People
GPB Capital has appointed Dan Alper, former CEO of Major Energy Services, as a Senior Advisor and part of the team to identify and execute potential acquisitions in the retail energy sector.
The increasing trend of energy deregulation, now prevalent in 20 states, along with the ongoing development and customer interest in green and integrated energy solutions, has led to the growth of private companies that can compete with state-run utilities to provide electricity and natural gas to consumers in those markets. GPB Capital will harness Alper’s wide-ranging expertise to evaluate acquisition opportunities in the space.
“Retail energy companies
Created in April 2017 as an independent Private Equity firm, Essling Capital has hired the funds of funds team of Amundi Private Equity Funds.
The team, led by Jean-Yves Lagache, includes Nizar Chayeb as Investment Director, and, as Senior Investment Managers, Cédric Cabarrus and Sandra Saad. Thanks to a strong expertise built over ten years, the team will offer investments vehicles and specialised mandates, mainly in Private Equity and Private Debt.
Essling Capital now consists of 17 investment professionals who manage approximately one billion euros and offers, thanks to the Funds of Funds team arrival, another investment solutions alongside
Muzinich & Co has hired Simon Males as Managing Director, Head of Institutional Business, effective this winter.
In this newly-created role, Males will be responsible for the growth and development of the firm’s UK institutional client base and consultant relationships and will report directly to George Muzinich, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“I am delighted to be joining such a well-established and respected corporate credit specialist,” says Males. “Public and private debt will remain integral to institutional client portfolios. Pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional clients will continue to seek out solutions-oriented providers offering fixed income diversification and
FRP Advisory, the business advisory firm, has appointed Mark Naughton as a Partner to lead Corporate Finance in its Bristol office and focusing on major regional cities across the South West and Wales.
Prior to joining the FRP Advisory, Naughton led Grant Thornton’s Corporate Finance Team in the South West and Wales where he built an excellent reputation for achieving exceptional results for clients.
Naughton brings over 20 years of corporate finance experience and deep-rooted connections both within the Bristol and wider South West and Wales business communities. He will be working with a range of industries and investors including
Gridiron Capital has appointed Kallie Hapgood as Managing Director, Investor Relations. Hapgood has an extensive background in the private equity industry and numerous relationships with institutional investors.
Tom Burger, a Managing Partner at Gridiron Capital, says: “We have known Kallie for many years and have been impressed with her abilities and relationships and are excited to have her join the Gridiron Team. Kallie has extensive knowledge of financial markets in addition to her experience with fundraising. She has a proven track record of building long term relationships with institutional investors that will prove valuable to the Gridiron team as we
Jaguar Growth Partners (Jaguar), a privately-held investment management firm focused on real estate private equity in global growth markets, has appointed Elizabeth (Liz) Bell as Principal on the firm’s investment team.
Bell is based in Jaguar’s New York office and will lead the investment team in the firm’s expanding activity in Latin America and beyond.
Before joining Jaguar, Bell was an Investment Manager on the property multi-manager team at Aberdeen Asset Management. Prior to Aberdeen she was Vice President on the investment team at Equity International where she was responsible for originating, executing, and managing investments across Latin America and
Kelley Morrell is to join Blackstone as a Managing Director and Head of Asset Management for its Tactical Opportunities business.
In her new role, Morell will be responsible for ongoing management and oversight of the group’s investment portfolio, and creating and driving added-value initiatives alongside the investment team.
Morrell joins Blackstone from CIT, a financial holding company with more than USD50 billion in assets, where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. At CIT, Morrell helped shape the company’s strategic direction following its emergence from bankruptcy, and led numerous strategic transactions that contributed to CIT’s transformation
European private equity firm Silverfleet Capital has promoted Mark Piasecki, Klaus Maurer and Jean Châtillon to partners in the firm.
Piasecki is based in London and joined Silverfleet more than ten years ago. During this time, he has been responsible for making investments across most of Silverfleet’s target sectors including Business & Financial Services and Retail, Leisure & Consumer Products. Piasecki will continue his role as Head of the Financial Services sector and will maintain his focus on investment activities across the UK & Ireland.
Maurer has been with Silverfleet for eight years and is based in the Firm’s
Thierry de Vergnes has joined Amundi as Head of Debt Fund Management within its dedicated platform for real and alternative assets.
De Vergnes (pictured), previously worked at Lyxor where he created the debt fund management business, having spent nine years at Société Générale.
From 1985 until 2003, he worked at Indosuez Bank first in Paris, then London and finally he joined the New York office where he was Group Head of Indosuez Capital, the acquisition finance department of the bank in the US.
De Vergnes holds an MBA from the Institut Français du Pétrole and a Degree in
Experienced investment fund lawyer James Bermingham has joined Ogier’s Luxembourg team as counsel.
Bermingham (pictured), who has experience in City and offshore law firms and as a General Counsel of a global asset manager and private equity administration group, is admitted in England and Wales and is registered on List IV in Luxembourg.
He joins the growing Ogier team in Luxembourg led by practice partner Francois Pfister – the firm marks its fifth anniversary this year, with six partners qualified in Luxembourg law, and over 35 staff in total.
Pfister says: “James’ broad experience and specific expertise in
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
