People Briefs

Alan Waxman, head of Special Situations Group for Americas at Goldman Sachs, has joined TPG Capital, according to The Deal.

Alexander Chaplin has joined private equity placement agent BerchWood Partners as an associate in the firm’s London office. He previously was an analyst with Vision Private Equity Advisers.

Andrew Lutz has joined Vision Capital Advisors as a managing director, with a focus on fixed-income initiatives. He previously was with Susquehanna International Group.

CalPERS has named Anne Stausboll as its new CEO. She previously had been serving as its interim CIO. An official selection for CIO is expected later this week, with The Carlyle Group’s Bob Grady reported to be a leading candidate.

David Bonderman, a co-founding partner of TPG Capital, has resigned from the board of Washington Mutual Inc. TPG led a $7 billion capital infusion into WaMu in April, but the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just five months later.

Edward Mathias, a managing director with The Carlyle Group, has joined the board of Allied Capital.

Francesco di Valmarana has joined the European secondaries team of Pantheon as a principal. He previously was with Unigestion.

James Gamett has joined StepStone Group to run the firm’s new secondaries division. He previously was a vice president with Portfolio Advisors.

John Kenney has joined TSG Consumer Partners as a partner and managing director. He previously was with AEA Investors as co-head of the firm’s consumer product and retail investment practice.

John Knutsen has joined Madison Dearborn Partners as head of investor relations, according to LBO Wire. He previously was with Credit Suisse. Also moving over from Credit Suisse is David Pequet, who will serve as a vice president.

Jonathan Mandel is leaving Morgan Stanley, where he had been head of Asia-Pacific private equity banking. He reportedly was let go as part of the round of layoffs announced by the firm last month.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. has named Michael Michelson and Alexander Navab as co-heads of its North American private equity practice. Michelson works in Menlo Park, and joined KKR in 1981. Navab is in the firm’s New York office, and joined in 1993.

Michael Ranson has joined New York private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital as a Partner and Haran Narulla, a Senior Associate at the firm, has been promoted to Vice President. Prior to joining Blue Wolf, Ranson was a Portfolio Manager with GoldenTree Asset Management.

MorrisAnderson, a Chicago-based turnaround advisory, has promoted Kenneth Yager from managing director to principal and equity owner. He joined the firm in August 2005.

Natural Gas Partners has promoted both David Hayes and Colin Raymond from principal to managing director. Hayes joined the firm in 1998, while Raymond joined in 2005.

Neil Aaronson has been named CEO of Hilco Real Estate, after having served as executive vice president of the group’s parent company Hilco Trading LLC. He succeeds Mitchell Kahn, who is leaving Hilco.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP has added three partners to its European finance team: Alberto Del Din will be based in Milan, and previously was a partner with Bonelli Erede Pappalardo; Alessandro Stoppa also will be based in Milan, and previously was with Babcock & Brown; Lorenza Talpo will be based in London, and previously was with Bonelli Erede Pappalardo.

Suzanne Murphy has joined Tri-Artisan Partners as a managing director of fund services. She previously was with Delphi Capital Management, the holding company for Acorn Advisory Capital and Pergamon Partners.

The Blackstone Group plans to lay off around 7 percent of its 1,000 workforce, as first reported by Bloomberg. The moves would affect most of Blackstone’s business units, including its GSO Capital Partners unit.

Thomas Harney has joined Tri-Artisan Partners as a managing director and head of real estate. He previously was a senior managing director with Bear Stearns.

Victor Caruso has joined Piper Jaffray as a New York-based managing director with the firm’s financial restructuring team. He previously was a managing director with Morgan Joseph & Co.

William Sonneborn has joined Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., as head of a new asset management division. He previously was president and chief operating officer of The TCW Group, and succeeds Santurino Fanlo and David Netjes, who are both leaving the firm.

Zeke Navar has joined Covington Associates as a principal, with a focus on technology banking. He previously was with America’s Growth Capital.