On the move, 12.28.2015

PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS

American Midstream Partners LP said that Steve Bergstrom, executive chairman, president, and chief executive officer, retired effective December 10. Bergstrom will continue to serve as a director on the board of directors. Lynn Bourdon has been appointed chairman, president and CEO of American Midstream. Bourdon, 53, most recently served as president and CEO of Enable Midstream Partners.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has named Russell P. Fradin as an operating partner. The appointment becomes effective April 1, 2016. Fradin is the former president and CEO of SunGard Data Systems Inc.

Constitution Capital Partners has hired John A. Drago and Christopher S. Faucher as associates. Previously, Drago worked at Ernst & Young LLP as an analyst, while Faucher was an associate consultant in McGladrey’s managing consulting services group.

Gemspring Capital has hired Bennet Grill as a vice president. Previously, Grill worked at Ipreo as a director in business development and strategy.

HarbourVest Partners LLC has hired James Kase as global head of investor relations. Previously, he worked at Capula Investment Management as global head of investor relations.

Monomoy Capital Partners has hired Phil Arra as managing director and business development head. Previously, Arra worked at Terra Verde Partners.

Pamplona Capital Management said Justin Perreault has joined as a partner. Perreault was previously with Commonwealth Capital Ventures where he co-managed three growth and early stage technology funds with $600 million of committed capital.

PineBridge Investments has named Gregory A. Ehret as CEO. The appointment becomes effective January 25, 2016. Ehret will be coming from State Street Global Advisors where he was the president and a member of the executive management group.

Regimen Partners said that Michael Walsh joined as EVP of corporate development. Bill Murray also joined the firm as a director of private equity. Walsh spent almost two decades as chief financial officer at Creation Technologies, while Murray worked at National Bank Financial and Versant Partners.

Alan Shor has joined Riata Capital Group LLC as an operating partner. Shor previously served as president, COO, and member of the board of directors of Zale Corp. He is currently co-founder and president of The Retail Connection, a real estate advisory, management and investment firm.

Third Avenue Management LLC has parted ways with Chief Executive Officer David Barse.

Wynnchurch Capital has appointed Scott Fitch as a managing director. Previously, Fitch worked at Platinum Equity.

PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

Associated Foods Holdings LLC, a portfolio company of AUA Private Equity Partners, has named Bob Striano as its new CEO, president and executive chairman. Previously, Striano worked at Kozy Shack Enterprises Inc as CEO. He is also a former executive at Procter & Gamble. Based in the New York metropolitan area, Associated Foods is a distributor of grocery products to independent retail supermarkets.

Finstar Financial Group said it named Eric Blanchetete the CEO of portfolio company Digital Finance International. Blanchetete was previously president of Paxton Equity.

Metaldyne Performance Group (MPG), which is owned by American Securities, said that Thomas Amato, co-president of MPG and president and CEO of Metaldyne LLC, will leave the company at the end of this year. In conjunction with Amato’s departure, Douglas Grimm, the current co-president of MPG, has been appointed president and chief operating officer, while Russell Bradley has been named executive vice president of sales. Based in Plymouth, Michigan, MPG is a provider of power-train components.

Modere, a portfolio company of Z Capital, has appointed Vic Catalfamo as chief marketing officer. Recently, he was senior vice president of global strategic media for Viant. Modere is a social retailer focused on wellness.

MyWebGrocer, which is backed by HGGC, has appointed Eric Healy as its new president. Previously, Healy worked at Rosetta where he was CEO. Based in Winooski, Vermont, MyWebGrocer is a provider of digital marketing and e-commerce solutions for the grocery and consumer packaged goods sectors.

Clean energy provider SolarCity Corp has promoted Tanguy Serra to president. Serra is a former vice president at TPG Capital. Also, current CFO Brad Buss plans to retire in 2016. As previously reported by PE HUB, Silver Lake Kraftwerk agreed to invest $100 million in SolarCity.

Stratfor, which is backed by Teakwood Capital, has named Paul Baker as its new chief financial officer. Previously, Baker worked at Troux Technologies Inc as CFO. Based in Austin, Texas, Stratfor is a geopolitical intelligence and advisory firm.

Deborah Eudaley has joined UserZoom as CFO, while Andrew Jensen was named vice president of product management, and Kuldeep Kelkar joined as vice president of professional services. San Jose, California-based UserZoom provides a research and testing SaaS platform. In October, UserZoom raised $34 million in a round led by TC Growth Partners.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Avondale Partners has named William F. Hagerty to its advisory board. Hagerty is the former Tennessee Commissioner of Economic Development under Governor Bill Haslam. Hagerty co-founded and is managing director of Hagerty Peterson & Company, a merchant bank and private equity firm.

D.A. Davidson & Co has added Sonny Randhawa to its institutional research team to provide coverage of the oilfield service and equipment sector. Randhawa is based in the firm’s offices in Lake Oswego, Oregon. His work background includes serving as a senior oilfield service analyst at Banc of America Securities.

Oliver Duff has left his position as HSBC’s head of European capital financing and is expected to launch a new senior loan fund in a move to Europe’s growing institutional buy-side.

Lionbridge Technologies Inc, which helps brands increase market share and customer engagement, has named James Quella to its board of directors. Quella is a former senior managing director at Blackstone’s private equity group.

LPEQ, the international association of listed private equity companies, has named Douwe Cosijn to succeed Andrea Lowe as CEO. The appointment becomes effective January 4, 2016. Cosijn is a former director of corporate affairs and head of investor relations at 3i.

Advisory firm Maitland has expanded its team with four new appointments. Joining the firm are Luke Spencer-Wilson and Bill Henderson as senior business development managers, Pedro Hilton S. Olmo as client services manager, and Charles Romilly as business development advisor.

Boston-based Nanigans Inc, a provider of advertising automation software for in-house marketers, has appointed Jim Payne to its board of directors. Currently, Payne is entrepreneur-in-residence at Accel Partners. 

PROMOTIONS

Adams Street Partners has named Yar-Ping Soo to lead the firm’s Asian investment team. Soo, a partner at Adams Street since 2010, will succeed Piau-Voon Wang, who will become a senior advisor. Prior to joining Adams Street, Soo worked at GIC Special Investments where she held various senior investment positions.

AnaCap Financial Partners LLP has promoted Michael Edwards and Amber Hilkene to partner. Edwards is COO of AnaCap while Hilkene is head of investor relations and communications.

London-based mid-market private equity firm Duke Street has promoted Charlie Troup and Stuart McMinnies to managing partners. Also, Jason Lawford, Ben Long and James Almond have been promoted to partner. And, Miles Cresswell-Turner, who has been a partner since 2008, will now become a specialist adviser to Duke Street.

General Atlantic has promoted Jörn Nikolay to managing director and Roni Elchahal, Andrew Ferrer, and Rajat Sood to principal. The promotions become effective January 1, 2016.