Lightyear Capital (Lightyear), a New York-based private equity firm focused on financial services, has appointed Courtney Sullivan as Managing Director and Head of Fundraising and Investor Relations. Sullivan joins Lightyear from Inverness Graham Investments, a private investment firm that specialises in high-growth, innovative manufacturing, technology and service companies, where she was head of investor relations. Lightyear has all appointed Managing Director Natalie Ings to the firm’s Investment Committee, where as part of the senior leadership team, she will focus on enhancing value and driving growth at Lightyear’s portfolio companies.

Carey Olsen has added to its investment funds offering in Singapore with the addition of investment funds specialist Tom Katsaros. Katsaros, who specialises in the establishment, structuring and maintenance of private equity funds and hedge funds, joins Carey Olsen after 14 years at Maples where he was most recently head of the firm’s funds and investment management team in Singapore. In addition to acting for large financial institutions and investment funds sponsors, boutique and start-up investment managers, Katsaros also advises on all aspects of corporate and commercial law, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and financing transactions.

Experienced compliance professional Jen Townshend is the latest recruit to join the expanding team at YFM Equity Partners (YFM), taking on the role of chief compliance officer. Over the last 14 years, Townshend has held a number of compliance and regulatory positions, most recently at Great Point Media where she spent the last three years as head of compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO). Prior to that, she was a compliance consultant with Sturgeon Ventures for two years, as well as having been compliance manager and assistant MLRO with Ingenious Media for two years. Jen is a member of

The European asset management platform of Mediolanum Banking Group, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd (MIFL), has appointed Dermott Aspell asSenior Fixed Income Portfolio Manager and Marco Meijer as Fixed Income Portfolio Manager. Aspell will join the firm’s multi-manager portfolio management team and will report to the firm’s Head of Multi-management, Bish Limbu. His primary responsibility will be to construct and manage the firm’s multi-manager fixed income portfolios, while collaborating with the manager research team. Meijer joins as a Portfolio Manager in MIFL’s Fixed Income Investment Team responsible for internally managed fixed income portfolios and will report directly to Charles Diebel, MIFL’s

Value Partners Group Limited has appointed David Wong as Managing Director, Chief Risk Officer, effective 28 February 2022.

MidEuropa, a private equity firm focused on Central and Eastern Europe, has appointed Vesna Sipp as partner, Head of Investor Relations and member of the Investment Committee. Sipp, who will be based in MidEuropa’s London office and will also lead the firm’s ESG and diversity efforts, was previously Head of Client Relations at ICG and prior to that, Managing Director at Hamilton Lane. 

Willkie Farr & Gallagher has appointed Joe Kaczorowski as a partner in the firm’s Corporate & Financial Services Department, where he will be part of Willkie’s leading Private Equity Practice Group. Kaczorowski, who is based in Willkie’s Los Angeles office, was previously Special Counsel at Cooley LLP, and Assistant General Counsel at Platinum Equity. His arrival follows the addition of private equity partner Ray LaSoya, who joined Willkie’s Los Angeles office earlier in February.    Kaczorowski’s practice is focused on mergers and acquisitions, growth equity, and other general corporate matters for clients including strategic buyers, private equity sponsors and their

Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) has appointed Sandra Lau to the role of co-Chief Investment Officer, Head of Public Investments, and James Barber to the role of co-Chief Investment Officer, Head of Private Investments. Lau and Barber succeed Dale MacMaster, who announced his retirement from AIMCo last October having served 23 years with the organisation, the last seven as Chief Investment Officer. The transition is effective March 1, 2022.  As co-Chief Investment Officers, Barner will serve as Head of Private Investments, responsible for Real Estate, Infrastructure, Private Equity and Private Debt and Loan. Launches will serve as Head of Public

New research from Intertrust, a specialist in providing administration services to clients in over 30 jurisdictions, has revealed that CFOs continue to fear cost and resource constraints as client demands grow around ESG, citing those factors as the “biggest obstacles” surrounding ESG integration. Intertrust Group’s new report, The future private capital CFO: Unleashing potential in the ESG era, finds that while 95 per cent of CFOs realise their limited partners (LPs) view ESG as important, less than a third (28 per cent) have already completed their ESG integration process. It also finds that 84 per cent of CFOs claim to

Global law firm Hogan Lovells has expanded its Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) practice in New York with the appointment of Luke P Iovine, III as a partner. Iovine is the fourth corporate partner to join the New York office this month. His arrival follows that of M&A partners Peter Cohen-Millstein and Megan Ridley-Kaye, and private equity partner Parik Dasgupta.   Iovine’s practice is focused on mergers, equity and asset acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, and corporate governance and general corporate matters. He joins Hogan Lovells from the New York office of Paul Hastings, where he was a partner.