People October issue 2005

Wellington adds

Wellington Partners, the German private equity house, has appointed Dr Melvin K Spigelman, 55, as a venture partner. He will advise the firm’s life science portfolio companies and support Wellington in selecting new investments, as well as taking board seats. Based in New York, Spigelman will in particular provide support to those companies performing clinical development and requiring official approval in the US, as well as building relationships with US companies.

Spigelman is a director of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, a non-profit New York organisation, where he is responsible for R&D in the battle against tuberculosis. He previously held executive positions at BASF Pharma USA from 1989 to 2001, most recently as vice-president of Global Clinical Centers.

Cipio appts

Cipio Partners, the secondary direct investment firm, has hired Maximilian Schroeck as managing partner to head its newly opened US office in San Jose, California. He joins from Agilent Technologies, where he was managing director of Agilent Ventures, overseeing the US firm’s global venture investments in communication and measurement technologies, as well as life sciences. He was also in charge of Agilent’s corporate strategy group and new business development programme, where he launched and managed efforts in nano-scale measurement and other emerging technology areas.

Before joining Agilent in early 2001, Schroeck spent more than 10 years with AT Kearney, a global management consulting firm, in the US and Europe.

E&Y promotes Small

Ernst & Young has appointed Francis Small as managing partner for its transaction advisory services (TAS) practice in the UK, after he spent three years as TAS global leader.

Small has over 20 years’ transaction experience, with a particular focus on banking, insurance and other financial clients. He has expertise in assessing multinational target companies and assisting clients to work through all stages of the transaction process, including acquisitions, disposals, flotations and reorganisations. He is responsible for Ernst & Young’s TAS to UBS, Rexam and Fleming Family and Partners.

BA Capital loses

Cesare Bastianini has joined Italian listed financial holding company CIR Group as director from the Italian office of BA Capital Partners, where he was investment manager.

CIR’s activity includes analysis and management of direct PE investment opportunities, as well as investments as an LP in PE funds (CIR is currently LP of a dozen funds worldwide), and management of M&A and corporate finance opportunities for portfolio companies, two of which are also listed.

Robert Dyas CEO

Robert Dyas, the UK home and garden retail chain owned by Change Capital Partners, has appointed a new chief executive in the shape of Rob Cissell. Following a timely handover Alan Smith, current CEO and chairman, will move to concentrate solely on his role as chairman.

Saffery appts

Saffery Champness, the accountancy and business advisory firm, has recruited Gareth Partridge and Neil O’Brien to its corporate finance group.

Partridge joins as assistant director following a previous spell in cross-border corporate advisory boutique, Translink, where he worked primarily with small and medium-sized businesses. He has also worked in the investment banking industry, for both Credit Suisse First Boston and UBS.

In his new role Partridge is to focus on the origination, negotiation and execution of transactions in the £2m to £50m deal size bracket.

O’Brien also joins as assistant director, and he comes from North London accountants Adler Shine, where he played a key role in the creation and development of a new corporate finance department.

He qualified as a chartered accountant with Gerald Edelman, where he came to specialise in the strategic and operational issues affecting the profitability of large and small businesses. Originally from an assurance background, O’Brien went onto work for a number of years in corporate finance roles with both firms, with assignments spanning a number of lead advisory and transaction support disciplines.

B&K promotes

Ilkka Aalto-Setälä has been promoted to partner and head of the antitrust and marketing law practice group of Borenius & Kemppinen, the Fenno-Baltic legal service.

Aalto-Setälä has served as a competition lawyer at the Finnish Competition Authority, the Merger Task Force of the EU Commission and, most recently, as a local partner at the White & Case Helsinki Office.

Inflexion office move

Inflexion Private Equity has moved to a new office. The new address is 43 Welbeck Street, London, W1G 8DX. Tel: +44(0)20 7487 9888. Fax: +44(0)20 7487 2774.

HgCapital expands

HgCapital has appointed Alex King to its technology investment team as it expands its business in Germany and Benelux. He was previously a director at Kennet Venture Partners for five years, and before this was a consultant with Spectrum Strategy Consultants for two years, a leading provider of business strategy advice to international telecom, Internet and media companies.

Strathdon move

Strathdon Investments, the tech venture house, has moved offices. It is now located at Jewry House on Jewry Street in Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 8RZ. Tel: +44 (0)1962 870492. Fax: +44 (0)1962 844064.

Schneider appts

Ignace de Prest has joined Schneider Electric Ventures as an investment partner. Previously he worked with TechFund Capital Europe, a firm he co-founded in 2000. Before this, he participated in the creation and development of 6WIND, with responsibility for launching and managing marketing and communication operations. Prior to that, he worked with Thomson-CSF Ventures in Paris.

Impetus appts

Impetus Trust, the UK venture philanthropy fund, has appointed its first venture philanthropy manager. Amelia Sussman will focus on assessing and managing the relationship with charities at all stages of the Impetus process, from initial screening and assessment through to investment.

Sussman is a lawyer by training and spent 13 years working with Common Purpose, an independent organisation which runs educational programmes and activities for leaders of all ages, sectors and backgrounds. Latterly, she has served as COO for Common Purpose. She has spent the past two years as a freelance consultant, including working for the NHS Appointments Commission as an independent assessor.

A&M recruits MD

Alvarez & Marsal, the turnaround advisory firm, has appointed Maurice Moses as a new managing director based in London, the firm’s European headquarters.

Moses joins from Numerica, where he headed the business recovery team. He had been at the firm for 20 years, acting as advisor to corporate board members across a range of mid-market business sectors.

Moses is the immediate past president of the Insolvency Practitioner’s Association (IPA) and joint editor of INSOL World magazine. He is also a Fellow of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3), a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Turnaround Management Association.

CVC adviser

CVC Capital has hired Simon Laffin as European retail adviser. He has been working in an informal advisory capacity to CVC for some time on projects across Europe, and this appointment formalises his role and he will now work as a full-time adviser to the firm.

Laffin was group finance and property director of Safeway plc until 2004, capping a 14-year career with the supermarket chain, during which time he was actively involved in corporate strategy, improving efficiency, managing the £3bn property portfolio and also working for a time as a store manager.

Laffin trained as an accountant at BP before moving to Rank Xerox. He spent five years at Mars Confectionery and joined Safeway in 1990. He received the Chartered Management Accountants Business Leader of the Year 2001/2002 award.

Lehman Bros appts

Lehman Brothers has appointed Richard Atterbury as co-head of the global financial sponsors group and chairman of European leveraged finance. Based in London, he will be responsible for enhancing coverage of financial sponsor clients and building on the success of the European finance business. He will also be a member of the European investment banking executive committee.

In his new role, Atterbury will work with Ros Stephenson, co-head of global financial sponsors based in New York, and with Charles Pitts-Tucker, head of European leveraged finance.

He joins Lehman Brothers from Morgan Stanley where he was co-head of the global financial sponsors group and chairman of the European leveraged and acquisition finance strategy committee.

Entrepreneur awards

Oxford Innovation, the UK advisory service for entrepreneurs, has launched the Martin and Audrey Wood Enterprise Awards, which will focus on innovative and technology-based companies and promising entrepreneurs. The awards are in honour of Sir Martin and Lady (Audrey) Wood, who co-founded Oxford Instruments plc and continue to support start-up and growing companies in Oxfordshire and beyond. The Woods grew Oxford Instruments from a start-up in 1959, often acknowledged as Oxford University’s first spin-out company, into a global instrumentation business employing over 1,200 people with a turnover of £156m.

Dr David Kingham, chief executive of Oxford Innovation, said: “The Martin and Audrey Wood Enterprise Awards are designed to celebrate innovators and entrepreneurs and are open to companies and entrepreneurs in Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley. They have a special focus on technology and innovation so they complement other business awards, such as the Oxfordshire Business Awards, which are open to a wider range of businesses.”

More information and entry forms are available at www.oxin.co.uk/enterpriseawards or by calling Charlotte Hulland at Oxford Innovation on 01235 838555. The deadline is October 7.

Helix appts

Helix Associates has hired Philip Kemp as a managing director. He was formerly director of investor relations based in New York for Doughty Hanson, and most recently was responsible for investor relations at the New York-based private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings.

At Helix, he will work closely with North American-based GPs and investors in the placing of Helix’s products. He will focus on developing Helix’s US activities from Jefferies’ headquarters at 520 Madison Avenue in New York City.

VC award

Gita Patel, a director of Stargate Capital Management and head of Trapezia, a UK investment product that is the first to be dedicated to the venture capital requirements of women entrepreneurs, has been included in the first Asian Power 100 List, which recognises the most influential and successful members of the British Asian community, launched by the Institute Of Asian Professionals.

Gita is a founding investor of Stargate Capital Investment Group Ltd and launched Trapezia in response to the need for female entrepreneurs to have access to both financial capital and to intangible resources such as intellectual capital, business networks and markets.

CBCM recruit

Commerzbank Corporates & Markets (CBCM) has hired Sean Costello as a director to its European leveraged distribution team. He joins from HBoS where he was a director in the loan distribution group. He will be based in London and brings more than ten years experience in the leveraged business to CBCM. Prior to HBoS, he was with NIB Capital Bank NV for six years in both the leveraged finance and the loan distribution groups.

3i in Germany

3i has appointed Frederik Roth to the European buyout team as senior director, beginning January 1, 2006. He will be based in Frankfurt and will report directly to Dr Stephan Krümmer, managing director of 3i Germany.

He joins from Permira where he has spent over nine years in the Frankfurt office in the emerging German buyout market across various industry sectors. He has been involved in several Continental European acquisitions including Austriamicrosystems, Leica Microsystems, Single Temperiertechnik and Hofmann Menü.

Roth began his career in the high tech and automotive industry at Balzers. He has also held management responsibilities in the engineering and automotive sector with ABB, and Aeroquip.

Blackstone debt office

Blackstone’s corporate debt group has set up an office in London to be led by Debra Anderson as a managing director in order to establish the firm’s presence as a manager of non-investment grade assets issued by companies throughout Europe.

Howard Gellis, head of Blackstone’s corporate debt group, said: “Based on the successes of Blackstone’s private equity and real estate businesses in Europe, and our own assessment of the growing institutionalisation of the European debt market, we’ve been preparing to enter that market for years. The key for us was finding the absolute best candidate to represent Blackstone, a leader that can build a business with scale. Debra’s credit-based approach toward investing is in line with the way we run all our investment activities and her reputation and support within the market is outstanding.”

Anderson has been an investor in the European leveraged loan market for the past 12 years, and most recently was the leveraged loan portfolio manager for Intermediate Capital Group, where she was responsible for four European CDOs totalling €1.4bn in loan assets. Prior to that she established and ran an acquisition finance lending business for a major European bank.

Amadeus appts COO

Amadeus Capital Partners has named Alastair Breward as COO. Breward will assume responsibility for finance, human resources, information technology and information services.

He began his career working in IT with Arthur Andersen’s consulting division before moving to Sydney, Australia, to join specialist technology company, Talman Pty Ltd. He took a diploma in law at Sydney University, returning to the UK in 1992 to join Bird & Bird, the specialist IT and IP law firm. He then gained three years’ commercial experience as general counsel for Virtuality Group before joining Taylor Wessing, where he became a partner in 2002, advising mainly venture capital funds and fast-growing technology companies on both sides of the Atlantic.

AXA adds

AXA Private Equity has strengthened its presence in Germany with the addition of Werner Quillmann to its direct investment team. Quillmann is a former managing partner at Equita Management GmbH.

Inflexion appts

Inflexion Private Equity, the UK mid-market firm, has appointed Catherine Richards as assistant director in its Manchester office. She joins from Barclays Bank, where she was an associate director in the leveraged finance team, and has worked on the £50m Gresham-backed MBO of Flowtech Limited, and Barclays Private Equity’s MBO of the Original Factory Shop. She was previously at Bank of Scotland structured finance and prior to that KPMG corporate finance, where she qualified as a chartered accountant focusing on private equity-backed transactions.

Quester hires

Quester, the UK venture capital investor, has named Dr Penny Attridge as director of intellectual property. She will work closely with the Sulis and Lachesis University Challenge Funds and will focus on generating commercial value from the universities’ IP. This will be achieved though licensing programmes to the pharmaceutical industry and via the creation of new ventures.

Attridge joins Quester from BTG plc where, in her role in client development she identified and acquired early stage inventions from academia and SMEs in the UK which were then developed and commercialised. She is a founder and director of Id-Tech Ltd, a company that has successfully exploited her inventions to prevent needlestick injuries. She has also spent many years with the Public Health Laboratory Service, and had an academic career with over 100 peer-reviewed publications in the field of applied medical microbiology.

Permira loses

Barnaby Noble, a principal in the Paris office of Permira, has left the firm to become a vice-president and head of M&A at Alstom, the French power and transport group.

Noble began his career in 1988 with the First Boston Corporation of New York, before joining McKinsey & Co in Paris in 1992 where he became an engagement manager. This was followed by a position at Credit Suisse First Boston in Paris in 1996 as vice-president, investment banking.

BoS Corporate appts

Bank of Scotland Corporate has appointed Arthur Sherry as director of integrated and acquisition finance for the Midlands, based in Birmingham, UK. He previously led the bank’s Southern Counties deal finance team based in Bristol. In his new role Sherry will head up a team of 13 dealmakers at offices throughout the region.

Since 1999, he had been focusing on the corporate market in the Southern Counties. In 2000, he was appointed head of the structured finance team for the South of England, and during this period he oversaw over 40 deals worth more than £1bn. When the new integrated & acquisition finance team for the south was established in 2004, Sherry was appointed joint leader.