PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK (PRWEB) NOVEMBER 26, 2019
As part of its strategic growth strategy in New York and in response to client demand, global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has welcomed Yossie Horwitz as a shareholder in the Private Equity Practice. Horwitz joins from Paul Weiss, where he was Counsel. His arrival follows a year in which Greenberg Traurig has experienced significant growth in its Private Equity Practice.

Horwitz focuses his practice on complex corporate and transactional matters, with a primary focus on representing private equity sponsors, hedge funds, family offices, and their portfolio companies in connection with leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, financings, restructurings, workouts, minority investments, and general strategic and corporate matters.

“Yossie’s impressive deal track record and experience in complex transactions adds depth and brings a unique skill-set to the practice with financial services and asset-management transactional experience, broadening the scope of services we provide clients,” said Alan I. Annex, co-chair of the firm’s global Corporate Practice. “He shares our commitment to elevating the client experience and we are thrilled to welcome him as a shareholder both to the firm and our global Private Equity Practice.”

“Greenberg Traurig’s platform was especially attractive to me given its deep regulatory expertise across multiple industries and expansive geographic reach, factors especially relevant to my client’s wide-ranging transactional activity,” said Horwitz. “I am excited to expand upon the breadth of services Greenberg Traurig offers and work alongside the other top-tier private equity deal lawyers across the firm and in New York to continue providing clients with top-flight representation.”

Horwitz has extensive experience steering private equity and asset management related transactions, including leading acquisitions and sales of investment managers, minority investments in traditional and alternative asset management firms and spin-outs of investment management businesses and teams from larger organizations. He received his LL.B. from Bar-Ilan University.

About Greenberg Traurig’s Private Equity Practice:
Greenberg Traurig’s Private Equity Practice has wide-ranging experience representing private equity firms in complex domestic and cross-border transactions in a variety of industries, including consumer products, aerospace, manufacturing, food and beverage, health care, financial services, distribution, and technology and utilizes the firm’s wide ranging regulatory and other resources to help clients consummate transactions in a streamlined and efficient manner. Greenberg’s Private Equity Practice regularly advises regional, national, and global private equity firms in connection with acquisitions, dispositions, financing transactions and other corporate matters. The ability to leverage the firm’s unique geographic platform and extensive range of regulatory, practice and industry capabilities across the firm distinguishes Greenberg Traurig from other large firms. To learn more about Greenberg Traurig’s Private Equity Practice, click here.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,100 attorneys in 41 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100.

PRESS RELEASE

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Shutterfly, Inc. (“Shutterfly” or the “Company”), the leading retailer and manufacturing platform dedicated to helping capture, preserve, and share life’s important moments, today announced the appointment of Hilary Schneider as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 15, 2020, succeeding Ryan O’Hara.
Schneider has more than 20 years of experience leading consumer technology companies. Since January 2018, she has served as Chief Executive Officer of Wag!, the country’s largest on-demand mobile dog walking and dog care service. Prior to this role, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of LifeLock, the leader in identity theft protection, through its public listing and acquisition by Symantec. Previously, Schneider served in a series of executive positions at Yahoo! from 2006 to 2010 and in several senior leadership roles at Knight Ridder from 2002 to 2005. She has a B.A. in economics from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
“We are delighted to welcome Hilary to the Shutterfly team and are confident her management and technology experience make her ideally suited to lead the Company forward,” said David Sambur, Chairman of the Shutterfly Board of Directors and Co-Lead Partner of Private Equity at Apollo. “A pioneer in the personalized photos and services space, Shutterfly has cultivated deep customer connections and is well positioned for continued success. We look forward to supporting Hilary and the leadership team as we execute on our shared vision for Shutterfly.”
“I have long admired Shutterfly’s consumer-focused mission and am honored to lead this pioneering company as we continue to enhance our brand to drive sustainable growth,” said Schneider. “Through our Consumer, Lifetouch, and Business Solutions divisions, Shutterfly remains at the forefront of a fast growing photo and personalized products industry. Together with our thousands of talented employees, we will build on Shutterfly’s strong momentum by continuing to introduce new technology, expand our product offerings and increase customer engagement with innovative options for preserving and sharing photos.”
“Hilary is an accomplished executive with significant digital industry expertise and a focus on innovation and superior customer experiences that will support Shutterfly’s next chapter,” said Reed Rayman of the Apollo Private Equity team and a member of Shutterfly’s Board of Directors. “We look forward to partnering with Hilary as well as the Shutterfly management team and employees to grow its three divisions and deliver the best products and services to consumers.”
Mr. Sambur added, “On behalf of the Board, I thank Ryan for his contributions in leading Shutterfly’s transition to becoming a private company. We look forward to working with Ryan in his new role as an advisor to Apollo supporting transactions in the technology and media sectors.”
The Company also announced the appointment of Dwayne Black, Shutterfly’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, and Jim Hilt, President of Shutterfly’s Consumer Business, as Interim co-Chief Executive Officers during the transition period, effective December 2, 2019, until Schneider’s planned start date.
Affiliates of certain investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo”) (NYSE: APO) completed its acquisition of Shutterfly in late September 2019.
About Shutterfly, Inc.
Shutterfly, Inc. is a leading retailer and manufacturing platform for personalized products and communications. Founded in 1999, Shutterfly, Inc. has three divisions: Shutterfly Consumer, Lifetouch, and Shutterfly Business Solutions. Shutterfly Consumer and Lifetouch help consumers capture, preserve, and share life’s important moments through professional and personal photography, and personalized products. The Shutterfly brand brings photos to life in photo books, gifts, home décor, and cards and stationery. Lifetouch is the national leader in school photography, built on the enduring tradition of “Picture Day”, and also serves families through portrait studios and other partnerships. Shutterfly Business Solutions delivers digital printing services that enable efficient and effective customer engagement through personalized communications. For more information about Shutterfly, Inc., visit www.shutterflyinc.com.
About Apollo
Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $323 billion as of September 30, 2019 in private equity, credit and real assets funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.

PRESS RELEASE

BOSTON, Nov. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — EcoSmart Solution, LLC (ESS) an affiliate of Taurus Investment Holdings LLC, is pleased to announce that industry veteran, John Towle, has joined ESS as its Chief Executive Officer.

Peter Merrigan, CEO of Taurus, stated, “We are pleased to have John leading the EcoSmart team as CEO; his background in land development, homebuilding and growing a successful renewable energy company from the ground floor is a perfect match for what we need to grow the team and expand operations beyond our flagship project at Whisper Valley in Austin, Texas.”

Towle brings more than 30 years of experience in land entitlement and development, large scale residential homebuilding, commercial construction, and renewable energy development to ESS. In his previous role, Towle was the Chief Operating Officer of Safari Energy, an industry leading commercial-scale solar developer and EPC working throughout the US. At Safari Energy, Towle created numerous proprietary systems focused on bringing standardization, consistency, and performance optimization to hundreds of complex projects. Currently serving many of the nation’s largest retail and storage REITs, Towle built a start-up company into one of the industry’s most successful operations. Prior to his role at Safari Energy, Towle held a leadership position at Centex Homes, a national homebuilder.

Towle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Planning and Design from Rutgers University.

About EcoSmart Solution, LLC
Founded in 2014, EcoSmart Solution LLC, is an affiliate of Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC a global real estate private equity firm. EcoSmart offers developers of master-planned communities and national builders options for creating sustainable, energy efficient developments. Combining experienced staff with industry experts, EcoSmart integrates technology and construction methods to deliver energy efficient solutions to residential and commercial real estate, offering reduced energy costs while conserving natural resources. The EcoSmart program was launched successfully in 2017 at Whisper Valley, a 7,500-home master planned community in Austin, Texas. EcoSmart is the recipient of numerous awards including being named the overall winner of Green Builder Media’s 2019 Sustainable Innovation Award. Learn more about EcoSmart: https://ecosmartsolution.com/

PRESS RELEASE

SMITHS FALLS, ON, Nov. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ – Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) (“Canopy Growth” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce the appointment of Judy Hong as Vice President, Investor Relations, effective December 2, 2019. In her role, Judy will partner with Tyler Burns and lead the strategic planning, direction and execution of the Company’s investor relations function, further developing and strengthening its global investor relations program.

Judy has over 20 years of experience at Goldman Sachs & Co (“Goldman Sachs”), most recently serving as a Managing Director of its Global Investment Research Division covering the US beverage and tobacco sectors. She has covered many of the world’s most prominent consumer product goods companies during her tenure at Goldman Sachs, and the consistently high quality of her work has been recognized by numerous industry surveys and publications including Institutional Investor, Fortune, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. Judy will be based in New York City and will report directly to Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Mike Lee.

“We are very pleased to have a capital markets professional with Judy’s experience join our investor relations team,” said Mike Lee, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “We believe Judy’s extensive knowledge of the consumer products goods sector, along with her credibility among key institutional investors, will help Canopy expand and strengthen our capital markets presence on the ground in New York City.”

“Having achieved significant success over two decades in equity research, the time is right for me to tackle a new challenge,” said Judy Hong. “I am excited to be joining Canopy during a time of great change and opportunity in the cannabis industry. I look forward to playing a critical role in shaping and communicating Canopy’s story to the U.S. and global investment community.”
Judy holds an MBA in Finance from the NYU Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Cornell University.

About Canopy Growth Corporation
Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED,NYSE:CGC) is a world-leading diversified cannabis, hemp and cannabis device company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms, as well as medical devices through Canopy Growth’s subsidiary, Storz & Bickel GMbH & Co. KG. From product and process innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class cannabis company one product, site and country at a time. Canopy Growth has operations in over a dozen countries across five continents.

Canopy Growth’s medical division, Spectrum Therapeutics is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public’s understanding of cannabis, and has devoted millions of dollars toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development. Spectrum Therapeutics sells a range of full-spectrum products using its colour-coded classification Spectrum system as well as single cannabinoid Dronabinol under the brand Bionorica Ethics.

Canopy Growth operates retail stores across Canada under its award-winning Tweed and Tokyo Smoke banners. Tweed is a globally recognized cannabis brand which has built a large and loyal following by focusing on quality products and meaningful customer relationships.
From our historic public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange to our continued international expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. Canopy Growth has established partnerships with leading sector names including cannabis icons Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green House Seeds, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands, to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates eleven licensed cannabis production sites with over 10.5 million square feet of production capacity, including over one million square feet of GMP certified production space. For more information visit www.canopygrowth.com

PRESS RELEASE

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Origami Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in complex special situations across asset classes, announced the promotion of Julie Klaff to Partner. The firm manages assets in excess of $800 million. With Ms. Klaff’s promotion, Origami counts itself among a limited group of private equity firms where women control forty percent of the Investment Committee and greater than thirty percent of the ownership of the company.
Julie Klaff joined Origami over five years ago from Sidley, Austin. Earlier this year Origami asked her to join the firm as a Partner. In addition to her role on the Investment Committee, Julie focuses on deal sourcing, complex transaction execution and strategic policy for the firm.
Ms. Klaff and her colleague, Joelle Kellam, are two of the four partners at Origami.
Ms. Kellam joined the firm in 2010 and serves as the firm’s COO. Ms. Kellam leads all aspects of financial operations including accounting, compliance, audit and regulatory activities. Prior to joining Origami, Ms. Kellam served as the Director of Financial and Production Planning at Dyson, a privately held vacuum manufacturer. Since graduating from the University of Notre Dame (BBA, Accountancy) and the Kellogg School of Management (MBA), she also worked for Merisant, Bimba Manufacturing Company and Ernst and Young, LLP.
Ms. Kellam notes, “Origami works hard to encourage diversity and empower its team to take on responsibility. Precisely because we evaluate varied investment opportunities, we strive to recruit and retain a team who possess varied work, life and cultural experiences. Those differentiated experiences form the necessary ingredients to tackle complex investment opportunities and create value for our investors.”
In 2014, Ms. Klaff joined Origami from Sidley, Austin, LLP. At Sidley, Ms. Klaff focused on advising private alternative investment funds and investment advisers. Ms. Klaff began her career prior to law school as a real estate analyst with Joseph Freed and Associates. Ms. Klaff earned her BS in Human Development from Cornell University and a JD from Harvard Law School.
She noted, “I am proud to become the second female partner at Origami and excited about what we can accomplish for our investors. I chose Origami because I sensed the firm prioritized rewarding hard work and offered women flexibility to balance competing demands. I and the other partners of the firm strive daily to make diversity a priority. When performance justifies promotions, Origami recognizes success. Forty percent of Origami’s investment committee now consists of women. I think this fact, alone, is a very powerful statement about the organization as we look to attract and retain talent.”
About Origami Capital Partners
Origami Capital Partners was founded in 2008. Origami seeks to capitalize on inefficient opportunities involving illiquid investments with a goal of generating superior returns with a significant margin of safety. Most Origami’s transactions are proprietary, originating from its extensive network of contacts, including financial institutions, asset owners, former counterparties, intermediaries, attorneys, and fund managers. Origami’s collaborative, problem-solving approach makes it an attractive counterparty whether there is a single seller or a group of sellers. Origami dedicates substantial resources to finding flexible solutions in situations that require intensive due diligence. Because it is willing to invest time and resources upfront, Origami is frequently the sole party with whom potential sellers choose to negotiate. In capturing opportunities, Origami frequently works with investment partners who assist in identifying transactions and enhancing the value of the underlying assets.

PRESS RELEASE

RADNOR, Pa., Nov. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Today we are deeply saddened to announce that Warren V. “Pete” Musser, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Safeguard Scientifics, died of cardiac arrest at Bryn Mawr Hospital on the morning of November 25, 2019. He was 92.
Pete was a remarkable person whose generosity and kind-heartedness touched the lives of many people. We cherish the ways in which he influenced our lives as a father, grandfather, mentor and friend. Pete was a pioneer in private equity and venture capital. He loved work, and in a career spanning over six decades, he went to the office five days a week until the end. On the other two days, he could be found on the tennis courts playing his favorite sport. Pete loved people, and perhaps most importantly, he believed in treating them with respect. He celebrated people and their success, and took more pleasure out of helping others than helping himself. Pete was one-of-a-kind. His presence will be deeply missed in all of our lives; and while we mourn his loss, we also celebrate his remarkable life, and the legacy of innovation, humility, generosity and integrity he leaves behind.

PRESS RELEASE

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NextGen Growth Partners (NGP), a Chicago-based private equity firm that partners with Chicago’s top entrepreneurs to acquire and grow lower middle market businesses, today announced Ron Wexler has joined its team.

Wexler joins NextGen as its Director of Business and Talent Development and will oversee talent acquisition, talent development, play-booking best practices, and business development initiatives. Prior to NGP, Wexler spent 12 years at Citadel in numerous capacities, most notably in macro research, talent development and fundraising.

“Ron is a huge addition to our team. As our firm grows and evolves, there is an ever-increasing amount of intellectual property and institutional learning,” said NGP Founder and Managing Partner Brian O’Connor. “Ron’s commitment to talent development, best practices, and continuous improvement is inspirational. It is already paying huge dividends to our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and portfolio company CEOs.”

Prior to Citadel, Wexler worked at Merrill Lynch starting out in international economic research and moving to the U.S. economics group. Wexler was then selected to join a new group, tasked with taking the research department’s best trade ideas and crafting portfolios for Merrill Lynch’s private clients. Ron started his career at Gerard Klauer Mattison doing equity research, covering the business services space.

Ron holds a master’s degree in economics from McGill University and a bachelor’s degree in industrial relations from McGill University.

About NextGen Growth Partners
Headquartered in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago, NextGen Growth Partners is a private equity firm that partners with the best and brightest entrepreneurial talent to acquire, operate, and grow lower middle market businesses across a variety of industries. The team has a strong track record of creating value through growth and operational improvement in middle market businesses. For more information, please visit www.nextgengp.com.

Kelleher departed BB&T a week ago, people said. He originally joined BB&T Capital Markets in 2004, a statement said. He worked as a managing director with BB&T’s M&A group from 2004 to 2006, according to PitchBook.

In 2008, Kelleher assumed responsibility for managing the bank’s PE relationships, the release said. He was named head of equity investment banking in 2016, while continuing to lead financial sponsor coverage. He is also a former managing director of Allied Capital.

Kelleher left BB&T to join Harris Williams, the people said. It’s unclear what his position will be at the middle market investment bank.

Kelleher’s departure comes as federal bank regulator earlier this week approved the $66 billion merger of SunTrust Banks and BB&T. The Federal Reserve and the FDIC signed off on the deal on Nov. 19.

The merger is expected to create the nation’s sixth largest bank, according to press reports. BB&T in February said it would buy SunTrust for $28.24 billion. The deal is the biggest bank merger since the 2008 financial crisis, CNBC said.

BB&T has around 37,000 employees while SunTrust has roughly 22,000 people, reports said. “We’re all evaluating options,” one BB&T investment banker said.

A SunTrust spokeswoman referred messages to BB&T, which declined comment. Harris Williams could not be reached for comment.

Action Item: Here’s the investor presentation for the BB&T-SunTrust merger.

PRESS RELEASE

PHILADELPHIA, PA, November 22, 2019 – Eureka Equity Partners (“Eureka”) today announced the additions of Keith Corliss and Melanie (Ellie) Labate to the Eureka team.

Keith joined Eureka as an Analyst and is responsible for evaluating new investment opportunities, due diligence, and supporting Eureka’s deal teams and portfolio company management teams in financing processes. Prior to joining Eureka, Keith was an Analyst at Baker Tilly Capital, an investment banking firm providing advisory services to owners and management teams of middle-market businesses. Keith received a BA in Economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Ellie joined Eureka as a Fund Accountant and is responsible for accounting, tax and financial reporting requirements related to Eureka’s investment funds. Prior to joining Eureka, Ellie was a Senior Associate at Hamilton Lane Advisors, where she was responsible for operational and financial reporting oversight of over 200 private equity fund-of-fund entities. Prior to Hamilton Lane, Ellie was an Audit Staff Accountant with Ernst & Young, LLP. Ellie received a BBA in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and is a Certified Public Accountant.

“We are excited to continue our growth with the addition of Keith to our investment team and Ellie to our operations team,” said Chris Hanssens, Managing Partner of Eureka. “We are confident Keith and Ellie will make meaningful contributions toward our efforts building great businesses in partnership with our management teams and driving superior returns for our investors.”

About Eureka Equity Partners
Eureka Equity Partners is a private equity firm targeting niche market leaders with up to $100 million in revenue across industry segments in which Eureka brings significant experience and operating resources, including business services, health care services, specialty manufacturing and consumer products. Eureka focuses on partnering with proven managers to drive the growth of promising companies into outstanding enterprises. Eureka leads buyouts that bring significant ownership to the operators driving the success of the business. With this core principle that aligns the interests of our operators and our investors, Eureka is also experienced and comfortable effecting minority recapitalizations with flexible investment structures designed to uniquely meet the needs of the company, its management team and other shareholders. More information about Eureka Equity Partners can be found at www.eurekaequity.com.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW CANAAN, CT, November 21, 2019 – Gridiron Capital, LLC (“Gridiron Capital”), a leading investment firm focused on partnering with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams, is pleased to announce that Nick Weido has joined the firm as senior associate. In this role, Mr. Weido will focus on new investment opportunities, due diligence, and value creation at current portfolio companies.

Tom Burger, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Gridiron Capital said, “We are thrilled to have Nick join the Gridiron team. He demonstrates all the qualities we look for in a senior associate.”

Kevin Jackson, Managing Partner added, “Nick is an excellent cultural fit at Gridiron. We are excited to have him join our team and have his experience and knowledge add to the growth of Gridiron.”

Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Mr. Weido was an associate in private equity, where he was responsible for transaction execution and portfolio company management. Previously, Nick worked as an analyst at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Weido received a B.B.A in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. He holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Originally from Texas, Nick resides in New Canaan, CT.

About Gridiron Capital:
Gridiron Capital is an investment firm focused on partnering with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams, and creating value by building middle-market companies into industry-leaders in branded consumer, B2B and B2C services, and niche industrial segments in the United States and Canada. We help transform growing companies by winning together through hard work, partnerships grounded in shared values and a unique culture that comes from hands-on experience building and running businesses. As a team led by former operators and entrepreneurs, we know what it takes to run successful businesses on a day-to-day basis. Additional information is available on the firm’s website: www.gridironcapital.com

PRESS RELEASE

AVENTURA, Fla., Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Smokey Bones has appointed longtime restaurateur James O’Reilly as the new CEO. O’Reilly joins Smokey Bones from Long John Silver’s, where he served as CEO for four years. He was selected by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners for his track record of leadership, brand building, and value creation.

O’Reilly’s plans are to improve restaurant operations and the guest experience, invest in new technology and restaurant development, create greater brand and menu differentiation, and develop cultural initiatives aimed at making Smokey Bones one of the best places to work in South Florida and around the country.

O’Reilly has created success wherever he’s gone. While at Sonic Drive-In, he led significant sales improvements contributing to an all-time high system revenue of $4 billion. At Long John Silver’s, O’Reilly led brand and cultural improvements that resulted in the company being named a Best Place to Work in Kentucky by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, and he was named “Turnaround Man”, by the Louisville Courier Journal. He has also received numerous leadership awards, including being named a Marketer of the Next Generation by BrandWeek.

With more than 20 years of restaurant experience, O’Reilly began his career in the international division of PepsiCo in Canada. He has held marketing and research and development leadership positions for YUM Brands in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United Kingdom. He went on to become the CMO of KFC U.S. and senior vice president of U.S. marketing for YUM Brands. Later, O’Reilly became the CMO and chief brand officer of Sonic Drive-In before becoming the CEO of Long John Silver’s.

About Smokey Bones
Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill is a full-service restaurant delivering good food, good drinks and good times in 62 locations across 16 states. Smokey Bones serves brunch, lunch and dinner and has a full-bar featuring more than 40 bourbons and whiskeys, 40+ beers and signature, hand-crafted cocktails. Its award winning slow-smoked and fire grilled favorites are available for dine-in, pick-up, online ordering and catering delivery. Smokey Bones, Inc. is an affiliate of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sun Capital Partners, whose portfolio of restaurants also includes Boston Market, Friendly’s, Johnny Rockets, Bar Louie. For additional information on Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill and a list of all locations nationwide, please visit www.SmokeyBones.com.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Lincoln International is pleased to announce the addition of Michael Siano to the firm’s New York office. Having spent close to two decades in investment banking focused on the healthcare sector, Michael brings deep industry knowledge, extensive expertise and meaningful relationships to the firm and its Healthcare Group. He will lead coverage of the Healthcare Information Technology (HCIT) sector.

“We are thrilled to welcome Michael to the firm and healthcare team,” stated Rob Brown, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for Lincoln North America. “Michael’s experience brings incremental expertise at a time of significant change and growth in the healthcare sector, where we see digitization and technology revolutionizing the industry.”

Michael focuses on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory services along with strategic advisory in capital raise, divestiture and financing transactions. Michael has completed over 40 transactions in the healthcare sector for some of the most prominent companies in the industry.

Prior to joining Lincoln, Michael was at Houlihan Lokey where he helped lead the firm’s Healthcare Information Technology team. Previously, Michael worked as a Director at Deutsche Bank in the Healthcare Investment Banking group.

Michael added, “I have been impressed by the Lincoln healthcare team’s track record of growth and success and I am excited to join the team. The healthcare sector is undergoing an incredible transformation fueled by the rapid adoption of technology. I look forward to providing unique perspectives and thoughtful advice to help our clients navigate these exciting changes.”

About Lincoln International
We are trusted investment banking advisors to business owners and senior executives of leading private equity firms and public and privately held companies around the world. Our advisory services include mergers and acquisitions and capital markets advisory for the mid-market. We also provide valuations and fairness opinions and joint ventures advisory services. As one tightly integrated team of more than 500 professionals across 16 countries, we offer an unobstructed perspective, backed by superb execution and a deep commitment to client success. With extensive industry knowledge and relationships, timely market intelligence and strategic insights, we forge deep, productive client relationships that endure for decades. Connect with us to learn more at www.lincolninternational.com.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Forge Global, Inc. (“Forge”), a marketplace for pre-IPO securities that provides a range of trading services and products to investors, financial institutions, and private innovation companies, has today announced that former head of technology capital markets for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Jose Cobos, has been appointed as its first chief revenue officer. Joining at a pivotal time of momentum, Cobos will play a critical role in growing revenue across Forge’s expanding product and partner portfolio that serves stakeholders in the private market ecosystem including private companies, venture capitalists, hedge funds and wealth managers.

“Forge witnessed major growth and marketplace adoption this year as more investors, financial institutions, and private companies took advantage of our expanding capital innovation product suite and service portfolio,” said CEO of Forge, Kelly Rodriques. “Heading into 2020, as demand for private securities intensifies and as companies stay private longer, Jose’s unique experience working with late-stage growth private companies and their venture capital investors will help us better meet the needs of stakeholders.”

A former U.S. Navy SEAL, Cobos joins Forge with more than 15 years of experience in finance and technology. Prior to Forge, he worked at the NYSE as head of technology capital markets where he advised and managed relationships with Tech IPO prospects as well as the venture capital, private equity, investment banking, and legal communities. Before working for the NYSE, Cobos led the internet investment banking practices at Cowen and Piper Jaffray.

“As companies stay private longer, early investors increasingly look to Forge’s technology, data, and global relationships to gain new access to capital in the private markets,” said Jose Cobos. “I look forward to joining the Forge team during this critical time of industry transformation, and bringing my own expertise creating new opportunities within and between the finance and technology sectors to accelerate even more growth for the company. I am also thrilled to be able to help deliver on its mission of enabling more secure and transparent access to the private markets in order to build an even stronger economy.”

This year, Forge expanded its customer and product portfolio as marketplace demand grew within the investor community, private market, and financial services sector. The company launched Capital Systems for private innovation companies, an industry-first equity product with leading European provider of banking and financial services, BNP Paribas, and acquired a custody services provider that gives Forge the ability to help people hold and move their investments into and out of private securities easily. Cobos will play a critical role in helping drive more momentum for Forge within the venture capital community, as well as the private market economy. This comes off the back of successful partnerships with companies like Slack and Spotify ahead of their public debuts this year.

About Forge
Forge Global Inc. is a premier trading, settlement, and custody partner for a wide range of investors in the private markets. Established in 2014 as Equidate Inc., the company empowers investors and shareholders by enabling liquidity in the private markets and has completed more than $2.6B in transaction volume since inception. Forge was founded by Y Combinator alumni and backed by top investors including Tim Draper, Peter Thiel, FT Partners, and Munich Re. Forge’s platform allows employees and investors in privately held innovation firms to liquidate a portion of their shares and provides private and institutional investors access to top companies before their IPOs.

PRESS RELEASE

PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Omniscience today announced that Nandu Jayakumar has joined the company as VP of Engineering and Tom Niermann joined as VP of Product. Omniscience technology and products use the company’s unique next-generation computing models and advanced AI to enable complex business decisions based on all the data in real time.

“Today’s broadly available computing models are, at best, delivering ‘approximately the right answer’ for complex business problem solving,” said Jayakumar. “While this is ok for some applications, it just isn’t good enough for sophisticated and layered business problems, as in financial services and insurance, where vast numbers of human lives and large amounts of money are at stake. We are solving this at Omniscience.”

With a multi-decade engineering career in which he has both envisioned and architected next generation computing models, Nandu Jayakumar is leading the Omniscience engineering team to build out the company’s breakthrough data science and artificial intelligence technologies. Most recently, he was VP of Software Development at Oracle Corporation with the team that took the company’s analytics platform and products into the cloud. Previously, at Visa Inc., Jayakumar led a global team in building services and access methods to Visa’s centralized data platform (10’s of petabytes scale) with stringent compliance and security requirements; among other things, he also headed the technical architecture work related to Visa’s strategic “Data Replatform” initiative to transform the management of data at Visa, and more. Prior to this, as the architect for Yahoo’s advertising and audience data assets, Jayakumar was instrumental in many of the technology advances that defined the last decade in digital advertising. With a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from Bangalore University and a master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University, Jayakumar has spoken and written in multiple venues on big data, data analytics, and distributed computing technologies.

“We are creating an entirely new foundation and product set to handle some of the most difficult business problems of the next decade,” said Sunil Rawat, co-founder and CEO of Omniscience. “Nandu is one of a handful of technologists to both be able to see the future and lead our engineering team to make it a reality.”

At Omniscience, Tom Niermann is responsible for leading product definition for products. With a deep background in entrepreneurship, he has specialized in developing unique and innovative approaches and products for startup companies wanting to create a network effect in competitive markets. Niermann worked at Google where he directed a team of product managers creating new business partnerships and oversaw the syndication of Adsense, Mobile, YouTube, Gmail, TV, Android, Content, and Checkout at Google. In addition to Google, Niermann founded 3 venture-backed companies serving in the roles of CTO and VP of Engineering. Tom has a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois, where he also received his BS and MS degrees.

“Our goal is to create powerful technology and products for customers in the financial services and insurance industries where the complexity of their requirements has not been deciphered yet and the future of their businesses is often at stake,” said Rawat. “Tom is able understand customer needs and technology capabilities to see all the puzzle pieces and put them together into an entirely new kind of solution.”

About Omniscience
Omniscience (www.omniscience.com) is the first company to handle and decipher complex, hyperdimensional data sets without any approximations. This enables customers to make accurate business decisions, and find new, well-timed opportunities. The Omniscale computing model combines mathematical transformations, advanced AI and unique distributed computing to help insurance and financial services companies grow market share, save on costs, boost return on equity, and increase regulatory compliance. Over time many additional markets will also be able to use Omniscience to decipher the chaos in their environments. Based in Palo Alto, CA, investors in Omniscience include Reinsurance Group of America, TD Bank, Translink Capital and others.

PRESS RELEASE

November 21, 2019 – Christophe Berthoux, Jean-Yves Desmottes and Mario Philips are joining the leadership team of European private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed. They bring strategic and operational insight, wide-ranging international experience and extensive industry networks to ArchiMed and its portfolio companies. The appointments highlight ArchiMed’s commitment to providing strategic and tactical advantages, in addition to financial muscle, to portfolio companies.

“These appointments reinforce our positioning as a value-adding shareholder for companies operating in the Healthcare industry,” says Denis Ribon, ArchiMed chairman. “Management teams like to work with us because our partners and principals are specialists who can provide concrete solutions to strategic and operational challenges across healthcare sectors and geographies.”

Christophe Berthoux is joining ArchiMed as an operating partner. Previously he was chief executive of U.K.-based Synexus, a leading global provider of drug research support services and patient recruitment for clinical trials. Under the successive ownership of two private equity firms – Lyceum Capital and LDC – Berthoux oversaw the group’s expansion across the U.S., South America and Asia, generating double-digit annual revenue growth, while more than tripling international receipts. He presided over a nine-fold increase in enterprise value, leaving after the company’s 2017 sale to Carlyle-backed Pharmaceutical Product Development, one of the largest contract research organizations in healthcare. Berthoux will continue in his current non-executive chairman role at venture capital-backed Imaging Analysis Group, which uses imaging technology and artificial intelligence to streamline the development of medical treatments. He was previously U.S.-based global head of sales and marketing for Charles River Laboratories.

Berthoux graduated with an MBA from Purdue University Krannert School of Management, after earning a Doctorate in veterinary medicine and practicing as a vet.

Jean-Yves Desmottes is joining ArchiMed as an operating partner. Prior to his appointment, he was general manager of leading biology-based skincare solutions group Bioderma Dermatological Laboratories. At Bioderma he successfully focused on global growth, product range expansion and margin improvement. His initiatives led to the creation of 44 affiliates throughout the world and helped increase Bioderma’s profit margin by some 50 percent, while annual sales grew more than eight-fold to €520 million. Beginning in 2014, Desmottes also served as vice- president in charge of operations at Bioderma’s parent, NAOS Group, whose other skin care brands, Institut Esthederm and Etat Pur, are also driven by biologically innovative products. Desmottes career began at Price Waterhouse Coopers, where he advised on mergers, acquisitions and restructurings in the healthcare sector. After qualifying as a pharmacist, Desmottes earned a Masters in Marketing and Management from ESSEC in Paris.

Mario Philips, who is joining ArchiMed as a strategic partner, is the non-executive chairman of ArchiMed portfolio company Clean Biologics, a specialist in safety testing for biopharmaceuticals. In March he became chief executive of PolyneuroS, a developer of kits for the diagnosis and follow-up treatment of neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease. As a strategic partner at ArchiMed, he will continue in his positions at both PolyneuroS and Clean Biologics. Previously, Philips served as vice president and general manager of Pall Biotech, a unit of NYSE-listed Danaher Corporation, where he led the rapid expansion of the group’s core bioprocessing capabilities. Bioprocessing uses living cells or their components in the manufacture of drugs. Philips graduated from Groep T – Internationale Hogeschool Leuven with a degree in Marketing, after earning a degree in Biochemistry Engineering from CTL in Gent (now Hogeschool Gent).

About ArchiMed – www.archimed-group.eu – ArchiMed is an independent investment firm specialized in the Healthcare industries. It is a strategic and financial partner to European and North American companies operating in the Biopharma, Medtech, Diagnostics, Life Sciences, Healthcare IT, Consumer Health, Public Safety and Care Services sectors. ArchiMed’s international team combines investment, medical, technological and operational experience. It works alongside management teams to accelerate their business growth through internationalization, product and service range expansion as well as capacity extension, both organically and through acquisitions. Over the last 20 years, ArchiMed’s leadership team directly managed and invested in over 40 small, medium and large-size healthcare companies throughout the world, with a combined value above five billion euros. ArchiMed’s investment capacity currently exceeds one billion euros and is potentially twice this amount when including its strategic investment partners.

PRESS RELEASE

Bala Cynwyd, Penn. – November 20, 2019 – Leading private markets asset management firm Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) today announced new leadership roles across its investment business, naming Jeff Armbrister as Global Head of Co-Investments, and appointing Mingchen Xia and Collwyn Tan as Co-Heads of Asia Investments.

Mario Giannini, CEO of Hamilton Lane, commented: “Today, Hamilton Lane manages more than $65 billion in discretionary assets across our investment platform globally. As our business continues to grow within geographies and sectors, we believe the appointments of Jeff, Mingchen and Collwyn will best position our global investment teams for future success.”*

In connection with his role, Armbrister will have responsibility for Hamilton Lane’s expanding co-investment platform, which in 2018 deployed over $1.1 billion into equity co-investments across a record number of funds and accounts. He will also oversee the Co-Investment team, comprising 19 investment professionals around the world.

Brian Gildea, Hamilton Lane’s Global Head of Investments, commented: “Since joining Hamilton Lane, Jeff has seamlessly stepped into the co-investment role, becoming an integral contributor to Hamilton Lane’s continued evolution. His appointment helps position us for ongoing success in our co-investment activities, which are a growing area of opportunity for our business.”

With more than three decades of combined experience investing in Asia’s private markets, Xia and Tan bring to their roles a deep knowledge of the investment landscape across that region, where the firm has been actively investing and has had a strong local presence for over a decade. Tan joined Hamilton Lane’s Co-Investment team in 2011 and Xia joined as a member of the firm’s Fund Investment team in 2014.

“Mingchen and Collwyn have been vital to the expansion of Hamilton Lane’s Asia business. As the Asia-Pacific region continues to grow in importance within the private markets, we believe we are well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities there under their able leadership,” said Juan Delgado-Moreira, Vice Chairman and Head of Asia at Hamilton Lane.

*As of September 30, 2019

About Jeff Armbrister
Jeff Armbrister is a Managing Director and the Global Head of Co-Investments, where he is responsible for direction and oversight of the firm’s Co-Investment platform. He has over 20 years of private equity and public market investing experience, and has served on the board of directors of several portfolio companies and non-profit organizations.

Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2018, Armbrister was a Managing Director at Versa Capital Management, where he focused on making control-oriented, special situations, debt and equity investments in middle market companies across a variety of industries. While at Versa, he participated in all major investment functions and his responsibilities included origination, underwriting, transaction execution and portfolio company development. Prior to joining Versa in 2003, Armbrister was an Equity Research analyst at Oppenheimer + Close. He has also held private equity, venture capital, corporate development and investment banking positions at Berwind Financial Group, Redleaf Group, ICG Commerce and Wheat First Butcher Singer, respectively. He received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia.

About Mingchen Xia
Mingchen Xia is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Asia Investments, based in the firm’s Hong Kong office. Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2014, he was a Senior Fund Manager at Tokio Marine Asset Management in Japan, where he was responsible for private equity fund investment globally. Previously, Xia worked at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities and Mizuho Securities. He received an M.B.A. from Hitotsubashi University and a bachelor’s degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

About Collwyn Tan
Collwyn Tan is Co-Head of Asia Investments at Hamilton Lane, based in the firm’s Hong Kong office. Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2011, Tan was an Associate at China Renaissance Capital Investment, a China-focused growth equity general partner investing across various industries. Previously, he held investment banking positions with J.P. Morgan Securities in the Financial Institutions Group and Principal Investment Management. Tan received an M.B.A from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University.

About Hamilton Lane
Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) is a leading alternative investment management firm providing innovative private markets solutions to sophisticated investors around the world. Dedicated to private markets investing for 28 years, the firm currently employs approximately 390 professionals operating in offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. Hamilton Lane has approximately $481 billion in assets under management and supervision, composed of approximately $66 billion in discretionary assets and more than $415 billion in advisory assets, as of September 30, 2019. Hamilton Lane offers a full range of investment products and services that enable clients to participate in the private markets asset class on a global and customized basis. For more information, please visit www.hamiltonlane.com or follow Hamilton Lane on Twitter: @hamilton_lane.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Lexington Partners (“Lexington”), one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent alternative investment managers in the secondary market, today announced that Kenneth Allen AM, a Senior Advisor to the Firm in Australia since 2006, will retire at the end of 2019.

Wilson S. “Wil” Warren, President of Lexington Partners, said, “On behalf of Lexington, I would like to thank Ken Allen for his dedicated service to the Firm for more than 13 years. Over this period, Lexington’s presence in this important private equity market has increased significantly, in part due to Ken’s deep relationships and market knowledge.” Lexington Partners has been an active private equity investor in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region since 2000.

Prior to his role with Lexington, Mr. Allen served a distinguished term from 2001 to 2006 as the Australian Consul-General in New York and is credited with many accomplishments including his involvement with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United States and his work in technology, media, the arts, and finance.

Before his diplomatic posting, Mr. Allen enjoyed a successful career in global investment banking with The World Bank, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and Macquarie Bank. He has served as Chairman of Talent2 and on the Boards of the NSW Treasury Corporation, the State Bank of New South Wales, the Film Finance Corporation of Australia, Omnicom, Australia Post, and The China Institute in New York. Mr. Allen is a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the business and finance sectors, international relations, and the community through fundraising for charitable organizations. He holds an Honors degree in Economics from the University of Adelaide.

About Lexington Partners
Lexington Partners is a leading global alternative investment manager primarily involved in providing liquidity to owners of private equity and other alternative investments and in making co-investments alongside leading private equity sponsors. Lexington Partners is one of the largest independent managers of secondary acquisition and co-investment funds with more than $38 billion in committed capital. Lexington has acquired more than 3,000 secondary and co-investment interests through over 800 transactions with a total value in excess of $47 billion, including $12 billion of syndications. Lexington also invests in private investment funds during their initial formation and has committed to more than 400 new funds in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Lexington has offices strategically located in major centers for private equity and alternative investing – New York, Boston, Menlo Park, London, Hong Kong, Santiago, and Luxembourg. Lexington also has senior advisors covering Asia, Australia, and the United States. Additional information may be found at www.lexingtonpartners.com.

PRESS RELEASE

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–John M. Floyd & Associates (JMFA), has announced the retirement of company founder, chairman and CEO John M. Floyd, and co-owner and COO Cher Floyd. Company veteran, John Cohron, has been named to succeed Floyd as CEO.
John Floyd founded JMFA nearly 40 years ago as a small, regional consulting practice with a handful of employees. Over the years, with his leadership the company transformed into what is now recognized nationwide as a premier provider of income enhancement and expense reduction products, and consulting services for banks and credit unions. Mr. Floyd is considered a visionary in the development of high-performance overdraft privilege programs that are fully compliant and consumer friendly.
“The Floyd’s dedication to the company, employees and clients has truly been extraordinary,” said Cohron. “Thanks to the ongoing commitment of our professional staff and the trust of our many valued clients over the years, the company has maintained an excellent track record of growth and customer loyalty.”
He continued, “To support our fundamental mission of being the best in the business at helping our customers succeed, we have secured a strategic investment partnership with Indianapolis-based private equity firm Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company, Inc. (HKW). And, as we look ahead, we have an increased focus on growing JMFA’s capacity far beyond what it has ever been to help community banks and credit unions compete and prosper in their respective marketplaces by offering expanded products and consulting services.”
Cohron joined JMFA in 2002. As Chief Information Officer he has been the principal advisor to the executive team and directly managed the company’s consulting operations group. He has been responsible for client relationships related to the performance improvement aspect of consulting projects, all IT functions and software development for all programs, including the recently enhanced Privilege Manager CRM® for the NEXT GENERATION JMFA OVERDRAFT PRIVILEGE® program.
Cohron’s experience includes 30-plus years in government and the financial industry, with expertise in software and systems engineering, automation operations support and cost analysis optimization.
ABOUT JMFA
JMFA is one of the most trusted names in the industry. Whether it’s recovering lost revenue, uncovering new savings with vendor contract negotiations, creating more value, serving account holders better or delivering a 100% compliant overdraft service—JMFA can help you deliver measurable results with proven solutions. To learn more, please contact your local representative or call us at (800) 809-2307.
ABOUT HKW
HKW is a private equity firm investing in growth-oriented companies with talented management teams in the US and Canada. HKW targets small to mid-size companies in the Business Services and Health & Wellness sectors. Since 1982, HKW has sponsored 61 platform transactions of lower middle-market companies throughout North America, as well as 66 add-on acquisitions. For more information on HKW, please visit hkwinc.com.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN MATEO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–WithMe Health, the Personalized Medication Guidance company, has welcomed four new executives to its team: Helen Sherman as Chief Pharmacy Officer; Smita Nair as Chief Product Officer; Tom Smith as General Counsel and Head of Compliance; and Dickon Waterfield as Chief Commercial Officer.

The appointments reflect the rapid growth of WithMe Health, which was founded in 2018 and announced $20 million in funding from Oak HC/FT. The company’s platform is a modern, full replacement to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that aligns incentives across the value chain, enabling WithMe Health to focus on people, outcomes and the total cost of care.
“We are excited about adding further expertise to the WithMe Health leadership team during this accelerated period of growth and look forward to building upon the accomplishments we’ve made since inception,” said Joe Murad, WithMe Health CEO. “We feel very fortunate to be able to attract such great talent who understand our mission to provide the first-ever Personalized Medication Guidance platform. Helen, Smita, Tom and Dickon all bring a proven track record of success and will play critical roles as we solve one of healthcare’s most challenging problems.”
WithMe Health was designed to address employers’ frustrations around the misalignment of incentives along the value chain, the lack of discernible value and ever-rising costs. WithMe achieves this by providing a member experience personalized on a clinical, financial and interaction level that is supported by a 24/7 medication guidance team. This gives employers and their employees a significantly better experience while improving health outcomes and reducing the total cost of care.
WithMe Health’s new executives bring decades of experience in care delivery and tech-enabled healthcare services, further deepening the diverse expertise of the company’s leadership:
Helen Sherman, Chief Pharmacy Officer, leads WithMe Health’s clinical and contracting functions. As a practicing pharmacist, clinician, leader and consultant, she has a long operating history of advancing the best use of medications through scientific evidence. She has represented billions of dollars in pharmaceutical purchasing decisions across both the private and public sector. Helen holds a BS in Pharmacy from Oregon State University and a Doctor of Pharmacy from Purdue.
Smita Nair, Chief Product Officer, is responsible for turning WithMe Health’s vision into products that transform legacy industries and inspire change. Previously, she led the product management team at Evolent Health, building their value-based platform from the ground up and leading her team through an IPO. She received her Bachelor in Computer Science Engineering from Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology and an MBA from Goa Institute of Management.
Tom Smith, General Counsel and Head of Compliance, oversees the company’s legal, compliance and human resources functions. He began his legal career at Latham & Watkins LLP and has since served as the general counsel of four VC-backed, technology-enabled healthcare companies. Tom earned his BS degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MS degree from Stanford University and a JD and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Dickon Waterfield, Chief Commercial Officer, leads the go-to-market strategy across the sales, marketing and customer success teams. He was previously the Chief Commercial Officer at Big Health, a digital therapeutics company focused on mental health, and before that worked as an early-stage investor and healthcare strategy consultant at Monitor Group, advising pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers on their commercialization strategies. Dickon graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a First Class Degree.
To learn more about WithMe Health and Personalized Medication Guidance, visit www.withmehealth.com.
About WithMe Health
WithMe Health’s Personalized Medication Guidance platform is a modern, full replacement for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) with a simple business model that aligns incentives across the industry to focus on people, outcomes and the total cost of care. WithMe Health combines state-of-the-art technology, sophisticated clinical protocols and pharmacist guides to give plan sponsors and their members an unparalleled pharmacy benefits experience, personalized to each member, while improving health outcomes and reducing unnecessary costs.
The company is led by a proven group of entrepreneurs and operators steeped in tech-enabled healthcare delivery, managed care and pharmacy benefit management. Founded in 2018, the company is headquartered in San Mateo, California and has received $20M in funding from venture growth equity firm Oak HC/FT.

PRESS RELEASE

New York – Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. (“Searchlight” or “the Firm”), a leading global private investment firm, announced today the appointment of Andrew Claerhout as a Partner. Andrew Claerhout, together with existing Searchlight Partner Darren Glatt, will be leading infrastructure investments for the Firm.

Mr. Claerhout brings over two decades of experience to his new role and joins the firm having spent nearly 13 years at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, most recently as Head of Infrastructure and Natural Resources. In this role Mr. Claerhout was responsible for acquisitions and managing over US$18 billion of investments around the world in the transport & logistics, energy & power, water & waste and social infrastructure sectors. Mr. Claerhout was also responsible for establishing and leading the London Office of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and developing Private Capital’s strategy in EMEA.

Mr. Glatt has been at Searchlight for seven years and has deep expertise in a variety of sectors, including communications and digital infrastructure, which Searchlight believes is an attractive area for investments. Mr. Glatt will continue to be involved in the Firm’s private equity investments in media and other sectors.

Mr. Claerhout said: “I am excited to be joining the Searchlight team. I have long been impressed by both the investment philosophy and the culture of the Firm. I am looking forward to working with the Searchlight team to identify attractive investments in the infrastructure space across North America and Europe.”

Mr. Glatt added: “Searchlight has deep expertise in communications and digital infrastructure and has been a prolific investor in those sectors. We will now have the mandate to increase the breadth of opportunity in those same sectors, and we look forward to extending our strong track record of investing with owners and management teams to enhance value.”

Erol Uzumeri, a Founding Partner of Searchlight, added: “We are delighted to welcome Andrew to the firm and are confident that his skill set and expertise across a broad range of infrastructure sectors, combined with Darren’s deep knowledge of the communications and digital infrastructure space, will be an excellent complement to one another. Andrew’s considerable experience and successful track record investing in infrastructure across geographies make him a valuable addition to our team. We believe the increased infrastructure capabilities will further enhance our existing investment activities.”

About Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P.
Searchlight is a global private investment firm with over $7 billion in assets under management and offices in New York, London and Toronto. Searchlight seeks to invest in businesses where its long-term capital and strategic support accelerate value creation for all stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.searchlightcap.com.

PRESS RELEASE

MONTRÉAL, NOVEMBER 18, 2019
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) announced today that Stephane Etroy has decided to step down from his role as Executive Vice-President and Head of International Private Equity to spend more time with his young family in London. CDPQ has taken this opportunity to regroup all of its private equity activities in Québec and abroad under the leadership of Charles Émond, who is appointed Executive Vice-President, Québec, Private Equity and Strategic Planning.

In his new role, Mr. Émond will continue to lead CDPQ’s investment strategy in Québec, in addition to leading its private equity activities outside of Québec. This combination of the private equity teams under one leadership will allow CDPQ to fully benefit from the expertise its teams have acquired over the years, in addition to making it easier to share best practices.

Combining the networks and talent of two teams – which will each retain their distinct mandate and signature – will also generate more opportunities for growth and more opportunities to develop new relationships for the companies that CDPQ is invested in. For the teams, this new structure will create more fluidity throughout the investment process and a larger playing field for career development.

Mr. Émond possesses solid expertise in concluding complex transactions and managing relationships with partners. See his biographical notes.
Lastly, CDPQ would like to acknowledge Stephane Etroy’s contribution to the deployment of its private equity strategy in several markets.

ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2019, it held CA$326.7 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

PRESS RELEASE

NAIROBI, Kenya and FORT COLLINS, Colo., Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Jit Bhattacharya, a pioneering clean technology innovator and previous CTO of Fenix International has joined the global venture development firm, Factor[e] Ventures in their Nairobi office. As a Principal, Jit will lead investments into technology-enabled, early-stage ventures that improve lives in the developing world. His main focus will be on companies in the access to energy and mobility sectors.

Prior to joining Factor[e], Jit worked for over 10 years as a cleantech entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and in energy access in Africa. As CTO of Fenix International, Jit led product and technology development for a next-generation renewable energy and financial services company that delivered off-grid energy solutions to over 600,000 homes across Africa. Jit was also part of the executive team that led the successful sale of Fenix to ENGIE, the largest independent power producer in the world.

Prior to Fenix, Jit served as CEO of Mission Motor Company, a Silicon Valley startup that developed one of the highest performing electric motorcycles ever built. Jit led the company through multiple venture rounds and built relationships with major vehicle manufacturers around the world for Mission’s technology. Jit also worked in product development at Apple as a manager in the Special Projects Group.

When asked about his decision to join Factor[e] Jit commented, “I am thrilled to be joining the Factor[e] team in its mission to build impactful ventures. With over 1 Billion people across the world living without access to modern energy services – and 3 Billion living in underpowered economies – it is a pivotal time for the drive for global energy access. The rapid evolution of distributed energy, connectivity, and digital finance has unlocked new commercial models and opportunities for how this need is met. Factor[e] is at the forefront of this transformation, empowering the entrepreneurs and innovations that are primed to transform this landscape and fundamentally change how these economies achieve a sustainable and equal energy system.”

Morgan DeFoort, Managing Principal of Factor[e] Ventures stated, “We are thrilled to add Jit to our global team. His expertise will add immense value to our current portfolio companies and will further sharpen our investing strategy in energy and mobility solutions.”

Jit’s experience as a well-respected entrepreneur in renewable energy and mobility and his passion for bringing sustainable solutions to people in the developing world will accelerate Factor[e]’s objective to build world leading and world changing impact ventures in emerging markets.

About Factor[e] Ventures
Factor[e] is a global venture development firm with a mission to improve lives in the developing world through increased access to sustainable energy and related services. Factor[e] finds, validates, funds, de-risks, and grows a rich pipeline of social ventures that aim to solve profound global problems, and supports early stage entrepreneurs through a unique blend of risk capital and world-class technical resources. For more information, visit http://www.factore.com.

PRESS RELEASE

PALO ALTO, California, Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Next Insurance, the leading digital insurtech company transforming small business insurance, today announced the appointment of former Fitbit executive Melanie Chase as Chief Marketing Officer and former Yelp executive Effi Fuks Leichtag as Chief Product Officer.

Next Insurance provides digital small business insurance coverage across the US and is upending the traditional industry model by enabling businesses to acquire all P&C insurance products in one place and at any time. Next Insurance provides insurance coverage to over 1,000 unique types of business with policies that are tailored to their needs, simple to understand and affordable. Following its recent $1 billion appraisal and in a bid to become the only online one-stop-shop for all small business P&C insurance needs, Next Insurance is embarking on a strategic hiring journey to bring onboard world class executive talents that will take the company’s growth to new heights.

“We’ve come a long way and we’re just getting started,” said Guy Goldstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Next Insurance. “We are striving for excellence here at Next Insurance and we believe a large part of that is bringing onboard new executive talent with proven success to help take our growth to the next level. We are extremely excited to be welcoming Melanie and Effi to the team, both of whom bring with them a vast amount of experience and knowledge, and I look forward to working closely with them both.”

Melanie Chase joins Next Insurance following her role as Vice President of Marketing at Fitbit where she spent the past 6 years developing the company into one of the world’s premier health and fitness brands. Chase brings with her many years of experience in high-growth consumer electronics and software marketing, brand building, advertising, and product strategy. Chase first got her start in marketing at General Mills and Clorox where she worked on major CPG brands. In her role as Chief Marketing Officer at Next Insurance, Chase will oversee the company’s marketing brand, strategy and operations.

Speaking to her recent appointment, Chase said “I’m proud to be joining a company committed to supporting America’s small business. Next has already built a great service that customers love. Now it’s time to accelerate the company’s growth and make Next a household name.”

Effi Fuks Leichtag joins the Next Insurance team from Yelp where he quickly rose up the ranks, serving most recently as Vice President of Product Management, where he managed the company’s overall consumers’ growth, core products, search, personalization, and other key initiatives. Leichtag began his career in product management at Kifi (acquired by Google) before serving as Chief Operations and Product Officer at Complete Labs, Inc and founded and led the product management teams in several other startups such as ExPOS and Fribiz. Along with a commercial law degree, Effi also holds a Major Rank in the Israeli Artillery Corps where he commanded and trained various field units throughout his six years of active duty. In his role as Chief Product Officer, Leichtag will oversee Next Insurance’s product management and design.

“Next Insurance’s innovative insurance products are changing the game for small businesses and independent traders across hundreds of classes of business,” said Leichtag. “I am honored to be given the opportunity to take Next’s product offering to the next level.”

About Next Insurance
Next Insurance is transforming small business insurance with simple, affordable coverage, tailored to the needs of each class of business. Next Insurance offers policies that are easy to buy with instant, 24/7, online access to services such as Live Certificates of Insurance, Additional Insured, and more with absolutely no extra fees. Revolutionizing traditional insurance processes, Next Insurance is utilizing advanced technology to offer the industry’s most innovative small business insurance policies. Founded in 2016 by a team of serial entrepreneurs, the company is headquartered in Palo Alto and has received a total of $381 million in venture capital funding from MunichRe, Redpoint Ventures, Nationwide, Markel, American Express Ventures, Ribbit Capital, TLV Partners, Group 11, and Zeev Ventures. To see how Next Insurance performed in 2018, click here. For more information about the company, visit Next-Insurance.com.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–EagleTree Capital, a leading independent private equity and investment firm, today announced the appointment of Robert A. Gray as an Operating Partner for its investment funds and portfolio companies. Over a nearly forty-year career in management, operations, and finance, Mr. Gray has served in a variety of senior roles with leading global media and business services companies, including Chief Executive Officer of PR Newswire, and Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, and Acting Chief Executive Officer, of UBM.

“We are absolutely delighted that Bob has agreed to join EagleTree Capital,” said Anup Bagaria, Co-Managing Partner of EagleTree. “After working with Bob for many years, I am confident his wealth of experience and leadership skills will add immediate value to our media and business services portfolio companies.”

George Majoros, Co-Managing Partner of EagleTree, said, “We’re thrilled to add one of the world’s leading media executives to our team. Bob’s unique perspective, insights, and expertise will be a valuable resource for EagleTree and our investment funds.”

“I’m extremely pleased to be joining forces with EagleTree Capital,” said Mr. Gray. “I’ve had the pleasure to work with several senior partners at EagleTree over the years, and have always been impressed with their operational expertise and differentiated investment approach. I’m excited to help build on their long record of successful media and business services investments.”

Robert A. Gray Biography
Prior to joining EagleTree Capital, Mr. Gray served as CEO and Founder of Cross Point Consultants, where he provided strategy and M&A consulting services to PE sponsors and other business owners. Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer of PR Newswire, as well as Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, and Acting Chief Executive Officer, of UBM plc, a leading B2B publisher, data services company and tradeshow and events operator. He currently serves as Non-Executive Vice Chairman and Audit Committee Chairman for Europe’s largest online travel agency, eDreams Odigeo. Mr. Gray began his career in investment banking, serving in senior roles at both J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank, after earning his B.A., Magna Cum Laude, from Dartmouth College, and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

About EagleTree Capital
EagleTree Capital is a leading independent private equity and investment firm. EagleTree manages capital on behalf of institutional and individual investors. The firm focuses on investments in the media and business services, consumer, and water and specialty industrial sectors. EagleTree is located in New York, New York. For more information, visit www.eagletree.com.

PRESS RELEASE

BOSTON – November 19, 2019 – Great Hill Partners, LP, a leading growth-oriented private equity firm, today announced that Heather Fox Ewing has joined the firm as Director of Talent. In this newly created role, Fox Ewing will work collaboratively with the firm’s investment teams to engage the next generation of industry thought leaders and CEOs with whom the firm can partner as it builds enterprise-class companies across its targeted sectors.

“The addition of Heather to our team demonstrates our commitment to providing the leadership and resources needed to help our portfolio companies build their teams and perpetuate growth,” said Matt Vettel, Managing Partner of Great Hill Partners. “We’re confident that her expertise in recognizing extraordinary talent and cultivating relationships will enhance our executive network of leaders across the dynamic sectors we are targeting.”

Fox Ewing joins Great Hill Partners with deep experience in talent acquisition, having previously worked at sales technology leader Drift, technology analyst firm Forrester, and at executive recruiter Winter Wyman, where she was responsible for recruiting senior accounting and finance professionals. She graduated from James Madison University where she earned a B.S. in Communication Studies.

PRESS RELEASE

Monroe Capital Expands Opportunistic Private Credit Team
Chicago, IL, November 19, 2019 – Monroe Capital LLC today announced that it has expanded its opportunistic private credit team with the addition of four experienced professionals: Jason Starr, Darrick Ginkel, Joseph Valickus in the New York office; and Chris Spanel in the Chicago office.

“The growth in our Opportunistic Private Credit team is indicative of the increased demand for financing we are seeing in this area, especially as we enter the later stages of the current economic cycle,” said Aaron Peck, Managing Director and Co-Head of the Opportunistic Private Credit group at Monroe. “As the risk/return parameters for Opportunistic Private Credit become more and more attractive, we believe it is the right time to expand our dedicated team of professionals in this focus area of private credit.”

“We are very excited to add Jason, Darrick, Joe and Chris to the Monroe Capital family,” said Kyle Asher, Managing Director and Co-Head of the Opportunistic Private Credit group at Monroe. “They are a great cultural fit for our organization and a strong addition to our investment team.”

The expanded Monroe Capital Opportunistic Private Credit team includes:

Jason Starr, Managing Director – Real Estate, is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, conducting due diligence, negotiating legal documents and managing opportunistic real estate credit investments. He is located in the firm’s New York office and has previously worked at Arena Investors, LP and Cerberus Capital.

Darrick Ginkel, Managing Director, is responsible for originating, analyzing, evaluating and managing opportunistic private credit investments, including secondaries. He is located in the firm’s New York office and has previously worked at Ellington Management.

Joseph Valickus, Director, is responsible for originating, evaluating, underwriting and managing opportunistic private credit and equity investments across multiple industries, including specialty finance, corporate loans, secondaries, and real estate. He is located in the firm’s New York office and has previously worked in UBS’ Special Situations Group.

Chris Spanel, Assistant Vice President, is responsible for analyzing, evaluating and managing opportunistic private credit investments across multiple industries, including specialty finance, corporate loans, secondaries, and real estate. He is located in the firm’s Chicago office and has previously worked at Victory Park Capital.

Ted Koenig, President and CEO of Monroe Capital added, “The Opportunistic Private Credit Group focuses on investing capital by lending to asset owners and companies while solving for collateral and structural complexities. For over 15 years, the firm has been investing in asset-backed transactions with attractive collateral, as well as cash flow and enterprise value based loans. The firm’s expanded opportunistic investment team has deep experience across multiple market cycles and required specialization around key sectors and end markets to drive differentiated and all weather returns for our limited partners irrespective of credit cycles.”

About Monroe Capital
Monroe Capital LLC (“Monroe”) is a private credit asset management firm specializing in direct lending and opportunistic private credit investing. Since 2004, the firm has provided private credit solutions to borrowers in the U.S. and Canada. Monroe’s middle market lending platform provides debt financing to businesses, special situation borrowers, and private equity sponsors. Investment types include cash flow, enterprise value and asset-based loans; unitranche financings; and equity co-investments. Monroe is committed to being a value-added and user-friendly partner to business owners, senior management, and private equity and independent sponsors. The firm is headquartered in Chicago and maintains offices in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

Monroe has been recognized by Creditflux as the 2019 Best US Direct Lending Fund; Private Debt Investor as the 2018 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Year; Global M&A Network as the 2018 Small Middle Markets Lender of the Year; M&A Advisor as the 2016 Lender Firm of the Year; and the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 2015 Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) of the Year. For more information, please visit www.monroecap.com.

Correction: An earlier version of this news report misstated Ben Gregory’s first name due to misinformation in the press release. That has since been corrected.

PRESS RELEASE

Maven makes two new hires to portfolio team as it surpasses over 40 SMEs supported with NPIF investment
Growing investment portfolio will be supported by the hiring of two more professionals adding to Maven’s strong presence across the North of England

Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”), one of the UK’s leading SME finance providers, has strengthened its portfolio team with the appointment of Simon Robb and Ben Gregory. This will enable Maven to increase the level of support to their North West portfolio companies as well as to expand the level of business support to Maven’s growing portfolio.

Business Coach and Corporate Communications Specialist, Simon Robb joins as Portfolio Manager with over 20 years’ experience in Corporate and Investment Banking in the City and the North West. An Economics and Politics graduate, Simon trained with Barclays before working for various international banks headquartered in Japan, Norway, Australia and Ireland.

Accounting and Finance graduate, Dean Gregory joins as Portfolio Analyst to provide portfolio administration and support to the North West investment team on behalf of a range of client funds. Prior to joining Maven, Ben spent one year in Dubai with KPMG Lower Gulf within their audit function and completed an internship in Zurich with General Electric.
Appointed by the British Business Bank in February 2017, Maven manages £57.5 million worth of equity finance for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund a £400m fund for growing businesses in the North of England. Working with the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Combined Authorities in the North West, Maven has invested over £25 million into 42 companies since the Fund launched.
NPIF was launched as a partnership between the British Business Bank, 10 Northern England Local Enterprise Partnerships, the European Investment Bank and the European Regional Development Fund.
Across the North NPIF has now completed over 620 investments, totalling more than £135 million with an additional £123 million in private sector finance since its launch in 2017.
Ryan Bevington, Investment Director at Maven, said: “We are delighted to welcome Simon and Dean to our growing portfolio team to help us continue to support the high-growth, innovative businesses we invest in. Having supported over 40 SMEs across the North West since the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund launched, demonstrates the need for this type of equity finance, and the breadth of innovative, fast growing small businesses that currently exist, ready to take on finance to grow their business.”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

PRESS RELEASE

November 18, 2019, New York … Latham & Watkins LLP1 is pleased to announce that Edward Nelson has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Corporate Department and member of the Investment Funds Practice. Nelson focuses on the organization and operation of private investment funds and has developed a broad practice working with a wide variety of clients, including buyout funds, infrastructure funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds, secondary funds, and credit funds.

“Ed is a highly respected fund formation lawyer with a well-established practice, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Latham,” said Andrea Schwartzman, Global Chair of Latham’s Investment Funds Practice. “Ed’s experience representing a broad range of private investment funds is perfectly complementary to our group. He is a terrific addition to our market-leading Investment Funds Practice as we continue to expand both in the US and globally.”

Nelson also represents institutional investors in their private investments and other alternative investment activities, and regularly advises on issues related to the Securities Act, Investment Company Act, and Investment Advisers Act.

“The addition of Ed to our active Investment Funds Practice reinforces Latham’s commitment to advising the gamut of private investment funds on their most complex and sophisticated transactions,” said Marc Jaffe, Global Chair of Latham’s Corporate Department. “Growing in line with our clients’ needs in this dynamic legal environment is the firm’s priority, and we are delighted to welcome such an accomplished fund formation practitioner to our New York office.”

Michèle Penzer, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in New York, added: “Ed is recognized in the market as a practitioner of the highest caliber for his deep experience and knowledge in the fund formation space, and he will be of tremendous value to our clients. He is a wonderful addition to our Investment Funds Practice both in New York and globally.”

“Latham’s Investment Funds Practice has an excellent reputation for advising high-caliber clients on very sophisticated transactions, and I am thrilled to be joining this preeminent group,” said Nelson. “The firm’s integrated, global platform will allow me to provide a level of service to my clients that is second to none.”

Nelson is the second partner to join Latham’s Investment Funds Practice this year. The firm announced earlier in 2019 the arrival of Ivana Rouse to the Houston office.

Nelson joins Latham & Watkins from Gibson Dunn in New York. He received both his JD and MPP from Harvard University, his MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and his BA from Dartmouth College.

About Latham & Watkins (lw.com)
Latham & Watkins delivers innovative solutions to complex legal and business challenges around the world. From a global platform, our lawyers advise clients on market-shaping transactions, high-stakes litigation and trials, and sophisticated regulatory matters. Latham is one of the world’s largest providers of pro bono services, steadfastly supports initiatives designed to advance diversity within the firm and the legal profession, and is committed to exploring and promoting environmental sustainability.

Notes to Editors
1 Latham & Watkins operates as a limited liability partnership worldwide with affiliated limited liability partnerships conducting the practice in France, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, and the United Kingdom and as an affiliated partnership conducting the practice in Japan. Latham & Watkins operates in South Korea as a Foreign Legal Consultant Office. Latham & Watkins works in cooperation with the Law Office of Salman M. Al-Sudairi in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

PRESS RELEASE

O2 Investment Partners (www.o2investment.com) is pleased to announce the appointment of Tyler Crook as the firm’s newest Associate. Todd Fink, Managing Partner, announced the addition, “We are excited to welcome Tyler to the O2 team. His transaction and analytical experience provide excellent additional bench strength as we expand our existing businesses and seek new opportunities.”

Tyler will be responsible for evaluating new transactions, due diligence, underwriting, and working with O2’s portfolio companies.

Prior to joining O2 Investment Partners, Tyler held roles as an M&A Consultant at Deloitte & Touche and an Investment Banking Analyst at Robert Baird, both based in Chicago, Illinois. As a member of Deloitte’s Transaction Services group, Tyler advised Private Equity and Strategic clients in the Technology and Fintech sectors on buy-side financial diligence and strategic carve-outs. At Robert Baird, a middle market investment bank, Tyler was an analyst in the firm’s Consumer Products M&A group where he advised clients on sell-side mergers and acquisitions. Tyler graduated from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and a Master of Science in Accounting and Finance. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

About O2 Investment Partners:
O2 Investment Partners is a Midwestern based private equity firm that seeks to acquire interest in lower middle market manufacturing, niche distribution, and select service and technology businesses. The firm invests in businesses with earnings growth potential and a clear path to the creation of shareholder value.

O2 invests with a view toward partnering with management to build and grow the business and take it to its next stage of development. This requires not only a clear vision and strategic plan to create shareholder value, but a close partnership and alignment of interest with management. Additional information is available at www.o2investment.com

Susa Ventures earlier this year raised $90 million for its third early-stage fund and $50 million for its first opportunity fund to back portfolio companies in their later-stage rounds.

Source: Medium blog post

PRESS RELEASE

NOVEMBER 14, LISBON —M&A PR Studio founder and CEO Anastasia Shvetsova today announced that she has been named partner of external communications at Gagarin Capital, the VC firm specializing in AI. Despite being only 26, Shvetsova has already been dubbed one of the 50 most influential women in blockchain, and one of five women working to change the world of crypto by The Next Web. This news not only adds to her impressive resume, particularly given her young age, but represents a step towards closing the VC gender gap.

Only nine out of the 100 top VC partners worldwide are women, according to data from the New York Times and CB Insights, while three-quarters of U.S. firms don’t have any female partners. Though Eastern Europe and Russia are known to have a large number of women in top management positions, it is rare for them to be in VC.

Shvetsova has established herself as one of the most trusted public relations and communications professionals in the industry, having worked with web giants such as Facebook, WeWork, PayPal, Houzz, HotelTonight and more. Previously, she was Head of Communications at the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design, as well as a former journalist with Forbes Magazine (now she is a regular contributor to Forbes). She also runs the biggest nonprofit tech conference in Russia.

With Shvetsova based in Portugal, Gagarin will be able to continue expanding its presence in Europe. Gagarin’s portfolio companies there, such as Prisma and WinMill, have already been excelling thanks to her support and expertise. AI-driven videogame coach GOSU raised $1.9 million, while data-driven urban farming technology iFarm was named a finalist for the Europas Awards. Thanks to Shvetsova, Gagarin has also been actively supporting women in tech, such as GOSU’s Alisa Chumachenko, who was named one of the Top 100 Women In Tech In Europe.

“It’s no secret that AI is on pace to transform a long list of industries. Gagarin stands out because it’s been able to build and support a strong community of AI experts, and truly acts as a partner to its investments,” Shvetsova said. “I’m thrilled to come on-board as a partner to help facilitate further growth in this important industry, and to help diversify VC in the process. Only 8 percent of female founders feel supported by the VC community, and balancing the scales in terms of gender is the best way to remedy that.”

Mikhail Taver and Nick Davidov are the managing partners of Gagarin Capital, which was the only firm specifically focused on AI investments when it was launched three years ago. Taver has done over 250 deals totaling $24 billion in 20 years of finance, while Davidov has 11 years of VC, M&A and consulting experience. Gagarin takes a hands-on approach, facilitating a wide range of vital activities for portfolio companies, from corporate governance to market expansion. Now, the firm can provide even more strategic public relations and communications guidance as well.

Gagarin currently has 19 investments. M&A PR Studio is a team of communication experts that includes award-winning journalists and specialists with a deep and nuanced understanding of new technologies. They count leading AI, blockchain, and VCs among its clients, including SingularityNET, Ripio, Bitfury, Runa Capital, SDVentures and others.

“I’ve worked with and known Anastasia for years. She’s already helped Gagarin and its portfolio companies with everything from messaging to placements. She has a deep knowledge of the industry and understands the importance of strategic communications,” Taver said. “Having her as a partner will only broaden her positive impact.”

About M&A PR Studio
M&A PR Studio is one of the most trusted groups of PR professionals in the tech industry, having worked with web giants such as Facebook, WeWork, PayPal, Houzz, and others. M&A PR Studio helped leaders in VC and AI, including Runa Capital, SDVentures, Gagarin Capital, Ripio, and Bitfury, boost their publicity internationally.

About Gagarin Capital Partners
Gagarin Capital Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in AI-based products and services. The firm has a hands-on approach, its partners use their 20 year experience in VC, PE, and M&A to facilitate portfolio companies in a wide spectrum of vital activities — from corporate governance to mastering new markets. GCP is known for building and supporting a strong community of AI experts and top-in-class engineers.

PRESS RELEASE

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lazard Ltd (NYSE: LAZ) announced today that it has launched a new team called Lazard Venture and Growth Banking and appointed Garri Jones and Nick James as Managing Directors in its UK Investment Banking business. Garri and Nick will join in January from Numis where they ran a successful ventures practice.

Lazard’s Venture and Growth Banking team will focus on the private growth equity and venture capital markets, connecting growth businesses with its large global investor base. The team will work closely with Lazard’s Capital Markets and sector M&A teams as part of an integrated Investment Banking advisory effort.
The team is in place as a response to and in anticipation of a number of market factors that are driving the demand for and supply of private capital. These include more companies across sectors staying private for longer and a significant rise in larger, later-stage deals that the growth equity market is funding. The investor base for such deals is global, highly fragmented and requires intermediation in order to ensure optimal outcomes for all stakeholders.

The team will number ten people in total with nine in place by the end of January 2020. They are a mix of experienced entrepreneurs, bankers, data scientists and engineers. Today’s announcement follows the appointment of Christopher Britton, who joined as a Director in June, to focus on private capital raising.

William Rucker, Lazard UK Chairman said, ‘’The team will build on Lazard’s established public equity franchise and leverage Lazard’s global network to provide companies with greater access to capital markets and financial advisory advice throughout their life cycle. Garri and Nick will bring a different perspective and set of relationships that will broaden the firm’s access to global capital providers and complement and strengthen our global advisory capability.’’

Lazard’s Venture and Growth Banking team will focus on connecting 100 selected high growth European companies across different sectors and stages of the business life cycle with 400 active global investors. The team will host a three-day conference in April 2020 that showcases this focus, bringing leading companies and global investors together through a series of panel discussions and bespoke investor and company meetings.

About Lazard
Lazard, one of the world’s preeminent financial advisory and asset management firms, operates from 43 cities across 27 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Central and South America. With origins dating to 1848, the firm provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, restructuring and capital structure, capital raising and corporate finance, as well as asset management services to corporations, partnerships, institutions, governments and individuals. For more information, please visit www.lazard.com. Follow @Lazard

PRESS RELEASE

TAMPA, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Skyway Capital Markets, LLC, a Tampa, FL-based boutique investment banking firm, is pleased to announce Mr. Henry Schmitt has joined as Managing Director.

Mr. Schmitt focuses on the commercial tire market, light manufacturing, and other middle market industrial businesses, assisting companies with M&A activities, financing growth, and market consolidation on the buy or the sell side.

Prior to joining Skyway Capital Markets, Schmitt served in various senior management and executive positions with Michelin North America. With a career spanning 33 years at Michelin, his most recent roles were President of Michelin Retread Technologies, Inc. (MRTI), and Technical and Manufacturing director for Michelin Tweel Technologies. Michelin Tweel technologies is a new venture within Michelin to develop, manufacture and sell airless radial tires for commercial applications. Tweel was recently awarded involvement in a military vehicle project with sights on other projects in this space.

As president of MRTI, Henry was responsible for Michelin’s North American retreading franchise business in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Commercial tire dealers franchised the retread manufacturing and materials from MRTI. The franchisor provided manufacturing know-how, quality control and assurance to Michelin standards, and operational support to improve profitability of the tire businesses. This included financial modeling and extensive intercompany benchmarking.
He is a graduate of the University of South Florida with Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, and Master of Science degrees in mechanical engineering. He also holds a patent in the retreading process technology.

“Henry’s superior industry expertise in the commercial tire market and light industrial will be a huge asset to our business and open up new opportunities for our firm,” remarked Skyway Capital Markets Chairman Marty Traber.

About Skyway Capital Markets, LLC
Skyway Capital Markets works with middle market companies, public and private, through customized capital services that include corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions and recapitalization. The firm differentiates itself from its competitors by providing issuers more capital market options, including access to ultra-high net worth investors, family offices, independent broker-dealers, registered investment advisors and select institutional investors. For additional information, please visit www.SkywayCapitalMarkets.com.

Source: Medium blog post by Asheem Chandna and Saam Motamedi

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Gryphon Investors, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, announced today that Carl Theobald has joined the firm as an Operating Partner and co-head of its Software Group. Theobald will work directly with Gryphon President and Partner Nick Orum and Principal Jon Cheek to source, analyze, execute, and manage Gryphon’s software investments.

A three-time Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) CEO, Mr. Theobald has 25 years of experience driving rapid growth for software and SaaS companies. After serving in several executive roles at Oracle, Mr. Theobald served as SVP of Products and Customer Service at Serena Software. Following Serena Software, he successively became CEO at 2checkout, a digital commerce platform; FollowAnalytics, a mobile marketing automation platform; and RichRelevance, a leading personalization technology provider. Mr. Theobald holds an MSE in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University.

Mr. Orum said, “We are delighted to welcome Carl to the Gryphon team. His experience building software companies, starting from product vision through to execution, makes him a natural fit for Gryphon’s proven strategy of partnering with management teams to drive transformational growth in the software industry.”

“In addition to his SaaS CEO experience, Carl brings a strong technical background from his tenure as a senior technology executive,” said Mr. Cheek. “His diverse software experience helps us support our portfolio companies and provides Gryphon with differentiated insights as we evaluate new software opportunities.”

Mr. Theobald said, “I am excited to enter this new stage of my career. Having built several high-growth and innovative software businesses, I now look forward to partnering with the management teams of each portfolio company in applying my skills to build these businesses together. I greatly admire Gryphon’s strategy and am thrilled to be a part of this team.”

About Gryphon Investors
Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors (www.gryphoninvestors.com) is a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. The firm has managed nearly $5.0 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997. Gryphon targets making equity investments of $100 million to $300 million in portfolio companies with sales ranging from approximately $100 million to $500 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise.

PRESS RELEASE

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) announced today that Michael Schechter has joined the firm as Partner and Head of Credit Trading. Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Schechter will oversee the trading of all bank loans, high yield and related credit instruments in the U.S. and Europe. In this new position, Mr. Schechter will work with Ares’ existing senior trading professionals, portfolio managers and management to set and execute Ares’ trading agenda.

“We are pleased to welcome Michael to Ares in his new position as the leader of our Credit Group’s trading team,” said Kipp deVeer, Partner and Head of the Ares Credit Group. “Michael brings extensive knowledge and deep experience within our markets, as well as a broad range of relationships across both buyside accounts and our sell-side counterparties. We believe this will allow us to drive continued growth as a leading, value-added capital markets and trading platform.”

“I am excited to be joining this team of highly talented professionals within one of the strongest credit platforms in the industry. I look forward to working with the broader Ares Credit Group to collaborate and share market intelligence to enhance idea flow and deal sourcing to continue the firm’s leadership across its credit strategies,” said Mr. Schechter.

Mr. Schechter brings more than 16 years of experience in leveraged finance trading, sales and syndicate, most recently having served as Managing Director – Credit Trading for Morgan Stanley. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at Citigroup in various roles including Co-Head of U.S. Leveraged Loan Trading.

About Ares Management Corporation
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager operating three integrated businesses across Credit, Private Equity and Real Estate. Ares Management’s investment groups collaborate to deliver innovative investment solutions and consistent and attractive investment returns for fund investors throughout market cycles. Ares Management’s global platform had $144 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2019 and employs approximately 1,200 employees in over 20 offices across four continents. Please visit www.aresmgmt.com for additional information.

Source: Medium post by Kevin Thau from Spark Capital

PRESS RELEASE

Washington, DC — November 13, 2019 — The global firm Jones Day announces that Thomas M. Devaney has joined its New York Office as a partner in the Firm’s Private Equity Practice.

Mr. Devaney works with sponsors and the management teams of private funds with respect to transactional matters and U.S. securities laws and regulations in forming private funds, fundraising and investor subscriptions, and fund administration and operations. He represents U.S. domestic and global private equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and venture capital funds, and hedge funds with a broad range of investment strategies. He has also represented a number of institutional investors, including a number of active sovereign wealth funds, on a range of private fund investments and co-investment transactions, including with respect to complex anchor and seeing arrangements.

“After twenty years of practice focused on private capital formation and investment management businesses, I am excited to bring the full benefit of the substantial global reach of Jones Day to our private capital clients,” said Thomas Devaney. “I am extremely pleased to be a partner of Jones Day’s renowned private equity, and commercial and financial services practices.”

“Tom’s versatility and wide array of experience make him an excellent addition to our team, and he is the perfect complement to our global fund formation practice,” said Andrew Levine, who co-leads Jones Day’s Private Equity Practice. “We are thrilled that he has joined our New York Office.”

Mr. Devaney has practiced as a private funds attorney in Silicon Valley and New York, advising clients on private securities offerings, including cross-border investment and strategic financing transactions. He has also counseled clients on the formation, organization and operation of domestic and international fund management firms, using a broad range of domestic and offshore entities.

Mr. Devaney has also advised a number of clients on seed investor arrangements relating to newly formed private fund sponsors across a range of strategies, as well as “lift out” transactions involving teams of professionals and existing portfolios (including deals in progress) in connection with simultaneous investments by secondary funds and other institutional sources.

“Tom’s arrival strengthens our already talented group of lawyers and gives our clients the benefit of his extensive experience in domestic and foreign fund matters,” said Wesley R. Johnson Jr., Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s New York Office.

Jones Day is a global law firm with more than 2,500 lawyers in 43 offices across five continents. The Firm is distinguished by: a singular tradition of client service; the mutual commitment to, and the seamless collaboration of, a true partnership; formidable legal talent across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions; and shared professional values that focus on client needs.

PRESS RELEASE

Tampa, Florida – November 13, 2019 – Integrated Care Physicians, Inc. (“ICP” or the “Company”), a provider of Emergency Medicine and Acute Care management services and a BelHealth Investment Partners (“BelHealth”) portfolio company, announced that Dr. Terry Meadows, Executive Chairman, has expanded his role at the Company by assuming new responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”).

Additionally, ICP has hired Mark Hamm as Chief Development Officer to oversee the Company’s growth initiatives as well as its sales and marketing verticals.

Dr. Terry Meadows is a current member and past Board Member for the Florida College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Meadows was previously a divisional CEO for Envision Healthcare, one of the country’s largest hospital-based physician groups, which was purchased by KKR & Co., Inc. (NYSE: KKR) in October 2018 for $9.9 billion. Dr. Meadows served as CEO for the South Division of Envision’s Emergency Medicine group, EmCare, where he supervised over 300 contracts in 15 states and $1.2 billion in annual revenue.

Dr. Terry Meadows said, “After spending three months as the Executive Chairman of ICP, I am thrilled to take on a more active leadership role at the Company. As a more versatile, service-oriented player in the Emergency Department outsourcing industry, ICP remains well positioned to capitalize on the near term growth opportunities through organic and inorganic hospital contract aggregations.”

Mark Hamm most recently served as the Envision/EmCare Inpatient Physician Services CEO and its Chief Development Officer. He helped architect and operate the HCA/EmCare Joint Venture physician practice management model with Dr. Meadows. This venture led to over $1.8 billion in new revenue and $252 million in incremental EBITDA. Prior to joining EmCare, Mr. Hamm served as COO at HCA Physician Services and managed more than 150 employed physician practices. Prior to that, he served as the COO of Team Health’s Emergency Medicine and Hospital Medicine departments.

Mark Hamm said, “I’m excited to be working closely with Terry again and looking to replicate the success we realized while working together at Envision. We believe there is a tremendous opportunity in the market today to provide superior services when compared to the larger ER and specialty provider competitors, particularly given their significant corporate overhead. We look forward to taking advantage of the opportunity in front of us and building ICP into one of the premier Emergency Medicine practices in the country.”

Scott Lee, Managing Director of BelHealth and ICP Board Member, added, “We are delighted to expand our partnership with Dr. Meadows in his new role as CEO and to welcome Mark Hamm to our team. With their collective decades of leadership experience in the Emergency Medicine sector, Dr. Meadows and Mr. Hamm have offered invaluable strategic insights and relationships for ICP over the past several months. We look forward to working with both of them as we continue to build ICP into a leading national Emergency Room and Acute Care Management platform.”

About Integrated Care Physicians
Established in conjunction with BelHealth in August 2017, Integrated Care Physicians is a provider of Emergency Medicine and Acute Care provider management formed with the intent to provide clients with personal and customized service that is sorely lacking in today’s marketplace. ICP provides expertise in operations and clinical integration for Emergency Medicine, Hospitalist and Critical Care. ICP’s service offering provides customized solutions tailored to the needs of each facility, including recruitment, credentialing and process flow redesign. The executive leadership team at Integrated Care Physicians set out to change the dynamic between hospitals and the groups with whom they choose to partner through complete transparency and the ability to quickly react and adapt to our client’s needs and culture.

About BelHealth Investment Partners
BelHealth Investment Partners, based in New York, is a healthcare private equity firm focused on lower middle market companies. BelHealth has a unique combination of investing, executive management and entrepreneurial experience. BelHealth acquires majority positions in entrepreneur-owned companies that it believes would benefit from its extensive operating and private equity investment expertise. The firm invests across three core healthcare segments: Services, Products and Distribution. BelHealth is investing from its current $350 million fund.

PRESS RELEASE

London, UK, 13 November 2019 – Abingworth, the international investment group dedicated to life sciences, today announced the appointment of Neil Cooper as Chief Financial Officer, based in the London office. He succeeds James Abell who is retiring after 21 years with the firm.
Neil has 19 years’ professional experience in venture capital, private equity and financial services. He joins Abingworth from Kennet Partners Ltd, an international growth equity company, at which he was Finance Director. He has previously held senior finance roles at Robert W Baird, Baird Capital Partners Europe and at Advent Venture Partners. Neil is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Warwick.

Neil’s role at Abingworth will be to manage the finances and administration of the business across its locations in the UK and US and to support fundraising and investment activities.
Tim Haines, Chairman & Managing Partner, said: “I am delighted to welcome Neil to the Abingworth team. He brings excellent financial management experience as well as a high level of operational knowledge of working in the venture capital and private equity space. We are confident that, with these skills and experience, Neil will ensure the continued smooth running of all financial aspects of the business.”

“I would also like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Abingworth team to thank James Abell for his dedicated service over the past two decades. He has been integral to the success of the company over that period, significantly impacting all aspects of the financial and operational functioning of the firm and in the process setting incredibly high standards that will continue to serve as strong foundations for the future. We wish him a very well deserved and enjoyable retirement.”

Neil Cooper added: “I am excited to be joining a company with such a strong heritage and successful track record as a transatlantic investor in the life sciences sector. Working in this dynamic environment and with the excellent Abingworth team, I am well equipped to continue and progress the outstanding work that James has done. I look forward to getting started.”

About Abingworth
Abingworth is a leading transatlantic life sciences investment firm. We help transform cutting-edge science into novel medicines by providing capital and expertise to top calibre management teams and building world-class companies. Since 1973, Abingworth has invested in approximately 160 life science companies, leading to more than 40 M&A/exits and over 65 IPOs. Our therapeutic focused investments fall into 3 categories: seed and early-stage, development stage, and clinical co-development. Abingworth supports its portfolio companies with a team of experienced professionals at offices in London, Menlo Park (California) and Boston.

PRESS RELEASE

ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — WTS International (“WTS”), a leading spa, wellness, and lifestyle management firm and consultancy, announced today that it has named Steven A. Rudnitsky as vice chairman of its board of directors. Mr. Rudnitsky has been a hospitality leader for 17 years, serving as President & CEO of iconic industry names, including Wyndham, Dolce, and Miraval. CI Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, recently made a significant investment in WTS.

Mr. Rudnitsky will assist WTS and the company’s Founder & CEO, Gary Henkin, in executing WTS’s expansion plans, which include pursuing strategic add-on acquisitions. Mr. Henkin commented, “We are pleased to welcome Steve Rudnitsky to our board of directors. Steve’s successful career in leading elite hospitality brands through periods of growth and transformation and in helping to build major consumer brands will be a tremendous asset to WTS as we enter this new, exciting stage of the company’s history. The respect that Steve has in our industry will be a valuable complement to the reputation we have established at WTS.”

WTS provides management, consulting, and design services to various wellness facilities, including spas, fitness centers, and residential lifestyle facilities. Since its founding in 1973 by Mr. Henkin, WTS has expanded significantly to be a leader in the spa and leisure industry and an expert solutions provider for more than 100 facilities throughout the world. The company serves premier, award-winning hotels, fitness centers, residential communities, golf and country clubs, and other private recreation and leisure clubs.

Most recently, Mr. Rudnitsky was President & CEO of Miraval Group, overseeing the sale of Miraval to Hyatt Hotels Corporation. In addition to leading Miraval and Hyatt’s expanding resort, spa, and wellness businesses, he also served on the board of ESPA International Ltd., a United Kingdom-based affiliate of Miraval that provides spa development, design, and management services to luxury hoteliers and property owners and develops branded skin-care products. Previously, he was President, CEO & Director of Dolce Hotels & Resorts, which he joined in 2008, and led Dolce’s successful sale to Wyndham Worldwide in 2015. Prior to that, he was President & CEO of Wyndham Hotel Group and its predecessor, Cendant Hotel Group, which he joined in 2002. Before serving as a hospitality President & CEO, Mr. Rudnitsky helped to build the global brands of Kraft Foods and Nabisco in executive leadership roles, prior to which he had positions of increasing responsibility at The Pillsbury Company, PepsiCo, and Johnson & Johnson.

“Gary and the WTS team have achieved remarkable growth and deservedly possess a leadership position in the spa and wellness services industry,” said Mr. Rudnitsky. “This will provide a strong foundation to pursue a number of strategic initiatives that we believe will lead to great success for WTS in the years to come.”

“CI Capital works with the management teams of its portfolio companies to add expertise to their board of directors, and the addition of Steve Rudnitsky to WTS’s board of directors is an example of this,” said Zubin Malkani, Managing Director of CI Capital Partners. “We believe that Steve’s experience and expertise will provide a uniquely qualified perspective on the spa, fitness, and wellness industry and its relationship to hospitality more broadly that will be valuable to WTS.”

About WTS
Founded in 1973, WTS International is a leading spa, wellness, and lifestyle consultancy and management firm. WTS’s clients are premier, award-winning spa, recreation, and wellness resort destinations, fitness centers, and community leisure facilities. Today, WTS provides feasibility studies, planning & design consultancy, pre-opening support, and daily management for spas, wellness and leisure facilities worldwide. Learn more at https://www.wtsinternational.com/.

About CI Capital Partners
CI Capital Partners LLC is a leading North American private equity investment firm that has invested in middle-market companies since 1993. CI Capital forms partnerships with experienced management teams and entrepreneurs to build substantial businesses through add-on acquisitions, organic growth, and operational improvements. Since inception, CI Capital and its portfolio companies have made over 340 acquisitions representing approximately $10 billion in enterprise value. For more information on CI Capital Partners, please visit https://www.cicapllc.com.

PRESS RELEASE

San Francisco, CA – November 12, 2019 – OODA Health, a healthcare technology company focused on empowering patients and providers with real-time healthcare payments, today announced Diego Piacentini has agreed to join its Board of Directors. Mr. Piacentini will play an important role in helping OODA Health with operational scaling, mentoring of the executive team, product strategy, and rigorous execution.

“We are thrilled to welcome Diego to the OODA Health family,” said Giovanni Colella, MD, OODA Health co-founder and CEO. “As a veteran of both Amazon and Apple, Diego has first-hand experience helping fast-growing companies scale while always prioritizing the customer experience. He will be a strong asset to OODA Health and help the team drive our mission to achieve its full potential.”

Mr. Piacentini joins a board of directors at OODA Health that includes Ken Goulet, a former executive vice president of Anthem, Annie Lamont, co-founder and managing partner at Oak HC/FT, Emily Melton, partner at Threshold Ventures, as well as Dr. Colella and Seth Cohen, OODA Health co-founder and president.

“There is so much inefficiency, waste and friction when it comes to healthcare payments,” said Diego Piacentini. “OODA Health is solving a critical challenge within healthcare administration and making transparent and real-time payments both possible and painless for healthcare providers, insurance plans and patients. I look forward to working with this talented team.”

OODA Health recently launched OODAPay and is gaining traction in partnering with large insurance payers and providers to disrupt the status quo in healthcare administration and drive real improvements in lowering costs and improving patient experience. The appointment of Mr. Piacentini will help the team to solidify its strategy and accelerate its go-to-market execution.

“We are delighted to welcome Diego to the OODA Health board. We co-founded the company with an amazing team to bring groundbreaking innovation to healthcare payments. Diego will add a strong breadth of experience to help us scale,” said Annie Lamont, co-founder and Managing Partner at Oak HC/FT.

About Diego Piacentini
Diego Piacentini worked at Amazon.com as Senior Vice President of the International Consumer Business from February 2000 to August 2016. He was a member of the senior executive team (S-team), reporting directly to Jeff Bezos, and responsible for all international retail operations. Under his leadership, Amazon launched and grew e-commerce operations in Europe, Japan, Canada, China, India, and Brazil.

Diego joined Apple Computer Italy early in his career in 1987. Ten years later, he was promoted to the post of General Manager and Vice President of Apple EMEA based in Paris, until the end of 1999, when he joined Amazon in Seattle.
Diego has also served a two-year civil servant term – from August 2016 to November 2018 – as Italian Government Commissioner for Digital Transformation, reporting directly to the Prime Minister.

Mr. Piacentini is a Senior Advisor for KKR, a leading global investment firm, and he is an advisor to the founder and CEO of​Convoy​, a company designing and building innovative technology solutions that address supply chain inefficiencies. In addition, he is a board director of Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, where he graduated with a degree in Economics.

He was awarded “Bocconiano dell’anno” from the university in 2010. He also is a mentor of Endeavor Global, an NGO leading the high impact entrepreneurship movement around the world, and is a board member of Endeavor Italy, which he co-founded in 2016. Mr. Piacentini also serves on the board of the Maasai Association, which supports education and health initiatives in Kenya.

About OODA Health
OODA Health’s mission is to transform healthcare administration by enabling real-time payments between providers, payers and patients. We’re focused on eliminating the friction and delays in current payment processes that will save $400B of wasted spend, improve the member experience and inspire greater collaboration between providers and payers. Leveraging an innovative technology platform, OODA Health partners with leading health plans and providers including Anthem, Dignity Health, a part of CommonSpirit Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Blue Shield of California, Hill Physicians Medical Group and others. For more information about OODA Health, please visit www.ooda-health.com.

PRESS RELEASE

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ – Michael Sabia, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), announced today that after 11 years at the helm of the institution that manages the retirement savings of Quebecers, he will leave CDPQ at the beginning of February 2020.

“Leading CDPQ for nearly 11 years has been the greatest privilege of my career. Throughout this period, my goal has been to realize the full potential of this unique institution to benefit the people of Québec. I know that I am leaving CDPQ and its people in a strong position to seize the many opportunities that lie ahead for them as I move on to my next challenge,” said Mr. Sabia.

“Michael Sabia has done an outstanding job as CDPQ’s President and Chief Executive Officer,” said Robert Tessier, CDPQ’s Chairman of the Board. “His leadership has been founded on a clear vision: in a complex and changing world, to build a global financial institution with a diversified portfolio that benefits both our depositors and the Québec economy as a whole. Courageously stepping up to the challenge of leading CDPQ in 2009 following the financial crisis, Michael and his team step by step have rebuilt the organization and repositioned it with new ideas, while creating international career opportunities for Québec’s finance professionals. Today, CDPQ is a world-class investor with a strong reputation in global markets and a major contributor to the revitalization of the Quebec economy. An organization that Quebecers have every reason to be proud of. On behalf of the Board and all the employees, I would like to thank Michael for his vision and deep commitment to CDPQ,” added Mr. Tessier.

Under Michael Sabia’s leadership, CDPQ was transformed after the 2008 financial crisis, refocusing on the long term and on the fundamental value drivers of the companies and projects in which it invests. CDPQ has produced solid and sustainable returns of 9,9% over 10 years for its depositors – nearly tripling its assets from $120.1 billion to $326.7 billion – the result of a strategy based on diversification and globalization of its activities. CDPQ has built a strategic local presence in key global markets and established industry-leading partnerships to invest in superior quality assets. With this approach, CDPQ has diversified sources of return to meet the needs of our depositors. As at December 31, 2009, 64% of CDPQ’s assets were invested in Canada. As at December 31, 2018, this proportion was reversed, with 64% of CDPQ’s assets, or $220 billion, now invested in global markets growth and benefiting from this growth.

Mr. Sabia introduced a new vision for CDPQ’s investments in Québec by reconciling the two aspects of CDPQ’s mission – generating optimal returns and contributing to Québec’s economic development. CDPQ has achieved the highest level of investment in Québec’s private sector since its creation by supporting the growth and globalization of Québec companies, as well as creating innovative projects with significant economic impact such as the Réseau express métropolitain. CDPQ is the first pension fund manager in the world to design, build and operate a public transit system.

In 2017, with the goal of positioning the institution for the coming economic transition, Mr. Sabia and his team created and launched an investment strategy to address climate change. The strategy sets out objectives for increasing low-carbon assets in the CDPQ portfolio and reducing its carbon intensity by 25%. This combination of objectives was a first in the industry. Earlier this year, CDPQ announced, with a coalition of major global investors, that its portfolio would be carbon-neutral by 2050. These concrete and forward-looking initiatives have led to recognition of CDPQ as a global leader on this important issue.

“It’s our distinctive approach of investing constructive capital, producing solid returns for our depositors while investing in the development of the real economy, that has guided all our work over the last decade. This approach has allowed us to contribute to the vitality of a modern and strong Québec economy that can compete confidently in global markets,” said Michael Sabia. “CDPQ is – first and foremost – all the extremely talented people who work here every day with their expertise, know-how and commitment. And it’s thanks to them that we were able to build the world-class institution that CDPQ is today. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. I also want to thank the members of our Board – particularly Robert Tessier, our Chairman. It has been a great pleasure for me to work with Robert from the beginning. I want to thank him for his support and counsel,” he added.
Building on his experience and interest in international affairs and in the evolution of the global economy – work that he began at CDPQ – Mr. Sabia has accepted an offer to lead the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto following a global search process. “This appointment will allow me to continue working on issues that I think are particularly important in the current state of world affairs. In this new role, I’ll benefit from my presence in the rich cultures of two global cities, Montréal and Toronto,” said Mr. Sabia. He will take up his new role at the beginning of February 2020.

Selection process
CDPQ’s Board of Directors has started the selection process for the next President and Chief Executive Officer. As part of the process, the Board has retained the services of an international firm to support its review of candidates.

“CDPQ’s Board of Directors has launched a rigorous selection process to find the best person to lead this key Québec institution. To ensure an orderly transition, we intend to conclude the process at the beginning of 2020 with the appointment of a successor approved by the government,” stated Robert Tessier, Chairman of CDPQ’s Board.

ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2019, it held CA$326.7 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

PRESS RELEASE

New York, New York (November 12, 2019) — MetaProp, the NYC-based Venture Capital firm focused on the ever-growing PropTech Industry, today announced that Jerry Coleman, Co-Founder at Invitation Homes and Co-Founder of Offerpad, has joined the firm as a Venture Advisor. At MetaProp, Jerry will serve as an Advisor next to Elie Finegold and Maria Seredina and will be assisting with deal diligence, startup growth distribution, and PropTech startup recruiting.
Jerry is a talented leader and serial entrepreneur who has started several successful real estate initiatives throughout the U.S. His portfolio as a co-founder includes Offerpad, Alliance Investment Group, Elevation Home Energy Solutions – one of the Southwest’s largest solar sales and installation companies – and Invitation Homes, which he co-founded in partnership with the private equity firm Blackstone Group, bringing in more than $10 billion in investment to the largest single-family home rental portfolio in U.S. history. Invitation Homes is now an NYSE listed public company.

Jerry Coleman is thrilled to join MetaProp as a Venture Advisor. “I’m excited to continue investing with MetaProp to help grow the real estate industry’s emerging technology disruptors. I was particularly drawn to MetaProp’s history of partnering with talented PropTech entrepreneurs, as well as their global perspective,” he said.

Describing Jerry’s role with MetaProp, Aaron Block, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at MetaProp, said, “Jerry is one of the top entrepreneurs in the real estate space. Businesses he has founded have become leading investors, developers, financiers, and energy services providers. Best of all, he truly understands technology, entrepreneurship, and scaling up winning business models. His experience brings tremendous new firepower to bear for our startups and our growing VC team.”

Jerry earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and a Juris Doctor from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.

About MetaProp
MetaProp is a New York-based venture capital firm focused on the real estate technology (“PropTech”) industry. Founded in 2015, MetaProp’s investment team has invested in 100+ technology companies across the real estate value chain.  The firm manages multiple investment funds for both financial and strategic real estate investors representing a pilot- and test-ready sandbox of 15+ billion square feet across every real estate asset type and global market. The firm’s investment activities are complemented by pioneering community leadership including the PropTech Place innovation hub, MetaProp Accelerator at Columbia University programs, global events NYC Real Estate Tech Week and MIPIM PropTech NYC, and publications Global PropTech Confidence Index and PropTech 101.

About Offerpad
Offerpad is a leading technology and real estate company with a mission to provide the best way to buy and sell a home. Leading with firsthand real estate experience and utilizing powerful technology developed in-house, Offerpad provides direct home offers to provide modern, consumer-centric home buying and selling solutions to help more people move freely. On average, Offerpad receives new offer requests from homeowners every 30 seconds and acquires a home every 20 minutes throughout regular business hours. Offerpad is a privately held company headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, operating across the country in 700 cities and counting. Visit Offerpad.com for more information.

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PRESS RELEASE

Chevy Chase, Maryland – November 12, 2019: Enlightenment Capital, an Aerospace, Defense & Government focused investment firm announced that Alan B. Thomas, Jr. has been added to their Advisory Board. Thomas joins Enlightenment’s esteemed Advisory Board, which includes Bob Work (former Deputy Secretary of Defense), General James “Hoss” Cartwright (former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), and Matt Olsen (former head of the National Counterterrorism Center), among others. Thomas will also join the executive team of Trowbridge & Trowbridge, a portfolio company of Enlightenment.

As a trusted executive in the public and private sectors over the last 25 years, Thomas is a proven leader with a track record of growing and managing profitable technology and services organizations. Most recently, Thomas served as the Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration where he was responsible for more than 3,500 employees who manage the delivery of $60 billion of products, services, and solutions that enable efficiencies in the Federal government. He started his executive career as a Presidential Management Fellow supporting the Department of the Army, Deputy Chief of Staff (Logistics), and has held positions at Booz Allen Hamilton, Compusearch, Data Networks, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

“We are thrilled to have Alan join the Enlightenment Advisory Board, where he can leverage his experience and leadership in government and the private sector to provide support and guidance to our portfolio companies,” said Devin Talbott, Founder and Managing Partner of Enlightenment Capital. “We are also excited to have him join the already-impressive team at Trowbridge as the company continues to expand as a mission-critical partner across the defense, intelligence, and federal civilian space.”

About Enlightenment Capital
Enlightenment Capital, a Washington, DC area based private investment firm, provides flexible capital and strategic support to middle market companies in the Aerospace, Defense & Government (ADG) sector. The firm partners with businesses that provide vital services, protect critical infrastructure, innovate cyber and data solutions, enhance decision making capabilities, engineer aerospace systems, safeguard national security, and endeavor to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. For more information, visit www.enlightenment-cap.com.

About Trowbridge
Trowbridge is an award-winning provider of cloud, cyber, and next-gen digital solutions to defense, intelligence, and federal civilian markets. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, with locations and staff nationwide, Trowbridge helps move missions forward to support the American people and the national security of the country. The company is backed by Enlightenment Capital. To learn more or join the team, visit www.tt-llc.com.

PRESS RELEASE

Minneapolis, MN and Santa Monica, CA – November 12, 2019 – Provation Medical, Inc. (“Provation” or the “Company”), the premier software provider of procedure documentation and clinical decision support solutions, backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Clearlake”), today announced that Daniel Hamburger has joined Provation as CEO effective immediately. Former CEO Dave Del Toro will continue with the Company in the role of Executive Board Member following his successful 20-year career at Provation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Daniel to the Provation team, and Dave to the Board of Directors,” said Behdad Eghbali, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, and Prashant Mehrotra, Partner, at Clearlake. “Daniel is a proven industry executive who brings more than 25 years of cutting-edge technology leadership and a compelling strategic vision for the Company. We are excited for him to take the reins and lead this highly talented team as Provation continues to innovate and bring hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (“ASCs”) best-of-breed surgical software solutions.”

Mr. Hamburger is an accomplished leader with a proven track record of effectively scaling software platforms across industries. Most recently, Mr. Hamburger served as CEO of Renaissance Learning, Inc., a private equity-backed SaaS education analytics platform. He also previously served as CEO of Adtalem Global Education, a $2 billion public provider of education solutions, and of Indeliq, a venture-backed SaaS technology firm. Mr. Hamburger began his executive career as President of eCommerce for Grainger. He holds a BS and MS in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Hamburger said, “I am honored to succeed Dave as Provation’s next CEO. As the industry-leading procedure documentation software solution, Provation is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of both hospitals and ASCs. With a clear strategic direction and acquisition roadmap, Provation is at an exciting inflection point, and I will be working closely with the team to further accelerate innovation and growth.”

As a member of the Board of Directors, Mr. Del Toro will remain actively engaged with key customer accounts and corporate initiatives.

“Dave has led Provation through a tremendous transformation, from the successful carve-out, to the launch of Provation’s next generation SaaS platform, Apex,” said Paul Huber, Vice President at Clearlake. “His continued participation with Provation at the Board level will be invaluable, providing for a seamless transition as the Company continues its exciting growth trajectory.”

“This transition is a continuation of a period of transformative growth for Provation and I am confident that Daniel has the right experience, strategic depth and commitment to our customers that is needed to drive Provation forward,” said Mr. Del Toro. “It has been a privilege and the highlight of my career to work alongside some of the most talented and passionate professionals in the healthcare IT industry, and I am eager to continue to support Provation’s accelerated momentum as a Board member.”

Mr. Eghbali and Mr. Mehrotra added, “On behalf of Clearlake, we thank Dave for his exemplary long-term service and commitment to Provation, and we are grateful for his continued partnership with the Company.”

About Provation
Provation is a leading provider of clinical productivity software for healthcare professionals, with solutions for intelligent procedure documentation (Provation® MD and Provation® Apex), order set and care plan management (Provation® Order Sets and Provation® Care Plans), and EHR-embedded clinical documentation templates (Provation® Clinic Note). Provation software helps providers increase operational efficiencies, business profitability and regulatory compliance by improving quality, streamlining workflows and enabling insights. Trusted by leading physicians globally, Provation serves approximately 1,500 hospitals and 1,000 ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), including 16 of the top 20 U.S. hospitals for gastroenterology (GI) and GI surgery. Provation is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. For more information about Provation’s solutions, visit provationmedical.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Clearlake
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a leading private investment firm founded in 2006. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake’s operational improvement approach, O.P.S.® The firm’s core target sectors are software and technology-enabled services; industrials and energy; and consumer. Clearlake currently has over $10 billion of assets under management and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 100 investments. More information is available at www.clearlake.com.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) NOVEMBER 12, 2019
NightDragon Security, a dedicated cybersecurity investment firm, today announced the addition of Morgan Kyauk as Managing Director and the appointment of Jason Martin of FireEye, Dan Burns of Optiv, Matthew Gyde of NTT Security, and Andrew Howard of Kudelski Security to its advisory council.

Morgan is the former Vice President of Corporate Development at FireEye, where he was responsible for the evaluation, execution, and integration of all acquisition, investment, and strategic partnering activity for the company. Morgan worked with fellow NightDragon Managing Directors, Dave and Ken, to drive corporate development efforts at FireEye, leading up to the company’s IPO and through its transformative acquisitions. Morgan has also held corporate development leadership roles at a variety of companies within the enterprise software, infrastructure, and security sectors, including Dropbox, Juniper Networks, and HP. Morgan will be working with Dave and Ken on identifying and collaborating with entrepreneurs to grow the next generation of leading cybersecurity companies.

Jason is a seasoned technology executive and entrepreneur with over twenty years of cyber security experience. Jason is currently an Executive Vice President at FireEye where he has served in leadership roles in product management, R&D, engineering, and cloud operations. Prior to FireEye, he was President and CEO of SecureDNA (acquired by FireEye) which provided innovative security products and solutions to enterprises and government agencies throughout the United States and Asia. Jason also served as Chairman of Authy.com (acquired by Twilio) and currently sits on the advisory board for OneMedNet and the Board of Directors for ShieldX. Jason has also co-authored several books covering various cyber security domains and is co-founder of the ShakaCon security conference, which is focused on increasing knowledge sharing and collaboration within the security community.

Dan is the CEO of Optiv Security, which was created in 2015 as a result of the Accuvant and FishNet Security merger. From 2002, when he co-founded Accuvant, until 2012 when he assumed his position as the company’s first CEO, Dan served as Senior Vice President of Accuvant’s sales organization. In that role, he was responsible for strategic planning, sales growth, and problem resolution. Dan co-developed and helped to successfully execute on Accuvant’s initial vision – to build a company with the breadth, depth, and capabilities to address the information security needs of organizations worldwide – up until the merger with FishNet Security.

Matthew is the CEO of NTT Security, formerly known as Dimension Data’s Security Business Unit. Matthew is responsible for executing the organization’s security strategy, services and go-to-market strategy with the goal of building the world’s most recognized security brand supported by a team of highly talented security professionals. Matthew previously held the position of Group Executive of Security for Dimension Data. He held several roles during his tenure with Dimension Data. Prior to this, Matthew spent time in various security environments, from a client to a carrier to OEMs across Australia, Asia, and now global positions.

Andrew is the CEO of Kudelski Security, an independent Swiss provider of tailored cyber security solutions to enterprises and public sector institutions, with its U.S. headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. Andrew has led the company’s technical strategy, product development, engineering and research, notably the launch of the IoT Security Center of Excellence, the delivery of Secure Blueprint, and the Blockchain Security Center. Previously, Andrew led an R&D laboratory focused on national defense challenges for the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

“Morgan’s corporate development experience and Jason’s product and technical vision will be immensely valuable for NightDragon companies. In addition, Dan, Matthew, and Andrew bring strong relationships that can provide a source for go-to-market scale and early insights of customer pain points,” said Dave DeWalt, Managing Director at NightDragon. The deep operating backgrounds of these additions will enable us to build great teams, form powerful go-to-market models, and deliver strategic outcomes for the entrepreneurs we work with.”

ABOUT NIGHTDRAGON SECURITY
NightDragon Security is an investment firm focused on investing in growth and late-stage companies within the cybersecurity industry. Its flexible model allows it to lead or co-invest alongside leading venture capital and private equity firms in the pursuit of driving growth and increasing shareholder value. NightDragon is unique in providing deep operational expertise in cybersecurity gained by its founders Dave DeWalt and Ken Gonzalez from years serving as senior executives leading technology companies such as Documentum, EMC, Siebel Systems (Oracle), McAfee, Mandiant, Avast, and FireEye.

PRESS RELEASE

STERLING, Va., Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Intrepid Solutions and Services, Inc. (“Intrepid” or the “Company”), a Sterling, Virginia-based premier provider of enterprise IT, data analysis, and operational training services exclusively to customers in the U.S. Intelligence Community (“IC”), announced today Ken Diller joined the Company as Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer.

In this role, Ken will lead the Company’s corporate growth initiatives and help expand the Company’s offerings to IC and national security clients. Ken will also assist with the execution of the Company’s merger and acquisition strategy.

“Ken brings over 30 years of experience in the military and intelligence domains to Intrepid. As a former military intelligence officer in the Army, Ken shares Intrepid’s mission commitment. Moreover, he has an impressive record of helping companies grow,” said Ryan Hebert, Chief Executive Officer of Intrepid. “Bringing Ken into the fold is consistent with Intrepid’s plan to accelerate growth and expand its capabilities. We are excited he joined our leadership team.”

“I am honored to join Intrepid and help the Company grow both organically and through acquisitions. I have known and partnered with Ryan and Intrepid for many years and have always been impressed with the Company’s mission focus, record of performance, and reputation for integrity. I am further excited by Intrepid’s partnership with Bluestone as I have seen firsthand how a company like Intrepid can leverage outside capital to grow,” said Ken Diller.

Prior to joining Intrepid, Ken managed the Defense and National Intelligence Group for Huntington Ingalls Industries following its acquisition of Fulcrum IT Services, where Ken served as Vice President of Corporate Development for five years. While at Fulcrum IT, Ken helped spearhead the company’s rapid growth from $30.0 million to over $180.0 million in annual revenue. Prior to Fulcrum IT, Ken worked at CGI Inc., Stanley, Inc., and Oberon Associates.

Ken’s 20 year career in the U.S. Army includes serving as Battalion Commander for the 306th Military Intelligence Battalion, Senior Intelligence Officer for Army G2 Initiatives Group, Deputy Commander for the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade, as well as in various intelligence capacities for the 101st Airborne and the 82nd Airborne Divisions, among other assignments. Ken is a graduate of the Defense Intelligence College Post Graduate (Master’s) Intelligence Program and has a Master’s degree in Military Art and Sciences-Intelligence and a B.S. in Business Communications from Wright State.

About Intrepid Solutions and Services, Inc.
Established in 2008, Intrepid is a provider of enterprise IT, data analysis, and operational training services exclusively to customers in the U.S. Intelligence Community. The Company is headquartered in Sterling, Virginia.
www.intrepidsolutions.com

About Bluestone Investment Partners
Bluestone is a private equity firm investing exclusively in lower middle-market companies in the defense and government services arena.
www.bluestoneinv.com.

PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ –The Halifax Group (“Halifax”), a leading private equity firm that partners with management to invest in entrepreneurial companies, announced today that it has named Scott Plumridge and Chris Cathcart as Managing Partners. Both are longtime members of the firm and have been Partners and members of the firm’s Investment Committee since 2016.

Mr. Plumridge has been at Halifax since 2005 and has played a leading role in deploying nearly $500 million of equity in 14 platform investments. He was significantly engaged in the fundraising efforts of Halifax Capital Partners II, L.P. (“Halifax II”), Halifax III and Halifax IV, and his work led to several of the firm’s recent exits, including Envision Pharma, Caring Brands International and Pirtek Europe. Mr. Plumridge has also been involved in recruiting and mentoring most of the investment professional team, and he has played a key role in establishing the critical processes and thesis areas central to the firm’s investment philosophy.

Mr. Cathcart joined Halifax in 2007 and created and implemented the firm’s origination strategy. Over the years, he has directly sourced 12 platform investments, representing more than $500 million of invested equity and maintains an international network of investment sources that delivers more than 1,200 investment opportunities annually. Mr. Cathcart played a leading role in raising three Halifax funds (totaling more than $1.1 billion in committed capital) and led fundraising for Halifax IV, a 2018 vintage, $650 million fund.

The firm also announced that Halifax founder and Senior Partner, David Dupree, will become non-executive Chairman and, together with each of the other Senior Partners, will primarily focus on managing the firm’s executive relationships and portfolio management.

Mr. Dupree said, “We are delighted to formally promote Scott and Chris. They have both been instrumental in fundraising, originations, investing and operations for many years, and this is a highly-deserved recognition of their strategic vision, relationship building, and overall contributions to the firm. We believe strongly in creating a sustainable organization that will thrive for generations and feel confident that the firm’s future leadership will be in very good hands under Scott and Chris, along with the strongest top-to-bottom team we have fielded in the firm’s history.”

About The Halifax Group
Founded in 1999, The Halifax Group is a private equity firm that partners with managers and entrepreneurs to recapitalize and grow lower middle-market businesses with total enterprise values generally between $50 million and $300 million. Halifax specializes in equity recapitalizations, corporate carve-outs and management buyouts and invests across a variety of industries, including health and wellness, outsourced business services, franchising and infrastructure. The firm is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and maintains offices in Dallas, TX and Raleigh, NC. For more information, please visit www.thehalifaxgroup.com.

Press Release

Bridge Growth Partners, LLC, a leading technology investment firm, announced today that Yves de Balmann, former Co-Chairman of Bregal Investments and Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of BT Alex. Brown, has been named an Executive Partner.

“I have known Yves personally and worked with him professionally for many years, and I am so pleased that he has agreed to dedicate more of his time to Bridge Growth,” said Alok Singh, Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Growth Partners. “I have always been impressed by the clarity of his judgement, and particularly by his keen ability to identify opportunities and assess risk, stretching back to our work together at BT Alex. Brown, where he oversaw that firm’s private equity and investment banking businesses. Over the past few years, Bridge Growth has benefitted significantly from his sage counsel as an advisor to our firm and as a board member of Finalsite, our educational technology platform. As our first fund successfully matures and we look to further develop our position as a leading technology investment firm, I am very confident that Yves’ investing experience and acumen will be even more helpful to our team, for the benefit of our investors and our portfolio companies.”

Joe Tucci, Chairman of Bridge Growth Partners, added, “We are gratified that an executive of Yves’ stature is joining our esteemed group of Executive Partners. Yves is well known and recognized as a seasoned, global financial executive and private equity investor who has proven time and time again his ability to help build market leaders. His wide-ranging corporate governance and investing expertise will be an excellent complement to our overall team.”

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to commit more time to working with Alok and the rest of the Bridge Growth team, for whom I have great respect,” said Mr. de Balmann. “Bridge Growth’s passion for recruiting and cultivating top talent, driving operational excellence and building great companies resonates well with the principles and values that have always guided me over the years as an investor and business leader. I am impressed to see this approach being put to work in their portfolio investment activities as well as in the values, vision and energy they are applying to building the firm, and this is why I look forward to collaborating even more closely with the talented Bridge Growth team in the years ahead.”

Beginning with the firm’s first investment in December 2014 in CRGT, a leading systems integrator and agile software development partner for federal government agencies, Bridge Growth and its co-investors have made control investments across five technology businesses where the aggregate fair market value of their invested capital is approximately $1 billion as of the end of September 2019.

Mr. de Balmann joins a highly accomplished group of Executive Partners who are part of the integrated Bridge Growth team, including Jack Welch, former Senior Partner at McKinsey; Don Callahan, former Global Head of Technology and Operations of Citigroup; Rob Ashe, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Cognos; Steve Mills, former Executive Vice President of IBM; and Steve Pusey, former Chief Technology Officer of Vodafone Group.

About Yves de Balmann

From 2002 to 2012, Mr. de Balmann was Co-Chief Executive Officer of Bregal Investments, a private equity firm that he built on behalf of the Brenninkmeijer family, now with a global presence and over $13 billion of invested capital in its more than 15-year history.

From 1999 to 2001, he was Co-Head of Deutsche Bank’s Global Investment Bank (GIB) and a member of the Board of the Bank’s Global Corporates and Institutions Division. As co-head of GIB, he also oversaw the firm’s private equity and venture capital investments. In addition, he was Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown.

In addition to his role with Bridge Growth Partners as an Executive Partner, Mr. de Balmann currently serves as a director for Exelon Corporation (a NYSE-traded company) and for ESI (a Paris SE-traded company), and on the advisory board of Altas Partners. Previously, Mr. de Balmann served as a director of Laureate Education, Inc. and as the non-executive Chairman of Conversant Intellectual Property Management. Mr. de Balmann also served as a director of Constellation Energy Group from 2003 to 2012 when Constellation merged with Exelon.

Mr. de Balmann received an M.S. in Operations Research from Stanford University in 1970 (where he was a Fulbright scholar), and an Engineering degree from the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. He is a Director of BGP-backed Finalsite, as well as ESI (a Paris SE-traded company), Exelon. He holds dual U.S. and French citizenship.

About Bridge Growth Partners

Bridge Growth Partners, LLC is a private equity firm that targets investments in the technology and technology-enabled services sectors. Bridge Growth Partners brings together in one team premier investment, financial, operating, and strategic business building talent. The firm is committed to relationship-based investing, with a focus on supporting growth, operational excellence and world-class governance at its portfolio companies to create value for investors.

For more information about Bridge Growth Partners, please visit http://www.bridgegrowthpartners.com/.

Press Release

Turnspire Capital Partners LLC is pleased to announce that Zackary Zapolsky has joined the firm as an Associate.

The addition of Zack is another important step in the continued development of Turnspire and its experienced, multi-disciplinary team. Zack will participate in all facets of Turnspire’s investment activities, including due diligence, negotiation and execution of highly complex transactions and working with management teams of the firm’s portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Turnspire, Zack was an analyst at M-III Partners, a turnaround advisory firm, and he began his career as an analyst at Morgan Stanley. Zack received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from Brown University.

About Turnspire Capital Partners

Turnspire Capital Partners invests in high-quality businesses that have reached strategic, financial or operational inflection points and stand to benefit from our hands-on, operationally focused approach. Turnspire’s investment philosophy is predicated on creating value through operational improvements rather than through financial leverage. Turnspire strives to make each of its companies best-in-class in their respective industry niche, and then to grow the businesses through organic initiatives or strategic acquisitions. For additional information, please visit www.turnspirecap.com.

PRESS RELEASE

Chicago – Nov 11, 2019—Chicago Pacific Founders (“CPF”), a strategic healthcare investment firm announced today the appointment of Narendra Mulani as Partner. In this role Mr. Mulani will lead CPF’s focus on driving transformational digital and data strategies across its portfolio of healthcare service companies.

Mr. Mulani joins CPF from Accenture after spending 23 years with the global consulting firm where he held several global leadership roles. In 2011 he was charged with founding and growing the Accenture Applied Intelligence business unit as Global Managing Director. The unit was responsible for building core capabilities in analytics, artificial intelligence and automation to create functional and industry solutions at scale. Mr. Mulani was also asked to coordinate the application of artificial intelligence and analytic technologies across Accenture. Over the past 7 years he led Accenture’s Applied Intelligence business from its inception to a multi-billion dollar business. Under Mr. Mulani’s direction Accenture has become recognized as a visionary leader in data and analytics worldwide according to Gartner (2018 Magic Quadrant).

Prior to his role in Applied Intelligence Mr. Mulani held senior leadership roles at Accenture including the P&L owner for the Products industry portfolio in North America. Prior to this role Narendra was the Global Managing Director for Accenture’s Supply Chain Consulting Practice.

Mary Tolan, CPF Managing Partner, said, “Narendra is a demonstrated leader with deep experience in creating value through the application of digital, data analytics, and artificial intelligence strategies and technology. His perspectives and proficiency will prove extremely valuable as CPF works to improve patient care protocols, operating performance and cost containment across our portfolio companies.”

Mr. Mulani, said, “I am passionate about addressing the biggest problems encountered in our healthcare system. I believe that analytics and AI are new production functions that will allow CPF portfolio companies to address the important challenge of effectively managing the cost of delivering superior health outcomes. I look forward to bringing my expertise and experience to working with CPF and its Operating teams in support of the CPF mission of doing well by doing good.”

About Chicago Pacific Founders
Chicago, IL & San Francisco, CA
Chicago Pacific Founders (“CPF”) is a strategic healthcare investment private equity firm focused exclusively on healthcare services. With approximately $1.0 billion of assets under management, CPF’s leadership team is made up of former healthcare CEOs and senior executives with a passion and track record of building healthcare businesses. CPF actively looks to partner with organizations focused on delivering the highest quality of service to patients and providers. The firm will invest up to $100 million of equity capital per opportunity in growth, minority recap, and buyout transactions for cash flow positive businesses. For more information about Chicago Pacific Founders, visit www.cpfounders.com.

PRESS RELEASE

LOS GATOS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Scholarly publishing technology provider, HighWire, today announced the appointment of Tim Bacci as President and Chief Executive Officer.

Tim joins HighWire with over 25 years of operational and transactional experience in technology companies in all stages of growth, both public and private. He most recently served as President and CEO of software and information services company Daegis, Inc., leading to its successful acquisition by OpenText, a global leader in Enterprise Information Management. Tim has extensive experience as a consultant to executive teams and venture investors in both early and later stage application-centric software companies, and has deep expertise in the enterprise SaaS, infrastructure and IT segments.

Founded in 1995 at Stanford University during the early days of the web, HighWire has led the evolution of digital publishing since 1995, providing the scholarly publishing community with innovative technology and market-leading capabilities.

During its 25 years of operation, HighWire has become a strong and profitable company backed by Stanford University and leading Silicon Valley private equity firm Accel-KKR, who acquired a stake in the organization in 2014. Over the last five years, Accel-KKR has funded almost $20M to enhance HighWire’s infrastructure which now provides the most current, the most reliable and the fastest technology hosting service in the industry.

John Sack, Founding Director of HighWire and recently named to the Board of Directors, welcomed the appointment of Tim Bacci to lead HighWire into its next stage of growth: “We are delighted to have someone of Tim’s caliber and experience. In addition to being a strong customer-focused leader, he is a technology visionary with a proven track record of execution. I look forward to working with him closely as he absorbs the nuances of scholarly publishing and hits the road to meet with our valued customers in the coming weeks.”

“I am honored and excited to lead HighWire and our dedicated and talented team into our next stage of growth,” said Tim Bacci. “Balancing the partnership of technology with best practices to meet the dynamic challenges of the unique and rewarding scholarly publishing community is what HighWire does best. I sincerely believe in continuing to better enable the science and discovery of tomorrow by focusing on innovation in publishing and research, and I look forward to the opportunity to interact with our customers to better understand how HighWire can not only meet their current and future needs, but exceed them.”
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About HighWire
HighWire is a global provider of digital publishing solutions and platform expertise across all aspects of the publishing life cycle, including content management and hosting, e-commerce, analytics, access and identity management, manuscript submission and tracking.

Born out of Stanford University, HighWire is backed by Stanford and private equity firm Accel-KKR, recently listed as the top founder-friendly investors for entrepreneurial partnership. This combination of deep digital understanding, academic expertise and strong financial backing makes HighWire the technology partner of choice for world-leading commercial and academic publishers.

For more information, please visit highwirepress.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with over $9 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and IT-enabled businesses well-positioned for top-line and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value through significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across a wide range of transaction types including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta and London. For more information, please visit accel-kkr.com.

About Stanford University Libraries
The Stanford University Libraries is more than a cluster of libraries; it connects people with information by providing diverse resources and services to the academic community. The Libraries includes more than 20 individual libraries across campus, each with a world-class collection of books, journals, films, maps, databases, and more. The Stanford Digital Library is one of the most advanced digital libraries in the world with extensive digitization programs for books, manuscripts, maps, 3d objects, images, audio, video and historical software and data files. Library experts in search, digital curation, digital humanities, computational social science, and digital preservation work hand-in-glove with students, faculty and research centers to build next generation applications and research corporation.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, November 11, 2019 – NexPhase Capital, LP (“NexPhase” or the “Firm”), an operationally-focused, independent private equity firm, today announced the appointment of Anthony “Tony” López as an Executive Advisor focusing on healthcare investments. In this role, Mr. López will provide strategic and operating support to NexPhase’s portfolio companies in the healthcare sector. Mr. López’s appointment is effective immediately.

An experienced C-Suite and Board executive with a track record of success in global leadership positions, Mr. López joins NexPhase as the ninth member of the Firm’s Executive Advisory Board. NexPhase’s Executive Advisory Board, which is comprised of distinguished veterans of the business and financial community across the consumer, healthcare, and software & services sectors, provides counsel to the Firm on its investment strategy and support to NexPhase’s portfolio companies, which NexPhase believes adds meaningful value and promotes growth beyond what such companies could achieve on their own.

“We are pleased to welcome Tony to NexPhase’s Executive Advisory Board,” said Andy Kieffer, Partner at NexPhase. “With more than three decades of leadership experience and deep healthcare sector insights, Tony is uniquely positioned to help us pursue investments in medical devices, products and supplies, while advising the Firm and our portfolio companies on growth opportunities in an evolving industry. Tony will undoubtedly be an immediate asset to our team and I look forward to working closely with him in this role.”

“With a fully integrated investment approach, NexPhase is well-positioned in the healthcare sector, making them an ideal partner for portfolio companies” said Mr. López. “I am honored to join the Executive Advisory Board and look forward to working alongside the Firm’s impressive operating partners and investment team to partner with entrepreneurs and management teams to unlock value across the healthcare space.”

About Tony López
Mr. López is the Founder, CEO and Managing Partner of L&L Associates, a leadership & management consulting firm. Previously, he served as CEO & Managing Director of Azzur Group, President & General Manager at Ansell Healthcare, and SVP & General Manager at CareFusion, Inc. He began his corporate career in 1991 with Johnson & Johnson where over an 18-year period he held leadership positions in corporate engineering, operations, sales, and marketing and general management. Mr. López began his professional career as an Air Force Officer from 1985 to 1996. An expert on leadership and management topics, Mr. López is a respected speaker and has authored numerous books and research papers.

Mr. López is Chairman-Emeritus of the Board of PROSPANICA and currently serves on the PROSPANICA Foundation Board. He also serves on the Board of Advisors for CulturIntel Inc. and Touchland Inc. Mr. López holds a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MS in Engineering Management, and is a graduate of the Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute.

About NexPhase Capital
NexPhase Capital (“NPC”) is a thematic and operationally-focused private equity firm that invests in lower middle market growth-oriented companies within three distinct sectors: consumer, healthcare, and software & services. The firm partners with founder-owned companies that have reached a growth inflection point and are seeking a value-added partner to help navigate the company’s “next phase.” The NPC team has extensive industry and operational experience and NPC’s partners have invested together for nearly a decade. The firm has completed over 60 investments, deploying $1.1B of equity and targets control equity investments between $25 million and $75 million.

NexPhase was formed in 2016 by the former principals of Moelis Capital Partners and advises $1.2 billion of private equity capital. For more information, please visit www.NexPhase.com.

PRESS RELEASE

Acacia Partners (“Acacia”), an Austin, Texas based private equity firm, is pleased to announce that Kyle Echerd has joined our team as a Senior Associate.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Kyle to our firm. As Acacia continues its growth, it is critical to add team members like Kyle who appreciate our unique approach to partnering with family-owned and owner operated businesses. His skill set will bolster our ability to achieve Acacia’s goal of being the preferred financial partner to middle market companies.” said Brad Johl, Partner at Acacia.

Kyle was previously an Associate at CenterOak Partners, a middle market private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas, and prior to that he was an Analyst in the Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Kyle will be actively involved in all aspects of Acacia’s investment activities.

About Acacia Partners

Acacia Partners is a private investment firm based in Austin, Texas that invests only in family-owned and owner-operated companies. Acacia invests from a committed capital fund in businesses ranging in enterprise value from $30 million to $500 million that are seeking majority or minority equity investment partners. Acacia offers a unique alternative to traditional private equity for business owners that prioritize our differentiated approach and are interested in maintaining a meaningful equity stake alongside our investment. Learn more at www.acaciapartnersllc.com

Press Release

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) has appointed Ryan Levitt as a Managing Director responsible for building out ICG’s presence in private equity funds investments in North America.

ICG’s Private Equity Funds Investments team currently manages the $1bn (£811m) ICG Enterprise Trust, which has just been promoted to London’s FTSE 250 index.

Ryan has joined ICG in New York from Drum Capital Management, where he worked as a Managing Director responsible for sourcing, underwriting and portfolio management of primary, secondary, co-investment and control equity transactions. Prior to this, he worked for 11 years at Pomona Capital as a Partner.

At ICG, Ryan will work with Oliver Gardey, Head of Private Equity Fund Investments and Colm Walsh (Managing Director and ICG Enterprise Trust portfolio manager) to leverage ICG’s success in the alternative assets market to build out its platform in the US.

Oliver Gardey, Head of Private Equity Fund Investments, said: “The private equity secondaries and co-investment market is enjoying strong growth and we see significant opportunities to extend our exposure to this market. Appointing Ryan was a logical step given he and I successfully worked for many years together at Pomona Capital. I am delighted to have joined forces with him again as we seek to build out our team and develop ICG’s Private Equity Funds Investments business in North America.”

Ryan Levitt said: “ICG has an excellent reputation as an investor in the alternative assets market. I am delighted to be working with Oliver again as we seek to leverage the Company’s platform to build out its US exposure to primaries, co-investments and secondaries.”

About ICG

ICG is a global alternative asset manager with over 30 years’ history.

We manage €38.6bn* of assets in private debt, credit and equity, principally in closed-end funds. We provide capital to help companies grow through private and public markets, developing long-term relationships with our business partners to deliver value for shareholders, clients and employees.

We operate across four asset classes – corporate, capital market, real asset and secondary investments. In addition to growing existing strategies, we are committed to innovation and pioneering new strategies across these asset classes where the market opportunity exists.

ICG is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: ICP). Further details are available at: www.icgam.com . You can follow ICG on LinkedIn.

*as at 30 June 2019

PRESS RELEASE

NEW CANAAN, CT, November 7, 2019 – Gridiron Capital, LLC (“Gridiron Capital”), a leading investment firm focused on partnering with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams, is pleased to announce that Jeff Steinhorn has joined the firm’s team as an Operating Partner.

Gridiron Capital continues to invest in its capabilities in information and process technology, digital marketing, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to boost its portfolio companies’ capabilities. Mr. Steinhorn will help with this continued initiative by focusing on new technology opportunities both at Gridiron and current portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Mr. Steinhorn held the CIO position at numerous companies. Most recently, Jeff was CIO at Johnson & Johnson, responsible for all aspects of the company’s information technology for its pharmaceutical business (Janssen). Prior to that, he was the CIO of the Johnson & Johnson Consumer and Consumer Medical Devices businesses. He has held several advisory board and board of director positions at other organizations, including VC companies, industry groups, and universities. Jeff holds a business degree from the University of Vermont, where he graduated from Magna Cum Laude.

Tom Burger, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Gridiron Capital said, “We are thrilled to have Jeff Steinhorn join the Gridiron team, as we continue to expand upon the digital and data capabilities, we started building several years ago. Jeff demonstrates all the qualities we look for in an operating partner.”

Kevin Jackson, Managing Partner added, “We continue to invest in differentiated digital and technology transformation capabilities to support our partnership companies. Jeff’s track-record of success in these areas adds tremendous value and we are excited to have him on the Gridiron team.”

About Gridiron Capital:
Gridiron Capital is an investment firm focused on partnering with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams, and creating value by building middle-market companies into industry-leaders in branded consumer, B2B and B2C services, and niche industrial segments in the United States and Canada. We help transform growing companies by winning together through hard work, partnerships grounded in shared values and a unique culture that comes from hands-on experience building and running businesses. As a team led by former operators and entrepreneurs, we know what it takes to run successful businesses on a day-to-day basis. Additional information is available on the firm’s website: www.gridironcapital.com

PRESS RELEASE

Menlo Park, CA — Nov. 7, 2019 — New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) today announced several key promotions on the firm’s technology investing team: Rick Yang has been named General Partner and Head of Consumer Technology Investing and Danielle Lay, Luke Pappas and Jai Sajnani have been promoted to Principal. Yang, who joined NEA in 2007 and was promoted to Partner in 2015, has played an integral role in building the firm’s consumer practice in recent years. He invests across the consumer landscape with particular focus on financial technology, esports/gaming and digital media.

“We have always been proud that the vast majority of our General Partners are promoted from within the firm, and I’m especially proud to recognize Rick’s outstanding commitment, judgment and leadership with this promotion,” said Scott Sandell, Managing General Partner, NEA. “From the day he joined the firm as an associate, Rick has embodied the values at the heart of everything we do at NEA, and I’m excited to work alongside him to build great companies and guide the next generation of leaders within our partnership in the years to come.”

Yang serves on the board of directors of numerous NEA portfolio companies including Drop, Gen.G, Lyric, MasterClass, Plaid and PlayVS. He also works closely with Omio, Opendoor and Stride Health. Historically, Yang was involved with Braintree (acquired by PayPal), Gaikai (acquired by Sony), and Pure Energies (acquired by NRG). Prior to joining NEA, he worked at Credit Suisse, where he advised on and executed a number of strategic financing initiatives for leading public and private tech companies as part of the Technology Group. Rick earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

“Rick has played a growing role in the evolution and execution of NEA’s consumer strategy over the last few years, and I’m thrilled that he will lead our consumer investing practice as a member of our general partner group,” said Tony Florence, General Partner and Head of Technology Investing at NEA. “I’m also pleased to recognize the significant contributions Danielle, Luke and Jai have made to our investing practices to date. All four of these promotions signify the tremendous energy and excitement within our partnership for the opportunities we see on the horizon, both in the consumer sector and across technology more broadly, and I look forward to the continued growth and success of these talented investors.”

Danielle Lay is focused on consumer internet and tech-enabled marketplaces and services. She serves as a board observer of Block, Burrow, Desktop Metal, Moda Operandi and The Well and works closely with several other NEA companies including Divvy, Formlabs, Hello Alfred, Simple Habit and Woebot. Lay also contributes to NEA’s investing activities in Asia, having assisted in the firm’s investments in MyDental, STX, ZuoYeBang, and XSky amongst others. Prior to joining NEA in 2017, Lay was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs advising consumer and enterprise fintech companies and asset managers such as FIS, Fiserv, Nasdaq, Bridgewater and Trupanion. She graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, with minors in Business Institutions and Chinese.

Luke Pappas joined NEA in 2017 and is focused on consumer and enterprise investments. He serves as a board observer of Aquabyte, goop, PlayVS, Sitetracker, Stockwell and Travelbank and works closely with a number of other companies in NEA’s portfolio including Banjo, Cleo, Datrium, and Gen.G. Pappas has also been involved in the firm’s investments in Bloom Energy, Cloudflare, Snap, and Uber and helped orchestrate the firm’s spinout of NewView Capital. Previously, Pappas was a member of the technology investment banking team at Morgan Stanley, where he worked on a variety of capital markets and M&A transactions across the software, semiconductor, consumer internet, and hardware sectors, with companies such as Airbnb, Nutanix, Nvidia, Pandora, and Snap. Pappas graduated from Stanford University with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science and Management Science & Engineering.
Jai Sajnani is focused on fintech (both B2B and B2C) and enterprise investments. He works with companies including Divvy, Transfix, Zero, Drop, MindTickle, Lyric, WaterBit, and Logikcull at the board level. He is also involved with the firm’s investments in Sisu, Robinhood and Plaid and was closely involved with several recently exited investments including NGINX and Scout RFP. Additionally, Sajnani helped orchestrate the spinout of NewView Capital in 2018. Prior to joining NEA in 2017, Sajnani was a consultant in the San Francisco office of McKinsey & Company and held a variety of engineering and product management positions at companies including Airware and Microsoft. He graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.

About NEA
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With more than $20 billion in cumulative committed capital since the firm’s founding in 1977, NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm’s long track record of successful investing includes more than 230 portfolio company IPOs and more than 390 mergers and acquisitions. www.nea.com.

PRESS RELEASE

Zurich & Boston – [November 7, 2019]
Momenta Partners, the leading global advisory, talent and ventures firm focused on Digital Industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of Leif Eriksen as Partner, leading their Insights and Intelligence team.

Leif Eriksen brings over 30 years of experience at the forefront of the use of digital technology by industrial companies. He has been at the center of every major digital technology inflection point since the 1990s. He is best known for having defined application areas such as Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence (EMI) and Asset Performance Management (APM) when he was research director at AMR Research and Gartner, respectively.

Leif is as comfortable on the plant floor discussing technology – where he began his career as a young engineer in 1984 – as he is in the corporate boardroom advising senior executives on strategy.

Leif’s career has been a balance between being a practitioner deploying digital technology, being an evangelist of leading edge products in the mobile, wireless, and industrial software arenas and being an industry analyst. He has managed project teams, developed successful go-to-market strategies for both startups and established technology companies, and advised industry executives on the business impact of relevant technology trends. An accomplished communicator and speaker, Leif has educated audiences around the world on significant technology trends and their impact on business.

Leif has had the privilege of observing first hand the impact of digital transformation on a wide variety of industries and companies including iconic industry leaders such as GE and Motorola. He has found that, for established enterprises, digital transformation involves major shifts in how decisions are made and the necessary change is highly disruptive to the existing organizational structure. He is excited about joining Momenta because of its focus on helping leaders, such as Chief Digital Officers, in energy, manufacturing, and smart infrastructure enterprises navigate the rocky shoals of these disruptive forces.

“Momenta Partners has built one of the most widely recognized brands in the Digital Industry arena,” Leif says. “I’m excited to join them and look forward to working with the team to deliver actionable insights and intelligence to Momenta’s customers and partners.”

Leif’s own digital journey began with a degree in engineering from the University of Toronto. He launched from there into the petrochemical industry where he became an expert in the areas of instrumentation (sensors), automation, and advanced process control. After 15 years traversing the globe with his young family – including stops in St. Croix, USVI and Indonesia – he settled in the Boston area to become an industry analyst. Over the next 20 years he wore many hats including independent consultant, business development director, and corporate strategist.

He is now based in Ipswich, MA on Boston’s north shore.
“We are delighted to welcome Leif to lead our expanded Insights and Intelligence practice,” says Ken Forster, Managing Director and founder of Momenta Partners. “We’ve been recognized for our thought-leadership in Digital Industry and are now expanding this with deep industry intelligence and insights. This will complement our practitioner-led, industry-leading advisory, talent and venture investment practices, as well as support our Chief Digital Officer focus.”

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Chainalysis, the blockchain analysis company, has appointed three new business development leaders to manage growing demand for its cryptocurrency investigation and compliance software. Jason Bonds joins as Chief Revenue Officer, Chris Manouse as Vice President, Public Sector, and Debra Brown as Vice President, Americas to streamline customer engagement with cryptocurrency across the public and private sectors. By connecting every part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem – financial institutions, government agencies, and cryptocurrency businesses – Chainalysis provides common, data-driven insights and builds trust in blockchains.

Bonds joins Chainalysis after spending over 11 years at Ping Identity, most recently serving as General Manager of the PingIntelligence business, and prior to that role, leading go-to-market efforts as Vice President of Sales. Additionally, he is an investor and advisor in Outwork Inc., and previously held senior roles at Cast Iron Systems and Northern Trust, among others. Manouse, who joins Chainalysis from Box where he served as a Senior Director spearheading Box’s efforts in supporting the US Federal Government, and Brown, the former Director of East Enterprise for Ping Identity, will both report to Bonds.

“As Chainalysis deepens its existing relationships and expands to new markets, a cohesive, client engagement strategy is crucial for driving success,” said Bonds. “Having worked with numerous business teams in the cybersecurity and data-driven software industry, I am eager to use my experiences to help manage Chainalysis’s growing presence in the U.S. and across the globe.”

“Chainalysis data provides transparency into blockchain transactions, and investing in our Sales and Customer Success teams is vital to bringing these insights to market,” said Michael Gronager, CEO and Co-founder, Chainalysis. “Our three new business development executives each bring a wealth of sales and growth strategy experience to Chainalysis, which is critical as we continue to grow across sectors on a global level.”

Chainalysis maps blockchain transactions to real world entities so that financial institutions, government agencies, and cryptocurrency businesses can detect and investigate suspicious cryptocurrency activity. Chainalysis KYT (Know Your Transaction) enables compliance teams to monitor large volumes of cryptocurrency activity and identify high risk transactions on a continuous basis by applying global anti-money laundering (AML) standards to each transaction. Chainalysis Reactor, the company’s cryptocurrency investigation software, helps law enforcement and regulators understand who controls funds and visualize their movements when investigating illicit activities such as fraud, extortion, and money laundering.
In April 2019, Chainalysis closed its $36M Series B round led by Accel with participation from Benchmark, Sozu, and MUFG.

ABOUT CHAINALYSIS
Chainalysis is the blockchain analysis company. We provide compliance and investigation software to the world’s leading banks, businesses, and governments. Our experts in financial crime and economic analysis empower our customers to derive insights they can act on. Backed by Accel, Benchmark, and other leading names in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

PRESS RELEASE

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cresset announced today that Dave Jackson has been named as the firm’s first Chief Experience Officer; and Michael Costabile as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Cresset Asset Management, an SEC registered investment advisor.

Dave Jackson, Chief Experience Officer
As Chief Experience Officer, Jackson leads Cresset’s efforts in helping to ensure positive experiences for clients. Prior to joining Cresset, Jackson served as a Principal with Evanston Advisors, a multi-family-office wealth management firm that Cresset acquired earlier in 2019.

In addition to his professional work, Jackson serves in volunteer leadership roles with several organizations tackling the issues and challenges facing single mothers, disempowerment in Chicago’s west side communities, HIV / AIDS in Africa, and most recently U.S. prison reform. He earned degrees in Business Administration and Public Policy from Carthage College.

“It is a privilege to take the lead in developing a truly differentiated client experience at Cresset that brings our vision to life of reinventing how our clients experience wealth,” Jackson said.

Michael Costabile, Chief Financial Officer
Costabile joins Cresset as CFO of Cresset Asset Management after most recently serving as CFO of Moneta Group, one of the largest RIAs in the United States, with more than $20 billion in assets under management. Prior to that role, he was the CFO and Chief Human Resources Officer of Intalere (formerly Amerinet), a leading national health care supply chain optimization organization. He began his career in the audit division of Arthur Andersen in Pittsburgh.

In addition to his professional work, Costabile serves on the board of Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design, a nonprofit art center with a mission to enrich and empower the community through craft outreach and education. In the past, he served as a board member and volunteer for the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project, which has the mission to engage and retain young people to bring dynamism, diversity, and change to Pittsburgh.
Costabile earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting with highest honors from Pennsylvania State University and became a CPA in Pennsylvania in 1994. Currently based in St. Louis, Costabile will soon relocate to Cresset’s Chicago headquarters.

“I’m delighted to have joined an amazing team at Cresset. I could not be more excited to contribute to this fast-growing firm that brings a differentiated value proposition to its clients,” Costabile said.

“Dave and Michael are amazingly talented professionals who bring deep expertise and experience to Cresset and our clients. Under their leadership, we are well positioned to further build upon our story of growth and reinventing wealth management,” said Michael Cole, CEO of Cresset.

About Cresset
Private equity entrepreneurs Eric Becker and Avy Stein founded Cresset with a vision to reinvent wealth management and with a firm belief that clients deserve better. Cresset offers individuals and families access to a comprehensive suite of family office services, deeply personalized wealth management, investment advisory, planning and other services through Cresset Asset Management, an SEC registered investment advisor. Cresset Partners, Cresset’s private investing group, offers clients direct access to real estate, private equity, and other investment opportunities. Alongside Diversified Real Estate Capital, which was founded and is led by Larry Levy, Cresset Partners launched the Cresset-Diversified QOZ Fund, which invests in Qualified Opportunity Zones and creates potential for risk-adjusted, tax-advantaged returns.*

PRESS RELEASE

Liquidnet Appoints New Chief Technology Officer
Patrick Strobel to oversee Liquidnet’s fintech platforms and solutions globally
November 07, 2019 07:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Liquidnet, the global institutional investment network, announced today the appointment of Patrick Strobel as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As CTO, Strobel will oversee the company’s overall technology strategy, including product development for Liquidnet’s three business verticals, middle office solutions, data and analytics solutions, and overall systems architecture. Strobel will also be tasked with aligning the company’s technology offerings following the recent acquisitions of Prattle and RSRCHXchange earlier this year.
“2019 has been an amazing year of innovation and advancements for Liquidnet’s technology capabilities. We’re excited to have Patrick expand his role with us and take on the mantle of CTO. Patrick will be instrumental in designing and executing our technology vision and goals as we enter 2020,” said Rob Laible, Liquidnet Chief Operating Officer.
“Our growing institutional Member network of buy-side traders, portfolio managers, analysts, and research providers rely on Liquidnet to deliver world-class trading, analytics, and actionable insights through our technology platforms and solutions, and we’re proud to have Patrick on board as CTO to support their evolving needs,” Laible continued.
With more than 20 years’ experience delivering sophisticated IT solutions, Strobel assumes the CTO role following two years serving as Liquidnet’s head of technology in EMEA. Prior to joining Liquidnet, he spent fifteen years leading and working within technology teams at Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan, most recently serving as CTO/Domain Architect for CB&S Finance and Common Data Sourcing. Throughout his tenure at Deutsche Bank he held multiple leadership positions including Head of Application Services for P&L/IPV and Global Head of Equity Trading Analytics. He also served as Global Development Lead for Equities Programme Trading at JPMorgan and began his career as a Consultant at Valtech.
“Liquidnet has always stood at the forefront of fintech innovation, and I look forward to adding to our story in my new role as CTO,” said Strobel. “Our recent acquisitions of RSRCHXchange and Prattle have allowed us to deliver a new level of investment decision-support tools to our global Member network, and together we will create the next era of cutting-edge capital market solutions.”
Strobel will be based in London, reporting directly to Rob Laible.
About Liquidnet
Liquidnet is a technology-driven, global institutional investment network that intelligently connects the world’s investors to the world’s investments. Since our founding in 1999, our network has grown to include more than 1,000 institutional investors that collectively manage $33 trillion in equity and fixed income assets. Our network spans 46 markets across six continents and seamlessly connects institutional brokers, investment banks, exchanges, alternative trading venues, and a growing list of data and research providers. We built Liquidnet to make global capital markets more efficient, and continue to do so by adding additional participants, enabling trusted access to trading and investment opportunities, and delivering the actionable intelligence and insight that our customers need. For more information, visit www.liquidnet.com and follow us on Twitter @Liquidnet.
© 2019 Liquidnet Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Liquidnet, Inc. is a member of FINRA/SIPC. Liquidnet Europe Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, is licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in South Africa, and is a member of the London Stock Exchange and a remote member of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and SIX Swiss Exchange. Liquidnet EU Limited is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Liquidnet Canada Inc. is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Liquidnet Asia Limited is regulated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for Type 1 and Type 7 regulated activities and is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Recognized Market Operator. Liquidnet Japan Inc. is regulated by the Financial Services Agency of Japan and is a member of JSDA/JIPF. Liquidnet Australia Pty Ltd. is registered with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission as an Australian Financial Services Licensee, AFSL number 312525, and is registered with the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority as a Financial Service Provider, FSP number FSP3781. Liquidnet Singapore Private Limited is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Capital Markets Services Licensee, CMSL number CMS 100757-1.

PRESS RELEASE

CHICAGO – November 6, 2019 – William Blair Investment Management announced today that Ruta Ziverte has joined the firm as head of fixed income, reporting to Stephanie Braming, CFA, partner, and global head of William Blair Investment Management. Ms. Ziverte is responsible for all aspects of the fixed income team leadership and investment process, including select portfolio management responsibilities, as well as for developing and executing the firm’s fixed income growth strategy with other members of the team.

“Ruta is a proven team leader, accomplished investor and thought leader, and is focused on delivering strong client outcomes,” said Ms. Braming. “We are delighted that Ruta has joined the firm to lead our fixed income growth initiative. Her global knowledge and experience investing in fixed income markets will expand the opportunity set we offer clients.”

Before joining William Blair, Ms. Ziverte was a senior high-yield portfolio manager at Oppenheimer Funds, where she was the portfolio manager on the Global High Yield Fund, was a co-portfolio manager on the Global Strategic Income Fund, and led a team of credit analysts. Before joining Oppenheimer Funds in 2015, she was at GE Asset Management, where she most recently served as executive managing director and high-yield portfolio manager. Before that, she was a team leader and senior analyst, co-managing a leveraged finance research team, and was responsible for developing and implementing the firm’s credit processes and procedures. Earlier in her career, Ms. Ziverte was a credit analyst with Citigroup/Travelers Life and Annuity, and was with Phoenix Investment Partners. She has an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a B.S. in business administration from the University of Latvia.

About William Blair
William Blair is a premier global boutique with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management. We provide advisory services, strategies, and solutions to meet our clients’ evolving needs. As an independent and employee-owned firm, together with our strategic partners, we operate in more than 20 offices worldwide.*

William Blair Investment Management is a premier global investment management boutique, with a sole focus on active management across equity, fixed income, currency and multi-asset strategies. We work closely with private and public pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds, as well as financial advisors. As of September 30, 2019, William Blair Investment Management manages $54.2 billion in assets. For more information about William Blair Investment Management, please visit williamblair.com/active.

*Includes strategic partnerships with Allier Capital, BDA Partners, and Poalim Capital Markets.

PRESS RELEASE

MILWAUKEE, November 5, 2019 – Borgman Capital, a Milwaukee-based private equity firm, has announced that David Mitchell will be joining Solution Dynamics Inc. and Lift Products Inc., known as Material Handling Holdings (MHH), as the new President.
David Bartelme, Managing Director of Borgman Capital stated, “We couldn’t be more excited. David brings a wealth of experienceand his energy and enthusiasm for growing businesses and developing people is contagious and will add considerable value to MHH.”

With respect to joining MHH, Mitchell commented, “I am honored and excited to be joining Borgman Capital and the team at MHH! I am confident that we will grow the company profitably while creating an awesome place to work and providing exceptional service to our customers!”

Prior to joining Material Handling Holdings, David Mitchell became the President of Vector Technologies in August of 2016. In 2007, Mitchell acquired Monarch and Production Tool with a Wisconsin based equity group and took over as President and CEO of Monarch in Milwaukee and Production Tool in Chicago. Both companies are custom manufacturers of large fabricated, machined and assembled metal components up to 100 tons.

Mitchell has more than 28 years of experience in business-to-business industrial sales and management. He chairs the Manufacturing Industry Advisory Board for the City of Milwaukee, is on the board of directors for COSBE, serves on the Council of Workforce Investment Partnership Committee for the State of Wisconsin, serves on the board for Business Improvement District #31, and is a member of a COSBE CEO Roundtable. Mitchell has been very involved for the last 15 years in workforce development for the highly skilled labor needed by manufacturers throughout Wisconsin.

He lives with his wife of 26 years, Claudia, in Glendale and they have three children. Allison, 23, is serving in the Peace Corps in
Zambia, Africa, Adam, 21, is a senior at UW-Madison in engineering, and Ryan, 19, has started his Plebe year at the United States
Naval Academy. Mitchell earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial management/industrial engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, in 1990.

ABOUT BORGMAN CAPITAL: Borgman Capital is a privately held investment firm focused on acquiring majority interests in established closely held lower-middle market companies. Our focus is profitable businesses with identifiable growth opportunities.
We are a buy and hold investor. Our strategy is to minimize the use of leverage in order to invest in and grow the portfolio long-term.
We are an independent sponsor, and we raise equity for each transaction. The primary source of funds are personal equity, accredited investors, and family offices. The firm’s website is located at www.borgmancapital.com.

PRESS RELEASE

Santa Clara, Calif., November 6, 2019 — Dremio, the data lake engine company, today announced the appointment of Jason Nadeau as Vice President of Marketing. In this new role, Jason will be responsible for leading Dremio’s global marketing team as it continues to scale in an effort to help enterprises realize the dramatic benefits made possible by the tectonic shift to analytics on cloud data lake storage. Most recently, Jason served as VP of Product Marketing for Pure Storage.

“Over the last couple years we’ve grown from a few early adopters to dozens of enterprise customers, and we’ll continue to scale our customers and revenue over 3X annually while also extending the adoption of our open source technologies,” said Tomer Shiran, co-founder and CEO, Dremio. “Given the amazing opportunity ahead of us, we are excited to welcome Jason to the Dremio family. His experience in creating new industry categories and leading world-class marketing programs, combined with his passion for disruptive technologies, makes him a great fit for our team.”

Jason brings over two decades of marketing, product management, and pre-sales experience in enterprise software and hardware across multiple domains. Prior to joining Dremio, Jason was VP of Product Marketing for Pure Storage where he created Pure’s highly differentiated Evergreen Storage model of consumption and helped grow the company’s revenues nearly 10X over five years. Previously, Jason was VP of Product Management at Hewlett-Packard (Software), and held leadership roles in product management at Symantec and Veritas. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Victoria and a Master of Business Administration from UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

“The analytics market is ripe for disruption, and Dremio is perfectly positioned to capitalize on the cloud data lake trend,” said Jason Nadeau. “Dremio has demonstrated strong leadership in the open source and data analytics communities and I look forward to working with the executive team and the sales and product development organization to ensure we are delivering the type of customer experience that will achieve sustained sales growth and market leadership, while consciously shaping our company culture.”
Supporting Resources

Blog: Here Comes the Data Lake Engine: Why I joined Dremio
Download a photo of Jason Nadeau

Tweet this: .@Dremio Appoints Jason Nadeau as VP of Marketing https://www.dremio.com/press-releases/

About Dremio
Dremio’s Data Lake Engine delivers fast query speed and a self-service semantic layer operating directly against data lake storage. Dremio eliminates the need to copy and move data to proprietary data warehouses or create cubes, aggregation tables and BI extracts, providing flexibility and control for Data Architects, and self-service for Data Consumers. For more information, visit www.dremio.com.
Founded in 2015, Dremio is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. Investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint, Norwest Venture Partners and Cisco Investments.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK – November 5, 2019 – General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, announced today the expansion of its senior leadership team with the promotions of Gabriel Caillaux, Martín Escobari and Anton Levy to Co-Presidents. In these newly-created roles, Messrs. Caillaux, Escobari and Levy will work closely with Chief Executive Officer Bill Ford in leading the firm’s strategy and will assume greater responsibility for the global investment program and investor engagement. Bill Ford will continue to lead the firm as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Committee.

With $35 billion in assets under management, General Atlantic is currently invested in more than 110 growth companies around the world, with more than half of its portfolio outside of the United States and more than one-third in emerging markets. Mr. Caillaux leads the firm’s business in EMEA, Mr. Escobari serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee and leads the firm’s Latin American investing activities, and Mr. Levy leads the firm’s Technology investing activities globally. Collectively, they have spent more than four decades at General Atlantic.

Bill Ford, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “As we have developed our global growth investing strategy and grown our investor base, our business has achieved greater scale and complexity. To maintain our momentum, we believe that now is the right time to expand our senior leadership team. I am convinced that digital disruption, growth in the emerging markets and the rise of entrepreneurship will continue to expand our global opportunity set. Our Co-Presidents will help us capture such opportunities and continue to deliver attractive returns to our investors. The broadening of our senior leadership team will also enable me to further focus on our long-term strategy and our growing Asia business, while spending more time deepening our strategic capital relationships.”

He continued: “Gabe, Martín and Anton are talented investors, impactful leaders and true business builders. They bring expertise in diverse regions and are representative of our deep bench of talent across General Atlantic. I am thrilled to be able to work even more closely with them in the years ahead.”

General Atlantic’s Management Committee will continue to serve as the governing body for the partnership, with a focus on operational and strategic decision making. The Management Committee includes Sandeep Naik, Head of India and Southeast Asia, and Graves Tompkins, Global Head of Capital Partnering and Human Capital, in addition to Messrs. Ford, Escobari, Caillaux and Levy.

General Atlantic pioneered growth equity investing, and the firm has maintained a singular focus on this strategy, identifying companies with high growth potential around the world and helping them scale. General Atlantic was founded nearly 40 years ago by Chuck Feeney, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who built a global business and had a vision to create a direct investing entity that helped other entrepreneurs build great businesses. Since then, the firm has deployed more than $34 billion in over 360 companies globally, partnering with founders who are creating and transforming industries, in order to deliver consistent risk-adjusted performance for its capital partners. The firm expects to have a capital base of $16 billion by the end of 2019.

Mr. Caillaux commented: “We’re incredibly energized by the entrepreneurs we engage with around the world, and I believe that investing on the local level from our established global platform delivers tangible benefits for those who partner with us. I look forward to working with Bill, Martín and Anton as we continue to build General Atlantic together to achieve the firm’s long-term ambitions.”

Mr. Escobari commented: “Over the firm’s 40-year history, General Atlantic has taken a thoughtful, long-term view on our business strategy and structure to best pave the way for sustained growth. I am honored to build on that legacy as we continue to expand our investing activities across sectors and regions, particularly in the emerging markets, which continue to have immense potential as the primary drivers of global growth in the future.”

Mr. Levy commented: “We see on a daily basis how the adoption of technology and transformative power of data are shaping not just individual businesses, but whole industries. General Atlantic is at the forefront of this as we seek to bring insights from around the world to our local partners, and we believe innovation is rapidly accelerating. We’re excited to work with some of the best entrepreneurs in the world as they harness the power of technology.”

In addition, the firm announced that Tom Murphy, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, will retire at the end of the year after 25 years with the firm. He will be succeeded by Michael Gosk, who joined General Atlantic as an Operating Partner earlier this year. Prior to that, Mr. Gosk spent over a decade with General Electric in a series of financial leadership roles, most recently serving as Chief Tax Officer. Before his time at GE, he was a partner at the global law firm McDermott Will & Emery and a partner at KPMG.

Gabriel Caillaux
Gabriel Caillaux has been with General Atlantic for 15 years and became Head of the firm’s business in EMEA in 2017. Mr. Caillaux has helped expand the firm’s investment focus across the greater European region to include Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Since the beginning of 2017, he has led the EMEA team in investing $2.2 billion in that region and generating $4.4 billion in liquidity. He is also a member of the firm’s Management and Investment Committees. Before joining General Atlantic, Mr. Caillaux worked in the telecoms, media and technology division at Merrill Lynch in London and New York.

Martín Escobari
Martín Escobari is Head of General Atlantic’s business in Latin America, Chairman of the Investment Committee and member of the Management Committee. Previously, Mr. Escobari was a Managing Director at Advent International, where he focused on financial services. Prior to that, he was Co-Founder and CFO of Submarino.com, a leading Brazilian online retailer that went public on the Bovespa and was sold to Lojas Americanas in 2006. His background as an entrepreneur has rendered him a natural partner to founders during his seven years with General Atlantic.

Anton Levy
Anton Levy is Global Head of General Atlantic’s Technology sector. He has been with the firm for 21 years and serves on the firm’s Management and Investment Committees. He has been a driving force in General Atlantic’s investments in leading technology companies such as Alibaba, CrowdStrike, Facebook, Slack and Snapchat. He has also been key to the expansion of the firm’s investment footprint in Asia. Mr. Levy has been named to the Forbes Midas List of top investors each year from 2014 to 2019. Before joining General Atlantic in 1998, Anton was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley where he focused on the technology sector.

About General Atlantic
General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. Established in 1980, General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to build exceptional businesses worldwide. General Atlantic has more than 150 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Greenwich, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. The firm has $35 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2019. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

PRESS RELEASE

BOSTON, Nov. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — G2 Capital Advisors (“G2”), a leading financial advisory firm is pleased to announce that Howard Lanser has joined the firm as a Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets. Lanser will oversee G2’s extensive capital markets platform, partnering with Louise Roussel, Director of Capital Markets in enhancing the firm’s execution of complex financings for our clients.

Howard brings 20+ years of capital markets, M&A, and corporate finance advisory experience for financial sponsors, public companies, and private family / founder-owned businesses across numerous industries. Most recently, Howard served as Managing Director, Co-Head of Debt Advisory for Robert W. Baird & Co. where he was responsible for the seamless execution of over 260 transactions, raising over $50 billion dollars globally.

Howard will be instrumental in originating transactions and expanding G2 Capital Advisors’ coverage of corporate and financial sponsor clients. He brings significant experience raising capital for sell side and buy side M&A transactions, dividend recapitalizations, refinancings, and special situations. This hire exemplifies the firm’s commitment to meeting the needs of our clients through industry-leading services.

“We are pleased to welcome Howard to the G2 leadership team,” said Jeffrey Unger, Chairman & Chief Executive of G2 Capital Advisors. “His extensive knowledge of the corporate and financial sponsor universe, deep relationships with lenders and investors, and ability to assist clients with complex transaction execution will be extremely valuable as our capital markets capabilities continue to grow.”

“The addition of Howard represents a critical next step in our firm’s growth, and further augments the value we deliver to our clients as trusted advisors,” said Ben Wright, Chief Operating Officer of G2. “Under Howard’s leadership, G2 will continue to deliver customized capital markets solutions and expand our reputation for providing a wide breadth of high value advisory services.”

G2’s Capital Markets capabilities include facilitating asset-based loans, cash flow / enterprise value-based term loans, first lien, second lien, unitranche, mezzanine, and convertible debt as well as preferred and common equity (majority and minority) across growth and special situations. Clients benefit from leveraging G2’s C-level operational experience, market intelligence, and comprehensive understanding of our core industries.

ABOUT G2 CAPITAL ADVISORS:
G2 Capital Advisors provides M&A, capital markets and restructuring advisory services to the middle market. We offer integrated, multi-product and sector-focused services by pairing highly experienced C-level executives with specialist investment bankers. We aspire to be the trusted advisor of choice to our clients including corporations and institutional investors.

PRESS RELEASE

MENLO PARK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IVP, a premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firm, is pleased to announce a new addition to its investment team. Cack Wilhelm joins IVP as a Partner and will focus on investing in growth stage technology companies.

“Cack’s investing experience coupled with her enterprise software background gives us another valuable perspective as we assess new investment opportunities in the highest quality, later-stage technology companies,” said Dennis Phelps, General Partner. “Cack is an experienced, thoughtful investor who will complement our team perfectly. We are delighted to welcome her to our firm.”
Cack was previously a Partner at Accomplice, a leading seed and early-stage venture firm, where she led the seed financings in Altitude Networks and Percy, and a Principal at Scale Venture Partners, where she worked with companies such as CircleCI, CloudHealth (VMW), JFrog, and Treasure Data (ARM).

“The IVP team is hard-working, insightful, and ambitious, and they have invested in founders and executive teams who share those same characteristics,” shared Cack Wilhelm. “I am thrilled to join the IVP team and look forward to the opportunity to partner with many more high-caliber founding teams.”

Cack began her professional career at Montgomery & Company in technology, media, and telecommunications investment banking in San Francisco. Following Montgomery, Cack pursued several years in enterprise sales, first at Oracle and next at Cloudera. Cack spent her first two years post-college running for Nike, where she qualified for two USA teams. Cack earned a B.A. in History from Princeton University, where she was an All-American runner and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

IVP is one of the top-performing firms in the venture capital industry, typically serving as a lead investor in later-stage rounds with equity investments ranging from $10 to $100 million.

IVP is currently investing IVP XVI, a $1.5 billion later-stage venture capital and growth equity fund, and manages $7 billion in committed capital. The firm has backed innovative companies such as AppDynamics, Coinbase, Compass, CrowdStrike, Datadog, Dropbox, GitHub, Glossier, Grammarly, HashiCorp, LegalZoom, Mindbody, MuleSoft, Personal Capital, Rubrik, Slack, Snap, Supercell, Twitter, and ZipRecruiter and remains committed to its focused strategy of supporting innovation at the growth stage and partnering closely with exceptional management teams.

About IVP
With $7 billion of committed capital, IVP is one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms in the United States. Founded in 1980, IVP has invested in over 400 companies with 113 IPOs. IVP is one of the top-performing firms in the industry and has a 38-year IRR of 43.1%. IVP specializes in venture growth investments, industry rollups, founder liquidity transactions, and select public market investments. IVP investments include such notable companies as AppDynamics (CSCO), Casper, Coinbase, Compass, CrowdStrike (CRWD), Datadog (DDOG), Datalogix (ORCL), Dropbox (DBX), GitHub (MSFT), Glossier, Grammarly, HashiCorp, HomeAway (EXPE), The Honest Company, Kayak (PCLN), Klarna, LegalZoom, Marketo (MKTO), Mindbody (MB), MuleSoft (CRM), Netflix (NFLX), Personal Capital, Pure Storage (PSTG), Rubrik, Slack (WORK), Snap (SNAP), SoFi, Supercell (SFTBF), Tanium, TransferWise, Twitter (TWTR), UiPath, Yext (YEXT), ZenDesk (ZEN), ZipRecruiter, and Zynga (ZNGA). For more information, visit www.ivp.com or follow IVP on Twitter: @ivp.

PRESS RELEASE

DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the sale of its client, Mirasol’s Café to Shorepoint Capital Partners, LLC. The acquisition closed September 12, 2019 and details were not disclosed.

Located in Dartmouth, MA Mirasol’s Café is a Latin inspired café serving coffee, soups, sandwiches, and freshly baked goods. The Café is well known for serving their signature drink, the CHiPPi — a unique highly-caffeinated iced coffee that’s only served at this location.
Shorepoint Capital Partners, located in Norwood, MA is a privately owned, fee-only, registered investment advisor that provides customized wealth planning and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions, small businesses, and retirement plans.

Luis Raposo, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Shorepoint Capital Partners will lead the new venture. Richard A. Romero, founder of Mirasol’s Café, will remain to help grow the brand, develop marketing initiatives, focus on product development and seek future locations to develop into cafes. Romero and his family have run and operated Mirasol’s Café at the same location since 2006.

Generational Equity Executive Managing Director of M&A – Eastern Region, David Fergusson’s team, led by Senior Vice President, Ahmad Behjati successfully closed the deal. Senior Managing Director Thomas Hamm established the initial relationship with Mirasol’s Café.
According to Behjati, “This transaction has been a win-win situation for all parties, especially for coffee lovers. I am looking forward to my next CHiPPi coffee at Mirasol’s Café new locations.”

About Generational Equity
Generational Equity, Generational Capital Markets (member FINRA/SIPC), Generational Wealth Advisors, and DealForce are part of the Generational Group, which is headquartered in Dallas and is one of the leading M&A advisory firms in North America.

With over 250 professionals located throughout North America, the companies help business owners release the wealth of their business by providing merger, acquisition, and wealth management services. Their five-step approach features exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, M&A transactional services, and wealth management.

The M&A Advisor named the company the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Investment Banking Firm of the Year. For more information, visit https://www.genequityco.com/ or the Generational Equity press room.

PRESS RELEASE

3i announces the hire of Drew Olian as a Director, Jake Shuster as a Senior Associate and Jonas Marciano as an Analyst, reflecting the continued growth of its international team. In addition, Lauren Causon has joined the team as Legal Counsel.

Drew Olian joined 3i on 1 November as a Director based in New York. Drew was previously a Vice President at The Carlyle Group in New York, where he was a senior deal team member in the firm’s mid-market fund investing across a range of sectors including industrials, transportation and logistics, and business services. He brings seven years of experience in private equity investing.

Jake Shuster joined 3i on 3 September as a Senior Associate in the New York office. Previously, Jake worked at Bowery Farming in New York, an indoor agriculture start-up funded by Google. Prior to this, he was an Associate at Golden Gate Capital in San Francisco, where he invested in the healthcare and industrial sectors. Jake started his career at Bain & Company.

Jonas Marciano joined 3i on 2 September as an Analyst in the Paris office. Previously, Jonas was an Investment Analyst at Rothschild & Co, where he focused on private equity co-investments.

Lauren Causon joined 3i on 1 November as Legal Counsel based in London. Lauren is a UK qualified solicitor who previously worked at law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Prior to this, she trained and worked at Travers Smith.

Pieter de Jong and Peter Wirtz, Managing Partners and Co-Heads of Private Equity, commented:

“We would like to welcome our new colleagues. Drew’s experience and track record across sectors will be of significant benefit as we aim to grow our US presence. All four will play an important role in originating and executing new investments as well as platform and bolt-on acquisitions, as the market remains competitive, pricing remains high and we focus on helping our portfolio companies grow internationally.”

In May 2019, the Private Equity business completed its £139 million investment in Magnitude Software Inc, a leading provider of unified application data management solutions. In October 2019, the Private Equity business also completed its c. £215 million investment in Evernex, a leading international provider of third-party maintenance services for data centre infrastructure.

3i has continued to grow portfolio value through its buy-and-build strategy, with 14 portfolio acquisitions over the past 12 months.

About 3i Group
3i is an investment company with two complementary businesses, Private Equity and Infrastructure, specialising in core investment markets in northern Europe and North America. For further information, please visit: www.3i.com

PRESS RELEASE

New York, New York – November 5, 2019 – NavaDerm Partners (“NavaDerm” or the “Company”), a Northeast-focused dermatology services company and portfolio company of BelHealth Investment Partners (“BelHealth”), a New York-based healthcare private equity firm, announced the appointment of Dr. John Murphy as Chief Executive Officer.

John Murphy, MD, MBA, CPE, has over 30 years of experience in physician services. Previously, Dr. Murphy served as Regional Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Humana (New York) (NYSE: HUM). Prior to Humana, Dr. Murphy was Chief Executive Officer at Delaware Valley Urology, a New Jersey-based urology organization offering the full scope of urological services from thirteen offices in South Jersey. Dr. Murphy practiced Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility for over 15 years in both academic medical centers and private practice. He received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.D. from Temple University School of Medicine, completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, and completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he also subsequently served on the medical school faculty. Dr Murphy received an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Murphy stated “I am proud to join NavaDerm and lead this organization through its next growth phase. The clinical excellence and individual reputations of our physician partners is second to none. What we are building at NavaDerm is unique: a physician led and focused organization, with all founders remaining Medical Directors of their individual groups, locally branded, and ownership opportunities for Associate physicians. I look forward to building upon the strong existing foundation and accelerating NavaDerm’s growth. With several new locations opening in the next two quarters and a host of talented physicians joining our platform, we are excited about the future of NavaDerm.”

Harold Blue, Managing Partner of BelHealth and Chairman of NavaDerm, added “We are thrilled to have John join our organization and lead NavaDerm’s outstanding group of physicians and dedicated staff. With over a decade of private practice experience and long tenures leading ambulatory physician groups and payor organizations, John is uniquely qualified to take NavaDerm to the next level. With many exciting growth opportunities in front of us, we look forward to John bringing the organization together and executing on our strategic plan.”

About NavaDerm
NavaDerm Partners, headquartered in New York City, is a Northeast-based dermatology management platform formed through the partnership of five dermatology groups in New York and New Jersey. Operating out of seven locations, NavaDerm’s mission is to support its outstanding 40+ board-certified dermatologists and their dedicated staffs in providing outstanding patient care. NavaDerm’s clinicians provide world-class and comprehensive services across medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology.

About BelHealth Investment Partners
BelHealth Investment Partners, based in New York, is a healthcare private equity firm focused on lower middle market companies. BelHealth has a unique combination of investing, executive management and entrepreneurial experience. BelHealth acquires majority positions in entrepreneur-owned companies that it believes would benefit from its extensive operating and private equity investment expertise. The firm invests across three core healthcare segments: Services, Products and Distribution. BelHealth is investing from its current $350 million fund.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Section 32, a venture capital fund investing at the frontiers of technology, healthcare and life sciences, announced today the appointment of Steven J. Kafka, Ph.D., as a managing partner. Steve will focus on supporting and expanding the firm’s investment portfolio and presence in Boston.

“Steve recognizes the revolutionary potential of the convergence of technology and healthcare, and its power to positively impact patients,” said Bill Maris, Founder of Section 32. “We are building a team of individuals who have worked together for years or decades to better support our efforts, and Steve adds to that tradition. He is highly credentialed, smart, compassionate, fun and engaging. We are thrilled to have him join us at such a transformative time for Section 32.”

“Steve has a deep understanding of diagnostics, therapeutics and the technologies that underlie healthcare, and this intersection is an important part of our focus at Section 32,” said Michael Pellini, M.D., Managing Partner at Section 32. “He is a proven company builder, with multi-decade relationships in Boston and the broader life science communities, which will benefit our team as we build our fund and partnership. His presence will add another tremendous resource for our portfolio companies to access, and I am personally very excited to partner with Steve again.”

Steve brings more than 20 years of experience in drug discovery, development and commercialization, and in molecular diagnostics, focusing on the formation and growth of companies that develop life-changing personalized medicine approaches for patients. He currently serves as executive chairman at Thrive Earlier Detection Corp., and at ArcherDX, and will continue operating in those roles.

Steve joins Section 32 from Third Rock Ventures, where he operated as both a partner and venture partner and helped lead the creation and launch of Thrive Earlier Detection. Previously, Steve was president and chief operating officer at Foundation Medicine Inc., where he helped lead the company’s growth including its initial public offering, collaboration with Roche, and rapid expansion of its operational activities. Before joining Foundation Medicine, Steve held leadership positions at Aileron Therapeutics, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Strategic Decisions Group and Forrester Research. He received his Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard University and holds an A.B. in economics and political science from Stanford.

“I am honored to join the amazing team at Section 32, and to expand our collective efforts to support innovation at the nexus of technology and healthcare,” said Steve. “I am incredibly grateful to Third Rock for the opportunity to work with their team and look forward to continuing a collaborative relationship with the firm. It will be great to work directly with Mike again, and I am excited to join the whole Section 32 team to expand our footprint in life sciences and to deepen our connections with the Boston innovation ecosystem.”

About Section 32
Section 32 is a venture capital fund investing at the frontiers of technology, healthcare and life sciences.

The fund’s partners have been founders, operators and investors in companies that have challenged the status quo, enhanced the human experience, and improved human health globally.

The team has led or managed investments in over 400 companies, resulting in 100+ mergers and acquisitions, 20+ IPOs and 40+ companies that have exceeded $1B valuations.

Recent investments are clustered around biotechnology, therapeutics, advanced diagnostics, software, cybersecurity, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

The fund backs curious and determined scientists, engineers, and designers who are tackling seemingly impossible-to-solve problems with a clear view on how the world should or will work.

Section 32 is based in California and invests across all stages of growth, primarily in US-based companies.

PRESS RELEASE

MENLO PARK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Frazier Healthcare Partners announced Danica Elliott has joined the Frazier Life Sciences team as Director of Human Capital. She will focus on executive-level talent assessments, organizational diligence, development programs, and alignment of talent strategies and resources that accelerate growth for Frazier’s investments. Ms. Elliott joined Frazier as Director of Human Capital on the Frazier Growth Buyout team in 2018.

Prior to Frazier Ms. Elliott worked in management consulting, leading extensive interviews and special initiatives with executive teams, board members, employees, and external partners followed by specific strategies for membership, portfolio, and funding growth. Ms. Elliott also ran a marketing consulting company for many years that provided solutions for growing businesses at all stages.

“The ability to attract top talent is the biggest imperative for our Life Sciences companies,” said Patrick Heron, Managing General Partner on the Frazier Life Sciences team. “We believe Danica’s skills and experience will enable us to strengthen our capabilities and efforts.”

About Frazier Healthcare Partners
Founded in 1991, Frazier Healthcare Partners is a leading provider of growth and venture capital to healthcare companies. With nearly $4.2 billion total capital raised, Frazier has invested in over 170 companies, with investment types ranging from company creation and venture capital to buyouts of profitable lower-middle market companies. The firm’s Growth Buyout team invests in healthcare and pharmaceutical services, medical products and related sectors. The Life Sciences team invests in therapeutics and related areas that are addressing unmet medical needs through innovation. Frazier has offices in Seattle, WA and Menlo Park, CA, and invests broadly across the US, Canada, and Europe.
For more information about Frazier Healthcare Partners, visit the company’s website at http://www.frazierhealthcare.com.

PRESS RELEASE

LONDON, Nov. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Alexander Mann Solutions, the leading global provider of talent acquisition and management services, is pleased to announce the appointment of David Leigh as Chief Executive Officer with effect from 11th November 2019. He succeeds Rosaleen Blair CBE, Founder and CEO, who becomes Chair of the Company’s Board.

Alexander Mann Solutions, founded by Rosaleen Blair in 1996, partners with its clients to deliver value through its outsourcing and consulting services. Over the last 22 years, it has grown to more than 4,500 employees operating in more than 100 countries globally. Acquired by OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees in Ontario, Canada in 2018, the business is uniquely positioned for further growth by delivering a broad range of talent acquisition and management services to clients in the ever-changing future world of work.

Rosaleen Blair said: “I have worked closely with our Board over the last twelve months to identify the right individual to lead our business for the next stage of our evolution, and I am delighted to welcome David Leigh to the Alexander Mann Solutions family as our next Chief Executive Officer. I have great confidence in both David and the phenomenal talent that exists throughout the company. I’m looking forward to supporting him, the Board and the entire organisation in the years ahead. My passion for, and commitment to Alexander Mann Solutions remains as strong now as it has ever been, and I am so proud of everything we have achieved to date. I believe the world of work is going to see seismic change as a result of technological, demographic and cultural shifts. Our role – partnering with our clients to design and maintain dynamic workforces that are true strategic assets in a digitally optimised world — requires us to continue to innovate, embracing new technologies to be an agile partner to our clients. I see my new role as helping David to set strategy and will work closely with our clients to ensure they get the best from Alexander Mann Solutions.”

David Leigh was most recently Chair and, prior to that, CEO of the leading international education provider, Study Group, and CEO of talent assessment and analytics specialist, SHL.

He said of his appointment: “I am delighted to be joining Alexander Mann Solutions, and to be partnering with Rosaleen and with OMERS. Alexander Mann Solutions is at the forefront of helping clients attract, engage and retain the talent they need, and I am excited to be joining an organisation with the opportunity to continue leading the market in the next wave of talent innovation. Alexander Mann Solutions has an unsurpassed ability to support clients in delivering strategic and agile workforce solutions, and I believe strongly this will be ever more in demand as the world of work continues to go through exponential change. The values-based culture of Alexander Mann Solutions and the undoubtable breadth and depth of its talented individuals is a strong foundation on which to build, and I am thrilled to be joining such a great team.”

Jonathan Mussellwhite, European Head of OMERS Private Equity, said: “Rosaleen has been an inspirational and visionary leader for Alexander Mann Solutions and is widely recognised for pioneering the industry in which it operates. Rosaleen’s appointment as Chair is at an exciting stage in the evolution of the company and we are looking forward to continuing to partner with her in her new role and as a significant shareholder and investor in the business. I am delighted to welcome David to Alexander Mann Solutions. His appointment as CEO brings not just a great successor to Rosaleen, but someone with expertise in leveraging technology and data to drive company performance. We believe the company is exceptionally well placed for its next phase of growth and are looking forward to working with Rosaleen and David over the coming years.”

About Alexander Mann Solutions

We’re passionate about helping companies and individuals fulfil their potential through talent acquisition and management. Today, over 4,500 of our talent acquisition and management experts partner with more than 100 blue-chip organisations, operating in 40 languages, and over 90 countries. We deliver a distinctive blend of outsourcing solutions and – through Talent Collective – a full range of consulting and specialist services. We provide unrivalled experience, capability and thought leadership to help clients attract, engage and retain the talent they need for business success. This approach has led to us being ranked No. 1 in HRO Today’s RPO Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Survey for two consecutive years. www.alexandermannsolutions.com

About OMERS and OMERS Private Equity 

Founded in 1962, OMERS is one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, with more than C$97 billion in net assets, as at December 31, 2018. OMERS invests and administers pensions for more than half a million members through originating and managing a diversified portfolio of investments in public markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate.

OMERS had private equity net investment asset exposure of C$14.2 billion as at December 31, 2018. OMERS Private Equity, the private equity investment arm of OMERS with a team of investment professionals in London, New York, Singapore and Toronto, seeks to use its significant and differentiated capital base to partner with management teams of industry leading businesses. For more information, please visit www.omersprivateequity.com.

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SPARTANBURG, S.C. (PRWEB) NOVEMBER 04, 2019

Eggs Up Grill has announced the appointment of Todd Owen as its new VP of Franchise Development. Todd is assuming responsibility for leading Eggs Up Grill growth by recruiting new qualified franchise partners into the rapidly expanding brand’s system. Owen brings a rich background in successful franchise development, leading sales and business development with brands that included Qdoba Mexican Eats, spearheading growth from 60 to more than 600 locations.

“We selected Todd after a thorough and extensive search of the industry’s top talent in franchise development,” said Ricky Richardson, CEO of Eggs Up Grill. “Todd joining our team marks the next step in our commitment to offering best-in-class support to our franchisees, we’re thrilled to welcome Todd to the Eggs Up Grill team and know that he will make an immediate impact on our growing franchise community.”

He is now responsible for leading Eggs Up Grill’s efforts in recruiting qualified franchisees and assisting existing owners with developing their strategic growth plans as they reinvest and add new Eggs Up Grill restaurants to their portfolio. Owen shares Eggs Up Grill’s commitment to supporting prospects and ensuring its franchisees are set up to build a successful business through the brand.

“It’s a privilege to serve the team, guests and franchisees at a such a beloved and growing brand,” said Owen. “I look forward to supporting our franchisees and contributing to growth. We are on a journey to grow the Eggs Up Grill brand, the business, restaurants and equity for the company and our franchise partners.”

ABOUT EGGS UP GRILL:
Eggs Up Grill is home to the whole neighborhood, serving smiles from sunup thru lunch. The aromas of freshly brewed coffee, savory bacon and hand-cracked, farm-fresh eggs on the griddle and warm, attentive team members will make you feel right at home. We are “neighbors serving neighbors” daily from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Originally founded in Pawleys Island, S.C. in 1997 by restaurateur Chris Skodras, Eggs Up Grill has grown to 36 locations across the Southeast and is headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. With strong AUVs and consistent comp sales momentum, it’s no wonder existing franchisees are reinvesting in the brand, accounting for half of its projected 40% growth in 2019. In 2018, private equity firm WJ Partners acquired Eggs Up Grill, building the team and priming the brand to rapidly grow in more communities across the US with plans underway to reach the 100-location mark by 2022. For more information, visit https://www.eggsupgrill.com/franchise.

PRESS RELEASE

JEGI | CLARITY is very pleased to announce today that Scott Mozarsky has joined JEGI | CLARITY’s Leadership Team as Managing Director. Scott will focus on building an M&A practice at JEGI | CLARITY encompassing opportunities across the Legal Market including Legal Tech, Legal Services/Alternative Legal Service providers, and Legal Finance, as well as on expanding JEGI | CLARITY’s Business Information practice. JEGI | CLARITY’s CEO, Wilma Jordan, noted “We have known Scott for more than 20 years, sat across the table from him many times in his corporate development roles and have watched him consummate numerous transactions on behalf of his employers. We are very pleased that he is bringing his wealth of transaction experience to JEGI | CLARITY.”

Scott, who spent the first seven years of his career as a cross border M&A attorney, has over 25 years of M&A, capital markets and operating experience across the Technology, Business Information, B2B Media and Financial Services industries. In addition to roles leading Bloomberg’s business across the Legal market and large parts of PR Newswire and UBM Tech, Mozarsky was global head of M&A for UBM and played a key role in UBM’s transformation from a North America-centric print media group to a global provider of marketing solutions, face-to-face events and data products. At Bloomberg, Mozarsky led one of the legal market’s leading technology, data and analytics businesses. At Vannin Capital, Mozarsky has led North America for one of the world’s largest legal finance organizations.
Mozarsky is a thought leader who frequently speaks and writes about trends and opportunities in the rapidly growing Legal Tech and Legal Finance industries as well as on topics ranging from marketing services to earned media and communications. Mozarsky stated “I am excited to be joining the JEGI | CLARITY team and to be working with a terrific group of knowledgeable, thoughtful and creative people. JEGI | CLARITY’s success across the media, information, marketing, software and tech-enabled services sectors for over 30 years speaks for itself and provides a strong foundation on which to add value to organizations across the legal industry and other verticals with similar patterns of disruption to those encountered in the B2B Media and Marketing Services industries.”

ABOUT JEGI | CLARITY
JEGI | CLARITY (www.jegiclarity.com), is the leading independent investment bank for the global media, information, marketing, software and tech-enabled services sectors. With offices in New York, Boston, London and Sydney, we have closed more than 700 transactions during our 30+ year history.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK—November 4, 2019—O’Melveny today announced a significant addition to its Corporate Finance group with the arrival of partner Jeffery Norton. The move is a homecoming for Norton, an experienced finance lawyer who spent the first 20 years of his career at O’Melveny.

A highly respected leveraged finance advisor, Norton most recently practiced at two other international law firms, serving as U.S. managing partner and finance practice head at one. In addition to advising direct lenders, middle-market banks, private equity sponsors, and large corporations in domestic and cross-border transactions, Norton has served for more than a decade as counsel to a number of leading international banks.

Norton is the second partner to join O’Melveny’s Corporate Finance team in New York in the past month, reflecting the firm’s commitment to expanding its capabilities in this area. Jason Kaplan, a specialist in aviation finance, joined the firm on October 14.

“It’s our great pleasure to welcome Jeff back to the firm,” said O’Melveny Chair Bradley J. Butwin. “He has a sterling reputation in the leveraged finance space and shares our core values, including an unwavering commitment to our clients and colleagues. His arrival, together with the addition of Jason just weeks ago, advances our strategy of building a platform centered around the industries our clients compete in and the services they demand.”

“I’m thrilled to return to O’Melveny to rejoin old friends and make new ones,” said Norton. “The firm is well known for its dedication to excellence and its collaborative, interdisciplinary culture. This rare combination makes O’Melveny the best possible place for me to serve my clients.”

Norton advises clients on the full spectrum of financing matters, including acquisitions and debt refinancings, Chapter 11 approvals and settlements, loans and term credit facilities, debt issuances, high yield financing, liability management, bids for sale, lines of credit, and other transactions. With broad-based industry experience, Norton has also developed a deep specialty in working with telecommunications and media companies. He has been consistently recognized by the Chambers USA and Chambers Global guides as a leading lawyer in corporate finance.

Norton earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 1985. He earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Washington.
O’Melveny is a globally recognized advisor to some of the world’s largest corporations, financial institutions and investment funds in strategic, sophisticated transactions across North America, Europe, and Asia.

About O’Melveny
It’s more than what you do: it’s how you do it. Across sectors and borders, in board rooms and courtrooms, we measure our success by yours. And in our interactions, we commit to making your O’Melveny experience as satisfying as the outcomes we help you achieve. Our greatest accomplishment is ensuring that you never have to choose between premier lawyering and exceptional service. So, tell us. What do you want to achieve? Visit us at omm.com

PRESS RELEASE

PALO ALTO, Calif., — November 4, 2019 — AppLovin, a mobile games company focused on building technology that fuels many of the world’s most popular mobile games, today is pleased to announce that Herald Chen joined the company starting immediately in the role of President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and remains on the AppLovin board. AppLovin also announced it has further strengthened its senior management team with the addition of Scott Shipman as Chief Legal Officer (CLO) and Elena Arutunian as Chief Accounting Officer (CAO).

“We have had the good fortune of working closely with Herald as an investor and board member,” said Adam Foroughi, AppLovin Co-founder and CEO. “He has been instrumental to our strategy as we pursue greater opportunities in mobile gaming. We are excited to have him join the leadership team where he will play a larger role and contribute further to our success.”

Chen was most recently head of Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) in the Americas at KKR, where he led the firm’s investment in AppLovin. He rejoined KKR in 2007, having previously worked for the firm from 1995 to 1997, and served as Chairman of the Board for several companies, including BMC, Epicor Software, Optiv Security and Mitchell International. In addition to AppLovin, Chen will continue to serve on the Board of Directors of WebMD, Internet Brands, GoDaddy, Teach for America-Bay Area and the University of Pennsylvania’s Management and Technology Program. His operational experience includes roles as CEO of ACMI Corporation and Co-founder and CFO of Jamcracker, Inc. He holds a B.S. and a B.S.E. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

“I have been impressed with AppLovin’s progress and growth, rising to a leadership position in the mobile gaming sector,” said Chen. “I’m looking forward to joining Adam and his excellent team at a moment of great opportunity for the company.”

As AppLovin’s CLO, Shipman is responsible for overseeing legal, risk, compliance and data protection at the company. His career includes a 16-year tenure at eBay where he served as associate general counsel and global privacy leader. More recently, he was general counsel at Sensity Systems, acquired by Verizon in 2016. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and a J.D. in High Tech Law from Santa Clara University, where he later established and taught courses in a Privacy Law Certificate program.

Arutunian joins AppLovin from Lyft, where she served as vice president and corporate controller since 2014. There she scaled its team to meet public company requirements and led the accounting and the tax teams through its IPO. She has more than 20 years of corporate finance and consulting experience including 13 years at PwC advising technology companies on financial transactions and accounting issues. She studied finance and economics at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Belarusian State Economic University and Joint Vienna Institute.

“Herald, Scott and Elena bring strong experience and leadership to our senior team at an important stage in the company’s growth,” said Foroughi. “These are significant, strategic hires who will play key roles as AppLovin continues to grow and execute on our mission, to entertain the world with the best mobile games by helping game developers reach players everywhere.”

About AppLovin
AppLovin builds technology that fuels many of the world’s most popular mobile games. Since 2012, the company’s technologies have been instrumental in driving the explosive growth of games from its studio partners and its own studio. AppLovin makes those same technologies available to all game developers, resulting in a richer mobile game ecosystem and better games for people everywhere. AppLovin is headquartered in Palo Alto, California with offices around the world. Learn more at applovin.com.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Namely, the #1 HR software company for mid-sized companies, today announced the appointment of Amy Roy as chief people officer. Roy will be responsible for talent acquisition, employee retention and growth and development. As a veteran HR practitioner, she will also bring valuable insights that will help evolve the Namely platform.

Roy brings more than 20 years of experience, with a broad background in talent management, development, training and change management. She joins Namely most recently from Ceridian, where she held the title of vice president of people strategy.

“Amy is a talented and empathetic leader with whom I’ve had the privilege of partnering with before, as part of the Ceridian leadership team,” said Larry Dunivan, chief executive officer of Namely. “She brings critical experience to our people team as Namely itself continues to grow, and also brings a keen understanding of the challenges mid-sized companies face when managing teams.”

“As an HR practitioner, I have long-admired the resources that Namely brings to small and mid-sized business, so I’m thrilled to join the organization,” said Amy Roy. “Employees today have high expectations of employers. From the interview process and onboarding to payroll, quality internal tools have the ability to attract and attain the best.”

Amy holds a master’s degree in human resource management from Rutgers University, and is also a certified six-sigma blackbelt and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

About Namely
Namely is the first HR platform that employees actually love to use. Namely’s award-winning, powerful, easy-to-use technology allows companies to handle all of their HR, payroll, time management, and benefits in one place. Coupled with dedicated account support, every Namely client gets the software and service they need to deliver great HR and a strong, engaged company culture. Namely is used by over 1,000 clients with over 175,000 employees globally.

Headquartered in New York City, the company is backed by investors including Altimeter Capital, GGV Capital, Matrix Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, Tenaya Capital, and True Ventures. For more information, visit www.Namely.com.

PRESS RELEASE

BOSTON, Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Entrada Therapeutics, a biotechnology company dedicated to transforming the treatment of devastating diseases through the intracellular delivery of biologics, today announced the appointment of Nathan J. Dowden as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Dowden was most recently Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Rubius Therapeutics (Nasdaq: RUBY) and joins Entrada with almost 30 years of strategy, investment and operational experience in the healthcare field.

“Nate brings an extensive track record of both strategic and operational expertise from his time spent as a life sciences strategy consultant and the role he has played in the start-up and growth of several successful biotechnology companies,” said Dipal Doshi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Entrada Therapeutics. “He joins Entrada at a pivotal stage in our Company’s growth trajectory and we look forward to having his leadership on our executive team.”

While serving as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Rubius, Mr. Dowden worked to develop and integrate the company’s platform, capital formation and communication strategy to support the organization’s evolution from an early discovery company into a clinical development organization. Prior to joining Rubius, Mr. Dowden served as Managing Director at the Huron Consulting Group, having joined Huron in 2014 through its acquisition of The Frankel Group, a boutique life sciences strategy consulting firm. Mr. Dowden spent 16 years helping to lead The Frankel Group, where he worked with biopharmaceutical companies on new venture creation, portfolio management and product commercialization. He has also worked at Ernest & Young in the healthcare practice, Searle Pharmaceuticals and CIGNA Healthcare. Mr. Dowden earned a B.S. from the University of Connecticut and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

“Entrada was founded upon pioneering science in the field of intracellular biologics, which have broad-ranging applications from enzyme replacement and nucleic acid therapies in rare diseases to protein degradation in cancer,” said Mr. Dowden. “I am excited to be joining Entrada and look forward to working with Dipal and the rest of the team to shape the Company’s strategy as we progress our lead program and build out the pipeline.”

About Entrada Therapeutics
Entrada Therapeutics’ mission is to treat devastating diseases through the intracellular delivery of biologics. Entrada’s technology enables the efficient intracellular delivery of proteins, peptides and nucleic acids, thus allowing for the development of programs across several intracellular target classes. The Company’s novel approach addresses current challenges associated with both large and small molecule therapeutics and represents a fundamental advancement in the delivery of molecules into the cell. For more information, please visit www.entradatx.com.

PRESS RELEASE

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Omada A/S (“Omada”), a global leader of Identity Governance and Administration (“IGA”) software and cloud delivered IGA services, today announced the appointment of Michael Garrett as CEO. IGA services improve compliance and IT security, manage secure access across all corporate systems, ensure employee access is compliant with access policies and help to automate IT processes for better efficiency.

Michael joins Omada with extensive software and services experience and was most recently CEO at Workshare, a UK-based provider of secure enterprise file sharing and collaboration applications. Prior to this he spent 15 years at Hewlett Packard where he led the Global Software Services Division. Michael will bring deep global software experience to the existing leadership team enabling the acceleration of Omada’s growth.

Michael takes over as CEO from founder Morten Boel Sigurdsson, who is taking on a new role as President of the rapidly expanding North American region where his knowledge and experience will be vital.

The appointment forms part of a significant growth and investment plan following the acquisition of Omada by two leading private equity firms, CVC Capital Partners and GRO Capital. Michael’s appointment is the latest of a number of key leadership and Board changes over the last year, including; adding industry leading technology executives, Kevin Hickey (President & CEO of Prevalent and previously President & CEO of Beyond Trust) and Franck Cohen (previously President SAP Digital Core & Industry Solutions and previously President SAP EMEA) as Non-Executive Board Directors and Jim Ousley (Senior Operating Partner at CVC Growth Partners, previously CEO at Savvis, and several other global technology companies) as Chairman of the Board, as well as new leaders in the Services and US Sales teams (Lars Bell and Jim Voloumanos).

Jim Ousley, Chairman, says: “We are excited to have Michael join the leadership team at Omada. His extensive and proven industry expertise in leading global software and services organizations will be a great addition to the company, coupled with the other on-going positive enhancements we are making as we embark on our next stage of global growth.”

“I am very pleased to join Omada at this pivotal time in the company’s history,” said Michael Garrett. “IGA is one of the fastest evolving requirements of digital transformation, compliance and IT security. Organizations across the globe are currently in a transition to the next generation of identity and access governance and this is exactly what Omada provides today,” Michael continues. “I believe Omada is perfectly positioned with a superior enterprise grade IGA SaaS solution in combination with the unique best practice IGA process framework. This combination differentiates Omada in the market, accelerating adoption and return on investment for its customers. I look forward to working with the broader Omada team to execute on our transformational growth strategy.”

Morten Boel Sigurdsson adds, “Omada is experiencing strong demand for its software and services offerings driven by increasing market demand for efficient, flexible compliance products and services. Our IGA leadership position was recently highlighted by being named as a Leader in the 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Identity Governance and Administration. I look forward to working with Michael and our team in this exciting new chapter for the company.”

About Omada
Omada helps its customers globally to govern and control users’ access rights to enterprise systems and data, reduce risk of accidental or wrongful data access, and ensure compliance with regulation (such as GDPR), as well as industry-specific legislation. The business provides its innovative identity management and access governance solutions and services to an extensive customer portfolio of large and midsize enterprises within banking, utilities, public sector, securities and insurance, healthcare, and other verticals. Founded in 2000, the business is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with over 270 employees across offices in Europe and North America. For further information, please visit: www.omada.net.

About CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm. Founded in 1981, CVC today has a network of 24 offices and over 500 employees throughout Europe, Asia and the US. To date, CVC has secured commitments of over US$129 billion from some of the world’s leading institutional investors across its private equity and credit strategies. In total, CVC currently manages approximately US$83 billion of assets. Today, funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in 73 companies worldwide, employing over 300,000 people in numerous countries. Together, these companies have combined annual sales of approximately US$100 billion. For further information about CVC please visit: www.cvc.com.

About CVC Growth Partners
Launched in 2014, CVC Growth Partners is the growth-oriented middle-market technology investment arm of CVC Capital Partners. CVC Growth Partners primarily targets equity investments between $50mn and $200mn in North America and Europe and manages over US$2.5 billion in assets across two dedicated funds. For further information about CVC Growth Partners please visit: www.cvc.com/growth.

About GRO Capital
GRO Capital is a North European private equity fund with an exclusive focus on mature B2B software and tech enabled companies with strong growth prospects. GRO Capital serves as active owners developing portfolio companies with a view to create long-term value. The partners behind GRO Capital have been investors in more than 20 technology and software related companies. Omada is the first investment in GRO Fund II, a recently raised fund with a strategy to accelerate Northern European software companies. In addition to Omada, GRO Capital has in GRO Fund I invested in Auditdata, Boyum IT Solutions, Tacton Systems, Targit, Trackunit, and Trifork, all successful software providers. For further information about GRO Capital please visit: www.grocapital.dk

PRESS RELEASE

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cerevel Therapeutics, a company dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the brain to treat neuroscience diseases, announced today that it has added Gabrielle Sulzberger to serve as an independent member of its Board of Directors. Ms. Sulzberger is the former chairperson of the board of Whole Foods and an accomplished financial services professional with over 30 years of experience in both private equity and as a chief financial officer across a broad range of industries, including consumer goods, retail, financial services and healthcare. She also possesses extensive corporate governance expertise, having served on the boards of several publicly-traded and privately-held companies, with particular expertise in mergers and acquisitions, risk assessment, as well as engagement with shareholder activists.

“Gabrielle is a proven leader with a unique background and skillset, which we feel will complement and strengthen our existing team,” said Tony Coles, M.D., chief executive officer and chairperson of Cerevel Therapeutics. “We’re confident that the diverse range of business circumstances she’s experienced throughout her career will offer an invaluable perspective, and we’ll look to her knowledge to help us navigate through complex situations, corporate milestones, and different phases of growth and expansion.”

“It is such an exciting and unprecedented period of innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry,” said Ms. Sulzberger. “The progress this team is making to develop new treatments for some of the most under-served and complex diseases is what attracted me to the opportunity, and I look forward to helping the organization realize its full potential to become a premier neuroscience company.”

About Gabrielle Sulzberger
Ms. Sulzberger currently serves as general partner of Rustic Canyon/Fontis Partners, a position she has held since 2007. Prior to joining RC/Fontis, Ms. Sulzberger served as chief financial officer of several public and private companies, including Gluecode Software, a venture-backed open source software company which was sold to IBM, and Crown Services, a California-based consolidation of commercial contractors.

Until August of 2017, Ms. Sulzberger served as chairperson of the board of Whole Foods and previously spent 13 years as chairperson of Whole Foods’ audit committee. She currently serves on the boards of MasterCard, Brixmor Property Group, where she chairs the governance committee, and two private-equity backed companies: Acorns and True Food Kitchen, where she also serves as chairperson. Ms. Sulzberger has also served on four other public company boards: Teva Pharmaceuticals, Stage Stores, IndyMac Bank, and Bright Horizons, as well as numerous private company boards.

Ms. Sulzberger is a Trustee of the Ford Foundation. She also serves on the boards of the Women Corporate Directors Foundation, the National Association of Corporate Director’s Audit Advisory Council, Trinity Church Wall Street and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. In 2014 she was named a “Top 100 Director” by the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Ms. Sulzberger earned her B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University. She received her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar.

About Cerevel Therapeutics
Cerevel Therapeutics is dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the brain to treat neuroscience diseases. The company seeks to unlock the science surrounding new treatment opportunities through understanding the neurocircuitry of neuroscience diseases and associated symptoms. Cerevel Therapeutics has a diversified pipeline comprising four clinical-stage investigational therapies and several pre-clinical compounds with the potential to treat a range of neuroscience diseases, including Parkinson’s, epilepsy, schizophrenia and substance use disorders. Headquartered in Boston, Cerevel Therapeutics is advancing its current research and development programs while exploring new modalities through internal research efforts, external collaborations or potential acquisitions. For more information, visit www.cerevel.com.

PRESS RELEASE

ACTIVA CAPITAL BOOSTS ITS INVESTMENT TEAM WITH THE recruitment OF camille emin AS ASSOCIATE

Activa Capital, the French private equity firm, is pursuing its development strategy and announces the appointment of Camille Emin as Associate.

Camille will reinforce the investment team and bring her expertise in the analysis of new investment opportunities.

Prior to joining Activa Capital, Camille worked at BNP Paribas as an M&A Analyst for 2 years, after previous work experience at Transaction R and KBC Bank & Verzekering.

Camille, 26, is a graduate of Audencia Nantes Business School and Ecole Centrale Paris.

Christophe Parier and Alexandre Masson, Managing Partners at Activa Capital, declare: “We are very happy to welcome Camille to our investment team, which count 13 professionals dedicated to investments. Her arrival strengthens our ability to execute high quality transactions.”

About Activa Capital

Activa Capital is an independent private equity company, owned by its partners, characterized by a proactive strategy of supporting growth (organic and external). It currently manages more than €500 million on behalf of institutional investors by investing in French SMEs and Mid-Caps with high growth potential and an enterprise value ranging between €20 million and €100 million. Activa Capital supports its portfolio companies to accelerate their development and international presence, often through active build-up programs.

To learn more about Activa Capital, visit activacapital.com

PRESS RELEASE

PRIVATE equity house WestBridge has further expanded its team with the appointment of Rebecca Sinclair as Investment Executive.

A graduate of the University of Durham, Rebecca joined the HSBC Corporate Banking Graduate Scheme, securing a Diploma in Banking Practice and Finance.

Over a period of three years, she contributed to the successful completion of over 40 transactions and became the youngest person to be promoted to Senior Associate in its leveraged finance team.

At WestBridge, Rebecca will support the investment team with deal origination, deal execution and portfolio management, specifically in London and the Midlands.

Of her move, she said: “Moving to be a private equity principal is extremely exciting. WestBridge has a strong reputation in the market as a dynamic, growing business. Having recently closed its second fund at £140m, it’s an especially exciting time to join.”

Valerie Kendall, one of the WestBridge founding partners, said: “Rebecca is a tremendous new team member. She is motivated and energetic, and her skills very much complement the rest of our team.”

WestBridge has offices in London, Manchester and Cardiff. It typically invests between £10-£20m into established, profitable and ambitious UK SMEs with enterprise values of between £15m and £40m.

PRESS RELEASE

LONDON, Nov. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Amplience, a specialist content management solution vendor for headless commerce, today announced that Pete Daffern has been appointed Chairman of its Board of Directors with immediate effect.

In a career spanning 25 years, Daffern has held CEO and senior executive roles at many highly successful technology ventures based in the US and UK, including the position of President EMEA at NetSuite. Most recently he was CEO of the customer experience measurement vendor Foresee. Daffern is also Operating Partner at Vitruvian Partners, Peakspan Capital and is a Venture Partner at Octopus Ventures.

Speaking about his appointment, Daffern said; “Amplience is that rare opportunity, a UK-based software company with global potential and huge ambition. I’ve had the pleasure of working with James Brooke and the Amplience team over the past four years as a non-executive-director and have seen the company expand to become one of the leading new-wave vendors in the CMS space. The potential for Amplience to lead this important software category is exciting, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to work more closely with the team to further accelerate its success.”

Jo Oliver, Partner at Octopus Ventures, and one of Amplience’s investors, added: “Pete has been an active Venture Partner and highly valued member of the Amplience Board for the past four years. In his new role as Chairman, Pete will bring his considerable experience to bear in supporting the team at this critical time for the company.”

James Brooke, CEO of Amplience, said; “We’ve experienced rapid growth over the past four years as our focus on enabling high performance mobile commerce experiences is driving rapid market adoption. The appointment of Pete Daffern will deliver yet further impetus to our ambitions, as we seek to fully realise the potential of our software to disrupt the CMS category, and build deeper and more valuable relationships with global brands and enterprise retailers.

“The industry’s shift to a Microservices, API-first, Cloud and Headless architecture for digital experiences comes at an ideal time for us. In the last year alone we’ve experienced triple digit YoY growth in content delivery, assets managed and number of users, and rapid customer expansion, particularly in North America, and I look forward to working with Pete to deliver a truly world-class software company,” continued Brooke.

About Amplience
Amplience’s content management solutions enable high performance mobile-first shopping experiences that combine rich content and media with personalisation to deliver engaged customers and high sales conversions. Amplience is built Microservices, API first, Cloud and Headless (MACH) and comes with powerful line-of-business tools that enable content teams to transform their productivity. With Amplience, complex experience management is done by making changes to content, not code. Put simply, Amplience enables the freedom to do more. More than 300 of the world’s leading brands, including Tumi, Crate & Barrel, Gap, Shop Direct, Liberty London, Mulberry, Nelly, Otto and Boohoo benefit from our specialized content and experience management solutions.

For more information on the Amplience platform including Dynamic Content and Dynamic Media, please visit www.amplience.com.

About Octopus Ventures
Octopus Ventures helps pioneers change the world. The pioneers we back dare to reimagine the future of health, money and deep tech. With £1.2 billion under management, Octopus Ventures is one of the largest VCs in Europe. Our typical investment is from £1 million for Seed to £5 million for Series A and we can follow our investment from a few hundred thousand right up to £25 million. Our team is based in London and New York with Venture Partners in San Francisco, Singapore and China.

The companies we back become a part of this network, with access to a formidable resource of experience and expertise. Octopus Ventures have backed the founding teams of nearly 100 companies including Zoopla, Secret Escapes, Elvie, Depop, Sofar Sounds and Cazoo. Some of our portfolio companies have gone on to join forces with the world’s largest businesses including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Twitter.

PRESS RELEASE

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Raymond James has hired experienced finance professional James Kim as managing director in the firm’s Health Care Investment Banking practice. Based in New York City, Kim will focus on the life sciences and biotechnology sectors.

“James is a talented banker with deep expertise in the biotech sector,” said Jim Bunn, president of Raymond James Global Equities and Investment Banking. “As we continue to grow the life sciences presence across our global banking platform, our focus is on attracting top-quality talent who are adept at delivering results to clients, and we’re pleased to add James to our respected group.”

Kim joins Raymond James from Cantor Fitzgerald where he spent the past three years as managing director in the health care investment banking group. Prior to Cantor Fitzgerald, Kim served as managing director of health care investment banking at Jefferies and worked at UBS in their health care investment banking group. He has more than 16 years of experience working with and advising clients in the life sciences and biopharmaceutical sectors. Kim graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics.

“As biotech continues to disrupt the healthcare sector and grow in importance to the overall market, our clients require and appreciate counsel from experienced professionals with access to an industry-leading distribution platform,” said Andrew Gitkin, co-head of Health Care Investment Banking. “James’ ability to understand and blend both the science and finance sides of the sector is a real differentiator to clients and we’re thrilled to have him join our team.”

About Raymond James Investment Banking
Raymond James Investment Banking offers highly regarded capital formation and financial advisory services. Since 2015, we have participated in raising nearly $220 billion in capital for our corporate clients and completed more than 720 advisory assignments, including more than 610 M&A buy-side or sell-side advisory assignments.

About Raymond James Financial, Inc.
Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) is a leading diversified financial services company providing private client group, capital markets, asset management, banking and other services to individuals, corporations and municipalities. The company has approximately 8,000 financial advisors. Total client assets are $838 billion. Public since 1983, the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RJF. Additional information is available at www.raymondjames.com. Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC.

PRESS RELEASE

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Mindstrong Health, a healthcare innovation company dedicated to transforming mental health through innovations in digital measurement and virtual care models, today announced that Daniel Graf, a veteran technologist and leader of key product teams at Uber, Twitter and Google, has been appointed CEO. Graf will lead Mindstrong as it expands the use of its comprehensive virtual care solution for patients with serious mental illness (SMI).

Mindstrong CEO Daniel Graf said: “Over more than twenty years I have had the opportunity to help build several transformative consumer services, including Uber, Google Maps, and startups that I co-founded. I have always been fascinated by the potential for technology to transform the lives of everyday people, especially with regard to health and wellbeing, resulting in people living better, more satisfying lives. Paul and the Mindstrong team have built an impressive foundation that has the potential to transform the field of mental health – helping people that need it most. It’s an honor and joy to join them on this journey.”

Mindstrong founder Paul Dagum said: “It has been immensely exciting to create and lead Mindstrong over these five years. From pioneering passive brain health measurement using a smartphone to the launch and growth of our innovative mental health practice model, I have been proud of the progress we’ve made on delivering better care at lower cost for people with serious mental illness. Daniel is a highly successful digital product executive. I am excited that he joins us as CEO to further our vision and grow Mindstrong into a transformative health solution which can improve the lives of people all over the world.”

Since its founding in 2013, Mindstrong Health has pioneered a new model of comprehensive, round-the-clock virtual care for patients with serious mental illness. The patient-facing smartphone app Health by Mindstrong is the gateway to these services. Patients can use the app to monitor their own mental health, enabled by digital biomarker technology that can monitor for changes in mood and cognition. The app can trigger alerts to patients and their care provider when these markers indicate their mental health may be at risk. Clinicians use in-app messaging to work with patients and triage their situation and escalate patients to teletherapy for help. Paired with ongoing care coordination, telepsychiatry services, and round-the-clock monitoring and telehealth access, the app provides SMI patients with much needed support.

Mindstrong co-founder and executive chairman Rick Klausner said: “Mindstrong is at an inflection point in the journey to a clinically effective, engaging, continuous digital health system for people with serious mental illness. By gathering real world evidence, we can create a digital health future based on deep science and state-of-the-art technology that can meet the patient where they are and when they need it.”

Broader access to high-quality mental health care is one of the biggest unmet medical needs in the United States. More than 11 million American adults have a serious mental illness but high-quality, evidence-based treatment is often inaccessible despite the high spend by public and private payers alike. As many as one third of adults with a serious mental illness did not receive any mental health services in the past year, contributing to unsustainable rates of psychiatric hospitalizations and morbidity. More than 110 million Americans live in areas with a shortage of mental health care providers. And while demand for services persist, the number of available psychiatric hospital beds has fallen dramatically in recent years.

The health system confronts ballooning costs related to mental health care. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMSHA has projected total mental health spending reaching $238 billion in the year 2020, and in a separate assessment, SMI was estimated to cost the United States $193 billion in lost earnings each year.

Optum Ventures’ Managing Partner Larry Renfro said: “We are thrilled that Daniel has joined Mindstrong as Chief Executive. Daniel is a pioneer in his field, with distinguished experience at the convergence of software, digital, and the consumer. We have been continually impressed at Mindstrong’s ability to move from transformative science to real patient impact, and the addition of Daniel to a powerful team of scientists, doctors, and innovators positions Mindstrong to accelerate its vision for transformational, predictive behavioral health care.”

About Daniel Graf
Daniel is an entrepreneurial technology leader with over 25 years of experience bringing high impact and innovative products to market around the globe.

Before joining Mindstrong, Daniel led product at Uber, including a cross-functional team of over 1,000 people. Prior to Uber, Daniel served as vice president of consumer products at Twitter, and senior director of Geo Consumer at Google, where he was responsible for two of the most successful and ubiquitous consumer technology products in history: Google Maps and Local Search. While at Google, he conceived of and led the Google Maps for Apple iOS initiative. Before Google, he was co-founder and CEO of Kyte, a pioneer in mobile video technology.

Daniel is an active member of the Silicon Valley technology community, serving as an angel investor and advisor to dozens of international technology startups and early-stage venture funds. He holds an M.S. in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from NTB in Switzerland.

About Mindstrong Health
Mindstrong Health is a healthcare innovation company dedicated to transforming mental health through innovations in digital measurement and virtual care models. Mindstrong’s solution and health services help detect illness relapse early to deliver preemptive care and improve outcomes. The company is based in Mountain View, California, and is backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Optum Ventures, General Catalyst, Foresite Capital, Bezos Expeditions, Decheng Capital, Berggruen Holdings, and One Mind Brain Health Impact Fund. To learn more about Mindstrong Health, visit www.mindstronghealth.com.

PRESS RELEASE

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–International law firm Proskauer announced today the arrival of Kirsten Lapham as a Partner in its market leading Global Private Funds Practice in London.

“Kirsten’s arrival marks another key development for our team,” said Nigel van Zyl, co-head of the Private Funds Group. “The regulatory landscape for our clients is increasingly complex. Kirsten’s extensive asset management experience further deepens our client offering in this area.”

Kirsten advises on a variety of financial services regulatory and compliance issues. Her practice has a specific emphasis on the asset management sector, advising on the regulatory issues arising under the AIFMD and MiFID II for a range of EU and indirectly impacted firms outside of the EU. Uniquely, Kirsten also advises on the regulatory issues that impact M&A transactions, representing some of the largest and most well-known alternative investment managers. She joins from Ropes & Gray.

Proskauer also welcomes Aranpreet Randhawa as Special Funds Counsel. Aranpreet advises fund managers on a range of matters, including fundraising and fund structuring, spin-outs, co-investments, secondary transactions, end of life restructurings and fund maintenance. She has led on multiple European fundraises of both onshore and offshore buyout, infrastructure and real estate funds. Prior to joining Proskauer, Aranpreet was with Linklaters and Kirkland and Ellis.

“It’s been an exciting time at Proskauer over the past few months, with a number of new arrivals to further enhance our global private funds platform,” says London Managing Partner Mary Kuusisto. “I’m delighted to welcome both Kirsten and Aranpreet to the team. Their expertise will be of great value to our fund clients.”

Proskauer has announced a number of additions to its market-leading Private Funds Practice in recent months including Partners Leith Moghli and Warren Allen, and Special Counsels Brendan Gallen and Katerina Heal. The team has also enjoyed external recognition of late and was voted by the industry as Law Firm of the Year in Fund Structuring at last month’s Unquote Private Equity Awards, as well as Law Firm of the Year in Europe for Fund Formation in March by Private Equity International.

Additional information about the Firm can be found at www.proskauer.com.

PRESS RELEASE

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA, November 1, 2019 – Gemini Bioproducts, LLC (“Gemini”), a leading supplier of cell culture reagents and a portfolio company of BelHealth Investment Partners, LLC (“BelHealth”), a New York-based healthcare private equity firm, announced the appointment of Robert Perry as Chief Operating Officer.

Robert Perry has over thirty years of life sciences industry experience in biotechnology and cell therapy companies. His career has spanned multi-functional roles including pilot and full-scale manufacturing, quality, materials science and engineering, and facilities design and build. Most recently, Mr. Perry was a Senior Director at Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: ATRA), where he established and oversaw the company’s Materials Science program through qualification of its key raw materials suppliers. Prior to that, Mr. Perry was also a Senior Director of CMC Manufacturing, where he led the end to end buildout of Atara’s 120,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Thousand Oaks, CA. Mr. Perry’s previous experience includes key roles at Athersys, Inc. as VP of Manufacturing and Biocircuits Corporation. He was also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Mr. Perry began his career at Becton Dickinson.

Dale Gordon, CEO of Gemini, stated “I am delighted to welcome Rob to the Gemini executive leadership team. Rob’s deep manufacturing and operational expertise will be instrumental to Gemini’s continued focus on compliance and quality as we continue to grow as a customer-centric life sciences tools platform. Furthermore, Rob’s recent experience at Atara is very germane to several of Gemini’s near-term strategic endeavors, including the buildout of our new GMP facility, which we expect to complete in early 2020.”

Rob Perry added, “I look forward to joining Dale and the team at Gemini in this exciting role. Gemini is a unique bioprocessing solutions platform that has evolved to be a trusted partner to many of its biotech and academic customers in a fast growing and constantly developing landscape around new therapeutic developments such as CAR-T. I am excited to work with Gemini to scale the Company to best serve our customers’ evolving needs.”

About Gemini Bio-Products
Founded in 1985, Gemini is a leading manufacturer and supplier of cell culture media, sera, and other reagents to the scientific community across academic research and the biotechnology, cell and gene therapy, and biopharma industries. Service offerings include fill & finish and custom media development. Today, a national sales force and an international distribution network serves cell culture laboratories worldwide.

About BelHealth Investment Partners
BelHealth Investment Partners, based in New York, is a healthcare private equity firm focused on lower middle market companies. BelHealth has a unique combination of investing, executive management and entrepreneurial experience. BelHealth acquires majority positions in entrepreneur-owned companies that it believes would benefit from its extensive operating and private equity investment expertise. The firm invests across three core healthcare segments: Services, Products and Distribution. BelHealth is investing from its current $350 million fund.

PRESS RELEASE

FARMINGTON, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rallybio LLC, a development-stage biotechnology company, today announced that it has further expanded its drug acquisition and development capabilities with the addition of Amanda Hayward, PhD and Lisa Sinclair, to the Rallybio team. Specifically, Dr. Hayward will focus on further building Rallybio’s portfolio and Ms. Sinclair will be focused on new product commercial planning including diagnostic and patient access approaches to support the portfolio. These leadership appointments further advance Rallybio’s mission to identify and accelerate the development of transformative breakthrough therapies for patients with severe and rare disorders.

Amanda Hayward, PhD
Dr. Hayward brings more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience, specifically in venture capital, portfolio management, business development, and licensing transactions. Most recently, she served as Managing Director of Venture Investments for Connecticut Innovations. Previously, Dr. Hayward was Head of Business Development for Velocity Pharmaceuticals; President of Max Bio Strategy; Venture Partner for Connective Innovations; Partner for Baxalta Ventures; Acting CFO for Axerion Therapeutics; as well as having held positions of increasing responsibility for Scheer & Co., Inc., where she played a significant role in founding and growing multiple companies. She has significant board experience, and serves as Chairman of Hoba Therapeutics.

Dr. Hayward received her PhD in Cell Biology and Anatomy from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Amanda and look forward to applying her insight and expertise in identifying potential assets for Rallybio,” said Rallybio co-founder Dr. Martin Mackay. “Amanda’s proven track record of success in strategic investments, sourcing and evaluation will help lead the company into the next phase.”

“There is so much potential in the rare disorder space and I share the same passion and desire of my colleagues at Rallybio – to bring life-transforming treatments to patients,” said Dr. Hayward. “I am excited to join a team that has consistently proven themselves successful in the industry.”

Lisa Sinclair
Ms. Sinclair joins Rallybio with more than 20 years of experience in biopharmaceutical new product development, portfolio management and driving delivery of transformative medicines. She most recently served as Head of Program and Alliance Management for SpringWorks Therapeutics. Previously, Ms. Sinclair was Vice President of R&D Strategy, Portfolio and Project Management for Alexion Pharmaceuticals, as well as Vice President of Global R&D Portfolio and Performance for AstraZeneca. Earlier in her career, she held roles of increasing responsibility at Pfizer in portfolio and project management, therapeutic area management, clinical operations and sales.
Ms. Sinclair received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Vermont.

“We are very pleased to welcome Lisa to the Rallybio team and look forward to leveraging her experience in creating innovative portfolio strategies,” said Dr. Mackay. “Lisa’s expertise in accelerating pipeline growth and lifecycle opportunities will continue to strengthen our commitment of bringing transformative treatments to patients.”

“I am passionate about bringing solutions to patients with rare disorders and am eager to apply my past experiences to advance Rallybio’s mission,” said Ms. Sinclair. “It is an honor to join a team that is so dedicated and driven to bringing transformative medicines to patients who have no effective treatments.”

About Rallybio
Rallybio was established to identify and accelerate the development of transformative breakthrough therapies for patients with severe and rare disorders. The founders of the company – Martin Mackay, PhD, Stephen Uden, MD, and Jeffrey Fryer, CPA – are seasoned leaders from the biopharma industry with a wide breadth of research, development, and financial experience. Named by FierceBiotech as one of its “Fierce 15” Biotech Companies of 2018, the company was recognized as being among “the most promising private biotech startups”. Rallybio announced in April 2018 that it had secured $37.0 million in a Series A funding led by 5AM Ventures, Canaan Partners, and New Leaf Venture Partners, with additional public-sector participation from Connecticut Innovations. The Company is based in Farmington, CT, at the University of Connecticut’s Technology Incubation Program. For more information, please visit www.rallybio.com.

PRESS RELEASE

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Galvanize, the global leader in SaaS governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software, today announced the appointment of former Avalara executive Pascal Van Dooren as the Company’s Chief Revenue Officer. Van Dooren will focus on expanding strategic channel relationships, accelerating growth, and uncovering opportunities for category consolidation.

“We are delighted to welcome Pascal to Galvanize. He brings an ideal blend of cultural alignment, deep experience growing multi-channel revenues, and industry consolidation savvy to our strong growth trajectory,” said Laurie Schultz, CEO of Galvanize. “The broad GRC software market exceeds $36 billion in annual spending, serviced by hundreds of obsoleting point solutions. It’s our intention to consolidate the category and deliver on our mission to position GRC as the third core enterprise software platform alongside CRM and ERP. Pascal’s background and experience will be a major asset in realizing this goal.”

Van Dooren most recently led revenue operations at Seattle-based tax compliance software leader Avalara. Joining Avalara in 2011, he played a pivotal role in scaling revenues and securing growth capital to accelerate the worldwide go-to-market strategy. Under his leadership, revenues grew from tens of millions to hundreds of millions ahead of a June 2018 NYSE IPO, which raised nearly $200 million in funding. Subsequent to the IPO, sustained growth and accretive acquisitions drove Avalara’s market capitalization to more than $5 billion.

Experienced in driving growth via strategic partnerships, Van Dooren has been named one of CRN Magazine’s Top Channel Chiefs for four years running. His 20+ year executive career also includes revenue leadership roles with Sage, Epicor, and CapitalStream.

“Building automation into the management of digital risk is no longer a nice-to-have capability for business and government, nor can GRC be accomplished in departmental siloes and back-office software. Much like managing customer experience comprehensively in a CRM solution, risk management must be integrated—and reach the front-line of organizations. Boards and management teams will increasingly demand it. This is an exciting time to join a visionary team and an organization like Galvanize, focused on automating GRC through its unique fully integrated, data-driven HighBond platform,” Van Dooren said.

Van Dooren joins at a time when Galvanize is already sustaining high growth, fueled by several years of transformative change that began in 2015 when the company shifted its entire portfolio of 6000+ customers to subscription contracts. In November 2017, Galvanize secured a $50 million strategic minority investment from Norwest Venture Partners to accelerate product innovation and go-to-market momentum—the first outside investment in company history. Earlier in 2019 the company acquired Rsam, the analyst-recognized leader in IT and vendor risk management, and rebranded to become Galvanize. The combined company ended its most recent fiscal year with triple-digit sales contract growth of its SaaS HighBond platform.

To learn more about Galvanize and its HighBond platform visit: wegalvanize.com

About Galvanize
Galvanize builds award-winning, cloud-based security, risk management, compliance, and audit software to drive change in some of the world’s largest organizations. We believe GRC professionals should be the most sought-after people in an organization and we’re on a mission to unite and strengthen individuals and entire organizations through the integrated HighBond software platform. With more than 6,300 customer organizations in 130 countries, Galvanize is connecting teams in many of the Fortune 1,000 and S&P 500 companies, and hundreds of government organizations, banks, manufacturers, and healthcare organizations. Whether these professionals are managing threats, assessing risk, measuring controls, monitoring compliance, or expanding assurance coverage, HighBond automates manual tasks, blends organization-wide data, and broadcasts it in easy-to-share dashboards and reports. But we don’t just make technology—we provide tools that inspire individuals to achieve great things and do heroic work in the process.

PRESS RELEASE

London, 31 October 2019

London: Kamet Ventures has appointed Ravit Warsha Dor, the former head of Innovation for National Digital Health at the Israeli Ministry of Health, as partner in its Healthcare team. The hire is part of Kamet’s accelerated drive to create and build disruptive health tech startups for global markets.

With over two decades of experience across the technology, business and health space, Ravit has spent the past three years advising the Israeli government on how best to integrate digital health solutions into healthcare organisations. She has been helping startups to work with Israeli healthcare institutions as part of the government’s multi-million dollar programme to improve the level of care and service provision by exploiting new technologies and digital systems.

Ravit began her career in an elite unit of the Israeli army before starting her tech career as a hands-on coder and R&D manager. She later switched to a business role and gained valuable entrepreneurial experience in a variety of companies and positions including, at one point, her own startup. She has worked in the digital health space from its inception in the UK and Israel, and was one of the first organisers of mHealth Israel, the largest non profit digital community in Israel comprised of investors, entrepreneurs, developers and healthcare professionals trying to innovate in digital health.

Ravit will work with Kamet Ventures’ digital healthcare teams in London, Paris and Tel Aviv to bring to life exciting new startups which have the potential to transform healthcare provision in selected markets.

Kamet Ventures has been committed to building health tech and med tech companies since its inception. One of its early successes is French startup Padoa, which three years later is a leading occupational health company in France. Other successes include Qare, the leading telemedicine provider in France and Ibex Medical Analytics, a Tel Aviv-based company which applies Artificial Intelligence to cancer diagnostics.
Michael Niddam, executive partner at Kamet Ventures, said:

“We believe in backing entrepreneurs and building pioneering companies that have the power to transform and reshape the health and insurance industries as we know them today. Ravit’s extensive experience across the digital health space will be an invaluable resource to our team and we are thrilled she will be joining us to lead our efforts in healthcare innovation.”

Ravit Warsha Dor said: “I am excited to join Kamet Ventures and work on finding innovative solutions to the most challenging issues in healthcare today including mental health, digital pathology, and ageing. This is an exciting time to be in digital health as governments and insurers are waking up to the opportunities that digital technology offers. Kamet’s platform and investment model is one of a kind and I’m looking forward to exploiting its unique framework for technological innovation, its strong team and strategic funding to bring advanced digital health solutions to market.”

Ravit holds a B.Sc in Bioinformatics from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from Cambridge Judge Business School.

About Kamet Ventures
Kamet Ventures is a startup studio that is backed by AXA, Europe’s leading insurer and a pioneer in the insurtech world. Entrepreneurial in its make-up and tactics, Kamet creates user-centric digital companies from ideation through incubation to launch. Focused on the health, insurance and mobility sectors, Kamet has created some of the most talked-about startups in Europe including Qare and Padoa in France, Fixter, Apricity and Birdie in the UK, and IBEX and Sataya in Israel. With offices in London, Paris and Tel Aviv, Kamet Ventures is using its experience and capital to build the best insurtech, healthtech and mobility companies of this generation and the next.
www.kametventures.com

PRESS RELEASE

New York, New York (October 29, 2019) – Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) appoints Zubaid Ahmad to the newly created role of Senior Advisor, United States, elevating CPPIB’s partnership and deal origination efforts to an even stronger position in the world’s largest investment market.
Based out of New York City, Zubaid will focus on identifying and evaluating potential investment opportunities and partners that fit CPPIB’s overall strategy, as well as enhancing CPPIB’s position in the U.S. market, which currently accounts for approximately C$126.5 billion or 31.6% of CPPIB’s total investments.

In his role, Zubaid will work closely with our investment departments to support deal origination and contribute to the assessment of investment opportunities across sectors and asset classes.

Zubaid begins in his role effective immediately, and will coordinate his efforts closely with Alain Carrier, Senior Managing Director & Head of International, CPPIB.

“The U.S. remains the largest investment region for CPPIB and appointing Zubaid as Senior Advisor will build on our presence and network of investment partners,” said Alain Carrier. “Amid the competitive investment landscape, adding another dedicated resource with Zubaid’s expertise and network will help to focus our efforts and identify new opportunities across asset classes.”

Zubaid brings over 35 years of global experience in corporate finance and relationship management with deep ties to the investment banking and private equity communities. Zubaid is the Founder and Managing Partner at Caravanserai Partners LLC, a boutique merchant banking firm focused on M&A, sovereign advisory, strategic capital raising and alternative investment activities. Prior to establishing Caravanserai Partners, Zubaid served as Vice Chairman, Institutional Clients Group and Co-Head of Global Asset Managers group, at Citigroup. He has also held senior roles at J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse, among other firms.

Zubaid received an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University.

“I am pleased to partner with a global investment organization of CPPIB’s caliber and reputation, and to help expand its investment activities in the United States,” said Zubaid Ahmad. “I have had the opportunity to work with a number of the CPPIB investment teams over the years in my other roles, and am looking forward to working with the organization even more closely.”

CPPIB opened its New York office in 2014 and Michael Hill, Managing Director, Energy & Resources, serves as New York Office Head. CPPIB expanded its U.S. presence in June 2019 with an office in San Francisco.

About CPPIB
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to pay current benefits in the best interests of 20 million contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build diversified portfolios of assets, CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, San Francisco, São Paulo and Sydney, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At June 30, 2019, the CPP Fund totalled C$400.6 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

PRESS RELEASE

MIRA LOMA, Calif., Oct. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Del Real Foods, a leading Hispanic refrigerated foods company, today announced the appointment of Michael Axelrod as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Axelrod leads a company that has built a strong brand within the large and growing Hispanic foods category and that recently has doubled its manufacturing capacity and expanded distribution of its products. Del Real is owned by a private fund affiliated with Palladium Equity Partners, LLC (“Palladium”) in partnership with the Cardenas family, the company’s founders.

Mr. Axelrod most recently served as CEO of Passport Global Foods and Fine Choice Foods, a leading manufacturer of globally inspired cuisine, and as President of TreeHouse Foods’ $1.5 billion Condiments division. He also has held executive positions at Whirlpool Corporation, Pactiv Corporation, McCain Foods, and Kraft Foods. Early in his career, Mr. Axelrod was a project leader at the Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm.

“Michael is a highly experienced and well-regarded business leader who brings to Del Real almost three decades of experience leading and building food companies,” said Ed Lambert, the company’s Executive Chairman. “He is a people- and customer-centered individual who is ideally suited to help us as Del Real Foods moves to its next level of development. We look forward to working with Michael and the leadership team to continue the exceptional growth of our business.”

Daniel Ilundain, a Managing Director of Palladium, added: “We continue to invest in building the Del Real team and in expanding capacity after starting up a new plant in Oklahoma this year. We have a strong conviction in Del Real – its people, its brand, the quality of its products, and the potential of the category it operates in.”

“I am looking forward to joining the incredibly talented Del Real team, and am very excited about the company’s potential,” said Mr. Axelrod. “Del Real has a tremendous brand, a growing consumer base, and a strong innovation engine that has produced authentic and delicious products for many years. I am honored to help drive its growth alongside Palladium and the Cardenas family.”

About Del Real Foods
Del Real Foods, based in Mira Loma, California, is a manufacturer of branded and private label heat-and-serve authentic Mexican cuisine products including meats (like carnitas, barbacoa and al pastor), prepared specialty items (like tamales and pupusas), fresh salsas and side dishes. The company sells its products to the club, retail, foodservice and wholesale distributor channels.

For more information on Del Real, please visit http://delrealfoods.com.

About Palladium Equity Partners, LLC
Palladium is a middle market private equity firm with approximately $3 billion of assets under management. The firm seeks to acquire and grow companies in partnership with founders and experienced management teams by providing capital, strategic guidance and operational oversight. Since its founding in 1997, Palladium has made 33 platform investments and over 130 add-on acquisitions. A private equity fund affiliated with Palladium Equity Partners, LLC has been invested in Del Real Foods since October 2016. For more information on Palladium Equity Partners, please visit www.palladiumequity.com.

PRESS RELEASE

New York, October 30, 2019 – Bridge Growth Partners, LLC, a leading technology investment firm, announced today that Jack Welch, former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and Head of the Boston Office, has joined Bridge Growth Partners as an Executive Partner. Mr. Welch will work closely with the Bridge Growth Partners team to advise portfolio company executives on strategic and ongoing operational initiatives. He will also serve on the firm’s Operating Review Committee.

“We are very pleased to have Jack join the Bridge Growth team. Jack brings over 30 years of advisory experience working with leading technology companies. He has worked recently with the leadership teams at a number of our portfolio companies to help them improve their organizational and operational effectiveness, and in particular their sales and go-to-market strategies,” said Alok Singh, Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Growth Partners. “We now look forward to having him work more broadly as part of our integrated team across our existing portfolio and also to help us assess new investment opportunities. Jack is truly an exceptional fit for Bridge Growth and will be a great partner for our firm. We are confident in his ability to help us add value at all stages of investing, from diligence through to exits.”

Joe Tucci, Chairman of Bridge Growth Partners, added, “I am delighted that Jack has chosen Bridge Growth for the next phase of his impressive career. I have seen and appreciated first-hand his ability to add tremendous value to management teams in the technology industry, having worked closely with Jack for over 14 years on many projects of strategic importance at EMC Corporation. We look forward to benefitting from his fully engaged commitment to Bridge Growth.”

“I enjoy working with the Bridge Growth team and firmly believe their approach to business-building, operational excellence and talent management is the right one in today’s private equity investing environment,” said Mr. Welch. “Collectively, our industry knowledge, operational experience and relationship reach is uniquely differentiated and underpins our ability to have a positive impact on the companies we invest in. In my view, the entire Bridge Growth team, including our investment professionals, executive partners and senior advisors, is superbly equipped and aligned to help managers grow strategic and financial value. I have seen this happen at a number of portfolio companies already, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with the team even more closely going forward.”

Mr. Welch joins an extraordinary group of Executive Partners who are part of the integrated Bridge Growth team, including Don Callahan, former Global Head of Technology and Operations of Citigroup; Rob Ashe, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Cognos; Steve Mills, former Executive Vice President of IBM; and Steve Pusey, former Chief Technology Officer of Vodafone Group.

About Jack Welch
Jack Welch is currently a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management at the Carroll School of Business at Boston College. Prior to joining Boston College, Mr. Welch was a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company. During his 30 years at McKinsey, he worked primarily with technology and industrial companies to significantly enhance their performance through strategy, sales and go-to-market transformation, and operational improvement. Mr. Welch also served as Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Boston Office, as head of the Strategy Practice, and on the firm’s internal committee which evaluates and elects new partners. Prior to joining McKinsey, Mr. Welch worked at Bank of America, Caltex Petroleum, and Hooker Chemical Company.

Mr. Welch is a Director at Clean Harbors, a NYSE-listed leader in environmental services, where he serves on the Audit and Governance Committees.

Mr. Welch holds BS and MS degrees in chemical engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

About Bridge Growth Partners
Bridge Growth Partners, LLC is a private equity firm that targets investments in the technology and technology-enabled services sectors. Bridge Growth Partners brings together in one team premier investment, financial, operating, and strategic business building talent. The firm is committed to relationship-based investing, with a focus on supporting growth, operational excellence and world-class governance at its portfolio companies to create value for investors.
For more information about Bridge Growth Partners, please visit http://www.bridgegrowthpartners.com/.

PRESS RELEASE

PHILADELPHIA, October 30, 2019 – 29Bison, a human capital advisory firm for middle market private equity and venture capital firms and their portfolio companies, announced the hiring of Eric Lane as Partner and Chief Operating Officer.

“We are pleased to have Eric join the 29Bison team,” said Laura Queen, Founder and CEO of 29Bison. “Eric’s integration and change management experience, managing initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions, consolidations, restructures, and systems integration, along with his experience creating and implementing human capital management and valuation systems, will transition well to 29Bison’s focus of helping clients reduce risk and add value.”

Prior to joining 29Bison, Mr. Lane served as Human Resources Officer for Cigna’s Government and Business segment, as well as the company’s Head of Global Talent Acquisition and Global Human Resources Director. He has also held several Human Resource leadership roles for PepsiCo and Lockheed Martin. Mr. Lane received a B.S. in Labor and Industrial Relations from Pennsylvania State University, and an M.S. in Organization Development from the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University.

About 29Bison
29Bison is a strategic human capital advisor that helps build value for middle market private equity and venture capital firms and their portfolio companies. The firm provides human capital due diligence, value optimization, and pre- and post-transaction services with the goal of helping clients avoid risk and realize growth. By combining data-driven inquiry with a strengths-based, people-centric approach, 29Bison provides its clients with Deal Assurance. To learn more, visit 29Bison.com.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO & TEL AVIV, Israel–(BUSINESS WIRE)–YL Ventures, the prominent seed-stage Silicon Valley venture capital firm investing in Israeli cybersecurity startups, today announced that Roger Hale, former CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) of Informatica is joining the YL Ventures team as CISO-in-Residence.

This move is intended to bolster the firm’s value-add services to entrepreneurs, both pre- and post-investment, as well as the investment process itself. Hale’s presence will further distinguish YL Ventures’ services to entrepreneurs in the embryonic stages of their startups through ideation support and validating their value propositions. Hale will moreover provide the firm’s portfolio companies with a first-hand understanding of customer needs and share seasoned expertise on how to sell cybersecurity products to global enterprises.

Prior to joining YL Ventures, Hale served as Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Informatica, an enterprise cloud data management company with more than $1 billion in annual revenues. Hale comes to YL Ventures with more than 30 years of experience working in hi-tech and brings a proven vision for balancing third-party risk, product scalability, and customer advocacy to enterprise security. He has an established track record of delivering effective cybersecurity strategies and aligning information life-cycle management with business objectives, information assurance and risk management.

Hale’s role at YL Ventures will be multifaceted and leverage his considerable reputation and network. He will work directly with entrepreneurs, pre-investment, to cultivate their ideation processes and shine a light on the cybersecurity market’s green field opportunities. In addition to vetting investment candidates, Hale will support the firm’s existing portfolio companies in their early go-to-market processes and optimize their early-stage success in closing paying customers.

Bringing Hale onboard as a fulltime CISO is the next step to YL Ventures’ existing practice of leveraging world-renowned cybersecurity experts to provide mentorship and support to early-stage Israeli entrepreneurs. It is a progression from his long-established working relationship with YL Ventures and its portfolio companies as one of its 70 and counting Venture Advisors ⁠— an experience that Hale contends convinced him to accept the offered position on the spot.

“I’ve always admired YL Ventures’ open-door policy to aspiring startups and am excited to steer the cybersecurity marketplace from an early stage as a participant in the firm’s inimitable ideation support process,” commented Hale. “I’m looking forward to many upcoming visits to the industry’s innovative nerve center, meeting its up-and-coming entrepreneurs, and familiarizing myself with Israel’s hi-tech ecosystem.”

“We’re on a mission to help startups, far beyond funding, by leveraging our extensive network, which currently consists of over 2,000 high-profile cybersecurity leaders, and our entire multi-disciplinary team, from business development practitioners to analysts and marketers. These assets empower us to get start-ups off the ground with an unparalleled competitive advantage and the highest tier of professional mentorship,” said YL Ventures Managing Partner, Yoav Leitersdorf. “Roger has an incredible track record and vision. We can’t think of a better fit for this position and can’t wait to see how his expertise and experience play into our formula on a full-time basis.”

About YL Ventures
YL Ventures funds and supports brilliant Israeli tech entrepreneurs from seed to lead. With headquarters in Silicon Valley and satellite offices in Tel Aviv, YL Ventures manages $260 million and specializes in cybersecurity. YL Ventures accelerates the evolution of portfolio companies via strategic advice and U.S.-based operational execution, leveraging a powerful network of CISOs and global industry leaders. The firm’s track record includes successful, high-profile portfolio company acquisitions by major corporations including Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, CA and Proofpoint. Learn more at www.ylventures.com.

Heading the fund is Silicon Valley-based Managing Partner Yoav Andrew Leitersdorf, a serial entrepreneur and early-stage investor for over 25 years. Yoav works alongside Partner John Brennan in the U.S., while Partner & Head of Israeli Office Ofer Schreiber leads the Tel Aviv office together with VP of Marketing, Sharon Seemann. With a team of 12 spread across two offices, YL Ventures has engrained itself in both the U.S. and Israeli cybersecurity ecosystems.

PRESS RELEASE

NEWARK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PGIM Investments has made senior-level hires across its marketing and technology functions, as well as expanded roles of two senior executives. The investment in top talent comes on the heels of 10 consecutive years of positive net flows for the retail fund shop, underscoring the firm’s ongoing commitment to serving its growing client base both in the U.S. and internationally.

“PGIM Investments is committed to bringing the best to our clients. We’re continuing to invest in talent to serve our clients around the world.”

PGIM Investments is the global manufacturer and fund distributor of PGIM Inc., the $1.3 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) – a top-10 investment manager globally.

Coupled with attractive investment results, PGIM Investments has grown its mutual fund assets under management from $28 billion to $115 billion over the past 10 years.* To continue building its global capabilities, PGIM Investments has added experienced leadership in its marketing and technology functions.

Global Chief Marketing Officer
With more than 25 years of investment management marketing experience, Ray Ahn joins PGIM Investments as global chief marketing officer. Most recently with Capital Group/American Funds, Ahn will lead the marketing strategy and marketing team expansion for the retail intermediary channels in both the U.S. and internationally. At Capital Group/American Funds, Ahn led the firm’s build-out of its international marketing function, as well as led product marketing teams in the U.S. He previously held marketing roles at ProShares, T. Rowe Price and BlackRock.

Global Chief Technology and Operations Officer
With more than 30 years of financial services industry experience, Indy Reddy joined PGIM Investments as global chief technology and operations officer. Reddy previously served as global head of technology and operations for Citi Private Bank & Personal Wealth Management. He will lead the build-out of the technology platform to support the firm’s global expansion plans, overseeing teams spanning fund administration, transfer agency and client service. He previously held senior technology roles with Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

Expansion of Senior Leadership Roles
In addition to augmented leadership in marketing and technology, PGIM Investments has expanded the role of two senior executives.

Jim Devaney has assumed the role of U.S. head of distribution, expanding his responsibilities to include both U.S. intermediary sales and U.S. national accounts. U.S. distribution has been a key contributor to PGIM Investments’ growth by helping to drive 10 consecutive years of positive net flows totaling nearly $50 billion over that time. The U.S. national accounts team was previously led by Kimberly LaPointe.

Kimberly LaPointe has assumed a newly created role as head of PGIM Investments International. LaPointe has relocated to London and is focused on accelerating PGIM Investments’ growth plans outside of the U.S. Launched in 2013, PGIM Investments’ UCITS offering spans 29 funds registered in 17 countries across Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm’s UCITS range has grown from $1 billion to $4.5 billion over the past three years and established local distribution teams across the U.K., Germany and Switzerland.

Stuart Parker, president and CEO of PGIM Investments, noted, “PGIM Investments is committed to bringing the best to our clients. We’re continuing to invest in talent to serve our clients around the world.”

About PGIM Investments and PGIM Funds
PGIM Investments LLC offers more than 100 funds globally across a broad spectrum of asset classes and investment styles. All products draw on PGIM’s globally diversified investment platform that encompasses the expertise of managers across fixed income, equities and real estate.

PGIM Funds plc is an Ireland-domiciled UCITS umbrella fund serving institutional and wholesale investors across the globe. For a full list of funds available in your region, visit pgimfunds.com.

About PGIM
With 16 consecutive years of positive third-party institutional net flows, PGIM, the global asset management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), ranks among the top 10 largest asset managers in the world** with more than $1 trillion in assets under management as of Sept. 30, 2019. PGIM’s businesses offer a range of investment solutions for retail and institutional investors around the world across a broad range of asset classes, including fundamental equity, quantitative equity, public fixed income, private fixed income, real estate and commercial mortgages. Its businesses have offices in 15 countries across four continents. For more information, please visit pgim.com.

Prudential Financial, Inc. of the United States is not affiliated with Prudential plc, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. For more information please visit news.prudential.com.

*Source: Strategic Insights/SIMFUND for the 10-year period ended Sept. 30, 2019, including Long-Term mutual funds only; excludes Money Market funds, Closed-End Funds and ETFs.

** Pensions & Investments’ Top Money Managers list, May 27, 2019; based on Prudential Financial total worldwide institutional assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2018. Assets under management (AUM) are based on company estimates and are subject to change.