Quantum Energy hires COO

The private equity energy firm has tapped Cedric Burgher of engineering firm KBR

Quantum Energy Partners has appointed the former chief financial officer of KBR, Cedric Burgher, to the position of chief operating officer, the first such role for the Houston, Texas-based private equity energy firm. As COO, Burgher will provide leadership for financial, operational and investor activities at the firm, consult with Quantum's portfolio companies on financial and capital markets matters, and work with the investment team on potential and existing portfolio investments, according to a statement from the firm.

“The breadth and depth of Cedric's experience across the energy industry, including senior management responsibilities in the upstream oil and gas, oil services and engineering and construction sectors, along with extensive financial and capital markets experience, will greatly enhance Quantum's ability to manage fund-level and portfolio company-level requirements,” said Wil VanLoh, president and CEO of Quantum Energy Partners.

KBR is a global engineering and construction company with over 50,000 employees in 45 countries. During his tenure at KBR, the company separated from its prior parent Halliburton through an IPO and subsequent split-off transaction. Before returning to Halliburton/KBR, Burgher served as CFO for Burger King in Miami.

Prior to that, he worked for Halliburton as vice president and treasurer as well as vice president of investor relations. Burgher previously held financial management positions with Enron, EOG Resources and Baker Hughes following several years in banking. Burgher currently serves as a director and audit committee chairman for Taggart Global, a company offering coal preparation and material handling systems.

“As the founders of Quantum continue to focus the bulk of their efforts on the investment activities of the firm, the addition of the chief operating officer provides a resource that enhances the team already in place,” the firm explained in a statement. “Bringing on a COO with the breadth and depth of Burgher's experience is a real plus for Quantum's fund-level and portfolio-company activities.”

Eton Park hires GMAC CEO as CFO
Eton Park, a hybrid hedge fund led by Eric Mindich, has hired Eric Feldstein, formerly chief executive of GMAC, as chief financial officer and partner effective August 1. Feldstein will oversee all finance, risk and treasury activities and will work with the firm's investment team on complex transactions. At GMAC and its parent company General Motors, Feldstein served in several key senior executive positions over a 25-year career with the companies. As CEO of GMAC from December 2002 through March 2008, Feldstein was responsible for GMAC's activities worldwide, including its auto finance, insurance, mortgage, and commercial finance operations. Prior to this CEO role, Feldstein served as GM's vice president of finance and treasurer, responsible for GM's global treasury operations, controller's group, and tax organization. During his career at GM/GMAC, Feldstein also held other executive positions both in the US and abroad, including CFO of GMAC and regional treasurer of GM Europe in Brussels, Belgium.

Cross-border M&A due diligence expensive, damaging to environment
New research from Merrill DataSite, a provider of virtual data rooms, shows that dealmakers in Europe spend more than £110 million on overseas travel related to conducting due diligence on cross-border deals. According to executives in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands, overseas travel-related costs amount to an average of £19,500 during the due diligence stage of a deal, although 15 percent of those surveyed spend more than £30,000. Merrill DataSite's research found that, on average, executives spend seven and a half days out of the office during due diligence, with nearly a quarter of respondents (24 percent) saying they would spend 11 days or more out of the office. The study also found that the environmental impact of these processes is significant. Cross-border due diligence in Europe was found to contribute 98,000 tons of ozone-depleting carbon dioxide to the environment, and each cross-border deal was found to involve an average of 20,000 pages of paper. Merrill DataSite estimates that due diligence paperwork on last year's European cross-border transactions amounted to over 112 million pages.

WJ Bradley hires CFO
Colorado-based WJ Bradley Company has hired Roy Browning as its new chief financial officer. Bradley was most recently executive vice president and CFO of Collateral Real Estate Capital, and before was CFO for Aurora Loan Services, a mortgage banking subsidiary of Lehman Brothers. He has also held executive positions at Bridge Information Services and Greenpoint Mortgage. “We are very excited to add Roy as a member of our executive leadership team,” said CEO William Bradley. “His strong financial background, track record of operational success and history of creating value for some of the industry leaders make him an important addition to the company.” Mortgage Search and Acquisition conducted the executive search for the position. WJ Bradley was formed in 1999 by William Bradley and chairman Joseph Cambi for the purpose of capitalizing on the residential mortgage banking industry by acquiring mid-sized residential lending firms originating between $300 million and $2 billion.