Private Equity Firms

Advent International has named Michael Ming-Yue Zhu as an operating partner. Zhu is country general manager of Solvay China. Advent has also tapped William Tsao as an industry adviser for China’s chemical sector.

American Capital Energy & Infrastructure said that Lisa Pinsley and Pol Mijares have joined. Pinsley will be director of Africa investments while Mijares will be a senior associate. American Capital Energy & Infrastructure also said that Peter Bird and Venu Nambiar were named senior advisers. Most recently, Pinsley was a vice president of AES Africa Power Co., while Mijares worked at AES Corp. in business development. American Capital Energy & Infrastructure is part of American Capital.

Ares Management announced that Charles Steel has joined the Ares Private Equity Group as a managing director and will be based in London. Steel previously worked at The Carlyle Group from 2001 to 2010 in European leveraged buyouts.

BelHealth Investment Partners has appointed Paul Barrett to its investment team as an associate. Barrett will be active in executing new transactions and working with existing portfolio companies. Barrett previously worked as an associate and analyst in the healthcare investment banking division of CIT Group, where he focused on M&A and leveraged finance transactions.

Spencer Wang is joining merchant-banking firm Berenson & Company as senior adviser. Wang is the former head of U.S. media and Internet equity research at Credit Suisse.

Cotton Creek Capital has added Clayton Milburn to the investment team as an associate in the Austin office. Previously, Milburn was an associate in the leveraged finance group at ORIX Corporate Capital, a Dallas-based investment arm of ORIX Corp.

Great Hills Partners said that Charlie Papazian, a vice president on its investment team, died from complications after an injury. Papazian joined Great Hill in 2001 and returned to the firm after graduating from Harvard Business School in 2008.

Highland Capital Management LP, said it has named Jun Park as director of business development in Korea. Prior to joining Highland, Park worked at Woori Financial Principal Investment in Seoul. Highland is an investment management firm based in Dallas.

Global investment management firm Invesco has elected Richard Wagoner as a member of the board of directors, effective Oct. 7. Wagoner, 60, served as chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors Corp from May 2003 through March 2009.

Caroline Bibb has joined J.F. Lehman & Co. as a managing director, operations. Bibb spent more than a decade at Honeywell International where she most recently served as a senior vice president and general manager.

NBGI Private Equity has appointed food and drinks industry veteran Tim Kelly as the second member of a panel of senior industry advisers. Kelly began his career with Unilever, before joining Coca-Cola Enterprises Europe. He was subsequently marketing director at Diageo plc in Ireland and president of Guinness Bass Import USA.

Pinebridge Investments has named Wael Aburida as its CIO. Aburida will helm PineBridge’s MENA private equity team. Previously, Aburida was a director of M&A at Waha Capital.