Blackstone has appointed Marc Bolland head of European portfolio operations of its private equity businesses. Bolland was formerly chief executive of Marks and Spencer and previously chief executive of Morrisons and chief operating officer of Heineken. He will start on 19 September 2016.   Joseph Baratta, global head of private equity at Blackstone, says: We are delighted that Marc is joining us. He has had an outstanding career leading and developing major international businesses, and I am sure he will add great value to our current and future portfolio businesses.”   Bolland says: “I am very pleased to be joining

Houlihan Lokey has expanded its illiquid financial assets (IFA) practice with the addition of Zaman Khan and Christian Scharf, who have joined the firm as managing directors based in London.  Khan and Scharf will jointly spearhead the continued growth of the business in Europe, focusing primarily on financial institutions, strategic advisory and bespoke deleveraging solutions for holders of non-core illiquid financial assets. They will report to Jeff Hammer and Paul Sanabria, global co-heads of IFA.   Scharf and Khan both join the firm from HSBC. Scharf held a number of roles at HSBC, most recently serving as head of debt

Equistone Partners Europe, an investor in mid-market buyouts, has appointed Steven Whitaker as chief operating officer (COO). He will be based in the firm’s London office and begins his role with immediate effect.   Whitaker joins Equistone after seven years at Vision Capital, where he was chief operating officer and prior to that chief financial and compliance officer. Before joining Vision Capital, Whitaker held a number of senior finance and operations-focussed roles at Brevan Howard and at 3i in London and Frankfurt.   Whitaker has represented the private equity industry at senior levels as chairman of the BVCA's Taxation Committee

Trivest Partners has promoted Steve Reynolds to principal effective immediately. Reynolds joined Trivest as an associate in 2011 and was previously promoted to vice president in 2013.   At Trivest, Reynolds has been actively involved in identifying acquisition targets, analysing investment opportunities, monitoring portfolio companies and leading successful realisations. He has worked closely with several successful Trivest investments including North Star Seafood, Take 5 Oil Change and Wise Company. He currently serves as a director of both Advanced Discovery and PeopleShare.   Troy D Templeton, Trivest’s managing partner, says: “Steve has made numerous contributions to our firm in terms of

Elizabeth Burgess, senior partner and a founding partner of private equity investor Altus Capital Partners, is to leave the firm to pursue other opportunities.  Burgess says: “I have worked with Russ and Greg Greenberg for over 15 years. We established Altus Capital Partners back in 2003 and I am incredibly proud of the firm that we built and the success that we shared over the years. I leave behind the great portfolio that we have built together and the impressive talent that we have in the group. However, I look forward to my next chapter and the opportunities that lie

The British Business Bank has appointed Neeta Atkar as a non-executive director to the board and the new chair of the British Business Bank Board Risk Committee, effective 1 July. Atkar is chief risk officer at TSB Bank. She is a member of TSB Bank’s executive team, responsible for setting the bank’s risk appetite, strategy and framework, and advising the board and the executive on risk and regulatory matters.    Atkar has over 25 years’ experience in risk management and has held senior positions at a number of financial services firms, the Bank of England and the regulators.   Atkar says: “I’m very

River SaaS Capital has appointed Wendy Jarchow as chief investment officer. Jarchow will manage River SaaS Capital's portfolio of loans, devise strategies for growth and act as a liaison between investors.   "Wendy has a wealth of investment and start-up knowledge, and we are excited to have her join our team," says River SaaS Capital president Matt Kennedy. "Her invaluable experience will be crucial to furthering River SaaS's future and the future of our customers."   Jarchow comes to River SaaS Capital with over 18 years of experience in finance, venture capital and strategic planning. As a venture partner at

Monroe Capital has appointed Steve Hinrichs as Managing Director in its Los Angeles office. He will serve as the firm’s Group Head for the Southern California region. “We are very excited to add Steve to the Monroe Capital team,” says Ted Koenig, President & CEO of Monroe Capital. “Steve has an accomplished career of over 25 years providing financing solutions to middle-market companies and brings with him many great relationships and a wide range of experience across multiple industries. He will help us continue to grow our robust origination platform that we have built throughout the US and Canada.” Prior

Munich-based Venture Capital firm Target Partners has appointed Holger G Weiss as its newest Venture Partner. Weiss will help to build out Target Partners’ startup network, with a focus on the Berlin ecosystem and the topics of Future Mobility and Internet of Things. Weiss has 15 years of entrepreneurial experience in the Connected Mobility space. Most recently he was CEO of Aupeo, which under his leadership became one of the top connected audio offerings for the automotive industry. In 2013, Weiss led the sale of the company to Panasonic Automotive Systems of North America. Prior to Aupeo, he played a