Relation Insurance Services: Julio Bermudez

Relation Insurance Services, an insurance brokerage and risk management firm, announced the hiring of Julio Bermudez as practice leader, private equity, transactional risk and financial institutions this month. Based in Chicago, Bermudez will lead the firm’s specialty practice serving private equity firms, portfolio companies, and financial institutions. He brings more than 30 years of experience in management liability and transactional risk insurance. Most recently, he was a partner at Thompson Flanagan, a commercial insurance firm.

McDermott Will & Schulte: Jonathan Feiler

McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm, hired Jonathan Feiler as a partner in its Transactions Practice Group, a press release said. Based in New York, Feiler will focus on the firm’s investment funds and private capital practice, advising alternative asset managers on fund formation, structuring, and governance. He brings a blend of private practice, in-house, and operating experience from the asset management industry. Most recently, he served as chief operating officer and managing director of Blackstone’s Multi-Strategy Investing platform.

D.A. Davidson: John Baumgartner

D.A. Davidson, an investment bank and wealth management firm, announced the hiring of John Baumgartner as vice chairman and co-head of equity capital markets. Based in the Dallas area, Baumgartner will co-lead the firm’s equity capital markets business alongside Josh Nolan, leading equity origination, marketing, pricing, and distribution activities, according to the announcement. He brings more than 25 years of equity capital markets experience and has led more than 300 IPOs, follow-on offerings, block trades, and private placements. He joins from his most recent position as head of equity capital markets and financial sponsors at Lake Street Capital Markets.

Valeon Partners: Lawson Smith

Valeon Partners, a boutique merchant bank and advisory firm serving private equity firms, family offices, and founders in the middle-market, named Lawson Smith Managing Director. Based in Dallas, Smith will oversee the bank’s market strategies and support the expansion of its advisory platform, according to a press release. He brings 25 years of experience in capital raising, M&A, and office-of-the-CFO advisory work. Most recently, he was a managing director at Houlihan Lokey, where he founded the firm’s Accounting and Financial Reporting practice and later served in an advisory markets leadership role. Valeon Partners launched operations as a merchant bank in July.

Kainos Capital: Brooks Thomas, et al.

Kainos Capital, a middle-market private equity firm focused on the food and everyday essentials sectors, announced several additions and promotions within its investment team this month.

Brooks Thomas rejoined the firm as vice president in Dallas after earning his MBA. Thomas previously spent time at Kainos as an associate and senior associate after joining the firm in 2021. In his new role will help evaluate investments, execute transactions, oversee portfolio companies, and lead associate recruiting and development efforts.

Kainos also announced the additions of Catherine Shih and Peyton Peterson as associates on the investment team, as well as the promotions of Jacob Askew and Justin Potwora from associates to senior associate.

Iconic: Adrianna Smith and Lana Hout

Adrianna Smith and Lana Hout have been named the two latest additions to tech-enabled M&A advisory firm Iconic, according to a press release this month. Both have joined as executive M&A advisors. Together, Smith and Hout have closed more than 150 combined transactions totaling more than $175 million in deal value. At Iconic, they will collaborate with the product team, mentor advisors, and launch a business podcast targeting small businesses.

Paceline Equity Partners: Jonathan Rosen

Paceline Equity Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm, promoted Jonathan Rosen to Partner. Rosen joined the firm in 2019 shortly after its launch and has since played an increasingly prominent leadership role across the investment platform, the firm said in its announcement. He focuses on sourcing, transaction execution, financing, and portfolio company growth initiatives. Prior to joining Paceline as a vice president, he was a vice president at H.I.G. Capital.

TA Associates: Marie Suesse

Private equity firm TA Associates announced this month it appointed Marie Suesse as chief human capital officer. Based in Boston, she will lead the firm’s Talent team and oversee recruiting, professional development, performance management, and employee experience initiatives. Suesse brings extensive experience leading people functions at investment management firms. Most recently, she served as global head of human Capital, communications & administration at Värde Partners.

LDR Partners: Paul B. Murphy Jr.

LDR Partners, a private equity firm focused on lower middle-market manufacturing and industrial companies, named Paul B. Murphy Jr. as partner this month. Based in Houston, Murphy will serve on the firm’s investment committee, advise on strategy and governance, and support relationships with institutional investors. He brings more than 40 years of banking and commercial lending experience to LDR. Most recently, he served as chairman of Murphy Interests and is best known for co-founding Amegy Bank and later leading Cadence Bancorporation, which he took public in 2017 and grew before its merger with BancorpSouth.

Blueprint Equity: Paul Koch, Torian Riley, Kaily Russell, et al.

San Diego-based growth equity firm Blueprint Equity, which targets software and technology-enabled businesses, expanded its value creation and AI capabilities with the addition of nine professionals.

The additions include Kaila Russell as director of talent, Paul Koch as head of artificial intelligence, and Torian Riley as senior associate, value creation. Russell brings her experience advising early-stage founders and scaling talent functions, while Koch holds decades of engineering expertise, and Riley brings post-acquisition integration experience to the firm.

Six additional professionals have also joined Blueprint, including Jack Pimental and Travis Tung as associates; Grace Maloney as senior analyst; and Tyler Hibberd, Kylie Pitzak and Oly Ugorji as analysts.

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