Service Providers

Bluebox, a British advisory business that prepares companies for sale, has appointed Sam Archer as corporate executive. Archer joins from Bridges Ventures.

Pierre Oustinow has joined the U.S. M&A Group at BMO Capital Markets in Boston. He joins as a managing director and will focus on technology M&A. He will report to Scott Humphrey, who is based in Chicago. Oustinow previously was at Evercore Partners, where he was a managing director focused on M&A with its bi-coastal technology group.

Placement agent Capstone Partners has named Brian DeFee to the post of principal in its U.S. distribution team. He will manage investor and fund manager relationships in the northeastern and eastern United States. DeFee served previously as vice president of marketing at Panda Power Funds.

Eric Welsch, a former director at Keybanc Capital Markets, has joined Fifth Third Bank. Welsch is a managing director in Fifth Third’s new “mid -corporate” commercial banking group that is targeting companies with $500 million to $2 billion in revenue. The group provides commercial lending, loan syndication, M&A advisory and debt capital markets, Fifth Third said. At KeyBanc, Welsch was responsible for Southeast and Mid-Atlantic sponsor coverage.

Gordon Brothers Group, a Boston-based advisory, restructuring and investment firm, has hired Patrick Dalton as president of the debt investment group of its investment management affiliate, GB Merchant Partners. Dalton comes to the company from Apollo Investment Corp., where he was president and CEO and CIO.

Lincoln International has hired Peter Stack as a managing director in its business services group, where he will lead the firm’s marketing services practice. Based in Chicago, Stack joins the firm from BMO Capital Markets, where he was a managing director in the business services and media investment banking coverage group, specifically focused on advertising & marketing services.

Ann Richardson Knox has joined the law firm Mayer Brown in New York as a partner in the banking and finance practice. She was previously a partner with Haynes and Boone in New York.

Portico Capital has expanded into Europe, opening a London office and naming Giles Roshier as head of Portico Europe, the firm announced. Portico Capital provides independent strategic and financial advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and capital raisings.

Robert Hutchinson has joined publicly traded Stifel Financial Corp. in the firm’s investment banking division as a managing director in its financial institutions group. He is based in Boston.