Earth Capital, a sustainable investing private equity specialist, has appointed Avent Bezuidenhoudt as Head of Investment as the firm continues the deployment of its flagship Nobel Sustainability Fund amid record interest in sustainable investment. Bezuidenhoudt, who will also be joining the board as a director of Earth Capital and the Investment Committee, joined Earth Capital in July 2020 as Investment Director with over 25 years of experience in investing, portfolio management, and corporate finance advisory. She is an expert at identifying and supporting high-growth technology companies and has been a valuable member of the firm’s investment team. Prior to joining

Audax Private Debt, the debt financing unit of Audax Group, an alternative investment manager specialising in investments in North American middle market companies, has appointed Bradley Patton as a Managing Director to oversee its Capital Markets for the Private Debt Origination platform. Based in New York, Patton will be responsible for leading capital markets and syndication efforts across the Audax Private Debt platform, including unitranche and junior debt investments. He will also continue to expand and cultivate Audax Private Debt relationships across the middle market.

Octopus Investments, part of Octopus Group, has appointed Jennifer Ockwell as Head of Institutional. Ockwell will be responsible for co-ordinating Octopus’ global institutional strategy as it continues to expand its offering to institutional investors.   Based in London, Ockwell will lead Octopus’ institutional funds distribution team, strengthening its engagement with new and existing investors across pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds and family offices in regions that include the UK, Europe, Asia, United States and the Middle East. She will report into Jonathan Digges, Octopus’ Chief Investment Officer.   Octopus currently manages GBP3.4 billion on behalf of institutional investors, representing

Brackendale Consulting Ltd, a global private equity marketing, communications and design agency, has promoted Laura Shelley, previously PR & Marketing Director, to company COO and appointed Param Barodia as PR & Marketing Associate. In her role as COO, Shelley will support Brackendale’s CEO Fay Margo in the day-to-day running of the business, enhancing administrative and operational procedures as well as overseeing staff management. She remains an active member of Brackendale’s PR and Marketing team.    Barodia previously worked as Content Marketing Lead at start-up marketing firm blazon, where he worked with early-stage businesses to establish their brand and identity with

Private equity firm Trilantic North America has appointed Jennifer Fox Bensimon as Managing Director. As a member of the firm’s investment team, Bensimon will focus on investments in the consumer sector. Bensimon brings more than 10 years of private equity and consumer business experience to Trilantic North America. She joins the firm from LNK Partners, where she spent nearly a decade supporting the firm’s investments in consumer and retail companies. Prior to LNK Partners, she worked at Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners.  Bensimon holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Brown University. She is also a

Ethos Capital has appointed Chris Ritchie as a Partner. Ritchie joins from ABRY Partners (ABRY) where Ethos Co-CEOs Erik Brooks and Fadi Chehadé were Partners before co-founding Ethos. Ritchie collaborated on multiple transactions with  Brooks during their tenure together at ABRY.   During his time at ABRY, Ritchie was actively involved with investments in the information services, software, financial services and IT services sectors. While at ABRY, he served on the board of directors of numerous companies, including Confie Seguros, Centauri Health Solutions, Kingland Systems, Meadowlark Title, SambaSafety, Smart Start and Portfolio Group.

HCI Equity Partners (HCI), a lower middle market private equity firm focused on partnering with founder-owned distribution, manufacturing and B2B service companies, has promoted Scott Gibaratz to Partner; Brendon Biddle and Tim Frend to Managing Director; and Matt Clark to Vice President. Gibaratz, Partner, joined HCI in 2004 and plays a leading role in the diligence, acquisition and management of HCI’s portfolio companies.  Biddle, Managing Director, has been at HCI since 2006 and has a central role in HCI’s evaluation and execution of its investment mandate.  Frend, Managing Director, joined HCI in 2006 and in addition to deal leadership he

Apex Group Ltd has appointed John Davis as Managing Director, Singapore. Reporting to Valerie Mantot-Groene, Regional Managing Director, APAC, Davis will be responsible for leading a team of over 100 locally-based experts, and driving the firm’s continued growth and performance in the APAC region. Davis brings over 13 years of experience in the Fund Services industry, as a Member of the Executive Committee of the Singapore Fund Administrators Association (SFAA) and most recently as Managing Director, Singapore at Mainstream Group. Davis joined Mainstream Fund Services as a graduate and held a variety of fund services roles including portfolio valuation, unit

Northern Gritstone, a new university spin-out investment business based in the north of England and chaired by Lord Jim O’Neill, has appointed Marion Bernard as Chief Investment Officer. Throughout her career Bernard has focused on funding fast-growing businesses in the UK. She joins Northern Gritstone from SME investor The Firmament Group, and prior to that led the Business Growth Fund’s activity in the south east of England. Having begun her career at Barclays Bank, her experience also includes over half a decade at 3i Ventures as well as playing an instrumental role in founding Newcastle-based Northstar Ventures, where she was

Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm that invests in high-growth, disruptive companies, has appointed Suaad Sait as Growth Partner. In this role, Sait will work collaboratively with Great Hill investment teams to explore new investment opportunities and portfolio company management teams to help design and execute their growth strategies. Sait has substantial experience scaling software, cloud computing and marketing technology companies through an emphasis on product strategy, marketing, sales and customer success, and has helped create over USD15 billion in value for leading businesses over the course of his three-decade career.