A round-up of the latest private markets people moves globally
AE Industrial Partners, a Boca Raton-based private investment firm, has promoted Chris Aguemon and Bill Strobel to Principal in Washington, DC. Aguemon joined from Arlington Capital Partners and Strobel from Liberty Strategic Capital in 2025.
London-based real estate credit investor ASK Partners has named Greg Cohen and Marc Foster as Managing Partners. Cohen is a Partner at Sterlet Properties, while Foster founded Melrose Capital.
Toronto-based private equity firm Beringer Capital has added Alan MacGibbon and David Rogers to its Advisory Board. MacGibbon is the former CEO of Deloitte Canada and former Chair of TD Bank Group; Rogers founded Caledon Capital Management, later CBRE Caledon, and previously led private equity at OMERS.
Canyon Partners, a Dallas-based alternative credit manager, has brought Chris Hansen on as Partner and Chief Information Officer in New York. He was Managing Director and Head of Product and Application Development at TPG Angelo Gordon.
US-based alternative credit manager Castlelake has promoted Luke Jackson and Betsy Sylvester to Partners. Jackson leads residential mortgage finance investments, while Sylvester oversees client management and capital formation. Both joined in 2019.
At Palo Alto-based venture capital firm Decibel, Rajiv Menon has become Managing Director for Asia Pacific and Japan. He previously led investment and acquisition activity in the region at Cisco Investments.
Infrastructure investor I Squared Capital has opened a Tokyo office and appointed Go Suzuki as Principal there. He brings more than two decades of experience at leading financial institutions including Global Infrastructure Partners (a part of BlackRock), Macquarie Asset Management, and UBS.
Menlo Park-based venture investor Pear VC has named Arash Afrakhteh, Ajay Kamat and Shravan Reddy as General Partners alongside the close of its fifth fund. Afrakhteh joined in 2020, Kamat in 2015 and Reddy in 2024.
Princeton Equity Group, a US-based private equity firm, has promoted Jack Nagle and Joseph Trahan to Partner. Nagle previously worked at Kayne Anderson and J.F. Lehman; Trahan at Trive Capital and Elm Park Capital.
New York-based private investment firm Searchlight Capital Partners has hired Sebastian Inger as a Partner in London. He joins from Investcorp, where he led Nordic investments as a Managing Director.
Seviora Holdings, Temasek’s primary asset management platform, plans to integrate Azalea Investment Management, SeaTown Holdings International and Seviora Capital as a single platform with a unified operating model from January 2027, subject to the necessary consents and approvals. As part of the reorganization, Azalea CEO Chue En Yaw will become Head of Global Fund Solutions and SeaTown CEO Patrick Pang will become Head of Private Capital. For more on the group’s private markets strategy, read Preqin First Close’s Q&A with Seviora’s Christopher Smith.
US-based venture capital firm Shield Capital has added Duncan Woodard as Director of Operations. He was previously a Managing Director at Boston Capital Real Estate Partners, with responsibilities spanning investments and fund operations.
San Mateo-based venture capital firm Sierra Ventures has hired Nkechi Iregbulem as Head of Inception. She joins from MVP Ventures, where she was a Principal.
Legal
Collas Crill has appointed Agnes Molnar as a Partner in the Cayman Islands to lead its fund finance and private credit offering. Her work includes subscription facilities, structured credit, and fund liquidity solutions.
Foley Hoag has hired Brandon Cuffy as a Partner in Washington, DC. His practice includes private equity M&A, sponsor transactions, and fund formation.
Polsinelli has added Zach Manning as a shareholder in its restructuring and strategic capital practice in New York. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis and focuses on liability management, distressed financings, and workouts.
Reed Smith has named Christopher Sheaffer as global chair of its private equity group. He was previously global vice chair and succeeds Mark Pedretti and Brad Schmarak.
Sidley Austin has hired Justin Solomon as a Partner and co-leader of its private equity funds group in Los Angeles. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis, where he worked on private fund formation.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges will add Rebecca Ward as a Partner in its London private equity practice. She joins from Freshfields, following 17 years at Dickson Minto.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher has hired Raphael Kuyler as a nuclear energy Partner in Washington, DC. He joins from Westinghouse Electric, where he was Principal Deputy General Counsel.
Fund administration
Jersey-based private markets fund administrator Aztec Group has appointed Jing Wang as Head of AI. She joins from JPMorgan Chase, where she was Head of AI Products for Chase UK, prior to which she held a senior AI role at Amazon Web Services.
Bermuda-based fund administrator Krypton Fund Services has named Liam McHugh as Global Head of Business Development. He joins from CSC, where he led European fund administration after previously running its APAC business.
Jersey-based fund administrator Suntera has appointed Kelvin Sng as Head of Fund Services in Singapore. He has held senior positions at banks and financial services providers across traditional and alternative fund servicing.
Advisory
Evercore has added John Song and Jean Stack as Senior Managing Directors in industrials investment banking, focusing on aerospace and defense. Both join from Baird, where they led its defense, space, and government group.
Boston-based asset advisory and financing firm Gordon Brothers has promoted Berta Escudero to Senior Managing Director, International Retail. She joined the firm in 2019.
UK-based professional services firm Grant Thornton has appointed Richard Stark as Corporate Finance Advisory Partner and Kate Finn as Private Capital Audit Partner in Manchester. Stark joins after two decades at KPMG; Finn previously worked at PwC.
At Chicago-based real estate services and investment adviser JLL, Mark Gibson has become US Country CEO. Kevin MacKenzie, currently President of Capital Markets Americas, will succeed him as CEO of Capital
Markets Americas in January. Separately, the firm has named Charlie MacIldowie as Managing Director to lead its Global Hotel Desk in London.
Cleveland-based wealth manager MAI Capital Management has named Matt Barthel as Managing Partner, Strategic Advisor Recruiting. He previously oversaw financial advisor rankings at Barron’s.
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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.