PRINT THIS PAGE Weekly People Roundup: 13 February 200813/02/2008. 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. German venture capital firm TVM Capital has appointed Steffen Schuster as a principal to its corporate finance team. The firm has also promoted Robert W Schrimpff to principal of the technology team. Schuster will focus on technology investments in the TVM Capital portfolio. Previously he was CFO of Cycos. Prior to Cycos, Schuster was an investment partner at I+C Mustang Funds for Europe and Israel, a part of Siemens Venture Capital. Schrimpff joined the TVM Capital Technology practice in October 2006 as an associate based in Munich and was promoted to senior associate in 2007. Prior to his tenure with TVM Capital, he assessed energy generation technologies for Shell Renewables.
US mid-market private equity firm Genstar Capital, has promoted J Ryan Clark to principal. Clark joined Genstar in 2004 and serves on the boards of several Genstar portfolio companies including Panolam Industries International, Fort Dearborn Company, PRA International, 21st Services and Confie Seguros, the firm's most recent investment. Prior to joining Genstar, Clark was an associate at Hellman & Friedman. Previously, he worked in the Mergers, Acquisitions and Restructuring Department at Morgan Stanley in New York. Genstar focuses on investments in selected segments of the life sciences and healthcare services, industrial technology, business services and software services.
New York-based private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors, has appointed former president of Kraft Foods John D Bowlin and former CEO of Triad HospitalsJames Shelton as executive advisors to the firm, focusing on investment opportunities in the consumer and healthcare sectors, respectively. Bowlin is a 30 year veteran of Kraft Foods/Philip Morris Companies, where he served in various leadership capacities including president of Kraft and president and CEO of Miller Brewing Company. Shelton has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, including serving as chairman and CEO of Triad Hospitals. CCMP focuses on five primary industries: consumer, retail and services, energy, healthcare infrastructure, industrials and media and telecom.
Oak Hill Capital Partners has appointed former chairman and CEO of Spectrum Brands David A Jones as a senior advisor to the firm. Jones will consult across Oak Hill's private equity portfolio and will work closely with the firm's Consumer, Retail & Distribution industry group. Jones has over 35 years experience in senior leadership roles at consumer products companies including Spectrum Brands, Rayovac, Thermoscan, Regina, Electrolux, Sara Lee and General Electric. He currently serves on the boards of Pentair Corp. and Simmons Co.
Former ServiceMaster executive Albert Cantu has joined private equity investment firm Waud Capital Partners as an executive partner. Cantu will lead WCP's investment strategy in the consumer services sector. The new WCP initiative will be based in Memphis, where Cantu spent 20 years with ServiceMaster. During his tenure, Cantu served as business president, managing four business units including American Residential Services, Merry Maids, ServiceMaster Clean and FurnitureMedic. He also served six years as president and COO of Terminix, ServiceMaster's pest control division. Cantu currently serves on the board of trustees of Christian Brothers University, the advisory board of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Memphis Center for Economic Education.
Invesco has hired Michele Serrao and Evan Darr to the firm's private equity fund of funds team. Both Serrao and Darr will focus on sourcing and analysing partnership opportunities. They both join from Atlantic Trust, the private wealth management business of Invesco, parent to Invesco Private Capital. Serrao, who joins as a partner, has spent the past ten years in the alternatives arena, directing Atlantic Trust's $4.5bn Multi-Manager Program for private wealth clients. Darr, who joins as a senior associate, has been involved with due diligence assignments on private equity managers and performance monitoring while at Atlantic Trust, which he joined in 2003.
Leader Ventures, a US private investment firm offering blended debt and equity financing, has appointed Brian Best as managing director. Prior to Leader Ventures, Best spent over ten years at Western Technology Investment, a private equity firm focused on venture debt. Most recently he was an investment partner with the firm and previously held the position of CFO and investment associate. While at WTI, Brian led the firm's investments in several companies including Calista Technologies, IntruVert Networks and Net6. Before WTI, Brian held several management and finance positions at Decisis Corporation and Ross Systems.
WL Ross & Co. has appointed John Kanas, former CEO of North Fork Bank, as a senior adviser, helping WL Ross identify, restructure and manage investments in distressed financial services institutions. He also will co-invest with WL Ross in the restructurings. Kanas joined North Fork in 1971. During his tenure he presided over 16 successful acquisitions. He is also an adviser to Capital One Financial Corp. WL Ross & Co., a part of Invesco since October 2006, invests in and restructures financially distressed companies.
Early stage venture capital firm Sofinnova Ventures has appointed David Hytha to the firm's IT team as an executive-in-residence. Hytha will help Sofinnova identify investment opportunities in the mobile telecommunications sector and also work with portfolio companies to build and grow their businesses. Previously, Hytha was an executive vice president at T-Mobile. He began his career at AT&T in the early 1980s and established both its semiconductor business and wireless infrastructure operations in Japan. While at AT&T, he also founded the first department of Bell Laboratories outside the US. Hytha serves on the board of directors of Streamezzo, Renaissance Wireless and Catalyst Mobile.
Nordic technology-focused venture capital firm Eqvitec Partners has appointed Hadar Cars as an investment director in its Stockholm office. Previously, Cars was president in CellPoint Systems and co-founder in Orange Sverige. He started his career at Ericsson, including working in Japan as a general manager for Japan Ericsson's fixed network systems division. Eqvitec has offices in Helsinki and Stockholm. The firm currently advises five funds with a total capital base of €440m.
Manchester, England-based private equity firm Infinity Asset Management has appointed John Hunt as a partner. In his new role, he will be involved with generating and managing investment opportunities for the firm. Hunt joins Infinity from BDO Stoy Hayward. Previously, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, after several years at Levy Gee. He also spent six years at American electric power utility TXU. Infinity was launched in February 2007 with an initial fund of £20m. The firm recently secured a £27m deal by investing in UK invoice discounting and factoring company Positive Cash Flow Finance.
The British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association has announced that Alan Thomson, former group finance director of Smiths Group, and Jeannie Drake, retiring deputy general secretary of the CWU (the Communication Workers Union) have been appointed as independent members of the new monitoring body set up in response to Sir David Walker's recommendations on increasing transparency and disclosure by the private equity industry. Robert Easton, managing director at The Carlyle Group, and David Blitzer, senior managing director at The Blackstone Group, will represent the private equity industry. The Guidelines Monitoring Group is chaired by Sir Mike Rake, chairman of BT Group. Sir Mike was also a member of the advisory group that worked with Sir David on the guidelines. The Monitoring Group will have an initial meeting in March 2008 to set out its scope of operations and remit. It is then expected to meet four times a year.
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