Weekly Private Markets People Moves

Limited partners

• Insurance group HDI Global has appointed Shadi Albert as CEO of its US arm, effective July 13. Current CEO Jim Clark is stepping down immediately, with Dr York von Falkenhayn appointed as Interim CEO. Albert joins from WR Berkley, where he was President of Vela Insurance Services. Prior to that, he was President of Berkley Luxury Group. He has also held senior roles at Selective Insurance, WTW, and Aon.

• LGPS Central, a UK local government pension pool, has appointed Greg Smith as Chief of Staff. He joins from Local Pensions Partnership, where he held senior roles including Director of Strategic Programmes and Group Company Secretary, and has also worked at London CIV.

• Holy Cross Health, a Florida-based foundation and healthcare system, has appointed Jason Boren as COO, effective July 6. He previously served as COO at HCA Florida Westside Hospital and, before that, at Ogden Regional Medical Center and Lakeview Hospital in Utah.

• The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a US-based foundation, has elected Brent Leggs as President and CEO. Leggs was previously Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a division of the Trust that he founded in 2017. He will succeed Carol Quillen, who has been the National Trust’s President and CEO since January 2024.

General partners

• Ares Management, the US-headquartered private markets manager, has appointed Brent Canada as Head of Infrastructure Debt. Based in New York, Canada joined Ares in 2022 as a Partner from Deutsche Bank, where he was a Managing Director responsible for infrastructure financing coverage in the Americas. Lorenzo Ceretti, a Partner in London, becomes Co-Head of EMEA Infrastructure Debt alongside Roopa Murthy.

• Arsenal Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm focused on industrial and healthcare investments, has hired Max Schechter as Managing Director and Head of Business Development for its industrial growth team. He will strengthen the firm's market coverage, expand relationships across the industrial ecosystem, and support the development and execution of industrial investment strategies. Schechter joins from Angeles Equity Partners, where he was Managing Director and Head of Business Development.

• US private equity firm Braemont Capital has hired Daniel Grinnan as Managing Director and Will Olson as Vice President of Business Development. Grinnan was previously at the Riverside Company, where he was a Principal responsible for originating and executing investments. Olson joins from Braemont portfolio company Vixxo Facility Solutions, where he was Vice President of Corporate Development.

• Miami-headquartered private equity firm H.I.G. Capital has appointed Carlos Couret as Managing Director and head of the Spanish Lower Middle Market private equity team. Based in Madrid, he joins from ProA Capital, where he was an Investment Director. Couret has also held roles at BNP Paribas in New York and Madrid.

• Partners Capital, a London-headquartered investment firm, has opened a Zürich office and appointed Jean-Claude Garo as Managing Director and Head of Switzerland. Garo joined the firm in 2025 from Swiss single-family office Spectrum Value Management, where he was Head of the Investment Office and Chairman of the Investment Committee.

Service providers

Legal

• DLA Piper has hired Andrés Loera as a Partner in its Finance practice. Based in New York, he brings experience in broadly syndicated loans, private credit, and cross-border financing. Loera was previously a Counsel at Linklaters and has also held roles at Paul Hastings and Mayer Brown.

• Paul, Weiss has appointed Austin Lee as an Energy M&A Partner, based in Houston. He advises public and private companies on the acquisition and divestiture of oil and gas properties, and joins from Bracewell, where he was a Partner.

• Sidley Austin has hired Taylor Stevens as a Partner in its Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practice in San Diego. He advises on VC transactions, M&A, and strategic investments, with a focus on technology and life sciences. Stevens was previously a Partner in Jones Day’s corporate group.

• White & Case has appointed Oreste Cipolla as a Partner in New York in its Global Mergers & Acquisitions practice and Global Private Capital Industry Group. He advises private equity and VC sponsors as well as their portfolio companies on domestic and cross-border transactions, including leveraged buyouts, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and growth investments. He joins from Goodwin Procter, where he co-led the secondaries practice.

• Weil, Gotshal & Manges has added James Crooks as a Partner in its Finance practice, based in London. He advises credit funds and private equity investors, and their portfolio companies, on leveraged financings, special situations, distressed transactions, and broader capital solutions. Crooks joins from Sidley Austin, where he was a Partner.

Administration

• Carne Group, an Ireland-based third-party management company and fund administrator, has appointed John Parkhouse as President. He joins after more than three decades at PwC, where he was most recently Territory Senior Partner and CEO of PwC Luxembourg. Parkhouse previously led PwC’s EMEA Asset & Wealth Management practice. At Carne, he will lead the Global Executive Committee and oversee execution of its long-term, client-led growth strategy.

Tech providers

• Fenergo, an Ireland-based provider of Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions for financial institutions, has appointed Lekshmi Nair as Chief Revenue Officer, based in London. She joins from Finastra, where she served as Global Chief Revenue Officer for its lending business.

• US-listed financial technology provider Broadridge Financial Solutions has appointed Mark Nichols as Co-President of Digital Assets, based in New York. He joins from Ernst & Young, where he was a Partner and co-led its digital asset consulting business. At Broadridge, Nichols will lead on strategy, product development, and execution across the tokenization and digital asset arena, alongside Co-President German Soto Sanchez.

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_{The opinions and facts included in the above do not constitute investment advice. Professional advice should be sought before making any investment or other decisions. Preqin accepts no liability for any decisions taken in relation to the above.}