The Changing Scene – Transport Pro Joins Deutsche Banc

James Hamiliton, Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown’s newly appointed managing director and co-head of the firm’s global transportation group, has surveyed the global freight industry from the bridge of a supertanker as well as from a Wall Street perch for the last 15 years at J.P. Morgan & Co. “I will be bringing my extensive m&a and financing experience to Deutsche Banc’s new and existing clients. In addition, I have strong long-term relationships with key industry players.” Hamilton’s m&a experience includes working on the Norfolk Southern Corp. acquisition of 58% of Conrail in 1997 and the 1997 sale of American President Lines to Neptune Orient Lines. “The challenge is both domestic and global. I hope to merge my experience with Deutsche Banc’s transportation legacy and grow the business further,” Hamilton said. His combination of hands-on and financial experience is likely to serve the former deck officer well as he brings his skills to Deutsche Banc’s clients. And as he surveys the transport sector landscape, he sees a number of dealmaking opportunities, as consolidation continues to be a theme in the transportation industry. The Deutsche Banc executive said that while significant progress has been made, lingering inefficiencies continue to drive further consolidation and technological intermediation across the transportation sector. Shifting his attention to the rail sector, Hamilton said that the pending Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. pact with Canadian National Railway Co., if successful, will cause players in the railroad industry to reconsider their situations. He cautioned, however, that shipper constituencies and government regulators will determine the final outcome. As the emergence of e-commerce affects other basic industries, it will also impact transport. Hamilton said, “If you look at where transport fits in, things still have to move from point A to B, regardless of how the marketing of the items might change.” He described two things that are occurring in the intersection of e-commerce and the freight transport industry. On the one hand, there is an effort by non-transport industry players to disintermediate shippers and carriers. As a reaction, transportation service providers are examining ways to take advantage of emerging e-commerce strategies and leverage their integral status, Hamilton said. At Morgan, Hamilton was head of transportation investment banking, a role in which he dealt with m&a and corporate finance, and brought strategic advisory services to clients. Upon graduation from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, he worked for Gulf Oil Corp. as an officer on oil tankers. He also received an MBA in finance from New York University. The organization Hamilton will co-head with London-based Martin Kingston is composed of 20 investment banking professionals in New York, Baltimore, London, and Singapore. These bankers are complemented by a team of global research analysts covering passenger airlines, trucking, rail and airfreight, and related logistics and European transportation infrastructure. His new employer numbers its role in advising Deutsche Post in its November 1999 acquisition of Air Express International, a Connecticut-based company, among recent high-profile assignments. Service Appointments Bear Stearns & Co. – Jeffrey Urwin, a senior managing director of the firm who has been responsible for international investment banking since 1996, joins David Glaser as co-head of Bear Stearns’ global investment banking division. Behrman Capital – Elliot W. Maluth has been named a partner of this New York-based private equity fund. He had been a principal since August 1996. He was previously an associate at the leveraged buyout firm of Golder Thoma Cressey Rauner. Bessemer Venture Partners – Joanna Strober and Robert P. Goodman have been named general partners in this venture capital firm. Strober, 31, has been with Bessemer for four years and is based in Menlo Park, Calif. Goodman, 39, joined Bessemer in 1998. He will launch the company’s New York office. Dresdner Kleinwort Benson – The firm named Elizabeth Sobol as co-head for the power sector in the company’s global corporate finance department. She is responsible for helping to expand Dresdner’s global franchise in power industry m&a. First Union Securities – Joseph Dempsey has been named head of telecommunications investment banking. He had been a managing director in the telecom group at Bear Stearns focussing on ISP and CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) businesses. Fox Paine & Co. – James R. Kroner and Wray T. Thorn have joined this financial firm’s investment management team. Kroner is a managing director, specializing in financial institutions and health care services. He had been co-head of insurance investment banking at J.P. Morgan & Co. Thorn, a principal and founding member of Dubilier & Co., is a director, specializing in private equity transactions. Merrill Lynch & Co. – David Webb is rejoining the company’s investment banking group as LBO banking head. He left Merrill a year ago to join Brera Capital Partners LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, where he was a principal. Previously he had been a managing director at Merrill and had been with the firm for 18 years. J.P. Morgan & Co. – Ted Cook and Chris Gallea have joined the firm as managing directors, while Robert Burns and Sean Sullivan have been named VPs. The four executives specialize in industrial-sector investment banking and had worked together at Schroder & Co. They will be based in New York. Additionally, Walter Gubert, vice chairman, is relinquishing day-to-day investment banking responsibility and assuming the lead role in expanding the firm’s global client base. And, managing director Clayton Rose will lead the firm’s investment banking group. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter – Donald G. Kempf Jr., a senior partner at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, has joined the firm as EVP, chief legal officer, and a member of the management committee. He will continue to specialize in securities, antitrust, and m&a-related litigation. He will be based in New York. Morris * Anderson & Associates Ltd. – John Kokoska and James Ross have been named principals of the company, a Chicago-based turnaround and crisis management consulting firm. SG Cowen – Stelios Papadopoulos has joined the firm’s health care investment banking group as a managing director, specializing in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. He comes to Cowen from PaineWebber, where he was chairman of PaineWebber Development Corp. Shansby Group – Michael Mauze has been named a general partner and Kara Cissell has joined the partnership as an associate. San Francisco-based Shansby is a consumer-products investment partnership. Thomas Weisel Partners LLC – Mark Shafir has accepted a position as partner and co-director of investment banking. He will also co-head the firm’s m&a practice. He had been head of global technology banking at Merrill Lynch in San Francisco. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray – Managing director Chad Abraham will now lead the business-to-business e-commerce investment banking operations of the firm. Wasserstein Perella & Co. – The firm has hired James Student as managing director and head of its West Coast technology investment banking group. Corporate Appointments Alliance Entertainment Corp. – Larry Kalantari was appointed to the position of EVP, corporate development. In his new position he directs corporate development activities, including m&a. Business Microvar Inc. – Scott Schneidermann has been hired as CFO. Most recently he was a director of finance at Regis Corp., where he was heavily involved in m&a during his five years at the company. Minneapolis-based Business Microvar is a provider of e-commerce services. Cambridge Technology Partners – Maurice Olivier has joined the firm as SVP of strategy and corporate development. Among other duties, he is responsible for identifying potential acquisitions and strategic alliances on a global basis. Casbah Corp. – Ben T. Smith IV joined the company as CFO and SVP of corporate development. In addition to his financial responsibilities, he manages m&a initiatives at this provider of business-to-business services. Chordiant Software Inc. – David Bernstein has been appointed VP of strategy and business development, and is responsible for technology partnerships, business strategy, and acquisitions. Diedrich Coffee Inc. – Matthew C. McGuinness was appointed CFO at this retailer of specialty coffee. He joins Diedrich from Denny’s Inc., where, as CFO, he identified and successfully executed all the acquisition and divestiture activity for the company. Digital Coast Partners – John P. Dohm was named managing director of this merchant bank’s venture planning group. It specializes in private placements, mergers and acquisitions, strategic consulting, venture planning, and business incubation. Dohm previously spent the past six years as principal and partner at Deloitte &Touche LLP. First Data Corp. Pamela Patsley was named EVP at this e-commerce and payment services company. She has accelerated the company’s growth through acquisitions and aggressive expansion of emerging market merchant processing opportunities. She had been CEO of Paymentech Inc. Fry Multimedia Inc. – The company announced the appointment of financial management veteran Keith Walter as its first CFO as a critical step in its growth as it examines acquisitions and key partnerships. Fry Multimedia is an e-business consulting and development firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Health!Quest Global Communication Partners – Edward Fritz has been named CFO and business development officer at this Metuchen, N.J.-based marketing service network. He will play a crucial role in growth plan development and acquisition activity at the company. Intacct Corp. – Robert Riopel was named CFO at this Internet accounting application services provider. He has built administrative infrastructure during periods of high growth and managed public offerings and acquisitions at high-tech companies such as KLA Instruments, Silicon Graphics, Openvision Technologies, and San Jose-based startup Rightworks. Internet Capital Group – Randy Tinsley has been named to the post of managing director of acquisitions in the company’s Seattle office. Tinsley joins the Wayne, Pa.-based company from his previous position as VP of corporate development at Amazon.com. JFAX.COM – Scott Turicchi, former managing director of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, comes aboard as the company’s new EVP of corporate development. JFAX.COM is an Internet-based messaging and communication services provider. M&A West Inc. – Randy Judge was named VP of new business development at this Internet development company. One of the company’s goals is to facilitate acquisitions among Internet companies. Judge has held a number of senior executive positions in the field. Medix Resources Inc. – The Denver-based company, a provider of Internet communications software, announced the appointment of Michael Knepper as SVP and director of mergers and acquisitions. Metrocall Inc. – Stan F. Sech has joined the company as SVP for business and corporate development. Sech’s new position also includes responsibility for management of all of Metrocall’s integration efforts. Objectwave Corp. – Timothy D. Timmons has joined the company as general manager of business development, in which capacity he is responsible for the company’s m&a and other business development initiatives. Objectwave is an object-oriented software engineering and telecommunications consulting firm based in Chicago. PartMiner Inc. – Former company CFO Donald Stagner assumed the role of VP of corporate development and will manage acquisition and alliance opportunities at the company, a provider of business-to-business procurement services to the electronics components industry. U.S. Bancorp – Lee R. Mitau, who has served as the company’s EVP, general counsel, and secretary since 1995, has also assumed responsibility for the company’s corporate development function. In this capacity, Mitau is responsible for identifying and analyzing acquisition prospects. USV Telemanagement Inc. – William H. Smith has been retained to act as the company’s adviser on m&a and other capital markets activities. He had been an equity research analyst at Jefferies & Co. in the firm’s San Francisco office. USV, based in Mill Valley, Calif., sells telecommunications, data, Internet, and other services.