On the Move: November 2024 Hires and Promotions

Edgewater Funds: Ryan Mullin

Ryan Mullin has joined Chicago-based private equity firm The Edgewater Funds as Director of Business Development. He joins the firm from his previous role as a manager at Rheem Manufacturing, where he specialized in M&A strategy, investment execution, deal origination and other dealmaking activities. While at Rheem, Mullin facilitated more than a dozen investments within the HVAC and water heating spaces, according to his bio at The Edgewater Funds. Mullin is currently a board member of the ACG New York chapter, where he served as chair of the Strategic Acquirers Committee.

Nuveen Private Capital: Katherine Elmore-Jones

Nuveen Private Capital asset management companies Churchill Asset Management and Arcmont Asset Management announced Katherine Elmore-Jones is joining Nuveen as a partner and Head of Private Equity Business Development in Europe. Elmore-Jones will join Arcmont’s London office, according to a press release, where she’ll focus on partnering with institutional investors across Europe and developing tailored private equity solutions. She holds more than 20 years of experience in supporting institutional investors and will support expansion of Churchill’s existing private equity platform, which is largely focused on middle-market private equity. She most recently served as a managing director and partner on the European investor relations team at The Carlyle Group.

Alvarez & Marsal: Elan Ben-Avi

Professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal announced the hiring of Elan Ben-Avi as a managing director within its North American Commercial Restructuring practice, a press release said this month. The role will see Ben-Avi advise clients on restructurings, turnarounds and distressed transactions across a variety of sectors, including the industrial, maritime supply chain, consumer packaged goods and retail spaces. Ben-Avi joins the firm from Ankura Consulting, where he served as a managing director of Turnaround & Restructuring. He also previously served as a partner at a lower middle-market private equity firm, the announcement noted.

Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe: Caroline Dechert, Jennifer Ding, Ting Gu and Sidney Ouyang

Private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), which targets the technology and healthcare sectors, announced the promotions of four professionals to general partner this month.

Caroline Dechert, Jennifer Ding, Ting Gu and Sidney Ouyang were all named as the firm’s newest general partners. Dechert and Gu focus on healthcare investments, while Ding and Ouyang focuses on technology investments.

In a statement, WCAS Managing Partner D. Scott Mackesy described the four as “highly talented, exceptionally bright professionals, adding that their promotion

Freshfields: Ryan Blicher

Ryan Blicher has been named the newest partner at law firm Freshfields. A press release said Blicher is joining Freshfields’ office in New York as a private capital and M&A partner, bringing his experience in advising private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on leveraged buyouts, investments and other M&A transactions. “Ryan is an incredibly impressive lawyer with a stellar track record of advising premier private equity sponsors through the most complex transactions,” stated Freshfields Global Co-Head of Private Capital Neal. J. Reenan.

Blackford Capital’s Davalor Mold Company: Scott M. Osterling

Davalor Mold Company, a manufacturer of injection molded plastic products backed by middle-market private equity firm Blackford Capital, has named Scott Osterling as Davalor’s CEO. Based in Michigan, Davalor recently acquired Texas-based Industrial Molding Corporation. Osterling brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to drive continued growth for Davalor. He previously served at Platinum Equity, where he led various value creation initiatives across portfolio companies.

Mayer Brown: Jonathan A. Dhanawade

Law firm Mayer Brown said this month that Jonathan A. Dhanawade has joined the firm in its global Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions practice in Chicago. At the firm Dhanawade will bring his experience representing private equity firms, their portfolio companies and other businesses in executing international mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, carve-out transactions and other types of investments. A press release noted he also holds experience in counseling clients on corporate matters including corporate governance, executive compensation and more. He joins the firm from Paul Hastings.

Lazard: Courtney Haydon

Lazard, a global financial advisory and asset management firm, announced this month the hiring of Courtney Haydon as a managing director of Financial Sponsors Coverage. Based in New York, Haydon will support private equity and other alternative asset manager clients of the firm. She joins Lazard from Guggenheim Partners, where she was a senior managing director in its Financial Sponsors Investment Banking unit. There, she focused on both large-cap and middle-market private equity firms, supporting a range of transactions on both the buy- and sell-side.

MPE Partners: Joshua Liebow

Private equity firm MPE Partners, based in Cleveland and Boston, announced that Joshua Liebow has joined the firm as a principal in its Boston Office. The role will see Liebow join the firm’s board of directors for existing portfolio companies. He will also support MPE on new investment opportunities. He comes to the firm from Manulife Investment Management, where he served for more than 20 years, most recently as co-head of the Junior Credit Platform. In the role, Liebow collaborated with MPR evaluating multiple transaction opportunities, including mezzanine financing and equity co-investments within MPE portfolio companies.

Hylant: Lee Jones, Andrew Karp and Sarah Macke

Insurance, employee benefits and risk management services provider Hylant announced this week that three new professionals have joined its team, including Lee Jones, Andrew Karp and Sarah Macke. Jones joins as Managing Director Growth, bringing more than 25 years of experience in capital raising; Karp also joins as Managing Director of Growth, bringing more than seven years of experience; finally, Macke is joining as Managing Director – Due Diligence, with 15 years of human capital and employee health experience. The three additions enhance Hyland’s ability to support private equity clients, privately held companies and family offices to drive value of M&A.

Middle Market Growth is produced by the Association for Corporate Growth. To learn more about the organization and how to become a member, visit www.acg.org.