Martin Graham, formerly director of markets and head of AIM at the London Stock Exchange, has joined the board of Secondcap as chairman. Secondcap is the developer of the first web based platform designed to automate the end-to-end transaction process for the secondary private funds market, including private equity, real estate and infrastructure funds.   Secondcap is set to go live with the launch of its SecondaryNet Transaction Management System in early 2011. SecondaryNet will provide increased liquidity and a network for the secondary market by providing industry best practice, reducing deal execution risk and increasing the number of participants

The Institutional Limited Partners Association has appointed Timothy Recker of the University of California Regents as chairman. Recker is responsible for the University of California Regents private equity programme with over USD5bn in assets under management. Prior to joining the UC in 2007, Recker was director of alternative investments for the Michigan Retirement System where he oversaw a USD13bn portfolio of private equity, hedge funds and structured products. In addition to Recker, the board has appointed John Breen (vice president – head of funds & secondaries, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) to vice chair; Jim Pittman (vice president – private

Fountain Partners has appointed John Van Hooser as managing partner. Van Hooser joins Fountain Partners founder Tom Carter in managing its third fund, Fountain Leasing 2010, which is dedicated to equipment leasing needs of venture, growth and expansion stage companies. Van Hooser brings over 15 years of venture capital and private equity experience most recently as a general partner at M/C Venture Partners. "I am very excited to join Fountain and to work with Tom to continue to build on the company’s success," says Van Hooser. "In my years as an equity investor, I have had first hand exposure to

Sovereign Capital-backed LM Funerals, one of the UK’s largest independent funeral services companies, has appointed Deborah Kemp as its new chief executive.  Kemp was previously chief operating officer of De Vere Hotels & Resorts, where she held executive responsibility for all aspects of financial and operational delivery across the company’s 13 sites, including the prestigious Grand Hotel Brighton and Cameron House Loch Lomond.  Prior to this Kemp spent over 20 years in pub retailing, most recently as managing director of Punch Taverns, where she was responsible for the company’s estate of 7,500 leased public houses.   Wolverhampton-based LM Funerals was

Investment firm Vision Capital has appointed Samer Cortas as principal.  Cortas has over 12 years’ experience in leveraged finance.  Cortas previously worked in the debt advisory and financial restructuring group of Houlihan Lokey in London.  Prior to this, Cortas was an executive director and founding member of the debt advisory firm Blenheim Advisors, which was founded in 2003 and acquired by Houlihan in September 2007. Whilst at Blenheim Advisors and Houlihan, Cortas executed numerous acquisition finance and refinancing transactions mainly for private equity clients and their portfolio companies. Before joining Blenheim, Cortas worked in the leveraged finance team at CIBC

General Atlantic, a growth equity firm, has named Hans Morris, former president of Visa and a special adviser for GA over the last year, as managing director and head of GA’s global financial services sector. William E. Ford, chief executive officer of General Atlantic, says: “We know Hans well and recognise how valuable his industry expertise and operating experience is to the financial services companies in which we invest. We consider the global financial services industry as particularly attractive and an excellent fit with our growth equity investment strategy. Hans will add a new dimension to our successful financial services

Jan Amethier has been appointed head of corporate finance at Handelsbanken Capital Markets. Jan Amethier has been appointed head of corporate finance at Handelsbanken Capital Markets. Amethier has spent 12 years at JP Morgan in London where his positions have included head of Nordic investment banking. He was also co-head for the whole of European M&A operations.   In the 1990s, Amethier worked at the Swedish Ministry of Industry and led the work of nine privatisations on behalf of the Swedish government. Most recently he was head of Nordic operations for Doughty Hanson, a private equity firm in London.  

Third Eye Capital, a Toronto-based investor in privately-negotiated secured loans, has named Algis Vaitonis as its new senior vice president and head of operations. Vaitonis brings with him more than 20 years of lending and risk management experience, serving most recently as chief credit officer at CIT Group in Canada where he was charged with full responsibility and oversight for all credit and collections operations. “In the current credit environment, lenders have fewer exit options and are faced with more complex workout situations when their borrowers fall into trouble”, says Arif N. Bhalwani, managing director at Third Eye Capital. “Algis