People
Media industry veteran Sandy Climan has joined the advisory board of Loton Corp.
Climan is a seasoned media and motion picture industry executive, talent agent and producer, who currently serves as president of Entertainment Media Ventures, a media investment and strategic advisory company.
From 2007 to 2010, Climan served as CEO of 3ality Digital. Previously, he was a member of the senior management team at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). As the founding head of CAA’s corporate practice, Climan helped guide Sony Corporation’s acquisition of Columbia Pictures, Matsushita Electric’s acquisition of MCA/Universal and Credit Lyonnais’ restructuring of MGM.
“Sandy
Jeff Grabow has been named the new US venture capital leader for EY, a specialist advisor to entrepreneurs.
He will lead the overall US VC strategy as part of the firm's strategic growth markets practice, working with regional leaders to build strong relationships with both high-growth entrepreneurial companies and the VC firms that invest in them.
Grabow takes over the role from Bryan Pearce, who is now serving as global venture capital leader for the firm.
"Jeff has a deep understanding of the dynamics of the VC industry, and how those impact our clients' needs," says Herb Engert,
Harald Quandt Capital (HQ Capital), a private investment group owned by the Harald Quandt Family of Germany, has appointed David Pierce as a managing director and head of Asia.
“David Pierce is an exceptionally experienced private markets investor,” says Axel May, a member of the HQ Capital board. “We are fortunate to have been able to bring him onto our team to help us grow our alternative investment firms, with a focus on developing investors and businesses in Asia.”
HQ Capital represents three financial services businesses – Auda International, Equita Management and Real Estate Capital Partners — focused on
SL Capital Partners is bolstering its operational team with the promotion to partner of chief operating officer Ian Harris and the appointment of David Thompson as legal director.
As a partner, Harris will continue to lead SL Capital’s finance, operations and fund administration teams and the oversight of third party relationships. He will also focus on advancing the firm’s industry-leading regulatory, tax and compliance programmes in a rapidly changing global environment.
SL Capital was one of the first private equity firms in the UK to become authorised by the FCA in July 2013 under the new Alternative Investment Fund
UK budget gym operator The Gym Group has appointed Jim Graham as chief operating officer (COO).
Graham joined the business on 1 May 2014 after leaving Phoenix Equity Partners, the group’s majority shareholder, where he has advised the management teams of a diverse range of Phoenix investments, including The Gym, to drive shareholder value.
Prior to joining the private equity industry, he was the managing director of Orange’s pay-as-you-go mobile business and has previously also held a role as a management consultant and an engineer in the Royal Navy.
John Treharne, CEO of The Gym Group, says: “We
Middle market private equity firm GI Partners has appointed Travis Pearson as managing director.
Pearson will work broadly across the GI portfolio to drive key operational initiatives and pursue new investment opportunities.
Pearson joins GI after 15 years at Bain & Company, where he served clients in technology, media, telecommunications, consumer and retail, and private equity. Pearson held several leadership roles at Bain, most recently serving as the regional practice leader for technology in the Americas.
"We are delighted to welcome Travis to the firm," says Rick Magnuson, founder and executive managing director of GI Partners. "He previously
Robert K Steel has joined investment advisory and asset management firm Perella Weinberg Partners as chief executive officer, with effect from 7 July 2014.
Joseph Perella will continue in an active role as chairman, while co-founders Terry Meguid and Peter Weinberg will remain in their roles as co-head of asset management and head of advisory, respectively.
Steel’s (pictured) career of almost 40 years in financial services includes both public and private sector experience. Most recently he was New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, where he spearheaded the administration’s major redevelopment projects.
As
Canvas Venture Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm formed in August 2013 with its USD175 million inaugural fund, has appointed Paul Hsiao as a general partner and founding managing member.
Hsiao is a seasoned entrepreneur, operator and venture investor. He spent the last 10 years at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a global investment firm with USD14 billion in assets under management, where he was best known for his domain expertise in partnering with entrepreneurs building successful enterprise software and marketplace companies. Some of these investments include Houzz, Gaikai, Boingo, Elance-oDesk, SayMedia, and 42Floors.
Hsiao also brings a diverse set
Asset management firm Vida Capital has named Bill Tice as senior managing director, head of marketing and investor relations.
Tice joins Vida with 15 years of marketing and business development experience, most recently as a managing director at Siguler Guff & Company, an USD11 billion private equity firm based in New York.
At Siguler Guff, Tice had a primary focus on relationship management and fundraising in North America, Europe, and Latin America, with an emphasis on distressed and special situation investment strategies, real estate, and emerging markets.
Jeff Serra, founder and CEO of Vida Capital, says: “Bill is
Chris Wade, a veteran entrepreneur and the UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) adviser on venture capital, is to join the ventures team at Octopus as strategic adviser.
In this new role, Wade will be working with the ventures team, and its portfolio companies, looking to break into Asian markets.
Wade is currently an adviser to UKTI on venture capital matters. This follows two years as the director of the UKTI’s venture capital unit, where he was responsible for advising the government on the role of international investment in the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
He is also a partner at
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