Mergers & Acquisitions has announced the Rising Stars of Private Equity. These 11 up-and-coming investors are expected to play significant leadership in the future. Among them are: Ethan Liebermann, who led TA Associates’ investments in Aldevron and MedRisk and co-sponsored CCRM, Datix and SoftWriters; and Jennifer Roach, who helped Yellow Wood Partners build PDC Brands and sell it to CVC Capital Partners. As we spoke with dealmakers about the 11 Rising Stars, common themes emerged. All have demonstrated the ability to handle many aspects of the PE business, including: fostering trusted relationships and developing deep networks throughout the sectors they invest in; forging and/or expanding their firm’s investments in key sectors; identifying add-on acquisitions and other opportunities for portfolio companies; representing their firms well in the marketplace; and taking on leadership roles within their firms, including developing new systems and tools and training other dealmakers. Congratulations to Mergers & Acquisitions’ 11 Rising Stars of Private Equity: Daniel Hopkin, Partner, Kainos Capital John Kos, Principal, GTCR Erik Latterell, Director, Stone Arch Capital Ethan Liebermann, Principal, TA Associates Jaime McKenzie, Director, Monomoy Capital Jennifer Roach, Vice President, Yellow Wood Partners Joseph Rondinelli, Principal, Frontenac David Shainberg, Vice President, Balmoral Tom Smithburg, Vice President, Shore Capital Partners Nicholas Stone, Managing Director, Cyprium Partners Afaf Ibraheem Warren, Senior Associate, Siris Capital For profiles of the emerging leaders, see Meet Mergers & Acquisitions' 11 Rising Stars of Private Equity. Deal news Clearview Capital has closed its fourth equity fund at $550 along with its first mezzanine fund at $108 million. “For the past nineteen years we have remained committed to the lower middle market and intend to continue to pursue the strategy that has served us well since our inception,” says Clearview co-founder Calvin Neider. Clearview invests $15 million to $75 million per transaction in companies in the business services, healthcare services, manufacturing anddistribution sectors. Lazard Frères & Co. and Kirkland & Ellis advised Clearview. RF Investment Partners SBIC LP has closed its first fund at $252.3 million. “With fundraising now complete, we are eager to grow our portfolio, currently consisting of three investments, and prudently deploy the fund’s capital in support of compelling, growth-oriented lower-middle-market companies in attractive, niche industries," says RF co-founder Peter Fidler. With offices in New York and Chicago, RF invests $5 million to $20 million in lower middle market companies with $2 million to $10 million of Ebitda. Fidler co-founded RF along with Peter Rothschild. They both previously founded lower mid-market SBIC fund Tamarix. BC Partners is buying a majority stake in Navex Global, a provider of of governance, risk management and compliance software. Vista Equity is keeping a minority stake in the target. Shea & Co. and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP are advising BC. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Kirkland & Ellis are advising Navex. Cannabis-focused investment firm Salveo Capital has acquired a minority stake in PathogenDX, a a provider of DNA-based pathogen testing kits for the cannabis, botanical, food and agriculture industries. For more on what is driving M&A trends in Cannabis, see How to seize M&A opportunities in marijuana’s gray market. Schott AG, a glass and ceramic materials materials manufacturer based in Mainz, Germany, is acquiring Primoceler Oy, a maker of glass micro bonding products. The deal is part of Schott's strategy to expand its services through M&A. People Moves John Bohenick has been named CEO at Hidden Harbor-backed auto parts maker Cloyes Gear & Products. Bohenick was most recently the CEO engine parts manufacturer Dayco. Michael Fabiano has joined Platinum Equity as a managing director, where he is leading the formation of the firm's credit investing division. Fabiano was most recently with GSO Capital Partners, the global credit investment platform of Blacktsone Group LP (NYSE: BX). Featured content Serena Williams enjoyed a dazzling week at Wimbledon. Out of the grand slam game for 16 months as she started a family and suffered post-delivery complications, Williams, seeded 25th, fought her way into the finals. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge watched from the All England Club's Royal Box, as Williams finished second to Angelique Kerber on July 14. Williams is among many star athletes who have excelled in business as well as in sports. If you’ve had a beer and chicken wings while waiting for a flight at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, or grabbed a smoothie while shopping at the Federal Plaza in Rockville, Maryland, or enjoyed a steak dinner at New York’s Grand Central terminal, you’ve got a sports celebrity athlete to thank. Among the athletes investing are Dale Earnhardt Jr., LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Greg Norman. View our slideshow: Serena Williams, heading to Wimbledon finals, and other athletes bet on restaurants, wineries, juice bars. Justify recently joined the elite group of Triple Crown winners. But, as anyone who’s ever bet the ponies knows, they can’t all be Justifys. Sometimes you get a winner and sometimes, for reasons that aren’t quite clear to anyone, you get an underperformer. It’s a concept with which most fund sponsors may be intimately familiar. You bet on the investment because you foresee its potential and understand the path it needs to take in order to achieve it. Here's a step-by-step guide to getting a stuck-in-the-mudder into racing shape, written by Accordion's Rishi Jain and Anthony Horvat: 6 strategies to turn an underperformer into a "mudder." Summer reading list: From stories of star athletes Arnold Palmer, Keith Hernandez and Tiger Woods to advice from entrepreneurs Bridgewater AssociatesRay Dalio, KPCB’s John Doerr, Nike’s Phil Knight and Brava Investments’ Nathalie Molina Niño, plus strategies to help business leaders in general, and female dealmakers in particular, the 15 books on Mergers & Acquisitions’ list entertain, instruct and inspire. Check out our listicle: Dealmaker’s guide to summer reading: 15 new books.