Law firm Reed Smith has appointed Julia Zhu-Morelli as a partner in the Global Corporate Group in Los Angeles. Previously a partner with Squire Patton Boggs, Zhu-Morelli brings extensive experience in transactional matters with Chinese and US companies across a wide range of industries. “Julia will add depth to our corporate offerings on the West Coast and in China, where she has significant relationships and cross-border transactional experience with companies in the telecommunication, automotive, aviation, health care, pharmaceutical, technology, energy and financial services industries,” says Matthew Petersen, co-chair of the Reed Smith Global Corporate Group. “Julia’s sophisticated, cross-border transactional practice

Victory Park Capital (VPC) has appointed Connell Hasten and Joshua Platek to lead the firm’s new insurance services division. Hasten, who joins as partner, and Platek, who has been appointed vice president, will serve as co-founders of the insurance services platform, primarily responsible for sourcing, underwriting, executing and managing investment opportunities for insurers.   “Connell and Joshua bring a breadth of insurance industry expertise that will give our firm a definitive advantage as we grow our investment management offerings,” says Richard Levy, founder and CEO of Victory Park Capital.   “Their knowledge of the industry’s complexities, compliance standards and regulatory

K&L Gates has appointed Liz Boydston as a partner in its restructuring and insolvency practice based in the firm’s Dallas office. She joins K&L Gates from Norton Rose Fulbright LLP. Boydston focusses her practice on corporate and financial restructuring and insolvency, as well as complex commercial litigation matters, including bankruptcies, restructurings, domestic and cross-border insolvencies, Chapter 11 proceedings, and creditor representations. She has particular experience with bankruptcy related matters involving the health care industry.   “Liz’s recruitment is another strategic hire for the firm as we increase our investment in the Dallas legal market,” says John E Garda, Managing Partner of

WestBridge Capital has appointed chartered accountant James MacLeay from Kingston Smith, where he qualified before joining the firm’s corporate finance team. During this time, MacLeay worked on many deals including the sale of Freightex to UPS; the readmission to AIM of Live Company Group plc; the investment in Axel Arigato by Vaultier7; and the acquisition of Good Eating Company by Sodexo.   At WestBridge he will work closely with the partners, assisting on deal origination, execution and portfolio management.   MacLeay says: “This is a very exciting time to join WestBridge. As well as a growing reputation for successful investment, the

Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC), a UK fund manager and social enterprise, has added to its team with the appointment of Gilly Orr as Fund Development Director. Orr joins the team designing, developing and raising investment for new products that SASC plans to launch in the near future, including a fund that will set a benchmark in how capital is made available for meeting housing needs in the charitable sector.   Orr brings extensive experience of large-scale project management in the public, private and third sectors to the SASC team. Prior to joining, she worked in youth services and helped

Investec Asset Management has appointed Deirdre Cooper as a portfolio manager with a specific focus on renewable energy, decarbonisation, electrification and resource efficiency. Bringing extensive experience in the finance and investment industry, Cooper has dedicated the last ten years to the renewable energy, clean tech and utility sectors where she has pioneered considerable innovation, particularly around carbon. She joins most recently from Ecofin where she was a partner, Head of Research and co-portfolio manager of the Ecofin Vista and Global Renewable Infrastructure Fund, as well as co-Portfolio Manager of a number of institutional mandates.   Cooper is an alumnus of

East Capital has promoted Tim Umberger, the firm’s Deputy Head of Eastern Europe, to Partner.   Umberger joins current partners, Albin Rosengren (Dubai), Jacob Grapengiesser (Moscow), Karine Hirn (Hong Kong) and Peter Elam Håkansson (Stockholm).   Umberger is based in Moscow and advises on the Balkan strategy and Eastern European mandates as well as being a member of the teams for the Global Frontier Markets and Sustainable Emerging Markets strategies. A Slovenian national, he has been with East Capital for more than a decade, beginning his career as Analyst for the Balkans, before being promoted to Senior Analyst in 2010,

Schulte Roth & Zabel International (SRZ) has appointed Emily Brown as a partner in the Investment Management Group, resident in the firm’s London office. Brown joins the firm from Macfarlanes. Brown advises private equity and venture capital sponsors on fundraising, managed accounts and the capital-raising process, as well as on executive and employee co-investment arrangements, and the wider elements of operating a private funds business. With broad expertise across fund jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and the Channel Islands, she advises both sponsors and major institutional investors on a wide range of matters in the investment fund sphere, including

DWS Group has appointed Kumber Husain as Head of Private Equity, Americas. Based in New York, Husain will report to Mark McDonald, Global Head of Private Equity, who joined DWS in November 2017. In this newly created role, Husain will focus on the sourcing and execution of direct co-investment and secondary private equity transactions, delivering innovative opportunities and bespoke solutions to complement clients’ investment strategies. Husain will collaborate closely with McDonald and the rest of the global private equity team, including Daniel Green, who joined in January as head of EMEA, to continue growing the private equity business and capitalising