Cap Z Names CEO

Christianna Wood has agreed to join Capital Z Asset Management as CEO, effective March 17. She currently is senior investment officer of global equities with CalPERS. In other Cap Z news, longtime partner Elizabeth Flissser has been promoted to president.

PRESS RELEASE

Capital Z Asset Management (CZAM) today announced that Christianna Wood, CalPERS Senior Investment Officer, Global Equity, will join the firm on March 17th as Chief Executive Officer. Elizabeth Flisser, a long standing partner at Capital Z, has been promoted to President.

“Christy helped CalPERS pioneer many new investments and oversaw over $150 billion of assets dedicated to global equities as well as many of the pension groups' hedge fund allocations,” said Laurence Cheng, Chairman of Capital Z Asset Management. “We are extremely pleased that Christy has decided to join Capital Z Asset Management. Her achievements, experience and knowledge of hedge funds will be instrumental in taking CZAM to the next level.”

Ms. Wood, 48, has an investment career spanning more than 27 years. She has been at CalPERS since 2002 and has been responsible for many initiatives including the development and implementation of its extensive global public equity program, bringing in-house the $30 billion international, enhanced and external equity program, and building a $7.5 billion hedge fund portfolio that has performed very well for the Fund. Previous to this, she also held senior positions managing equity portfolios at two institutions from 1981 to 1996.

“The offer to join Capital Z Asset Management at this time was too unique an opportunity to turn down,” Ms. Wood said, adding, “They have a world class team, a strong 10 year record and have been at the forefront of many of the most creative elements of the alternative investment management industry.”

Ms. Flisser, 34, who is being promoted to President of Capital Z Asset Management, has been with Capital Z since 1999 and has been responsible for sourcing, evaluating and structuring the hedge fund sponsorship investments as well as the firm's structured product and strategic investments. She sits on the board of advisors for OneWorld Investments, LP., Cedarview Capital Management, L.P., Praesidis Advisors, LLC and Aviator Fund Management, L.P. Prior to Capital Z, Ms. Flisser was a financial analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the Financial Institutions Group and Equity Capital Markets.

“Elizabeth has been integral to our success and her appointment as President of CZAM is a recognition of her outstanding contributions to the firm,” said Mr. Cheng.

“I'm looking forward to working with Laurence and Christy as we embark upon a new era at Capital Z,” said Ms. Flisser. “Our hedge fund team has honed and employed a process that has yielded the sponsorship of best of breed managers. We have an exciting strategic plan which will allow us to continue sponsoring talented hedge fund management firms and further our goal of being one of the preeminent alternative investment firms in the world.”

On January 24, 2008, Capital Z Investment Partners, LLC announced the completion of a management buyout of its hedge fund sponsorship business in partnership with Paine & Partners, LLC, the San Francisco and New York-based private equity firm. As a result of this transaction, a new alternative asset management business, Capital Z Asset Management, was established to continue and expand the hedge fund sponsorship activities that Capital Z began in 1998.

About Capital Z Asset Management

Capital Z Asset Management (CZAM) is an alternative investment asset management business headquartered in New York. CZAM manages investment vehicles that provide sponsorship capital to hedge funds while assuming a meaningful minority interest in their management companies and general partners. CZAM also offers a fund of funds, which invests in many of the sponsored hedge funds.