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Khaled Al Kamda has been named the first-ever vice chairman of Istithmar, the Dubai-based private equity and alternative investment firm. He previously spent 20 years with Emirates Airlines, most recently as senior vice president for corporate development.

Robert Blumenfeld has joined Bryant Park Capital Valuation Services, an affiliate of Bryant Park Capital, as a managing director. He previously was president of ARG Recovery, a valuation and business consulting advisory.

Michael Capellas has joined Serena Software Inc. as acting president and CEO, following the resignation of Mark Woodward. Capellas is a senior advisor to Serena shareholder Silver Lake Partners, and is a past CEO of both MCI and Compaq.

The Carlyle Group reportedly has hired three staffers from collapsed hedge fund manager Amaranth Advisors. They are: Scott Davidson, a structured product portfolio manager, John Bailey, a long/short energy equities manager and Jaime Gualy. They each will join Carlyle Blue Wave, a hedge fund unit that Carlyle recently began building.

Karen Chung has joined The Barish Fund as a director in the firm’s Wellesley, Mass. office. She previously was with TA Associates.

Christopher Davis has resigned from Safeguard Scientifics, where he had been executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief financial officer. He is leaving “in order to pursue other interests.” Safeguard has retained Heidrick & Struggles to identify a replacement, and hired Stephen Zarrilli, co-founder of the Penn Valley Group, as acting CFO.

Daniel Dickinson, a managing partner of Thayer Capital Partners, has joined the board of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT).

Goldman Sachs has named Marc Spilker as head of its private equity and hedge funds unit, according to Bloomberg. He previously served as co-head of U.S. equities trading and as global head of volatility trading. His predecessor in the new position – George Walker – left in May to run asset management for Lehman Brothers.

Kip Hagopian, co-founder and former general partner with Brentwood Associates, has been named interim chairman of Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (Nasdaq: MXIM), where he had been an independent board member since 1997. The move comes following the health-related resignation of company founder and CEO Jack Gifford, and the subsequent naming of current Maxim chairman Tunc Doluca as Gifford’s successor.

Dominique Hansen has joined the Menlo Park, Calif. office of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. She previously was a vice president with OMERS Capital Partners.

David Hooper has joined Centerview Partners as a partner to oversee its private equity business. He previously was a managing director with Vestar Capital Partners, where he headed the firm’s consumer group and was chairman of its U.S. investment committee.

Mark Kramer has joined the Chicago office of Duff & Phelps as a managing director in the firm’s transaction advisory services practice. He previously led the Milwaukee transaction services practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Brian Lipson has joined real estate private equity firm Rubenstein Partners as a managing principal, effective January 2. He previously served as CIO of Trizec Properties from January 2005 through the closing of Trizec’s October 2006 acquisition by Brookfield Properties and the Blackstone Group.

Dan Magder has joined tech M&A boutique Updata Capital as a vice president in the firm’s Reston, Va. Office. He previously was a director of corporate development with Capital One.

Richard Markee has joined Bear Stearns Merchant Banking as an operating partner focused on the retail market. He most recently served as vice chairman of Toys ‘R’ Us, and before that was vice president of merchandising with Target.

Kristen Mary has joined the London office of mid-market private equity firm GI Partners as director of investor relations. She previously was a partner with MVision Private Equity Advisers.

Srinath Narayanan has joined Canaccord Adams as a principal in the firm’s West Coast technology I-banking group. He previously worked for Kaufman Brothers.

Chris Reilly has resigned as head of alternative investments for the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association. He will take a job with family office Kemnay Advisory Services. Colorado PERA already is searching for a replacement, with CIO Jennifer Paquette handling Reilly’s responsibilities in the interim.

Michael Russell has agreed to join Altius Advisors as a London-based partner and head of European operations, effective January 2. He previously spent six years with Pacific Corporate Group as managing director for Europe.

Stan Speer has joined turnaround consultancy Alvarez & Marsal as a Los Angeles-based managing director. He previously was CFO of Cadiz Inc., a publicly-traded real estate and water resource management company.

Fred Thiel has joined Triton Pacific Capital Partners as a managing partner to lead its newly-formed IT and software group. He previously was CEO of GameSpy Industries (acquired by IGN).

Rachael Wexler has joined the Los Angeles office of Goodwin Procter LLP as a partner focused on private equity matters in the areas of nanotechnology, life sciences and renewable energy. She previously was a partner with Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan.

Compiled by Dan Primack