Onex Corporation has promoted Bobby Le Blanc to President. Le Blanc will oversee all of Onex’ business units and become the sole Head of Onex Partners, the firm’s flagship private equity strategy.  Gerry Schwartz will remain Chairman and CEO, with Le Blanc reporting to him.   Schwartz says: “Having joined the firm more than 20 years ago, Bobby represents the best of Onex.  I am confident he will continue to be a positive force in our future success and Onex, our shareholders and our partners will continue to benefit from his proven leadership.”   This announcement is part of Onex’ broader

Schroders has appointed Nicole Kidd as Head of Private Debt for Australia as the firm continues to enhance its private assets capabilities to better meet clients’ evolving investment objectives.Kidd, who has over 25 years of investment banking and asset management experience, will assume the newly-created role on 1 September and be based in Schroders’ Sydney office. She joins from RBC where she was most recently Managing Director and Head of Corporate Banking Australia and Institutional Client Management Asia-Pacific. Nicole will focus on building and developing Schroders’ Private Debt business. This appointment further reinforces Schroders’ commitment to growing its Private Assets

BTIG has appointed Kimberly Boulmetis as a Managing Director in the firm’s Specialty Finance Investment Banking unit. Boulmetis will be based in the firm’s New York office, and will report to Dan Blood, Managing Director and Head of Specialty Finance, at BTIG.In her new role at the firm, Boulmetis will expand banking coverage of business development companies (BDCs), asset managers, closed-end funds and mortgage REITS. “We are thrilled to add Kim to our banking leadership team,” says Matt Clark, Chief Operating Officer, BTIG Investment Banking. “She brings extensive experience in dealmaking across the specialty finance vertical. We look forward to

BTIG has hired Michael Papazis, an aerospace, defence and government services specialist, as a Director within its Investment Banking division. Papazis will be based in the firm’s New York office, and will report to JT Herman, Managing Director and Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, at BTIG. In his new role at BTIG, Papazis will originate transactions and advise clients focused on the aerospace, defence and government services sectors.  “We are pleased to welcome Michael to BTIG. He has an impressive track record of supporting the aspirations of aerospace, defence and government services clients. Michael’s excellent relationships with many of the largest

LeapFrog Investments, the Profit with Purpose investment firm whose companies now reach 200 million people, has appointed Bharat Narotam Doshi to its Global Leadership Council.Doshi’s expertise will guide LeapFrog’s leadership team as it makes further investments in companies across India and other emerging markets. LeapFrog aims for its companies to reach one billion people with essential services by 2030.   Bharat Doshi brings unique capabilities to the role after completing his four-year term on the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India. Prior to this, Doshi played a pivotal forty-year role at Mahindra Group where he was

William Blair, a global boutique with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management, has appointed Arthur van der Goes as a managing director in the firm’s global Consumer and Retail investment banking team. Focusing on food and beverage, van der Goes will be based in Amsterdam, a continuation of the firm’s strong commitment to the Benelux region, and Europe more widely. “We are continuing to expand our European presence and are investing in our team to better serve our clients across the continent,” says Anu Sharma, head of European investment banking. “We have a long history of serving

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has reached an agreement with HD Supply Holdings under which CD&R funds will lead an investment to acquire HD Supply’s Construction & Industrial business (aka White Cap), a distributor of specialty concrete and construction products, and combine it with the Construction Supply Group (CSG), a distributor of specialty concrete and masonry accessories. Upon the closing of both transactions, CD&R funds will hold a 65 per cent ownership interest in the combined company, and the current shareholders of CSG, led by The Sterling Group, will hold a 35 per cent interest. The combined transaction, valued at approximately

NorthEdge Capital, which manages over GBP650 million of private equity funds aimed at the North and Midlands regions, has recruited a new director and made six senior promotions.The firm, which focuses on companies seeking equity investment to support MBOs, development capital and equity release transactions, has recruited Liam May as a Director in its Manchester office. Liam joins from NVM Private Equity where he was an Investment Director investing in a range of companies across the North West. His prior experience includes roles with GCA Altium and EY. At NorthEdge he will be responsible for originating, transacting and managing investments.

Guardian Capital Partners has appointed Damien J Gresko as a Vice President. Gresko has both deal and strategic operating experiences in public and private markets. In addition to deep consumer products and manufacturing expertise, Gresko has substantial experience across a diverse set of industries and circumstances, leading successful outcomes through all phases of an investment lifecycle, from end-to-end transaction execution through portfolio management and exit. Most recently, Gresko led a variety of strategic initiatives to deliver growth, cost savings, and capabilities for The Hershey Company, an USD8 billion global consumer company and US market leader in snacking. While at Hershey, Gresko

WhiteHorse Capital (WhiteHorse), the direct lending affiliate of HIG Capital, has appointed Jason Hicks as Principal.  Hicks will be based in WhiteHorse’s New York office and will be responsible for originating and executing middle market debt financings for private equity sponsored transactions. Jason has over 20 years of experience in leveraged finance, mergers & acquisitions, and private equity across a broad range of sectors including aerospace and defence, business services, consumer/retail, energy, general industrials, healthcare, media, technology, telecom, and transportation & logistics. Previously, Jason was a Managing Director at MC Credit Partners where he spent 7 years as an origination