Chad Abraham was appointed to chief executive officer of Piper Jaffray Cos. (NYSE: PJC) effective January 1, 2018. Abraham, previously the firm’s global co-head of investment banking and capital markets, succeeds Andrew Duff, who will remain chairman of the Piper Jaffray board.

Victor Barcot has joined Houlihan Lokey (NYSE: HLI) as a managing director in the firm’s oil and gas exploration and production group. Barcot, based in Houston, previously served as managing director at Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB).

Todd Beauchamp was hired by Latham & Watkins LLP as a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C.-based payments and emerging financial services practice. Joining from Paul Hastings, Beauchamp holds experience in payments regulatory, complex transactional and corporate matters.

Jay Blackman has rejoined Vinson & Elkins as counsel based in Houston. Previously counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Blackman represents private equity investors in M&A, dispositions and strategic investment transactions.

David Burdette has been promoted from vice president to director at Prairie Capital Adivsors. Based in Atlanta, Burdette specializes in transaction financing, M&A and ESOP analysis. He previously worked as a manager at Willamette Management Associates.

Stephanie Davies has joined New York-based Stout Risius Ross LLC as co-head of sponsor coverage in the firm’s investment banking group. Prior to Stout, Davies was the head of business development for Staple Street Capital.

Steve Dearing was hired by Stephens Inc. as a New York-based managing director. Joining the firm’s equity capital markets team, Dearing has more than 30 years of experience in transactions covering the transportation, industrial, healthcare, technology, media, energy and real estate sectors.

Mark Emrich has joined Murray Devine Valuation Advisors as a managing director in the firm’s New York office. Previously working in the same capacity at Anagenesis Capital Partners, Emrich leads Murray Devine’s New York business development activities with a focus on alternative investment firms and intermediaries.

Gene Gorbach has been promoted from senior associate to investment partner at middle market private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners. Gorbach joined the firm in 2008 and serves on the board of three healthcare companies, including: BioIVT, TractManager, and WCG. He has previously worked at American Capital, Madison Dearborn Partners and J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM).

Michael Nolte was appointed as chief executive officer of Bracket, a clinical trial technology services provider backed by Genstar Capital. Nolte joins Bracket after served as CEO of Influence Health.

Brian Orkin has been promoted from principal to investment partner at Arsenal Capital Partners. Orkin joined Arsenal in 2010, and works in various business development and strategy roles on the specialty industrials team.

Blake Otte was hired by New York-based Stout Risius Ross LLC as co-head of sponsor coverage in the firm’s investment banking group. Prior to Stout, Blake previously headed business development and capital markets at AloStar Capital for the Northeast region.

Kerr Robertson was hired by William Blair as a managing director based in the firm’s recently-opened office in Charlotte, North Carolina. Previously a managing director at Wells Fargo Securities, Robertson holds experience advising private and publicly traded companies in the healthcare sector.

Deb Schoneman has been promoted to president of Piper Jaffray effective January 1, 2018. Schoneman joined the firm in 1990, and most recently served as chief financial officer and global head of equities. The CFO role is now assumed by Tim Carter.

Roy Seroussi has been promoted from principal to investment partner at Arsenal Capital Partners. Seroussi also joined the firm in 2008, and serves on the board of Cyalume Technologies, Inhance Technologies, Elite Comfort Solutions, and Polymer Solutions Group.

Kanji Takenaka has been hired by Ardian as managing director and head of the firm’s new Tokyo office. Tekenaka joins the private investment firm with senior role experience at Simplex Real Estate and Fortress Investment Group.

Christopher Vaughn has joined Venable LLP's corporate practice as counsel. Based in Baltimore, Vaughn focuses on domestic and international M&A, divestitures, debt and equity financings. Vaughn previously served in the U.S. diplomatic corps as a foreign service officer in the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Agency for International Development.