MVision execs launch Acalyx Advisors

  • MVision spokesperson confirms Jennifer Rinehart’s departure
  • Four ex-MVision staffers list current positions at Acalyx
  • Kay Blackwell joins MVision as managing director in NYC

The new firm is up and running in an office on Madison Ave in Midtown Manhattan, but no one there immediately responded after Buyouts dropped off contact information with a receptionist.

Rinehart previously worked as managing partner at placement agent MVision Private Equity Advisors for nearly 14 years. A spokeswoman for MVision confirmed that Rinehart is no longer with the firm. She declined to comment further.

Acalyx Advisors has yet to launch a web site, but Rinehart’s LinkedIn page lists her as partner and chief executive officer of the firm, with a starting date of March.

Along with Rinehart, Lina Russo lists her current position as partner at Acalyx Advisors, according to her LinkedIn page. She worked as a partner at MVision for five years until January. Sally Gibb lists herself as a partner at Acalyx Advisors. She worked at MVision for about 12 years as a director and later as a partner, according to her LinkedIn page.

Joe McDonald lists himself as a partner at Acalyx Advisors. He worked at MVision for about five years, mostly under the title of vice president, according to his LinkedIn page.

In a 2012 interview with Privcap, Rinehart said she’d seen fundraising opportunities for first-time managers.

“As we’ve been growing our business in the U.S., (first-time) funds seem to be a little more prevalent,” she said. “You see the next generation of leaders coming through private equity firms. There’s a natural inflection point. We’ve seen a lot of opportunities on that front.”

First-time funds handled by MVision included Anchorage Capital Partners I, KV Asia Capital, Monomoy Capital Partners, Quadrangle Capital Partners and Sycamore Partners, according to its website.

Rinehart was also interviewed by Buyouts in 2010 on the topic of Canadian LPs.

Headed up by CEO Mounir “Moose” Guen, MVision operates out of Hong Kong, London, New York. The firm added a San Francisco office last year. Guen founded the firm in 2001 after working at Merrill Lynch.

Meanwhile, Kay Blackwell started this year as managing director at MVision’s New York office. She previously worked for nine years with Citi Private Bank in New York and London, according to her bio on the firm’s website.

Photo courtesy of iStock/julos