Accel Partners, a venture capital and growth equity firm operating in Silicon Valley, Europe, Israel, China and India, has hired Rob Glaser as a venture partner. Glaser will focus on digital media technology, social media, and mobile service investments. He currently serves as chairman of RealNetworks, which he founded in 1994. Glaser has been a member of the Accel Partners family since it invested in Real in 1995. In addition to his role as chairman, Glaser served as Real’s chief executive from February 1994 through January 2010. Jim Breyer, a managing partner in Accel’s Palo Alto office, says: "We have

Pivotal Group, a Phoenix-based investment company focused on private equity and real estate investment and development, has appointed Scott Knauer as managing director of real estate. Knauer, a long-time Phoenix real estate executive, brings to Pivotal more than 25 years of experience in real estate acquisitions, advisory services, development and management. He has been involved in properties valued at more than USD2bn, which include Scottsdale Waterfront, a USD240m mixed-use development; the Biltmore Mountain Estates, a prestigious residential community in Phoenix; and Legend Trail, a master-planned community in North Scottsdale. “Scott is providing the leadership for our real estate platform as

Junior minerals exploration and development company General Metals has appointed Mike Powell, a venture capitalist and general partner at Sofinnova Ventures, to its board of directors. Powell has more than 25 years of pharmaceutical development experience, and he has focused interest in clinical-stage product companies. He joined Sofinnova Ventures as a general partner in 1997. Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Powell worked on 20 clinical products and authored almost 100 papers and books, including an 1,100-page treatise on vaccine design. Powell was an early investor in Actelion, InterMune, Anesiva, Orexigen Therapeutics, Seattle Genetics, and Threshold Pharmaceuticals, as well as

Law firm Sidley Austin has added three partners to its executive committee, the committee that exercises general authority over the affairs of the firm.   The appointments bring the current count to 45 members. Samir A. Gandhi (New York), a partner since 2002, focuses his practice on private equity transactions and capital markets offerings. He represents domestic and foreign fund sponsors, investment banks and other private investors in their private equity and venture capital activities and regularly represents investors, including private investment funds, in foreign direct investment transactions oriented towards Asia. Michael P. Goldman (Chicago), a coordinator of the firm’s

Private equity firm Riverside has strengthened its European team with the appointment of Vincent Daelemans as vice president of origination for Benelux and France. Daelemans joins Riverside from Tesco, where he was business development manager. Based in Riverside’s European headquarters in Brussels, the Belgian national will be responsible for driving the sourcing of new quality deals with investment bankers, brokers, financial intermediaries, and larger corporations in the French and Benelux markets. He will work in concert with the origination team across Europe and globally in order to ensure stronger focus for Riverside in France and Benelux. His responsibilities will include

Real estate private equity firm Hawkeye Partners is expanding its leadership team with the addition of Bret Wilkerson to serve as a managing director. Wilkerson’s areas of expertise include the application of commercial real estate market research in investment decisions, market cycles, asset allocation, and risk management. Prior to joining Hawkeye, Wilkerson had been with Property & Portfolio Research since 1995, serving as the chief executive from 2004 through 2009. "Bret is a proven leader with a long tenure at PPR and will be an excellent addition to Hawkeye," says Claudia Faust, co-founder and managing partner at Hawkeye. "Bringing him

Austin Ventures, a venture capital and growth equity firm, has added Adam Dell as a venture partner. Dell has been a successful entrepreneur and academician, and has more than 12 years of experience in the venture capital industry. Dell will focus purely on early-stage venture investments in the information technology and business services areas. "I have known the team at Austin Ventures for years. They have a stellar track record and a commitment to excellence. It’s a pleasure to join such a well-respected firm," says Dell. Most recently, Dell was founder and managing general partner of Impact Venture Partners, a

Star Avenue Capital, a Los Angeles and New York based consumer growth equity vehicle, has appointed private equity veteran Paul Lattanzio as president. Star was recently formed in partnership with private equity firm Irving Place Capital and entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency. The firm provides capital and counsel to growth companies in the branded consumer, retail, apparel and fashion industries. Lattanzio most recently served as a senior managing director and the head of Bear Growth Capital Partners from July 2003 until January 2009. BGCP was a middle-market private equity group formed by, and closely affiliated with, Bear Stearns