Executive moves, week of April 7, 2008

Behrman gets defensive with addition of Pace

General Peter Pace, USMC (Ret.) and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is entering the private equity market as an operating partner with mid-market buyout firm Behrman Capital. Pace has already agreed to sit on the boards of two Behrman portfolio companies, including Pelican Products, a Torrance, Calif.-based developer of advanced lighting systems and “virtually indestructible” cases for protecting valuable equipment. He also will serve as a director with ILC Industries Inc., a Bohemia, N.Y.-based maker of defense electronics, containment systems and inflatable devices, such as blimps and spacesuits.

Behrman is currently raising its fourth fund with a $1 billion target. Its third fund closed on more than $1.2 billion in 2001. Its current portfolio includes two defense companies. It also makes investments in the health care, specialty manufacturing, B2B outsourcing and IT markets.

Besthoff joins Castile Ventures

Skip Besthoff this week will join Castile Ventures as a partner in Boston. He has been a principal in New York with Rho Ventures, where he helped lead such deals as Everdream, IntraLinks, MegaPath Networks and Verified Person. “I’ve had a great run with Rho, but am very excited to be joining a platform like Castile,” Besthoff says. “The big change will be that Rho has a broad investment strategy that includes early stage, expansion stage and growth equity, whereas Castile focuses on early stage.”

Norwest adds Kumar to India team

has joined Norwest Venture Partners as an executive director with the firm’s Indian affiliate. He previously served as corporate vice president of mobile device software at Motorola.

Providence taps Tisdale for London

has joined Providence Equity Partners as a London-based managing director. He has spent the past 18 years with Morgan Stanley, most recently as co-global head of the firm’s media and communications group, and as a management committee member for investment banking.

Gryphon hires partner

has agreed to join San Francisco-based private equity firm Gryphon Investors as a partner, with responsibility for monitoring and helping to improve the performance of Gryphon portfolio companies. He had spent the past year as CEO of Penta Water Co., where he will remain a director.

Dunlap joins Epoch

Kathleen Powers Dunlap has joined New York-based investment advisor Epoch Investment Partners as a managing director of client relations. She previously was with AllianceBernstein as director of Western region defined contribution institutional investments.

Accel names partner in London

has joined venture firm Accel Partners as a London-based partner. She previously was an investment banker with Goldman Sachs.

Benchmark’s Kagle leaves eBay

, a general partner with Benchmark Capital, will leave the board of eBay in June, according to an eBay regulatory filing. Kagle was one of the company’s early investors.

Wallis joins Permit Capital

has joined West Conshohocken, Pa.-based Permit Capital as a partner and portfolio manager. He had spent the past three years with Osage Ventures. www.permitcap.com

Lehman hires Bourgeois

is joining Lehman Brothers as managing director and co-head of global institutional distribution, with a focus on alternative products. He will begin in May, and previously was part of the Private Funds Group at UBS.

LLR promotes staffers

LLR Partners has promoted Scott Perricelli and David Reuter to partner, and promoted Todd Morrissey and David Stienes to principal. It also announced that Christian Bullitt has joined as director of business development.