’s London office and George Watts as Managing Director in HIG’s New York office. Botija has over 20 years of experience in infrastructure private equity with a focus on the middle market. Botija has been covering a wide range of regions and sectors, including sustainable energy, digital, transport and social infrastructure.  Watts joins HIG with approximately 20 years of experience in infrastructure private equity and advisory. He brings global experience across the energy and energy transition

Chi Impact Capital (Chi), an independent impact investing boutique, has appointed Enrique Alvarado Hablutzel as Managing Partner and Co-Founder. Hablutzel officially joined Chi in January 2022. Chi is the advisor of the Burning Issues Impact Fund (BIIF), a Luxembourg-based impact VC fund. The BIIF invests in innovative companies using breakthrough technologies that enable its LPs to achieve deep impact and strong financial returns while helping to solve the most burning environmental and social issues of our time. At Chi, Enrique will be leading team operations and marketing communications for the BIIF.

Preqin, a global specialist in alternative assets data, tools, and insights, has appointed Chris Hawkins as its General Counsel. Following years of strong growth and on the back of the recent acquisition of Colmore, a provider of portfolio monitoring, administration, and fee validation services to institutional investors, Chris will establish and expand Preqin’s legal function.  In his new role as Preqin’s General Counsel, Hawkins will develop and lead the corporate legal strategy – working closely with the company’s Board and Executive Committee – and oversee all corporate and company secretarial matters.