People and Company News, Week of December 20, 2024
- Hugh Preston was named director of fundraising and investor relations by renewable energy-focused investment firm True Green Capital Management LLC. Based in London, he will support the firm’s growth in the UK and across the EU. Prior to joining TGC, Preston was at Quest Fund Placement working on multiple successful primary and secondary fundraises. He previously held roles at Credit Suisse International and Peel Hunt LLP.
- Marc Cohen was promoted to managing director, business strategy and innovation, by LPL Financial, LLC. He has also joined the management committee. Cohen joined LPL in 2018 to help lead the firm’s development of new advisor affiliation models. From there, his role evolved to run corporate strategy and further develop ways for LPL to partner with advisors throughout their lifecycle, including the firm’s liquidity & succession offering.
- Todd Mackay has been appointed president of Cetera Wealth Management, succeeding Tom Taylor, who will retire at the end of the year. Mackay will drive organic growth strategies across all of Cetera’s channels and communities. Effective January 1, 2025, Mackay will continue reporting to Mike Durbin and serving on Cetera’s executive leadership team.
- Christian Mitchell will join Cetera as president of Cetera Solutions. A former executive at Northwestern Mutual, Mitchell will lead strategic growth initiatives. He will join Cetera later in January as a member of Cetera’s executive leadership team, reporting to Mike Durbin.
- Tom Morelli was hired as VP, investment division, by Lincoln Financial. Morelli will focus on supporting the distribution of Lincoln’s more than 100 sub-advised variable insurance funds, mutual funds, model portfolios and other investment solutions. He will report to John Kennedy, EVP, chief distribution and brand officer. Prior to joining Lincoln, Morelli was head of wealth management at T. Rowe Price.
- Michael Bosworth and Kavan Canekeratne were hired by Coinfund, an early-stage investor in crypto, blockchain and web3 companies, and an RIA, as technical investor and investor, respectively. Bosworth will advance technical research and contribute to due diligence. Canekeratne will focus on CoinFund’s Seed and Venture strategies. He most recently led early-stage crypto investing at Draper Dragon, where he led investments into CARV, ether.fi, SX Network, and XION.
- Jennifer Cattier was promoted to partner by private investment firm Cornell Capital. Based in the NY office, Cattier will oversee operations and personnel, and lead transformative infrastructure initiatives. Cornell Capital’s partner group is now comprised of seven partners across New York and Hong Kong. Cattier joined Cornell Capital as COO and CCO in 2022. Prior to joining Cornell, she was general counsel and CCO of SK Capital Partners and previously served as General Counsel of Almanac Realty Investors, the private real estate division of Neuberger Berman.
- John Onderdonk was appointed national practice leader of agricultural properties by Northern Trust. Onderdonk will oversee a multi-disciplinary group that manages and consults on agricultural properties such as farmland, ranches and timberland. Previously, Onderdonk was the chief sustainability officer and oversaw facilities operations and services at the California Institute of Technology. Earlier in his career, he was a southwest regional manager for AIG Environmental. He has also worked as an environmental consultant.
- Don Haisch was appointed global CFO by Boyd Watterson Asset Management following the strategic combination of Boyd Watterson and Amber Infrastructure. In the newly created position, Haisch will oversee the financial operations of the business combination. With over two decades of executive experience, including CAO at Ares Management and CBRE, Haisch will lead corporate accounting, budgeting, financial planning and analysis, and financial regulatory reporting functions. Boyd Watterson’s CFO Chris Ried and Amber’s CFO Alex Finch will report to Haisch.
- Trinity Capital Inc., a BDC that provides financial solutions to growth-stage companies, has committed $50 million in equipment financing to Form Energy, a tech company developing and commercializing energy storage systems. The financing follows Form Energy’s $455M Series F fundraise led by T. Rowe Price. The equipment financing will be used to finance the company’s first high volume battery manufacturing facility located in Weirton, WV.
- Cetera Financial Group announced that Citadel Credit Union, a PA-based credit union, has joined its platform from Cuso Financial Services. Cuso was acquired by LPL Financial in the latter’s Atria Wealth Solutions deal. Citadel Credit Union, which has multiple locations around Philadelphia, has entered into a networking agreement with Cetera Financial Institutions, Cetera’s institutions channel, to support and grow Citadel’s investment services program, according to the announcement. Citadel had more than 260,000 members and more than $6 billion in total assets as of June 30
- Grammarly Inc., the maker of AI-powered writing assistance software, is acquiring productivity startup Coda in a deal that will also bring it a new CEO. The companies didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in January. Coda was valued at $1.4B in 2021 after its Series D funding round. Grammarly is valued at $13B, according to Bloomberg News, unchanged from 2021. The acquisition comes a few months after Grammarly hired a new CFO and CTO, as it looks to an eventual public stock offering.
- General Atlantic has made a $365M investment in Hostaway, a vacation rental software and management system. The company’s integrated marketplace boasts about 200 marketplace partners, curating vacation rental software and tools within the industry for customers with properties in over 90 countries. Hostaway plans to partner with General Atlantic and PSG Equity to propel its growth strategy, including international expansion, product development and AI initiatives.
- Chargezoom, an AI-powered billing and integrated payments platform, raised $11.5M in Series A funding, led by Kickstart Fund. New investors Motley Fool Ventures, Early Light Ventures, Frazier VC and Adly alongside continued support from SaaS Venture Capital, Stout Street Capital, and Okapi Venture Capital participated in the round. Previously, the company closed a $2M Seed round in July 2021 and has grown 3,972% since that time. The startup has also restructured its investor lineup, with BIP Ventures exiting their position.
- Prometheum Inc., a market infrastructure provider for digital asset securities, raised approximately $20M in 2024 from high-net-worth investors and institutions. The capital will support the company’s 2025 hiring and development plans as it completes the rollout of its vertically integrated, blockchain-enabled ecosystem through its subsidiaries, Prometheum Capital and Prometheum ATS.
- MA Financial Group Limited launched the MA Specialty Credit Income Fund, a continuously offered, closed-end interval fund and the first vehicle offered by MA in North America. The fund invests in a differentiated portfolio of US private credit assets, spanning asset-based lending, specialty finance, and co-lending opportunities. The fund provides daily pricing, monthly income distributions and quarterly repurchases. The fund is managed by MA Asset Management, the US arm of MA Financial Group.
- Diamond Hill, a boutique investment management firm, announced the launch of the Diamond Hill Securitized Credit Fund. Structured as an interval fund, the fund focuses on securitized bonds into more illiquid and lower credit quality bonds. The fund, which offers quarterly redemptions with shares available for daily purchase, will be managed by Henry Song. The strategy aims to take advantage of investments in less liquid, potentially higher-return securities that may not be suitable for an open-end fund with daily liquidity.
- MidOcean Partners, a New York-based alternative asset manager, has closed MidOcean CLO Equity Fund I with $304M of capital commitments, exceeding its $300M target. The aim is to create a portfolio of senior secured leveraged loans, weighted toward the larger and more liquid end of the broadly syndicated bank loan market. To date, the fund has deployed approximately 55% of its capital across seven MidOcean CLOs, representing $2.8B of assets under management.
