People
Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI), the global investment bank, has added Christian Keller and Ann Sharkey to the firm’s European Financial Sponsors Group.
These appointments follow the recent arrival of Leon Gillespie, who joined the team in London in October to focus on UK private equity clients. He joined from Canaccord Genuity, where he was Head of Financial Sponsors Coverage.
“As part of the ongoing expansion of Houlihan Lokey’s footprint in Europe, we continue to grow the European Financial Sponsors Group and now have six dedicated senior officers across the region,” says John Mavredakis, Global Head of the Financial Sponsors Group.
Private equity firm MTN Capital Partners has appointed Terrance Kennedy as Director of Business Development. In this role, Kennedy will be responsible for sourcing potential investment opportunities from investment banks and other intermediaries as well as MTN Capital’s proprietary group of senior executives.
Kennedy was previously a Senior Associate on the Private Equity Research team at Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) where he managed the recruitment of industry experts as well as assisting several of GLG’s largest Private Equity clients with their due diligence project work. Prior to that, Terrance worked on new business development at GLG.
Kennedy received his
Specialist business advisory firm FRP Advisory has strengthened its debt advisory and forensic services practices with two partner appointments based in its London office.
Tom Cox and Nishad Morjaria bring the firm partner total to 50, collectively bringing almost 35 years’ advisory experience to the business. Cox has joined the debt advisory team working with firms on a national scale and joins FRP Advisory from consultancy firm AlixPartners, where he was a director.
Cox previously co-founded AlixPartner’s debt advisory practice, where he acted on the buy-side for a number of mid-market private equity houses, with a particular focus on
Private equity-backed soft drinks manufacturer Clearly Drinks has appointed Mick Howard as its new CEO, following a strong 2018 in which the company increased headcount by 45 per cent and expanded its product offering.
Howard moves into the role following nine months as Clearly Drinks’ Chief Operating Officer, where he oversaw headcount growth from 76 to 110 in 2018. He brings 25 years of experience within the food and drink industry to the role, having held senior positions at major companies including Britvic, SAB Miller and Puratos.
As CEO at Clearly Drinks, Howard will build on the company’s top-quality
Bowmark Capital, a mid-market private equity firm, has appointed Simon Adcock as a partner and head of portfolio management.
Adcock brings over 20 years’ experience in corporate advisory and management roles and was previously senior portfolio director at Lloyds Development Capital. Prior to that, he was a partner and regional head of corporate advisory at Deloitte.
At Bowmark, he will be responsible for managing and developing the portfolio management and value creation function, which supports the strategic and operational development of the firm’s portfolio companies.
The appointment follows the closing of Bowmark Capital Partners VI, which reached its
Optima Partners has appointed compliance industry veteran Portia Amato as a Director in the firm’s New York office.
Amato (pictured), brings nearly two decades of experience in providing compliance services for the investment management industry. In her new role, Amato will be responsible for maintaining client relationships and working with management to drive further growth for the firm, which has more than 500 clients including hedge funds, private equity and venture capital firms, broker dealers, and global banks.
Before joining Optima, she was a Compliance Officer at DRA Advisors, a New York-based investment advisory firm specialising in real estate
ZEDRA, a specialist in trust, corporate and fund services has opened its third Swiss office, in Zug, to support its other Swiss businesses based in Zurich and Geneva.
ZEDRA says the three offices will work closely together, with company registration, accounting and legal services all eventually available from the new location.
ZEDRA’s Managing Director for Switzerland, Stuart McLuckie (pictured), says: “Our new Zug office will give us the additional means to support a range of specialist Swiss corporate business. It is therefore an important strategic step for us.”
Vadim Neumann, Managing Director of ZEDRA’s Zurich operations, adds: “Since
creditshelf AG, a specialist in digital SME financing in Germany, has appointed Dr Gregor Heinrich as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), effective from 15 January.
In his new role, Dr Heinrich will be responsible for IT and data analytics. He will report directly to creditshelf CEO Dr Tim Thabe, but will not himself be a member of the Management Board.
Heinrich has more than 10 years’ experience as a CTO, most recently at Stonebranch, a mid-size provider of products and services for the automation of IT processes, focusing on the financial services industry. His responsibilities at Stonebranch encompassed product development
Duane Morris has named partners Michael C Hardy of the firm’s Baltimore office and Nanette C Heide of the firm’s New York office as co-chairs of the Private Equity division of the Corporate Practice Group.
“Nanette and Mike each have strong experience in private equity transactions and bring to this new assignment a high degree of enthusiasm and commitment to continuing the success and expansion of the Private Equity division of the Corporate Practice Group,” says Brian P Kerwin, chair of Duane Morris’ Corporate Practice Group. “They will bring some fresh and exciting ideas to the business, and will exert
Blank Rome has appointed Robert L Kahan as a partner in the firm’s Corporate, M&A, and Securities group in Los Angeles.
Kahan focuses his practice counselling middle-market companies in the lifestyle industries, including restaurants, entertainers, marketers, and merchandisers, across a variety of corporate transactions. Bob joins Blank Rome from a leading Am Law 100 firm in Los Angeles.
“We’re thrilled to have a veteran attorney like Bob join our growing corporate team,” says Grant S Palmer, Blank Rome’s Managing Partner and CEO. “Bob is well known for his negotiation skills, having represented both buyers, sellers, and investors over the
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