HarbourVest Makes Promotions

HarbourVest Partners has promoted Peter Lipson, Julie Ocko and Mary Traer to the position of managing director. Traer also was named chief administrative officer. Other HarbourVest promotions include: Karin Lagerlund to chief financial officer, Sebastiaan van den Berg to principal and Bruce Pixler, Catherine Shih, and Abraham Soquar to vice president.

PRESS RELEASE
HarbourVest Partners, LLC (“HarbourVest” or the “Firm”), a leading global private equity firm, is pleased to announce that Peter Lipson, Julie Ocko, and Mary Traer have been promoted to Managing Director. Ms. Traer was also named Chief Administrative Officer. Additionally, Karin Lagerlund was named Chief Financial Officer, Sebastiaan C. van den Berg was promoted to Principal, and Bruce G. Pixler, Catherine Shih, and Abraham Soquar were promoted to Vice Presidents.

“We are pleased to recognize these individuals, who represent HarbourVest around the globe in Boston, Hong Kong, and London,” said Brooks Zug, Senior Managing Director of HarbourVest. “These promotions illustrate the growing leadership of our firm, our commitment to promote from within, and the depth and breadth of our team.”

Mr. Peter Lipson joined HarbourVest in 1997. After completing HarbourVest’s associate program, he left the Firm to attend Harvard Business School and returned in 2001 after receiving his MBA. Mr. Lipson is a senior member of HarbourVest’s direct team, with a focus on growth equity and buyout investments in operating companies. He currently serves as a director of Mimeo.com, Photobox, Towne Park, Tropitone, and xpressdocs. Mr. Lipson received a BA in Economics from the University of California, San Diego in 1993, an MS in Information Systems from the University of Virginia in 1995, and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2001.

Ms. Julie Ocko joined HarbourVest in 2001 as a member of the primary partnership team focusing on U.S. buyout, venture capital, and credit investments. Since that time, she has expanded her responsibilities within the primary partnership group, and with this promotion, she will be taking a more senior role managing the primary partnership programs. Ms. Ocko holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina and an MBA from the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. She also serves on the advisory boards of several funds, including Berkshire Partners, Francisco Partners, and Thoma Bravo.

Ms. Mary Traer joined HarbourVest in 1997 as the Director of Taxation and became a principal in 2003. As Chief Administrative Officer, she oversees the tax and compliance teams, and her responsibilities include coordination and administration of all statutory compliance for the Firm’s global operations. Ms. Traer is also integrally involved in the investment side of our business, working to structure fund offerings and underlying investments in an appropriate manner, taking into account the legal, regulatory, and tax regimes applicable to the HarbourVest Funds and their stakeholders. Ms. Traer is a CPA and holds a Bachelors degree in Economics and a Masters degree in Accounting, both from the University of Virginia.

Ms. Karin Lagerlund, Principal and Chief Financial Officer, joined HarbourVest in 2000 as the firm’s Controller. She manages the firm’s accounting and finance activities, which are coordinated by a team of 39 professionals that generates annual and semi-annual financial statements, as well as quarterly limited partner capital account statements and other client reporting. The team is also responsible for portfolio valuation and fund level performance measurement. Over the past year, Ms. Lagerlund led the process of indentifying, documenting, and assessing HarbourVest’s control environment and worked closely with the HarbourVest’s external auditors, resulting in HarbourVest becoming one of the only private equity managers to issue a SAS 70 Report. Ms. Lagerlund is a CPA and received a BA from Washington State University.

Mr. Sebastiaan van den Berg joined HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Limited in Hong Kong in 2005 as a vice president responsible for partnership investments in Asia Pacific and emerging markets. After four years with the firm, Mr. van den Berg has taken on increased responsibilities across the Asia and emerging market investment portfolio of HarbourVest International Private Equity Partners V (HIPEP V). He serves on the advisory boards of several Asian partnerships, including funds managed by Brait Capital Partners, CHAMP, CVC Capital Partners Asia Pacific, MKS Consulting, Unitas Capital, and Unison Capital Partners. Mr. van den Berg received a Doctorandus degree in International Financial Economics from the Universiteit van Amsterdam and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Mr. Bruce Pixler joined HarbourVest in 2005 and became Assistant Director of Taxation in 2007. As a vice president and Director of Tax, Mr. Pixler is responsible for coordinating the U.S. federal and state income tax compliance function for all of the HarbourVest entities, which entails oversight of the preparation of approximately 1,400 federal and state tax returns annually. He has also played an integral role in building HarbourVest’s tax team resources through recruiting, hiring, and training to ensure that the Firm is properly staffed to comply with ever-increasing global tax reporting requirements. Mr. Pixler is a CPA and holds a BS in Accounting from Bowling Green State University.

Ms. Catherine Shih joined HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Limited in Hong Kong in 2007 as a senior associate to concentrate on partnership investments in Asia Pacific markets. Ms. Shih has taken a lead role in portfolio construction planning for HIPEP VI Asia, and she is responsible for market coverage and deal sourcing in India, Japan, and Australia. She is active with many of the Asia Pacific fund managers across HarbourVest’s portfolios. Ms. Shih graduated from Brown University with a dual degree in Computer Science and Business Economics and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Abraham Soquar joined HarbourVest Partners (U.K.) Limited in London in 2002 to focus on primary and secondary investments in Europe. During 2008 and 2009, Mr. Soquar worked in Hong Kong (HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Limited), where in addition to investment responsibilities in Asia Pacific and South Africa, he played a valuable role in team leadership, mentoring, and integration across markets. Most recently, he returned to London to focus on primary investments in Europe and emerging markets, where his broadened regional experience is valuable across HarbourVest’s Europe, Asia, and emerging markets programs. Abraham serves on the advisory boards of several private equity partnerships. Mr. Soquar received an MA in Economics and History and a Masters degree in Economic and Social History, both from Oxford University.