PRINT THIS PAGE Weekly People Roundup: 30 January 200830/01/2008. Source: AltAssets. 
All the week's most important people stories from across the globe. Essential reading for those who need to keep up-to-date with the private equity industry's key staff moves. All the week's most important people stories from across the globe. Essential reading for those who need to keep up-to-date with the private equity industry's key staff moves.
Riga, Latvia-headquartered private equity firm Alta Capital Partners has appointed two new partners: Priit Põldoja, the current managing director of Hansapank Estonia and former managing partner of the Latvian branch of KPMG, Patrick Querubin. Põldoja will focus on managing Alta Capital’s portfolio companies, while Querubin will take up the position of CFO. Prior to joining Alta, Querubin was a partner with KPMG and worked for 15 years with the firm in Philadelphia, Australia, Moscow and Latvia. Põldoja has worked in Hansapank since 1998. In 2005 he became the managing director of Hansapank Estonia.
New York-based private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital Management has made seven additions to its investment team. Van Walbridge, former CEO of vehicle manufacturer Mobile Tool International, and Walter Stasik, former CEO of goods manufacturer Genesis Worldwide II, have joined Blue Wolf as operating partners. Andrew Schwartz, formerly of J.P. Morgan Securities, has also joined the firm as an associate. The firm has also formed a strategic advisory board, which will be led by Pierre Chao, managing partner and co-founder of Renaissance Strategic Advisors; Dall Forsythe, former New York State Budget director; Leslie Koch, president of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, former executive of Microsoft and former CEO of New York City’s Fund for Public Schools and Louis R Tomson, former president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
Technology and life sciences-focused venture firm TVM Capital has promoted Dr Kia Parssanedjad to principal. He joined the firm’s life sciences practice in early 2007 as a senior associate, based in Munich. Prior to joining TVM Capital, he worked as an engagement manager for McKinsey & Company, where he served pharmaceutical and private equity clients.
Citi has appointed Edward Kelly as president of Citi Alternative Investments, reporting to John Havens, CAI CEO. Kelly will chair the CAI Management Committee. Kelly joins Citi from The Carlyle Group. Previously, he served as chairman, chief executive, and president of Mercantile Bankshares from 2001 to March 2007. Prior to that, he was a managing director at JP Morgan Chase Co., where he was also head of Global Financial Institutions and co-head of Investment Banking Client Management. CAI has more than $59bn of assets under management.
Early stage venture capital firm American River Ventures has appointed F Ray Nunez as CFO. Nunez will be responsible for the firm’s accounting and finance functions, all facets of the firm's investment process and working with portfolio companies. Prior to joining American River Ventures, Nunez was the director of finance at Northern California law firm McDonough Holland & Allen. He also spent over 16 years at Hewlett-Packard in various senior finance positions. American River Ventures focuses on emerging companies that provide a platform for a sustainable future through energy efficiency, energy intelligence and advanced materials.
IT, healthcare and cleantech-focused venture capital firm Advanced Technology Ventures has hired Thomas Caputo, Ken Ebbitt and Dharmesh Thakker as senior associates. All three will be focused on ATV's IT practice, working with the firm's existing portfolio companies and identifying new investments in the software and services, internet and infrastructure market sectors. Caputo will be based in ATV's Waltham office, while Ebbitt and Thakker will be in the firm's Palo Alto office. Caputo joined ATV from Microsoft. Ebbitt was previously a senior product marketing manager at PayPal. Previously, Thakker was the director of corporate development at Keynote Systems. ATV has more than $1.8bn in capital under management.
Venture capital firm Grotech Capital Group has promoted Charles P Cullen and Stephen M Fredrick to general partner. Cullen joined Grotech as a vice president in 2000. In July 2006 he also became the firm’s CFO. Fredrick joined Grotech as a vice president in 2005 and focuses on investment opportunities in the IT and communications sectors. Prior to Grotech, he invested in early stage software and communications companies in the region. Grotech was founded in 1984. The firm manages $1bn in capital from offices in Maryland and Virginia.
Advent International has promoted 17 members of its global investment team. In the firm’s London office, Andy Dawson and Tom Allen have been promoted to director, while Nick Rose was also promoted to assistant director. In the Amsterdam office, Bram Grimmelt has been promoted to assistant director. Paris-based Guillaume Darbon has been promoted to managing director. In Boston, Dave McKenna was promoted to managing partner. Sebastian Tcaciuc, who works out of Advent’s Bucharest office, was promoted to director. In Prague, Chris Mruck, was promoted to managing partner and Michal Aron to assistant director. In Warsaw, Jakub Chelmicki has been promoted to assistant director. In Latin America, Joaquín Mandachain was promoted to senior associate in Advent’s Buenos Aires office. In the firm’s Säo Paulo office, Frederico Brito e Abreu and Wilson Lourenço da Rosa have been promoted to principal, Mario Malta to senior associate and Jorge Maluf to associate. In Tokyo, Rory Pope has been promoted to managing director and James Brooks to assistant director. Advent International has offices in 15 countries on four continents.
New York-headquartered alternative investment asset management business Capital Z Asset Management has hired former CalPERS senior investment officer Christianna Wood as CEO. Elizabeth Flisser, a partner at Capital Z, has also been promoted to president. Wood has been at CalPERS since 2002. Prior to this, she also held senior positions managing equity portfolios at two institutions from 1981 to 1996. Flisser has been with Capital Z since 1999. She sits on the board of advisors for OneWorld Investments, Cedarview Capital Management, Praesidis Advisors and Aviator Fund Management. Prior to Capital Z, she was a financial analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the Financial Institutions Group and Equity Capital Markets.
Private investment firm Quadrangle Group has hired former Goldman Sachs partner Doug Kramer as a managing principal and COO. Kramer will be based in New York and will oversee all of the firm's non-investment operations and strategic development. He will also be closely involved in developing new investment vehicle, Quadrangle Asset Management. At Goldman Sachs, he served as head of the Global Manager Strategies Group. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Doug was a director of Columbia Energy Services in Houston, Texas, where he managed derivatives portfolios throughout 1999. Prior to Columbia, he was a portfolio manager at Fischer Francis Trees and Watts in New York from 1993 to 1999. Quadrangle has also promoted Sachin Khajuria to principal and Daniel Fine to vice president.
Chicago-headquartered healthcare-focused investment firm Cressey & Company has appointed Ralph W Davis as partner. He will focus on making new investments and supporting portfolio companies. Davis is currently the chairman and a member of the board of directors of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, where he has been a partner since 1995. His practice focuses on M&A, particularly in the healthcare industry, public and private equity, debt financing and general corporate law. Previously, he was an associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He also served as law clerk to The Honorable Gilbert S Merritt, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
UK technology-focused venture capital firm MTI has appointed Jayne Chace as a venture partner. In her new role, Chace will focus on the marketing needs and business development enhancements of MTI's portfolio companies. Prior to MTI, Chace was chief marketing officer at LogicaCMG Telecoms. This division of LogicaCMG was spun out in June 2007, at which point Chace managed the launch of the new company, Acision. Chace previously held positions at Oracle, Nortel, Cadence, Siemens and Unisys.
Sydney-based early stage technology venture capital firm Southern Cross Venture Partners has established a new office in Palo Alto, California. The new office will be led by Southern Cross co-founder and managing director John Scull. Scull will be joined by Australian entrepreneur Dr Larry Marshall. The firm plans to work with US venture funds to help Australia and New Zealand-based start-ups access the US and other international markets. Scull co-founded the firm with Bob Christiansen in 2006. Previously, both worked at Australian venture capital firm Allen & Buckeridge. Christiansen will be joined in the Sydney office by managing directors Bill Bartee and Gareth Dando. In addition, Tristen Langley has recently joined the firm as investment director. She will split her time between the Sydney and Silicon Valley offices.
Pan-European private equity firm Stirling Square Capital Partners has appointed Julien Horreard as an associate. Previously, Horreard worked in the M&A team at UBS Investment Bank in London, where he was promoted to associate in July 2007. Prior to UBS, he worked as a junior analyst within the leveraged finance team at BNP Paribas in New York and also served an internship within the investment banking department of JPMorgan in Paris. Prior to UBS, he worked from April 2003 to June 2004 as a junior analyst within the leveraged finance team at BNP Paribas in New York, and from August 2001 to July 2002 served an internship within the investment banking department of JPMorgan in Paris.
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