People

Samuel Bartlett and Joshua Klevens have been promoted to managing directors at Charlesbank Capital Partners. They were previously vice presidents. Also, Charlesbank, with offices in Boston and New York, said that Joshua Beer, a senior associate, was named a vice president.

Jose Claxton and Joseph Haslip have joined Blue Harbour Group, the Connecticut-based private investment firm that takes stakes in listed entities, to manage what it called “growing institutional investor interest” in its active ownership investment strategy division. Claxton will serve as a managing director in capital strategies and client relations; Haslip will be a managing director of public plan relations.

John Cochran has been promoted to managing director at Lovell Minnick Partners LLC. Prior to joining the firm in 2008, Cochran was a principal at SV Investment Partners. Lovell Minnick has $800 million under management, and has offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas.

Michael Cohen and Cynthia Lavoie have been appointed by Canadian private equity firm VenGrowth Asset Management to head up the investment team for the VenGrowth Advanced Life Sciences Fund. Cohen has been a managing general partner at the firm since 1994. Lavoie, a partner at VenGrowth, joined in 2003. The firm also announced the promotion of Andrew Vignuzzi to partner. Vignuzzi joined VenGrowth in 2006.

Angelos Dassios and Andrew Freeman have been promoted to partners at Paine & Partners, effective Jan. 1.

Ding Wei, the head of investment banking at private equity-backed China International Capital Corp., will step down, Reuters reported, citing a story in the online edition of Chinese financial magazine Caing. Wei’s departure comes less than a month after Morgan Stanley sold its minority stake in CICC to a group of investors including buyout shops TPG Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Private equity executive Mark Ferrari has been named chief financial officer of Luxembourg-based corporate telecom company Colt Group SA, Reuters said. Ferrari, a managing director with private equity firm Devonshire Investments, is currently a non-executive director for Colt. He will begin his new position in March, replacing Stuart Jackson.

Attorney Wesley Fredericks has joined Jenner & Block as a partner and chair of its New York office’s corporate practice. Fredericks joins the firm from Goodwin Proctor, where he was a partner in the technology practice, and that he joined in 2008 from the New York office of Heller Ehrman, where he was chair of its New York business law practice.

Sharlyn Heslam and Elizabeth Hoffman have been named managing directors at Boston-based Berkshire Partners. Heslam, the firm’s general counsel, joined Berkshire Partners in 2006. Previously she was a corporate partner at the firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Hoffman joined Berkshire in 2003 and works with the firm’s communications and business services companies.

Sheldon Howell and Jermaine Warren have been promoted to vice president from senior associate at the private investment firm ICV Partners. Howell joined ICV from Churchill Financial and Warren re-joined ICV last year after working with Starwood Capital Group Global LLC. ICV’s most recent 2010 deal was its October investment in Mallet & Co., a maker of oils and ingredients used in the baking industry.

Robert Klap has joined Platinum Equity as principal. Klap, who previously managed private equity investments for a USB wealth management group, will be based in London. Formed in 1995 Platinum Equity focuses on mergers and acquisitions in the information technology, telecommunications, logistics, metals services and manufacturing industries.

Brian Maxted

has been named chief executive of the oil exploration and production firm Kosmos Energy, which is backed by buyout shops Blackstone Group and Warburg Pincus, Reuters reported. Maxted previously served as chief operating officer. The company also named independent director John Kemp III to the post of chairman, Reuters said.

Sandy Ogg has joined The Blackstone Group as an operating partner in its portfolio operations group. Ogg, who served most recently as the chief human resources officer at Unilever, will be based in New York.

John J. Pacifico

has been promoted at Orthocon Inc. to be its president, chief executive officer and member of the board. Pacifico joined the Irvington, N.Y.-based therapeutics device company in 2007 to lead its corporate development and finance functions. Orthocon is backed by Bellevue Asset Management AG, Canaan Partners, ProQuest Investments and Rockport Venture Partners.

TA Associates has promoted six staff members: Christopher Parkin was promoted to director in the firm’s London office. Menlo Park, Calif.-based James Hart was promoted to principal. Naveen Wadhera, who heads Indian operations in Mumbai, was promoted to principal. Birker Bahnsen was promoted to senior vice president, focusing on European health care investments. Jason Werlin, who focuses on investments in technology companies from the Menlo Park office, was promoted to senior vice president. Boston-based Tad Yanagi was promoted to senior vice president.

Griffin Whitney and Christopher Bradley have been promoted to the positions as principals at Mistral Equity Partners, and Elizabeth Nations was promoted to senior associate. Whitney joined Mistral in 2007. Bradley and Nations joined the firm in 2008.