On the Move: April 2025 Hires and Promotions

Dinan Capital Advisors: Michael Brill

Middle-market investment bank Dinan Capital Advisors announced this month the hiring of Michael Brill, a member of ACG New York, as its Managing Director. He will lead the firm’s private capital markets practice and will establish its New York office. He brings more than 25 years of experience to the firm, having most recently served as Senior Managing Director of B. Riley Securities’ investment banking practice. His hiring supports Dinan’s expansion of capital solutions to support M&A, recapitalizations, refinancing and growth financing.

Morrison Foerster: James Lee

Global law firm Morrison Foerster has announced the addition of ACG New York member James Lee as its newest partner in the Private Equity Group. Lee will be based in the firm’s New York office, bringing more than two decades of experience representing private equity firms and portfolio companies in complex transactions. An announcement by the firm noted the hiring of Lee is part of its broader private equity and M&A expansion, with Lee marking the eighth partner joining its PE practice in the last three years. Prior to MoFo, Lee was a partner at Proskauer Rose, where he focused his practice on middle-market private equity.

SK Capital Partners: John Novak

ACG New York member John Novak has just been named as a Managing Director and Head of Business Development at SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm that targets the specialty materials, ingredients and life sciences sectors. Novak will lead the firm’s efforts in identifying and executing new investment opportunities. He brings more than two decades of experience in private equity and investment banking to the firm. He comes from Paine Schwartz Partners, where he was more recently lead on business development and capital markets efforts.

The Sterling Group: Jason Taibel, Nadeem Ahmed and Matthew Cobb.

The Sterling Group, a middle-market private equity firm based in Houston, has brought three new team members into the fold, according to a press release this month. Jason Taibel has been hired as Operating Partner, Financial Operations. He joins from BDO USA, where he served as the Texas Market Managing Partner of Assurance Services. Nadeem Ahmed, hired as Operating Partner, Technology, joined Sterling last month to lead its Technology strategy; Ahmed brings more than 20 years of technology strategy and execution to the firm. Finally, Matthew Cobb has been hired as Director, Operations; he joined the firm in January from Boston Consulting Group, where he served as Principal.

Sidley Austin: Dave Perkins

Global law firm Sidley Austin announced this month the addition of Dave Perkins as its newest partner. Perkins, who joins the firm’s New York office, comes to Sidley from Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he was co-head of its Private Equity group. At Sidley, Perkins brings his expertise advising private equity sponsors and other private capital investors and asset managers on their transactions, capital raising and business and investment structures. His focus is on complex transactions involving large cap and middle-market PE sponsors and their portfolio companies.

MiddleGround Capital: Jonathan La

Private equity firm MiddleGround Capital, which focuses on middle-market B2B industrial and specialty distribution companies, has announced the hiring of Jonathan La as Chief Financial Officer. Working in the New York office, La began the position in February and is responsible for all aspects of MiddleGround’s financial operations. He joins the firm with 25 years of private equity experience, including 17 years at Monomoy Capital Partners as Director of Finance, according to a press release. He most recently served at Evercore Partners.

Lateral Investment Management: Bill Priemer, Dan Warmenhoven and Klaus Besier

Lower middle-market private equity firm Lateral Investment Management has welcomed Bill Priemer, Dan Warmenhoven and Klaus Besier to its team, all as operating partners. The three new hires are technology industry veterans, the firm said in its announcement, supporting Lateral’s focus on the technology and tech-enabled services sectors. Priemer joins the firm from Hyland Software, where he served as CEO of the enterprise content management and process management software provider. Warmenhoven was previously with NetApp, where he was Chairman and CEO of the cloud storage solution provider, guiding the company through its IPO. Besier brings his experience leading and advising enterprise software businesses, having served as CEO of SAP Americas & ANZ.

Squire Patton Boggs: Gabriel Yomi Dabiri

Global law firm Squire Patton Boggs announced this month that Gabriel Yomi Dabiri joined the firm in New York. He will serve as Global Head of Private Credit and Direct Lending, according to an announcement provided to Middle Market Growth. Dabiri’s practice focuses on advising lenders, private equity sponsors and corporate borrowers. He joins the firm from Polsinelli, where he served as New York Office Managing Partner and led the Private Credit and Cross-Border Finance practice.

Alvarez & Marsal: Mark Copeland and Marc Siegel

The Global Transaction Advisory Group (Global TAG) and Corporate Transactions Group (CTG) of global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal announced the appointment of Mark Copeland as Managing Director, Global Transactions & Key Accounts. According to an announcement, the position is a crossover roll that will span both private equity and corporate transactions. Copeland brings more than two decades of experience in global M&A, most recently serving as U.S.-West Managing Partner for Strategy and Transactions at EY. In addition to Copeland’s hiring, A&M also announced the appointment of Marc Siegel as Senior Advisor to both Global TAG and CTG. Siegel is a former member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

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.