Advent International — The private equity firm appointed Michael Ming-Yue Zhu to its operating partner program where he will advise Advent on investment opportunities in the chemicals sector. Zhu is currently the country general manager of Solvay China, following the company’s merger with Rhodia, where he had worked since 1994. During his tenure at Rhodia, Zhu has been credited with much of the company’s growth, including acquiring six local Chinese firms and building up to 12 new factories. Advent also announced that it hired William Tsao as an industry adviser in the chemicals sector in China. Tsao was previously at DuPont (NYSE: DD) where he held leadership positions in various units across Taiwan, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai. In his last role with the company, he headed up DuPont’s entire performance coating business in China. Both Zhu and Tsao will be based in Shanghai.


Clarion Partners LLC — The real estate investment manager hired Kerrisha Jenkins (pictured) as a vice president in Los Angeles where she will manage client relationships and working closely with institutional investors. Kerrisha brings more than five years of experience as a consultant to institutional investors, specializing in real estate. She was previously with Mercer LLC where she advised pension plans.


Madison Street Capital — Managing director Jaydip Sinha is now a member of the board of governors of the Pailan Group, an educational conglomerate in Eastern India, where he will work within the management division focusing on growth opportunities. Sinha, who remains head of Madison Street’s operations in Haryana, India, oversees mergers, acquisitions, business valuation services and other corporate advisory services. He has advised companies in various industries including security and surveillance, telecommunications and infrastructure.


Mayer Brown LLP — The law firm tapped Lawrence Berkovich to be part of its Charlotte, N.C. office. Berkovich was hired as a partner in the firm's banking and finance practice. He was previously a counsel with Dechert, also in Charlotte. Berkovich focuses on complex structured finance transactions, specifically broadly syndicated and middle-market collateralized loan obligations; both first mortgage and mezzanine commercial real estate loan securitizations; as well as rated and unrated leveraged loan and commercial real estate loan warehouse facilities.


McCarter & English LLP — The law firm is pleased to announce that Joseph Bartlett has joined as special counsel in the firm’s corporate securities and financial institutions practice in New York. In the past, Bartlett has served as president of the Boston Bar Association and as general counsel and undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Bartlett was most recently at Sullivan & Worcester where he worked within the firm’s corporate department, also in New York. Bartlett’s practice includes serving as counsel to asset managers, with a focus on technology companies. His venture fund work began with the first Greylock Partners fund in 1965 and he has drafted documents for several of the largest and most successful leveraged buyout funds.


NBGI Private Equity — The London private equity firm has appointed Tim Kelly as the second member of a panel of senior industry advisers. Kelly, a food and beverage industry veteran, began his career with Unilever plc (NYSE:UL), before joining Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE) in Europe. He then went on to be a marketing director at Diageo plc in Ireland and president of Guinness Bass Import USA. NBGI typically invests in U.K.-based businesses that are valued up to £50 million ($76 million) in enterprise value.


Walker & Dunlop Inc. (NYSE: WD) —Brian Casey will join the real estate lender's proprietary capital group on May 23. Casey joins Walker & Dunlop from MetLife (NYSE: MET). While there, he was responsible for their domestic and international commercial whole loan lending operation which originated about $9 billion of mortgage loans in 2012.

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