AGC Partners—The Boston-based boutique investment bank has added Russell Klein as a partner in its Internet and digital media group, working out of the firm’s Silicon Valley office. Prior to joining AGC, Klein was the CEO of venture-backed SendMe, a direct-to-consumer entertainment company he co-founded and ran. Prior to SendMe, he was an entrepreneur-in-residence with General Catalyst Partners, executive vice president of corporate development for public companies ZDNet and later CNET Networks, and was a vice president at Broadview. He has nearly 20 years of transaction and management experience spanning in consumer Internet, digital media, ad-tech/marketing services and mobile sectors. AGC, which started in 2003, has completed 251 technology M&A and growth equity transactions.
Allegiancy—The Richmond, Virginia, commercial real estate asset manager has hired John (J.M.) Ramey as its general counsel. Ramey will oversee all legal matters affecting the company, including capital fundraising, as well as lease, finance and sale transactions for Allegiancy’s clients. Most recently, Ramey was a principal at Goodman Allen & Filetti law firm in Virginia. Previously, he founded the Ramey-Michael Business Law Group, a boutique business law firm, and he was a partner at the Hirschler Fleischer law firm. Since 2005, Ramey has assisted clients in raising more than $1 billion of equity through private placements of securities. He has experience in securities offerings, venture capital and angel financing, buy-sell agreements and commercial real estate.
Cary Street Partners The Richmond, Virginia-based wealth management and investment banking firm appointed Joseph Schmuckler as CEO. Earlier, Schmuckler held executive and senior management roles at several leading global financial companies, including MUFG and Nomura Holding. He has more than 30 years of experience in investment banking and wealth management. Cary Street, founded in 2002, provides investment advisory and management services to individuals, families and institutions from offices across the South. The investment banking group offers M&A, capital raising and strategic advisory services to middle-market businesses, targeting companies with enterprise values ranging from $20 million to $200 million.
Evercore The New York based investment bank hired Edmund Baxter as a senior managing director in its health care group. Baxter is based in Menlo Park, California, and will focus on advising Evercore (NYSE: EVR) clients on advisory and capital raising activities in the life sciences sector. He was most recently a senior managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as head of its West Coast life sciences coverage. Baxter started his financial services career in 1991 as a bank examiner for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. He has advised clients on BioMarin's acquisition of Prosensa, the sale of Furiex to Forest Laboratories, the sale of Ardea to AstraZeneca, the separation of Theravance Biopharma from Theravance, Inc. and Gilead's acquisition of Pharmasset.
Gordon Brothers-AccuVal—The Boston-based valuation division of Gordon Brothers Group has hired Conrad Lauten director, business development, serving the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Lauten, who will be based in Atlanta, has more than 35 years of experience. He will lead sales in the Southeast region, helping asset-based lending and private equity professionals understand valuation trends, changing methodologies, industry specific issues and the underlying value of their assets. Lauten most recently was the managing director of new business development leadership SunTrust Robinson Humphrey’s asset-based lending division. He also held other relationship management and business development positions at Atlantic Capital Bank, Wachovia Capital Finance and Deutsche Bank.
LHP Hospital Group Inc.—The privately held healthcare provider in Plano, Texas, has hired a former J.P. Morgan Securities (NYSE: JMP) executive director, Timothy Wons, as senior vice president of acquisition and development. Wons, reporting to CEO John Holland, will coordinate the company's corporate development activities, oversee strategic transactions and manage growth initiatives. In 17 years with J.P. Morgan, he specialized in developing strategic and financial solutions for healthcare and not-for-profit clients while also working with merger-related transactions and new business development. Prior to that, he was an associate in the public finance group at Katten Muchin & Zavis and a senior accountant and senior fixed income analyst at Van Kampen Funds. LHP is owned by affiliates of the private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors LLC, the CPP Investment Board, and members of management and the board of directors.
Madison Capital Funding LLC The Chicago-based finance company hired Jon Leisinger as a director and head of mezzanine credit. Leisinger will manage Madison Capital’s mezzanine capabilities. He joins from Sankaty Advisors, the credit affiliate of Bain Capital, where he was an executive vice president responsible for mezzanine deal origination, credit evaluation, execution and portfolio management. Madison Capital, a subsidiary of New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC, focuses on corporate financing for middle-market private equity firms, having closed transactions with more than 345 private equity firms.
Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc.—The second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee has elected Bill Hagerty, co-founder and managing director of private equity investment firm Hagerty Peterson & Co., to its board of directors. Hagerty recently served in Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s cabinet as the state’s commissioner of economic development. During his tenure he was also responsible for the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. Hagerty began his career with the Boston Consulting Group and then served during the George H.W. Bush Presidency on the White House Domestic Policy Staff as chief economist for the President’s Council on Competitiveness. Following his service on the White House staff, Hagerty joined Trident Capital and launched his career in private equity. He has successfully invested in a broad range of industries including financial services, health care and technology. Pinnacle (Nasdaq/NGS: PNFP) has about $6.5 billion in assets.
Proskauer Rose LLP—The New York-based international law firm hired Niamh Curry as a partner in its private investment funds group in New York. Curry’s practice focuses on the structuring and formation of international and domestic private investment funds, including private equity funds, hedge funds, hybrid funds and fund of funds, as well as the purchase of portfolios of stakes in private investment funds and unlisted companies. Earlier in July, Proskauer announced that Bruno Bertrand-Delfau has joined its London office as a partner in the private investment funds practice. Bertrand-Delfau worked with Curry advising Ardian (formerly AXA Private Equity) and on other cross-border matters. The private investment funds group has more than 100 lawyers, and since 2012, it has advised sponsors in closing more than 340 funds with over $80 billion in committed capital; institutional investors on more than 1,100 investments, representing over $40 billion; and on more than 280 secondary transactions.
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP—The New York-based law firm added Lewis Murphy to its national litigation practice group as a partner in the firm’s Miami office. Murphy's practice focuses on complex multidistrict and high-stakes commercial litigation, and he has experience with securities and fiduciary duty litigation, class actions and derivative claims, proxy contests and corporate takeovers, as well as class actions for insurance retail sales fraud. He has represented special litigation committees, conducted Foreign Corrupt Practice Act investigations and advised on investigations by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and Florida Attorney General into insurance sale practices. Murphy also has experience with closely held corporation disputes. He joins Stroock from Squire Patton Boggs where he was a partner.
