Management consulting firm AT Kearney has appointed Robert Haas to lead the firm’s private equity practice in the Americas.   Under Haas’s (pictured) leadership, AT Kearney will leverage its capabilities in corporate strategy, revenue growth and operational improvement to help private equity funds make investments, generate profit growth in their portfolios, and deliver superior returns to their investors.   Daniel Mahler, lead partner for the Americas, says: "Bob is uniquely qualified for this role based on his vast experience driving profit growth for companies in a wide variety of industries, as well his expertise in private equity and corporate M&A."

Paul Christopher is retiring as non-executive director of HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) and is being replaced on the board by Alan Hodson, effective 30 April 2013.    Christopher (pictured) joined the board in October 2007.   Sir Michael Bunbury, chairman of the board, says: “The board of HarbourVest Global Private Equity is very pleased that Alan Hodson has agreed to become a director.  His deep experience of listed markets will be very valuable in helping to guide the future development of the company.”   Hodson is chairman of Blackrock Commodities Income Investment Trust and a director of JP Morgan

Mid-market advisory firm Clearwater Corporate Finance has promoted four corporate finance specialists across its UK offices.   John Clarke (Manchester) and Sebastian Saywood (Nottingham/Birmingham) have been promoted to director, while James Dykes (London) becomes assistant director and Paddy Bamford (London) takes up a new role as director of real estate.   Clarke (pictured) has over seven years’ corporate finance experience. He graduated with a degree in Mathematics at Imperial College before qualifying as a chartered accountant and joining Clearwater in 2010. Recent transactions Clarke has advised on include the sale of Direct Group for LDC and the acquisition of Dunedin

Accel Partners, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm focusing on early stage and growth equity investments, has appointed Rob Solomon as venture partner.   Most recently, Solomon (pictured) served as president and chief operating officer for Groupon responsible for sales, marketing, business development, operations and international as the company experienced rapid growth going from 100 employees to 6,000.   As venture partner, Solomon will be evaluating early stage and growth equity opportunities with Accel. He will also play a major role in advising the firm’s portfolio companies on a wide range of strategic and operational issues like product management, scaling

DN Capital portfolio company Shazam, a media engagement company, has appointed Rich Riley as chief executive officer.   Andrew Fisher, who has led Shazam as CEO since 2005, has been appointed to the newly created full-time position of executive chairman.   John Pearson, who has been chairman of the board since 2006, will become a non-executive director and remain on the board.   “I am extraordinarily excited to be joining the Shazam team. Andrew Fisher has assembled a worldclass organisation that has made Shazam a global consumer brand that provides an exceptional consumer experience and has set the stage for

Jeremy Hester has been named as head of sales for Northern Trust’s global fund services business in the UK, responsible for offering investment operations outsourcing, fund administration and the full range of asset servicing solutions, to investment managers domiciled in the UK.   Hester joined Northern Trust in 1994 and was most recently head of sales for Northern Trust in Australia and New Zealand, where he was instrumental in growing the bank’s client base in the region.   His previous role in Northern Trust’s Melbourne office has been assumed by Angelo Calvitto who is also responsible for client relationship management