On The Move

PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS

Private equity firm Advent International Corp said it had appointed Procter & Gamble Co executive Werner Geissler as an operating partner, effective from Jan. 1. Geissler, whose industry experience consists of more than three decades at P&G, was recently vice-chairman of the consumer products company’s global operations. Geissler will work closely with Advent’s retail, consumer and leisure team, Advent said.

UK mid-market private equity house Dunedin has appointed Lorna Eltringham as investor relations manager and Jessica Hardy has been appointed as an analyst. Dunedin’s David Williams will join Ross Marshall as a senior partner of the firm.

Robert Eckert, the former Chairman and CEO of Mattel, has joined FFL as an Operating Partner. Eckert served as CEO of Mattel from 2000 to 2011, and as Chairman from 2000 to 2012. San Francisco-based FFL, a private equity firm, focuses on investments in the middle market.

Flybridge Capital Partners has appointed Victoria Song to the firm as a principal. Song was an associate with the firm from 2010 to 2012 and recently completed her MBA at Harvard Business School.

The Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association has added two new board members, Carlos Garcia, co-managing partner and chairman of Victoria Capital Partners and Alfredo Castellanos Heuer, senior managing director of Evercore Mexico Capital Partners. Garcia and Castellanos succeed J. Scott Swensen, co-founder of Conduit Capital Partners, and Arturo Saval, managing director of Nexxus Capital, who completed six-year terms on the LAVCA board.

New Energy Capital Partners has hired Patrick Fox as partner in the New Hanover, New Hampshire office. Most recently, Fox worked as director with Hannon Armstrong Capital, a subsidiary of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital. Fox led and participated in the successful closing of more than $250 million of solar, wind and energy efficiency fundings.

Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp appointed Christopher Govan to succeed Donald Lewtas as chief financial officer, effective March 1. Lewtas, who has been serving as chief financial officer since 2008, will continue to manage the company’s purchasing and share services initiative. Govan joined the company in 1998 and is currently a managing director, overseeing corporate and fund administration, and taxation.

Power Capital Partners has hired Eyob Easwaran as managing director and director of asset management. Previously, Easwaran worked at Conduit Capital Partners where he served as lead asset manager.

TSG Consumer Partners general partner and managing director Alexander Panos has decided to leave the firm to start his own private equity fund. Panos joined TSG as an associate in 1998 and was named managing director in 2004. In 2007, he moved from TSG’s San Francisco office to the New York office. Panos didn’t reveal details of his future plans.

Vestar Capital Partners has named Nikhil Bhat and Alexander Kerr as senior associates. Both will be working in the private equity firm’s diversified industries group.

Z Capital Partners has appointed William McBeath as managing director and operating partner. Prior to joining Z Capital, McBeath was the president and chief operating officer for CityCenter, which includes ARIA Resort & Casino, Vdara Hotel & Spa, Crystals and Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas.

PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

Delphinus Medical Technologies, which is backed by Arboretum Ventures and Beringea, has hired Mark J. Forchette as president and CEO. Previously, Forchette worked at OptiMedica Corp. where he served as president and CEO. Delphinus is maker of SoftVue, a whole breast ultrasound system.

Findly, a portfolio company of Symphony Technology Group, has hired Anthony Kong as vice president of professional services. Previously, Kong worked at Salesforce.com. Based in San Francisco, Findly is a talent platform.

Business software provider Izenda has appointed Ken Walters as a non-executive chairman of its board of directors. Walters is the former president of Infor’s financial solutions group. Izenda is backed by Ethos Capital Partners and Hawthorne Capital.

LENSAR said Friday that it has named Charlie Federico and Carmen Bringgold to its board of directors. Federico was the president and CEO of Orthofix International while Bringgold is the chief financial officer and senior vice president of commercialization at NxThera. Based in Orlando, Florida, LENSAR is a developer of laser systems for cataract surgery. Its backers include PDL BioPharma, Aisling Capital, Florida Growth and Florida Opportunity Funds.

Silicon Valley-based retail analytics firm Reflektion, which is backed by Intel Capital, has added Steve Papa to its board of directors. Papa is the former CEO and founder of Endeca.

Wingstop Restaurants, a portfolio company of Roark Capital Group, has hired Michael Mravle as chief financial officer. The appointment is effective immediately. Mravle will be replacing Lance Loshelder who has been named the company’s executive vice president of finance. Previously, Mravle worked at Bloomin’ Brands where he most recently served as group vice president of financial planning & analysis and U.S. CFO. Headquartered in Dallas, Wingstop Restaurants is a restaurant franchise.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Investment firm Carrick Capital Partners has appointed Tom Mendoza as a special advisor to the firm. Mendoza is the vice chairman of NetApp. He joined NetApp in 1994 where he was responsible for worldwide sales until 2000.

Minnesota-based investment bank Cherry Tree & Associates has hired Paul L. Novak as a managing director. Previously, Novak worked at IronRock Capital where he served as senior vice president in charge of private equity investing.

Cint, a Swedish provider of market research solutions provider, has named Hanna Jahnstedt as chief financial officer. Previously, Jahnstedt worked at Goldman Sachs and an unnamed private equity firm in Stockholm.

Graham Holdings Company has named Timothy O’Shaughnessy, co-founder and former CEO of LivingSocial, as its president. O’Shaughnessy stepped down as chief executive officer of LivingSocial in August. During his tenure, the e-commerce and marketing company grew to sales of nearly $2 billion.

Dallas-based merchant bank Preston Hollow Capital has hired John Bills as chief credit officer, Greg May as the new managing director of corporate development and Kandice Stephens as the director of operations. All three are former executives at ORIX USA.

Pritzker Group Private Capital has hired Keith Harrison and Jamie Bellanca as senior advisors. Previously, Harris worked at Procter & Gamble where he most recently served as its global product supply officer while Bellanca was vice president of Cleversafe’s advanced technology group. Currently, Bellanca is technology consultant for Baird Capital.

Thoratec Corp. has named D. Keith Grossman as president and CEO. The appointment is effective immediately. Grossman succeeds Gary F. Burbach, who will remain as an advisor to the company through the first quarter of 2016. Grossman is a former managing director at TPG. Based in Pleasanton, Calif., Thoratec is a provider of therapies that treat advanced-stage heart failure.

Global placement agent Triago has hired Virginie Bourel as a partner and head of strategic advisory in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Previously, Bourel served as director at Quartilium, a Paris-based private equity fund-of-funds, managed by Groupama Private Equity.

Zeus Capital has appointed Sir Nigel Knowles as chairman. Knowles is the global co-chief executive officer and managing partner of DLA Piper.

PROMOTIONS

Aaron Perlmutter has been promoted to head Levine Leichtman Capital Partners corporate finance group. Matthew Frankel and Andrew Schwartz have been promoted to managing directors.

Jami Wintz McKeon has become chair of global law firm Morgan Lewis. She succeeds Francis M. Milone, who held the position since 1999.

New Capital Partners has promoted Adam Cranford, Seton Marshall and Paul Pless as principals of the firm. The firm has also promoted Ryan Berg to senior associate.

Norwest Venture Partners announced on its blog three staff promotions. Dr. Robert Mittendorff and Sumer Juneja were each promoted from vice president to principal, while Lisa Wu was named vice president.