Industry Frontline – December 2005

Alvarez & Marsal recruits PE pro
Global turnaround consulting firm Alvarez & Marsalhas hired Jack McCarthy as managing director and co-head of the firm’s transaction advisory group. Based at A&M’s New York office, McCarthy will coordinate and lead due diligence teams catering to the firm’s private equity clients. McCarthy’s most recent post was as partner and managing director at BA Capital Partners Europe, a region-focused middle-market private equity arm of Bank of America. ?With more than 14 years of private equity investment and corporate finance experience, Jack is a veteran insider,? said A&M managing director Nick Alvarez, who will co-head the firm’s transaction advisory group alongside McCarthy.

Cambridge Associates expands to Texas
Boston-based investment consulting firm Cambridge Associates has opened an office in Dallas, expanding its presence to four US offices and two international offices. Cambridge Associates, founded in 1973, provides investment advisory, research, and performance monitoring services to institutional investors. According to a press release, the firm’s new office will cater to its clients in the Southwestern US, where the firm’s clients include Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University, University of Texas Investment Management Company, and Texas A&M Foundation.

Acanthus hires new associate
Private equity advisory firm Acanthus Advisers has added to its team by hiring Connor O’Keeffe as an associate. Before joining the UK-based firm, O’Keeffe provided M&A and private equity transaction support for clients such as KKR, Ingersoll-Rand, and Hellman & Friedman during his four years at Deloitte & Touche’s South Africa corporate finance and New York M&A groups. Founded in 1998, Acanthus provides fund placement to emerging private equity fund managers and corporate finance advisory services involving mid-market companies.

Bank of Scotland(Ireland) creates IAF division
Building upon its existing acquisition finance business, Bank of Scotland (Ireland) has newly established an Integrated and Acquisition Finance (IAF) division. Operating alongside the bank’s venture capital and direct investment arm, the IAF division is to focus on new business generation and structured transactions. Leading the new division is Robert Hamilton, previously at Bank of Scotland Corporate in the UK as director of Integrated and Acquisition Finance.

Commerzbank grows leveraged finance team
CommerzbankCorporates & Markets, the corporate and investment banking arm of German financial institution Commerzbank AG, recently hired six new members to expand its leveraged finance team and support the firm’s expansion into Western Europe. ?I believe that our new appointments in London and Frankfurt will help us to stay at the top of the LBO ladder and reinforce our position in this market as we build the franchise up for the medium to long term,? commented CBCM’s head of leveraged finance, Christopher Day, in a company statement. The new hires include analysts Catherine Baulamon from MatlinPatterson Advisors, Laurent Oriol of Calyon Leveraged Finance and Cedric Probst from LBBW to CBCM’s London office. Joining the firm’s Frankfurt office is new portfolio manager Heiko Teucher, as well as Maik Zoellner and Thorsten Behrens.

AIB strengthens acquisition finance teams
AIB Capital Markets has appointed Nina Brauer as associate director to its UK acquisition finance team while adding Jens Richter to its German acquisition finance team. Prior to her new appointment, Brauer served as part of the bank’s acquisition finance team in Germany. Before joining AIB in 2003, Brauer was with the leveraged finance team at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. AIB Capital Markets’ UK acquisition finance team is led by Bruce Thomson and director David Lock. The bank focuses on providing debt and mezzanine financing for management buyouts, public and private transactions, and recapitalizations.

GE Commercial Finance hires new VP
The corporate lending division of GE Commercial Finance has appointed Todd Lynady as vice president of originations. Lynady, to be based in New York, will be in charge of originating lending prospects among small and mid-sized companies in the northeastern US and report to Dan Greene, senior vice president and team leader of the division’s US East Region activities. Prior to joining GE Commercial Finance, Lynady managed the US Northeast and Middle Atlantic activities at trade credit and political risk insurance provider Atradius Trade Credit Insurance. GE Commercial Finance Corporate Lending is a financing provider serving primarily middle market companies and large corporations.

BNP hires new securitization head
Tim Drayson has joined the London office of European banking and finance institution BNP Paribas as global head of securitization. At his new position, Drayson will report to BNP Paribas’ global head of fixed income, Jacques d’Estais. Previous to his appointment at BNP Paribas, Drayson was at the London office of Morgan Stanley, where he held various titles – including head of capital markets and managing director within the European securitized products group – during the ten years he was at the firm. Drayson’s career also included three years at New York-based private equity group Pegasus Capital.

First Albany CFO resigns
Steven Jenkins has resigned as vice president and CFO of investmentbank FirstAlbany Companies to ?pursue other interests,? according to a company statement. As Jenkins departs from the bank, he also resigns as executive managing director, CFO and COO of First Albany Capital. The Albany, New York-based First Albany has appointed Paul Kutey – who joined the firm in 2001 – as acting CFO for both FirstAlbanyand First Albany Capital. From 1993 until joining First Albany, Kutey was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Established in 1953 and traded on NASDAQ, First Albany is an independent investment bank with clients in the institutional and corporate middle markets.

Paul Hastings appoints PE lawyer
International law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (Europe) has appointed Kathryn Brown as partner in its corporate department. Brown, who joins the firm’s London office from fellow international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, focuses on private equity houses on leveraged buyouts and cross-border transactions. ?The addition of Kathryn will enhance our private equity practice capabilities in London, where a large number of private equity funds are based and where a large number of US private equity firms are looking to deploy capital,? said Robert Miller, chair of the corporate department, in a press release. Founded in 1951, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker has more than 1,000 lawyers in 17 offices globally, including London, Brussels, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Cooley regains life sciences pro
US law firm Cooley Godward’s life sciences practice will expand in January 2006 upon Glen Sato’s return to the firm as a partner at the Palo Alto office. Sato will rejoin Cooley Godward after spending a number of years in executive positions at biotech and IT companies on the US West Coast. Most recently, Sato served as senior vice presidentand CFO atFremont, California-headquartered Protein Design Labs, a developer of humanized monoclonal antibodies for disease treatment. Cooley’s life sciences group has advised on 15 IPOs and 27 follow on offerings involving life sciences companies since the beginning of 2004, according to company statements. ?The addition of Glen Sato and his experience is a significant step for continued growth in our Life Sciences practice group,? said Cooley Godward chairman and CEO Steve Neal in a press release. ?We are delighted to welcome him back to the firm.?

Wilson Sonsini to add six partners
Technology and life sciencesfocused law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has announced the appointment of six attorneys as new partners in the firm’s Corporate & Securities group. The new partners include Mark Baudler, Thomas Cleary, Julia Reigel, Tom Savage, and Allison Spinner in Palo Alto, and Adam Dinow at the firm’s New York office. The new appointments will become effective on February 1.

Barrett opens own executive search firm
Executive search specialist David Barrett has launched his own boutique executive search firm, based in New York and targeting the global investment and wealth management market. Joining him in founding David Barrett Partners are global asset management recruiting experts Darryl Adachi, Danit Ben-Zvi, Anne Keyser, and Ted Kister. Prior to establishing the new firm, Barrett was most recently managing partner at asset management boutique executive recruiting firm Higdon Barrett – which has been renamed Higdon Partners – in New York, prior to which he led Chicago-headquartered Heidrick & Struggles’ global asset and wealth management practice. Barrett began his career in the executive search profession 1986 when he was recruited to Russell Reynolds Associates by Kister.

Christian & Timbers grows Europe presence
New York-based executive search firm Christian & Timbers has opened offices in London and Paris as part of the firm’s continuing efforts to expand into Europe. Managing partner Deirdre Kenny will oversee the London office, while the Paris office will be run by vice chairman Diane Segalen. The firm specializes in recruiting executives for Fortune 1000, NASDAQ and venture-backed companies. In addition to its New York and Europe offices, the firm also has offices in Boston, Cleveland, Columbia (Maryland), Menlo Park, and Washington DC.

TURNAROUND CONSULTING
FTI Palladium to create UK presence
The interim leadership-focused arm of US turnaround company FTI Consulting has established a UK practice to cater to growing demand for the firm’s services in Europe. The UK practice of the affiliate, called FTI Palladium, will be led by Mark Palios, a 20-year turnaround industry veteran and former chief executive of The Football Association. Palios’ experience with corporate turnarounds included leading PricewaterhouseCooper’s Business Regeneration practice in the UK, where he ?pioneered the development of executive leadership,? according to a statement by FTI Palladium.

According to Greg Rayburn, senior managing director and practice leader of FTI Palladium, the interim leadership business was established two years ago to provide expertise and leadership to turn around underperforming companies. Previous turnaround clients of the professionals at FTI Palladium include companies such as WorldCom, Sunterra Corporation, Muzak and Bush Industries.

CONSULTING
Bain names head of Asia PE advisory
Global consulting firm Bain & Company has chosen Chul-Joon Park to lead its private equity practice in the Asia Pacific region. Based at Bain’s office in Seoul, which he helped found in 1991, Park coordinate the firm’s assistance of its private equity clients in assessing investment opportunities and increasing post-acquisition value of portfolio companies in East Asia, SoutheastAsia, India, and Australia. ?Asia is increasingly a key driver of private equity growth and our clients are seeking a breadth of experience across the region,? a company statement quoted Steve Ellis, worldwide managing director of Bain.

ABOUT THIS SECTION
Industry Frontline presents announcements and news about the many firms that provide services to private equity firms around the world. These include, but are not restricted to, law firms, accounting firms, consultants, technology solution providers, executive recruiters, insurance specialists, lenders and investment banks.

Submit announcements about your firm to Industry Frontline via e-mail: frontline@us.investoraccess.com

Thank you,

Editors