Hermes builds team

Hermes has announced two new additions to its private equity team. Gillian Brown has joined as a director of its funds’ team and Shane Feeney has joined the direct investment team as an investment director.

Brown has joined from Merrill Lynch Investment Managers where she has been since 2000 as a director of MLIM Private Equity Partners. She was previously a senior investment consultant with William M Mercer Ltd for six years, advising UK and Australian pension funds and leading their research on private equity. She also spent seven years with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund where she had the day-to-day responsibility for their private equity investment programme.

Shane Feeney joins Hermes after five years at Morgan Grenfell Private Equity where he was involved in several large buyout transactions. He began his career in private equity at CSL Equity Investments in Canada and later joined CIBC Wood Gundy’s M&A team in Toronto.

Hermes has recently taken significant steps to develop a full stand-alone private equity business. The firm now has over £1bn committed to private equity, both as an active investor in external private equity partnerships, as well as building its own significant direct investment activity, Hermes Private Equity Limited, which recently had a closing of £200m.