William Blair, a global boutique with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management, has appointed Jim Conniff as a managing director in the firm’s investment banking group.  Based in the firm’s Chicago office, Conniff joins the industrial growth products (IGP) team, bringing more than 25 years of experience focused on large industrial growth companies from a broad spectrum of specialised verticals, delivering advice and representation for clients on M&A and capital-raising assignments. Conniff also has extensive experience working with industrial clients owned by founders/entrepreneurs and private equity

Shant H Chalian has joined Day Pitney LLP as counsel in the firm’s Investment Management and Private Funds practice, resident in its Stamford office. He joins the firm from Robinson + Cole. Chalian’s overall practice is focused on fund formation, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, and securities. He assists a range of clients, including private equity and hedge funds and their sponsors, large corporations, middle-market companies, family-owned businesses, and venture capital groups. 

Crowell & Moring is expanding its financial services capabilities in London with the arrival of a new derivatives team. The team is recognised for its experience advising global investment banks and private equity funds on a range of complex structured finance and derivatives transactions in the US, UK, and European markets. The diverse team consists of partners Jennifer Kafcas and Charles Wakiwaka, and counsel Alvino S  van Schalkwyk and Lauren Blaber. 

European credit specialist AlbaCore Capital Group (AlbaCore)has promoted Deputy Portfolio Manager and Managing Director, Deborah Cohen Malka to Partner and Portfolio Manager. Cohen Malka is the firm’s fourth partner alongside Founding Partners, David Allen, Chief Investment Officer, Bill Ammons, Portfolio Manager and Matthew Courey, Chief Operating Officer. 

Intelligo, the provider of an AI-powered background risk intelligence platform for investment due diligence, has appointed Dan Reidy as the Vice President of Sales in North America. He will be based in Chicago. 

Connection Capital, a specialist private client investment business, has appointed Anas Afzal as Fund Associate in its Alternative Funds. Afzal joins from Aberdeen Standard where he was a Portfolio Analyst on the Fixed Income team. He will work alongside Head of Funds, Lorna Robertson, to source and identify specialist fund managers that the company believes will be attractive to clients and complementary to its existing fund portfolio which spans strategies from private credit to venture capital.

Management consultancy CIL has appointed David Hunt as Associate Director.

Pantheon, a global provider of diversified private markets investment solutions, has appointed six senior Investor Relations and Marketing professionals to help meet growing investor demand across key markets and geographies. “We are delighted to welcome these talented senior professionals to Pantheon, to support our ongoing growth and ensure we continue to provide the very highest standards of communication and service to our clients across all of our investment strategies,” says Paul Ward, Managing Partner. The appointments include Brett Perryman, who has joined Pantheon as Partner and Global Head of Marketing and Communications. Brett, who is based in our New York

Akin Gump has appointed Stephen Brown as a partner in the firm’s London office. Brown brings substantial experience advising private equity sponsors and public companies on executive employment issues and in relation to the structuring and taxation of share schemes and management incentive arrangements and their taxation, in the UK and internationally. With experience in both employment law and compensation and benefits, Brown focuses on supporting private equity sponsors on the employment and incentivisation of management teams and the structuring of tax-efficient equity and carry structures. He leads on the negotiation, drafting and implementation of the management equity piece in