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BGF (Business Growth Fund) is continuing to expand its team across the North of England with the appointment of Rob Johnson who will be based in the firm’s Leeds office.
Johnson joins BGF from Deloitte where he worked across mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and restructuring. Johnson joins BGF’s 60-strong nationwide investment team responsible for identifying investment opportunities and managing the deal process from origination through to completion. BGF’s investors also provide support either as board members or observers in the companies they back.
BGF has also announced the appointment of Pinesh Mehta who will be based in the
Laurie Coben (pictured) has joined Everocore’s Investment Banking business as a Senior Managing Director. Coben will lead Evercore's efforts in the Power and Utilities sector in New York.
Coben was most recently a Managing Director and the Global Co-Head of the Energy & Power Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. With over 30 years of investment banking experience and 21 years focused on the Power sector, she has advised clients on a number of notable strategic transactions, including advising PPL on its acquisitions of E.On's US business, AES on its acquisition of DPL, and Duke Energy on the
Venture capital (VC) attorneys, Frank Grant, and Ryan Azlein (pictured), are to join Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth as shareholders and will lead the expansion of the firm Venture Capital, Start-Ups and Emerging Companies practice groups.
Prior to joining Stradling, Grant spent 10 years in Silicon Valley and 8 years in the LA market, most recently as Senior Counsel at Perkins Coie, where he advised early stage companies, entrepreneurs and investors. He's also held corporate development and senior counsel positions at Nortel Networks and Kennedy Commercial.
Grant brings both legal and business acumen to his client's issues, having earned
Specialist technology start-up fund Force Over Mass Capital has appointed Filip Coen as its chief operating officer. Joining from JPMorgan, in his new role as COO Coen will be responsible for business development and operational excellence, with immediate effect.
“We are delighted to welcome Filip to the Force Over Mass senior team. He has a first-rate track record in business development and in the provision of capital solutions to sophisticated clients. His market knowledge and insight make him a hugely valuable addition to the team, particularly as we are growing at a tremendous pace,” says Martijn de Wever (pictured), CEO
Mid-market private equity house LDC has strengthened its UK-wide team with the appointment of three Investment Directors.
Steve Phillips and Victoria Marcer join the London and Nottingham teams respectively, with Tanya Thompson joining the Value Enhancement Group, supporting LDC’s commitment to invest in GBP1.2billion of equity into Britain’s mid-market businesses over the next three years.
The appointments come after a busy period of deal activity, which has seen LDC invest in leading IT and software provider Centiq, designer and manufacturer of showers and accessories Aqualisa and alternative assets information group PEI Media Group Ltd. LDC has also recently completed
Bruno Montanari has been appointed Partner within the Venture Capital team at Omnes Capital focusing on Life Sciences sector. The team has also been strengthened with the arrival of Claire Poulard as Life Sciences Analyst.
With 60 business disposals including 14 IPOs carried out in 15 years, Omnes Capital’s Venture Capital team is one of the key players in France in financing innovative SMEs via management of its FCPI funds. Since it was created, the Omnes Capital Venture Capital team has committed itself to financing over 180 innovative SMEs, mainly in the Technology and Life Sciences sectors. Headed by Michel
Eze Castle Integration has hired Maria DeSousa (pictured) as its chief administrative officer. DeSousa is an experienced technology and financial services industry executive with more than 15 years of finance, operations and technology expertise.
Prior to joining Eze Castle Integration, DeSousa was director of finance, M&A at Factset Research Systems, Inc, where she was responsible for pre- and post-acquisition activities. Previously, DeSousa was vice president of finance and operations at Code:Red, an investment research software platform for financial services firms. Code:Red was acquired by Factset in February 2015. DeSousa will lead Eze Castle Integration’s finance department, with responsibilities including global
Amauri G Costa and Scott Gluck have Duane Morris’ Corporate Practice Group, as a partner and special counsel respectively, in the firm’s Washington, DC office.
Costa adds to Duane Morris’ corporate law capabilities in Washington, DC, as well as nationally and internationally, particularly with respect to Latin America. He joins Duane Morris from Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.
He advises clients in the energy, telecommunications, information technology and financial industries on transnational and domestic mergers and acquisitions, corporate law and project development, along with the interpretation of legal and regulatory environments in Latin America. He represents lenders and borrowers in
Victory Park Capital (VPC), an asset management firm focused on middle market debt and equity investments, has appointed Karrie Truglia as vice president in New York City to further develop the firm’s debt capital markets activity.
VPC has also promoted three investment professionals to vice president and hired four new associates and two operations personnel in its Chicago office. Additionally, VPC is expanding its team in Los Angeles with a relocation of Vice President Geoff Mikelsons, who will join Partner Jason Brown.
Truglia joins VPC with more than 15 years of experience in global and domestic financial services organisations. Previously,
HIG Capital has promoted Andrew Scotland (pictured) to Managing Director of Bayside Capital, the distressed debt and special situations affiliate of HIG
Scotland joined HIG Capital in 2013 as a Principal. He is based in HIG’s London office and has over 17 years of investment banking and distressed investment experience across a variety of industries. Prior to joining HIG Capital, Scotland was a Managing Director in Royal Bank of Scotland’s Special Situations Group for more than six years, where he was the senior analyst focused on European distressed investments. Before RBS, Andrew was a Director in the Equity Research department
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
