People

Kevin Albert has joined Pantheon, a private equity fund-of-funds investor, as a partner and the global head of business development. Albert formerly was at Elevation Partners, which he joined in 2005 as an MD and where he helped raise the firm’s first fund to invest in media and entertainment businesses. Affiliated Managers Group bought Pantheon in June.

Mervyn Davies has joined PineBridge Investments as non-executive chairman. Davies is Lord Davies of Abersoch. He formerly served as Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Small Business for the U.K. government.

Sean Forrest has been named CFO at Pinnacle Holdings, which owns Pinnacle Security. Forrest will be responsible for Pinnacle Holdings Group, while Jason Knapp, current CFO, will be responsible for the security alarms division. Pinnacle is a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital.

Jitesh Gadhia has been named a senior managing director in Blackstone Advisory Partners arm of The Blackstone Group. Gadhia was most recently managing director and head of advisory at Barclays Capital. Gadhia will be based in London.

Institutional investor Parish Capital Advisors of Chapel Hill, N.C., has announced three promotions: Tracy Harris, who joined the firm in 2004, has been promoted to partner, and Kate Sidebottom Simpson and Tim Weld have been promoted to director positions. Both Simpson and Weld joined the firm in 2006.

Heramb Hajarnavis has joined Kohlberg Kravis Roberts as the new director for its India unit. Hajarnavis previously worked for Goldman Sachs.

Chris Harris has joined Brookfield Asset Management Inc. as client relations manager for the private funds group. He will assume responsibility for the Toronto, Ontario-based company’s relationships with investors in the western United States. Harris will be based in San Francisco. He previously served as director of Macquarie Capital’s private placement team.

Starlette Johnson has resigned as president, chief operating officer and director of Dave & Buster’s. The entertainment/restaurant chain said the departure is effective Sept. 30. Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity shop with more than $8.4 billion of committed capital, bought Dave & Buster’s in June.

Andy Leventhal has been named chief executive officer at Recurve Inc., a developer of software and services for energy efficiency auditors. Leventhal is a 25-year software entrepreneur who has worked at EMC, Imperva, Red Hat and VeriSign. He replaces Pratap Mukherjee, who plans to pursue other opportunities. Recurve is backed by Lowe’s Cos., RockPort Capital Partners and Shasta Ventures.

C. James Levin and Warren Loui have joined the law firm Winston & Strawn LLP as partners in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Levin was a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he served as former co-chair of the M&A/Private Equity practices. Loui comes from Mayer Brown LLP, where he was a partner in its banking and finance department. Loui was also the Los Angeles finance practice leader.

Anthony Maida was named vice president of clinical research at PharmaNet Development Group Inc. Maida will lead the oncology team at the provider of drug development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, generic drug and medical device industries. He previously had his own consulting firm. JLL Partners added the Princeton, N.J.-based company to its portfolio in March 2009.

Bill Malloy has joined the alternative investment firm Aequitas Capital Management Inc. as executive vice president at the company’s newest office in San Diego, Calif. He will lead strategic planning, growth and marketing of existing and new products.

Bill McLendon was promoted to president and CEO of CAV International, which is owned by Ranger International Services Group. McLendon was previously CAV’s COO. Carroll Vaughan, CAV’s founder, is now chairman. CAV, of Greenville, S.C., is a government outsourcing contractor with expertise in airfield services and logistics. Ranger International is a private equity consolidator that specializes in aerospace and defense services.

Lucas Mollan has joined Avolon, an aircraft leasing concern backed by Cinven, CVC Capital Partners and Oak Hill Capital Partners, as its chief technical officer. Mollan previously was managing director of Thomas Cook Group plc’s Thomas Cook Aircraft Engineering.

James J. Moriarty and Russell J. Pinilis have joined the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP as partners in the firm’s New York office. The additions expand the firm’s private equity practice. Moriarty and Pinilis were previously partners at O’Melveny & Myers.

James Murray

has joined Freeman & Co. LLC as a managing director in the firm’s New York office to expand its coverage in specialty finance and related areas. Murray’s investment banking experience spans 25 years. He has worked as a managing director at PaineWebber, as group head of North American corporate finance at Fox-Pitt Kelton and as group head of financial institutions at Houlihan Lokey.

Vincenzo Narciso has joined Matrix Group as a partner in its private funds group, where he will focus on both originating and raising capital for international private equity and venture capital funds. Prior to joining Matrix, Narciso was head of UBP Private Equity activities.

Jerry Pascucci has joined UBS Wealth Management Americas as head of its alternative investments business. Pascucci, who started Sept. 7, will be responsible for directing the alternative investments business. This includes hedge funds, managed futures, private equity and real estate investments. He previously worked for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Stanislas Piot was named chief financial officer at Stentys Inc. Piot held a similar post at Ipsogen, which develops molecular diagnostic tools. Paris-based Stentys develops stents to treat heart attack patients. It is backed by Credit Agricole Private Equity, Scottish Equity Partners and Sofinnova Partners.

Dhiraj Poddar has joined TA Associates as a director of TA Associates Advisory Pvt. Ltd. He will work from the Mumbai office, where he will focus on investments in growth companies in India and other emerging markets. He was previously a director at Standard Chartered Private Equity.

Gary M. Reiner has joined General Atlantic LLC as a special adviser. Reiner also will serve as a director of, and offer deep operational expertise to, the firm’s portfolio companies. He previously served as General Electric Co.’s chief information officer.

Stuart Rose has been named to Bridgepoint Capital Ltd.‘s European Advisory Committee. Rose is the outgoing executive chairman of Marks & Spencer, a post he has held since June 2008.

Jeffrey Schutz, managing director of Centennial Ventures, has been named to the board of Sonic Corp., the Oklahoma City-based chain of drive-in restaurants said. Centennial Ventures is a Denver-based venture capital and private equity firm with about $500 million of assets under management.

Sheryl Schwartz has joined Perseus LLC as a senior managing director. Schwartz will work on mezzanine debt, private equity investments and investor relations. She will be based in New York. Schwartz previously served as TIAA-CREF’s managing director.

Matt Shafer has rejoined Vision Capital, two people familiar with the matter said. He returned from Citigroup less than three months after he was poached from the London-based shop. Shafer previously joined Vision Capital in 2009.

Brad T. Swanson has joined KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. as managing director in its consumer and retail group. KeyCorp’s investment banking arm also hired Scott Green as an associate. Both will be based in Atlanta. Swanson will lead investment banking efforts in the restaurants and food service/distribution space. Swanson previously worked at RBC Capital Markets.

Marissa Swesey has joined Navigation Capital Partners, an Atlanta, Ga.-based mid-market private equity firm, as a senior analyst. Swesey will manage the firm’s communications with investors and key external relationships. She previously worked as an analyst for Graham Partners.

Theodore Torbeck has resigned as chief executive of Remington Arms Co., according to Reuters. The gunmaker, whose parent company Freedom Group Inc. is preparing for an IPO, is owned by Cerberus Capital Management.

Kevin Vitale has been named chief executive officer at NetSteps, a Pleasant Grove, Utah-based maker of business applications for real-time management of direct sales channel companies. He previously was Wall Data Inc.’s president and CEO. Gemini Investors LLC also made an unspecified investment in NetSteps. The Wellesley, Mass.-based shop typically invests $3 million to $8 million per transaction.