Portfolio Companies

American Public Education has appointed Eric C. Andersen to its board of directors. Andersen is a partner with Milestone Partners, a lower mid-market private equity firm that specializes in making control equity investments in established operating businesses.

Direct ChassisLink, a Charlotte, N.C.-based company that sells chassis equipment and is owned by the Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm Littlejohn & Co., has appointed two new board members: John Bowe and Ronald Sorrow. Bowe was most recently the president of APL, a global container transportation company. Sorrow was most recently the president and CEO of Avron Partners, a partnership formed to focus on developing and supporting Austin Ventures’s acquisition and investment activities within the logistics, distribution and supply chain sectors.

Equinox Payments, a provider of high security electronic transactions, has named Patrick Hazel as chairman and chief executive officer. Hazel has been a member of the Equinox board of directors since November. Equinox is a Gores Group portfolio company.

Glenn McCullough Jr., former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority, has joined the Board of Directors of K2 Holdings Inc. K2 is one of an outsourced industrial services provider. K2 was recapitalized in November by buyout shop The Halifax Group.

Ray Arthur, CFO of the Pep Boys, has resigned. Arthur will continue in his duties until June 29, the company said. Pep Boys has hired Russell Reynolds to conduct a national search for his replacement. Earlier this year, the Gores Group called off a $791 million buyout of the company.

Smart Sand, a Fairless Hills, Pa.-based company that provides sand for fracking operations, announced that former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has joined its board. Smart Sand is backed by the buyout firm Clearlake Capital Group.

Smokey Bones, an Orlando, Fla.-based restaurant chain that has been owned since 2008 by Sun Capital Partners, has named Christopher Artinian as its new president and CEO. Artinian was formerly president and CEO of Morton’s Restaurant Group. Smokey Bones operates 66 locations in 17 states and employs nearly 2,300 workers.

Strata Decision Technology, a developer of financial and business analytics software for the health care market, has appointed Dan Michelson as chief executive officer. Michelson most recently served as chief marketing and strategy officer for Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, a publicly traded company. Strata Decision technology is backed by Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

Symphony Health Solutions, a provider of data, analytics, and technology-based products for life science manufacturers, has named William Nelligan to be its chief executive. Symphony Health Solutions was formed by the Symphony Technology Group by combining four health care companies.

Privately owned homebuilder Taylor Morrison has added Tim Eller and Valerus CEO Peter Lane to its board. As chairman, Eller succeeds Rajath Shourie of Oaktree Capital and Kelvin Davis of TPG Capital, who served as co-chairs. Both Shourie and Davis will remain as directors. The company is based in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Wingstop board of directors has named former Pizza Inn CEO Charles Morrison as president and chief executive officer. Morrison replaces James Flynn who becomes executive chairman of the board. Wingstop was acquired in 2010 by affiliates of Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta-based buyout firm. Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Richardson, Texas, Wingstop has more than 500 restaurants across the United States and Mexico.