Hanover Investors, a special situations specialist, is appointing John Woodard as a Senior Partner. Woodard has spent more than 25 years in the private equity industry in positions spanning Credit Suisse First Boston, Wesray Capital Corporation, The Blackstone Group and Vestar Capital Partners, where he led the Industrial practice, served on the investment committee and spent three years in Japan running Asian operations. He joins the firm with immediate effect as part of the leadership team as well as having a key role in the Hanover Active Equity Fund II (HAEF II) and future successor funds. The HAEF strategy deploys

Shore Capital Partners (Shore), a strategic private equity firm focused on microcap investing in the healthcare, food and beverage, business services and real estate industries, with offices in Chicago and Nashville, has made four new hires and ten promotions at the senior level on its rapidly-growing investment team.  These moves support Shore’s continued growth and recent closings of Shore Capital Healthcare Partners Fund IV (USD366 million) and Shore Capital Business Services Partners Fund I (USD213 million). Shore now manages a total committed capital base of USD2 billion. “Recognising and attracting top talent is a critical part of our vision to

Valentina Pozzobon, a Director and Board Member of Humatica, a private equity specialist advisor for portfolio company organisational effectiveness, is to take a full-time role as the Chief Financial Officer of SAMP to help drive the rapid revitalisation of the company.  Pozzobon has extensive international corporate leadership experience gained from assisting numerous private equity investment funds and portfolio companies in Asia, North America and Europe to align processes and organisations for accelerated value growth. 
 With her academic training in finance & accounting from renown universities in Italy, Sweden and Japan, and experience as Humatica’s Finance Director during the firm’s rapid growth, she will

Axis Arbor Partners (Axis Arbor), an international debt advisory firm, has expanded its leadership team with the appointment of David J Parker as Managing Partner, effective immediately.   Parker was previously a founding partner and Managing Partner at Marlborough Partners and brings over 20 years of financing experience in debt advisory and capital markets. He will be based in London and will work alongside Gurjit S Bedi, founding Managing Partner of Axis Arbor, to further enhance expertise and execution capabilities following the successful launch of the firm last year and its exceptional track record since its foundation.    Axis Arbor

Apex Group (Apex), a global financial services provider, subject to Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) approval, has appointed Frederic Bilas as CEO and Member of the Board of Directors of Apex Fund Services in Luxembourg (Apex Fund Services). In this role, Bilas will be responsible for driving Apex Fund Services through a phase of significant growth to become the leading fund services provider in Luxembourg, implementing the scalable governance structures and systems to deliver the highest level of service to clients. Client service remains at the heart of the Group’s strategy and has recently created two new departments

Excel Fitness, a Planet Fitness franchisee, has named CJ Bouchard as Chief Executive Officer. Bouchard has worked in the Planet Fitness system since 2006. He joined Excel in 2018 when the Planet Fitness franchise that he founded was acquired. While with Excel, he has served as both President and Chief Operating Officer. Bouchard has also been instrumental to Planet Fitness as an active member of the Planet Fitness Independent Franchise Council.  Excel co-founder Mike Turner will transition from CEO to his new role as Chairman of the Board. Excel has been a portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners since 2016.

Private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners (TSG) has promoted Alex Gilmore and Kelly Pease to Vice President. Gilmore and Pease are based in London and New York, respectively. “Alex and Kelly have made significant contributions evaluating new investment opportunities and working with our partner companies to create value,” says Jamie O’Hara, President of TSG Consumer Partners. “They have proven to be valuable members of the TSG team, and we are proud to recognize them with these well-deserved promotions. We look forward to their continued success and growth in their new roles.” Since joining TSG in 2020, Gilmore has worked with

Sidley Austin has appointed Dan Graham, Paul Dunbar, and Emilie Stewart as partners in London. Graham and Dunbar have joined the global M&A and Private Equity practice and Stewart has joined the Global Finance group. They join from Vinson & Elkins LLP. Graham’s practice focuses on advising private equity firms and other financial institutions on transactions, including leveraged buy-outs, venture and growth capital investments, joint-ventures and co-investments, opportunistic and distressed acquisitions, take-privates, and carve-outs across the investment lifespan through to exit. Mr. Graham has experience advising private equity funds across a significant range of asset classes and sectors. He has

ZEDRA has appointed Murjel Breedveld Jagesser as Client Director in Luxembourg’s Corporate Services and Global Expansion team alongside Charles-Alexandre Houillon as Director of Fund Management Services.

VMG Partners, a private equity firm specialising in building iconic consumer brands, has appointed Brianna Rizzo as the company’s newest Talent Partner.  Among her many responsibilities, Rizzo will lead the Talent strategy for VMG Catalyst, a fund that launched in 2019 and seeks to invest in tech businesses, including digital consumer products, services, experiences and marketplaces as well as the infrastructure and technology stack that enable these businesses. In tandem with Rizzo’s new role, the San Francisco-based company also announces the firm’s expansion with a recently opened office in New York City. A veteran in the field, Rizzo brings exceptional