Private Equity Firms

Jeff Sokol has joined Acacia Partners, an Austin, Texas, investment firm, as a partner. Sokol previously worked at Vaughan Nelson Investment Management, a value-oriented investment firm in Houston with $8 billion in assets under management.

Scott Werry has joined Altas Partners as a principal. The Toronto-based Altas, which is focused on core private equity and long-term investment horizons, was founded in 2012 by Andrew Sheiner, former managing director at Onex Corp. Werry had worked at Providence Equity Partners since 2005.

Inaki Echave will join The Blackstone Group as a managing director, with primary responsibility for Spain and Portugal. Echave was most recently a partner at Magnum Capital, an independent buyout fund on the Iberian Peninsula. He will work alongside Claudio Boada, Blackstone’s chairman for Iberia.

The Carlyle Group announced that Barrett Karr will join the firm as a principal in the global external affairs group where she will lead the firm’s U.S. government affairs. Karr comes to Carlyle from the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where she serves as majority staff director.

Gramercy, a dedicated emerging markets investment manager, has added several hires to its Latin America private equity investment team co-led by Gustavo Ferraro, a managing director and head of Latin American markets at Gramercy and David Britts, a managing director focused on private equity. The firm has also formed a TMT advisory board and appointed several members.

Highland Capital Management said that Andrea Lloyd has rejoined the firm as a credit trader, while Scott Baker was named a director. Lloyd will be responsible for trading bank loans and high yield bonds in the primary and secondary markets. Baker will be responsible for identifying new opportunities, assessing risk and conducting due diligence on the firm’s investment ideas.

Tim Hurd and Eddie Magnus have left Madison Dearborn Partners to start their own firm, according to a letter that the firm sent to investors.