On the Move, 11.19.18: KPS names Raquel Palmer co-managing partner

PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS

Pantheon Group named Jeff Wright a principal on the client service team, focused on the firm’s U.S. institutional client markets. Wright’s background includes senior roles at Wilshire Private Markets and HarbourVest Partners.

BelHealth Investment Partners, a healthcare private equity firm, named Kiran Patel senior adviser. Patel, a physician, is former chairman of WellCare and America’s 1st Choice.

Paine Schwartz Partners named Edward Haft an operating director. Haft had been president and CEO of Sunrise Growers, a portfolio company of Paine Schwartz.

Pamplona Capital Management appointed Martin Schwab and William Pruellage co-managing directors. Alex Knaster remains chairman and CEO and John Halsten continues as president of PE and chairman of the investment committee. Pamplona also promoted Paul MacDuff, Pekka Puustinen and Russell Gehrett to partner.

KPS Capital PartnersRaquel Palmer was promoted to co-managing partner, while Ryan Baker and Kyle Mumford were named partner.

Maven Capital Partners promoted five senior staff to partner: Colin AndersonSuzanne LuptonEwan McKinnonDavid Milroy and Andrew Whiteley.

Siris Capital Group: Bethany J. Mayer, an executive partner at Siris, was named executive vice president of corporate development and technology at Sempra Energy, the San Diego-based energy-services holding company.

OpenGate Capital hired Shawn Haghighi as general counsel and chief compliance officer. Haghighi previously was senior vice president, assistant general counsel and assistant secretary at Platinum Equity.

AE Industrial Partners named Marc Baliotti a senior managing director. He had been a managing director at GSO Capital/Blackstone.

Peloton Capital Management: Steve Faraone and Mike Murray, former executives of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, launched the Toronto PE firm, which will have an investment horizon of eight to 12 years. It will focus on financial services, healthcare and consumer markets.

Yellow Wood Partners, the Boston private equity firm focused on consumer brands and companies, hired Robert Straub as an associate. Straub previously was an investment banking analyst in William Blair’s consumer and retail group.

Chicago Pacific Founders: Pat Basu, a partner at the firm and a physician, was named to the board at Catalia Health, the San Francisco patient-care-management company.

PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

Fluid Delivery Solutions, backed by Trilantic Capital Management, named Richard J. Alario executive chairman. Alario currently is presiding director of Kirby Corp. FDS is the Fort Worth, Texas, oil-and-gas-service company.

Duetto, a revenue strategy platform for the hospitality industry, named Jeff Ma senior vice president of product and analytics. Ma was vice president of data science and analytics at Twitter. Duetto is backed by Warburg Pincus.

Desert Downhole Tools, a Permian Basin provider of artificial lift and downhole products and services, named Kelly Raper president. Raper is co-founder and was president of Priority Artificial Lift. Desert Downhole Tools is backed by Hastings Equity Partners.

CEI Vision Partners, a management services organization backed by Revelstoke Capital, appointed Carl Berglind vice president of M&A. He had been senior vice president of strategic transactions at Envision Healthcare.

Carolina Beverage Group, a portfolio company of Brynwood Partners, named Brian Demos president and CEO. Demos had been senior vice president/general manager of several divisions at TreeHouse Foods. Carolina Beverage is the Mooresville, North Carolina, beverage producer.

Laney Directional Drilling, backed by Altos Energy Partners and Falcon Investment Advisors, named Todd N. Miller president and CEO. Miller’s background includes roles at WolfCreek Energy Group. Laney is the Spring, Texas, independent trenchless construction and engineering contractor.

Equidate, a stock market for private tech companies, named Mark Lee chief financial officer. Lee is a former chief operating officer and CFO at Pensco Trust Co. Equidate’s backers include Financial Technology Partners, Panorama Point Partners and Operative Capital.

ECM Industries, backed by Genstar Capital, named Mike Masino CEO. He succeeds David Scheer, who becomes executive chairman. ECM is the Menonomee Falls, Wisconsin, maker and provider of electrical products for the construction, maintenance, lighting, irrigation, landscape supply and gas utility markets.

StarCompliance, a provider of enterprise compliance and regulatory software solutions for the financial services industry, named Edward Vincent chief operating officer. Vincent most recently was president and a partner at Shore Group Associates. StarCompliance is backed by Luminate Capital Partners.

WorkStride, the New York provider of channel incentive and employee recognition solutions, appointed Daniel Hawtof chief product officer. Hawtof previously was vice president of product and business strategy at Blackhawk Network. WorkStride is backed by Riverside Co.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Manulife Asset Management appointed Morten Simonsen a managing director and head of distribution for Northern Europe. Simonsen previously was head of the Nordic region and CEO for Denmark at Pioneer Investments.

Triago: Charles Lemon joined as a partner in the London office. Lemon is responsible for originating and executing fundraising mandates. He was previously a partner at Agilitas Private Equity.

BuildGroup, the Austin software holding company, named Tanner Cerand vice president of investment research. Cerand is a former director of business development at Vista Equity Partners.

Wilshire Phoenix, the New York investment manager, named Alexander Chang and William Cai partners. Both join from JP Morgan.

Zygus Capital named Christian Besas a managing partner and director of investment research. He had been an analyst in the leveraged-finance group at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.

M2O Private Fund Advisors, the White Plains, New York, placement agent, hired Patricia Chalian and Jacob Laub as principals. Chalian had been a principal at First Avenue Partners while Laub was a principal at Stanwich Advisors.

BMO Capital Markets hired Michael George as a managing director and head of the financial sponsors group, a source at the firm said.

AlixPartners named David Podolsky a managing director in its PE and investors practice, based in the consulting firm’s Dallas office. He previously was a partner at Bain & Co.

Houlihan Lokey named Martin Bastian a managing director in the industrials group. He previously was a managing director with senior coverage responsibilities in Germany and Switzerland at Citigroup.

Oberland Capital, a healthcare-focused investment firm, named Cecilia Gonzalo a partner and promoted Michael Bloom to partner from principal. Gonzalo previously was a managing director focused on biopharmaceutical investments at Vatera Healthcare Partners. Bloom joined Oberland in 2013.

Evercore‘s investment banking business named Anthony Laubi a senior managing director in its advisory practice in London. Laubi was most recently a managing director at Credit Suisse, where he was vice chairman of the industrials team and head of paper and packaging EMEA.

Cambridge Associates hired Mary Pang as global head of its private client practice. Pang previously was a managing director and senior banker at JP Morgan Private Bank, leading the team serving families, business owners and nonprofit organizations in Northern California and Hawaii.

Campbell Lutyens, the placement agent and adviser, named Michele Kinner a U.S. advisory director. She previously was a partner, and now is a senior adviser, at Quilvest Private Equity.