People and Company News, Week of January 24, 2025
- Sloane Child and Nick Stoffregen were promoted to partner by Elsewhere Partners, a tech-focused private equity firm. In their new roles, they will take on additional LP, investment and portfolio leadership responsibilities. Since joining the firm in 2017 and 2018, Child and Stoffregen have contributed to 16 investments and five exits or recaps within IT infrastructure, cybersecurity and healthcare.
- Joshua Rogol was appointed CEO of Elevate Renewables, a battery storage developer and portfolio company of ArcLight Capital Partners. Rogol was previously president of Strata Clean Energy, having played a role in the company’s growth to becoming one of the largest domestic independent battery developers and operators. As CEO, Rogol and the Elevate team will look to build on existing significant battery development portfolio and pursue brownfield and data center-related battery development opportunities with ArcLight.
- Ivano Sessa was promoted to co-head of European private equity by Bain Capital. Sessa will help lead the European private equity business alongside Stuart Gent, Bloomberg News reported. Sessa, who joined Bain in 2004, is a partner and European co-head of the industrials vertical.
- Sara Mathew was added as a senior advisor by Star Mountain Capital, an investment manager with over $4B in assets under management. Mathew has 20 years of C-Suite and Board level leadership and management experience in financial services, technology, consumer products and other industries. Mathew spent 12 years at Dun & Bradstreet, most recently as chair & CEO. She joined Dun & Bradstreet in 2001 as its CFO, after 18 years at Procter & Gamble.
- Dhaval Parikh was appointed managing director, head of capital raising and investor relations, by Parkview Financial, a direct private lender specializing in high-yield commercial and residential real estate financing. He joins Parkview from Ares Management, where he was a managing director responsible for capital raising and investor relations for the firm’s real estate debt platform. Parikh also worked at MetLife Investment Management and BlackRock.
- Meghan M. Welch was added as a managing director within the Aerospace, Defense & Government Services team by Brown Gibbons Lang & Company, an investment bank and financial advisory firm. Welch has over 15 years of M&A, divestitures, restructuring, and capital-raising advisory experience, exclusive to the Aerospace & Defense sector. Prior to joining BGL, she was a managing director at KPMG Corporate Finance. Prior to that, she was a partner at AGC Partners.
- Highstreet Insurance Partners has acquired Winder Insurance Center. Under the leadership of Russ Shepley and Brett Gamblin, Winder focuses on serving clients personal and business insurance needs with additional expertise in commercial real estate, professional, and contractor risks. Shepley and Gamblin will continue to lead the team out of the Winder, GA office and will join Highstreet’s Southeast Region, headed by Alyssa Rockwell, regional president.
- Tropolis, an insurance brokerage that provides property and casualty insurance and employee benefits services and backed by Unity Partners, has completed the acquisitions of four insurance agencies. The businesses are BDMH Insurance Services, Follmer Insurance Services, Madigan Pingatore Insurance Agency, and R&A Insurance. BDMH is based in Chicago, and the other three agencies are based in the greater Detroit and Northern Michigan areas.
- Bain Capital’s real estate team and Evergreen Medical Properties, a company that invests in, leases and manages healthcare facilities, has bought an approximately 122,000 square-foot medical outpatient facility in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The deal marks the entrance into the D.C. market for Bain Capital and Evergreen’s joint venture. The 2024 renovated property is currently 83% leased to a diverse mix of clinical tenants.
- 26North Partners LP announced it has closed on a forward flow agreement to purchase up to $250M in home improvement loans originated by Stream Innovations, Inc., a financial origination technology company. Stream is a fintech company that provides point-of-sale financing solutions for the home improvement industry. The company currently has over $1B in loans under management and has originated over $1.3B in high-quality home improvement loans since inception.
- Ridge Financial Group LLC, a firm specializing in the acquisition of large hardwood timberland assets, has formed a joint venture with funds managed by Arena Investors, LP, to focus on the acquisition, development and restoration of high-quality timberland properties in the U.S.. The JV is closing its first timber acquisition and is seeking to capitalize on a pipeline of proprietary acquisition targets. Arena’s natural resources platform originates investments within the oil and natural gas, agriculture, and chemicals sectors, among others. The JV is actively seeking acquisition opportunities within the timber and resource management sectors with an emphasis on mature hardwood species.
- Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation and LCS, a senior living provider and operator, have expanded their strategic relationship. To date, Inland’s senior living portfolio is comprised of 2,343 units and 15 communities across Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Tennessee. Headquartered in Iowa, LCS currently manages over 140 senior living communities nationwide, serving approximately 40,000 seniors.
- Cytora, a digital risk processing platform, has partnered with Smarty to integrate their property data into its platform. The partnership will provide location, size, construction and financial details. Insurers can evaluate risks more quickly and accurately, allowing them to assess properties and make underwriting decisions faster.
- Praxis has selected Allvue Systems, LLC, a provider of technology to fund administrators, to enhance its fund administration services. Praxis Group provides fund administration services with a focus on institutional, private equity, venture capital, family office and private clients. Praxis is now live with Allvue’s Fund Administration Essentials solution, initially focusing on the Middle East.
- Ardian closed its sixth-generation Expansion Fund (AEF VI) at €3.2B ($3.3B) focused on middle-market strategies. AEF VI aims to make equity investments ranging from €50M ($52M) to €300M ($312M) in mid-sized businesses. The fund has already deployed 33% of its capital across eight transactions. The fund will extend capital gains benefits to an average of 250 employee shareholders per investment.
- Edgecom Energy, a Toronto-based energy management software company, closed a significant undisclosed investment round led by Greensky Ventures, with participation from ABB Electrification Ventures. This funding will support the company’s expansion into new energy markets and accelerate the growth of their AI Energy CoPilot.
- Caffeinated Capital is looking to raise up to $400M for its fifth flagship fundraise. The San Francisco-based firm, launched by Raymond Tonsing in 2009, is thesis and sector agnostic, with deals done to date in segments ranging from consumer, enterprise and healthcare to crypto, climate change and defense. Caffeinated raised at least $209M for its fourth venture capital fund according to regulatory filings but has not publicly revealed a final close total. The firm has also raised a pair of Opportunity Funds over the last decade.
- Guggenheim Investments closed on a roughly $400M vehicle that will invest in its private debt strategy. The transaction was led by Allianz Global Investors. A group of funds managed by StepStone Group co-underwrote the transaction. This vehicle includes approximately $100M of financing. Guggenheim Investments, the global asset management and investment advisory arm of Guggenheim Partners, has more than $249 billion in total assets across fixed income, equity and alternative strategies.
- Frontenac, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has closed its 13th fund, Frontenac XIII Private Capital LP at $900M. The fund was oversubscribed and well above its initial $700M target. Frontenac invests in consumer, industrials and services. The more recent predecessor funds, Frontenac XII (2022 vintage), XI (2018) and X (2014) totaled $250M, $325 million and $250 million, respectively.
