Executive moves, week of May 25, 2009

As Mr. Murphy goes to Washington, Advantage promotes Hutchins

Advantage Capital Partners has named Reid Hutchins to replace recently elected U.S. congressman Scott Murphy as managing director of the firm’s Glens Falls, N.Y.-based office. Hutchins joined Advantage Capital in 2006, served as a senior associate and was named vice president of the Glens Falls office in March. Before he joined Advantage Capital, Hutchins was a product development engineer for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and an engineer and manager with IBM.

Murphy was sworn earlier this month as U.S. congressman for New York’s 20th Congressional District, replacing Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, who became a U.S. senator in late January.

Murphy, a Democrat, narrowly beat out Republican opponent James Tedisco by 726 votes in a March 31 special election.

Polaris hires Crane as GP

Alan Crane has been named a general partner with Polaris Venture Partners. He has been a venture partner with the firm since 2002, during which time he has served as CEO of both Cerulean Pharmaceuticals and Momenta Pharmaceuticals.

Behrman taps Flaherty as operating partner

Behrman Capital, a private equity investment firm with operations in New York and San Francisco, hired Robert Flaherty as an operating partner. Flaherty was formerly president and CEO of Athena Diagnostics.

Santé expands staff

Omar Khalil has been promoted to senior associate with Santé Ventures, an early stage life sciences venture firm. The Austin, Texas-based firm has also added Jim Graham as a senior associate. Graham was previously an engagement manager in the health care practice of McKinsey & Co. Santé was founded in 2006 and invests from its $132 million debut fund.

Friedman joins Evercore

Mark Friedman has joined Evercore Partners as a senior managing director. He will serve as co-lead of Evercore’s transportation advisory practice. Friedman had previously been with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Water Street boosts team

Water Street Healthcare Partners has appointed Peter Strothman to principal and Max Mishkin to vice president. Strothman joins Water Street from JLL Partners, where he worked on a range of health care investments. Mishkin most recently worked with Waud Capital Partners, where he focused on investments in the health care services sector.

Superior hires Hauncher

Superior Capital Partners, a Detroit, Mich.-based private equity firm, appointed Scott Hauncher as a managing director. Hauncher joins Superior Capital from Long Point Capital.

JPMorgan’s China chief quits

Charles Li has resigned as head of JPMorgan’s China operations. A Hong Kong newspaper reports that he will take over as CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., which operates the Hong Kong stock market. Li joined JPMorgan in March 2003. He previously worked at Merrill Lynch, where he played a role in helping China’s first batch of state-owned enterprises to list overseas.