People

Dan Akerson has agreed to become the new CEO of General Motors, where he will oversee the company’s return to the public markets. He currently serves as a managing director and global head of buyouts for The Carlyle Group, which he joined in 2003 from Forstmann Little. A Carlyle spokesman said that firm co-founder Bill Conway will succeed Akerson as head of global buyouts, a role that he has previously held, overseeing Carlyle’s largest business unit, which includes more than 220 investment professionals.

Jonathan Bayer has joined Sagent Advisors as general counsel and chief compliance officer. He previously was with Willis Group as chief counsel for the firm’s capital markets and advisory unit.

Wulf Bernotat has joined Permira as a senior advisor. He previously was CEO of E.On Group, and is a board member at Metro, Allianz, Deutsche Telekom and Bertelsmann.

Rahman D’Argenio has joined Energy Capital Partners as a principal. He previously was a director with First Reserve Corp.

Lisa Harris has joined the Boston office of TA Associates as a vice president in the firm’s financial services and consumer group. She previously was an analyst at Goldman Sachs.

Deborah Hylton has joined restructuring firm Verto Partners as a managing director. She previously served as counsel with GE Capital.

Richard Kauffman has resigned as president and CEO of Good Energies, a global investment firm focused on the renewable energy sector. Hugh Frater, Good Energies’ chief operating officer, also has resigned, to become CEO of Berkadia Commercial Mortgage. A source close to Good Energies said that neither man will be replaced. Instead, Good Energies will restructure into three different investment practices: Global venture capital, North American development equity and European development equity. The VC practice will be led by existing managing director George Coelho, a former Benchmark Capital and Intel Capital pro.

Bruce Madding has joined C.M. Capital Corp. as president and chief investment officer. Madding was formerly CIO and CFO of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Peter McKay was named president and CEO at Desktone Inc., a Chelmsford, Mass.-based company that enables hosted virtual desktops as a service. He took over the role of CEO from Harry Duda, who now serves as chairman. McKay previously was an executive at North Bridge Venture Partners and Insight Ventures.

J. Frank Mermoud has joined Monument Capital Group as a managing director. He previously was a partner with TD International.

Vimal Patel has joined Bertram Capital as a vice president, according to an e-mail sent to colleagues and friends. He previously was a principal at Sierra Ventures.

John Petzold has been promoted at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System to the new position of deputy chief investment officer/director of investment management. He previously was director of investment operations.

Gregory D. Ruback has joined Proskauer Rose as a partner in the New York office. Ruback’s addition expands the firm’s global finance and transactional capabilities. He was previously a partner at Mayer Brown.

Sarah McFadden Sandström has joined Atlantic-Pacific Capital as a partner. She will focus on helping to raise funds for European clients, and previously was a director in Credit Suisse’s private funds group.

Daniel Wollenberg was named president and chief operating officer at FDI Collateral Management Inc., a Sacramento, Calif.-based provider of vehicle collateral solutions for auto lenders. FDI is a subsidiary of TriVIN. American Capital Ltd. is the primary equity holder of TriVIN.

Wong Kwong Yu, the jailed founder and largest shareholder of GOME Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd., sent a letter to the Chinese retailer on Aug 27. He is seeking to terminate several contracts with the company and to throw three Bain Capital executives off the board. Earlier this year, Wong was sentenced to 14 years for bribery and insider trading. He is appealing.