People and Company News, Week of February 28, 2025
- Eric Hurkman has been appointed CTO by wealthtech platform Savvy Wealth. Hurkman will lead the next phase of product innovation and oversee the expansion of its AI and engineering teams. He previously spent time as a CTO at Carta, Say Technologies (acquired by Robinhood) and medtech company DrChrono.
- Joe Mallee has been named head of MassMutual Financial Advisors, succeeding John Vaccaro, who plans to retire after nearly two decades with MassMutual. He will report to Paul LaPiana, head of Brand, Product & Affiliated Distribution with MassMutual. For nearly 15 years, Mallee has served as CEO and General Agent of MassMutual Eastern Pennsylvania. He previously held positions at Merrill Lynch, Guardian and Penn Mutual. In his new role Mallee aims to grow the reach, productivity and efficiency of MassMutual’s network of financial professionals.
- Aislinn McCarry has been named director of EMEA by Measurabl, a sustainability data management platform for real estate. McCarry brings over 15 years of experience across Europe, North America, and APAC, where she has worked with global institutional investors, fund managers, real estate owners and property managers to optimize ESG performance. In her previous role as director of solutions consulting at EVORA Global, she led the development of data-driven ESG solutions for real estate firms.
- Christopher Neill has been tapped as head of institutional sales by alternative credit firm Variant. Neill will report to Ryan Warren, director of investor relations, in the newly established positions. Before joining Portland-based Variant, Neill was head of institutional relationships for Aptus Capital Advisors. Before that, he was director of institutional sales for Jensen Investment Management, head of institutional relationships at Thomas White International, senior portfolio strategist for Thornburg Investment Management and VP, portfolio manager for BNY Asset Management.
- Scott Niehaus and Sid Ramakrishnan have been promoted to managing directors by private equity firm Genstar Capital. Niehaus joined Genstar in 2017 as a VP. He had previously worked at Summit Partners where he was an associate and began his career as an investment banking analyst at Deutsche Bank. Ramakrishnan originally joined Genstar in 2012 as an associate and re-joined the firm in 2017 as VP. Prior to rejoining Genstar, he was chief of staff to the CEO and head of corporate strategy at AssetMark, a former Genstar portfolio company.
- Jeff Surges has been appointed partner by Brighton Park Capital, a private equity firm focused on companies in the software and healthcare sectors. Surges brings over 25 years of experience in the healthcare technology industry. Most recently, he served as CEO of RLDatix, a patient safety information technology services provider.
- Tim Shannon and Brad Walker were named co-presidents by alternative investment platform CAIS, effective immediately. Walker will continue to build on his existing leadership by overseeing all client-facing initiatives, while Shannon will remain focused on optimizing CAIS’ operational infrastructure. Both will continue to be based in NYC and report directly to CAIS founder and CEO Matt Brown.
- Dow Jones has agreed to acquire Dragonfly Intelligence, a geopolitical and security intelligence provider, and Oxford Analytica, a provider of geopolitical intelligence advisory services, from FiscalNote Holdings Inc. for $40M. Dragonfly and Oxford Analytica will operate as part of Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, complementing its existing product suite with geopolitical risk and security intelligence.
- CohnReznick LLP announced a strategic growth investment from funds advised by Apax Partners LLP. The transaction marks the first institutional investment in CohnReznick and is expected to help accelerate the firm’s growth strategy. Following the closing of the transaction, CohnReznick will operate in an alternative practice structure: CohnReznick LLP, a licensed CPA firm, will provide attest services and Kelly O’Callaghan will serve as CEO — and CohnReznick Advisory LLC (which will not be a licensed CPA firm) will provide tax, advisory, and other non-attest services, led by David Kessler as CEO.
- Wealthspire Advisors LLC announced the launch of ASPIRE by Wealthspire Advisors, a platform designed to “galvanize” the firm’s charitable giving efforts. ASPIRE aims to raise awareness and funds for charitable causes and industry-focused giving initiatives. ASPIRE is built on education, advocacy, partnership, and sponsorship.
- Macquarie Asset Management, Galehead Founders, Galehead Development and Treaty Oak Clean Energy announced that MAM will acquire from GDF the remaining controlling interests in Galehead via funds managed by MAM. The investment will allow Galehead to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Treaty Oak, a US independent power producer owned by MAM-managed funds. The transaction will also enable GDF to form ETX Upstream, LLC to expand access to the LandCommand Platform and pursue non-renewables energy transition development activities.
- Investcorp has acquired two property portfolios in Minneapolis and Baltimore, valued at over $335M. The Minneapolis portfolio consists of 17 buildings covering 1.9 million square feet, while the Baltimore portfolio includes 10 buildings with a total of 881,000 square feet. This acquisition is part of its U.S. growth strategy that show strong demand for industrials space. Both cities have seen significant rent growth and are performing better than other U.S. metropolitan areas in the industrial real estate sector.
- Camber Partners has closed Fund II with total capital commitments of $210M, surpassing the $150M original target and $200M hard cap. The fund will invest in growth-stage software companies. The Fund received support from a diverse base of both existing and new investors, including pension funds, foundations, health systems, insurance companies, fund of funds, and family offices. The NY-based firm has $350M in assets under management.
- Churchill Asset Management LLC, the private capital investment specialist of Nuveen, has closed a $750M middle market collateralized loan obligation, Churchill Middle Market CLO V LLC. The deal represents the first CLO priced in 2025 and the 15th issued by Churchill. The CLO has a four-year reinvestment period, and a collateral pool comprised of a portfolio of senior secured loans, over 85% of which have been identified as of the closing date.
- VerAI Discoveries, an AI-driven mineral asset company, announced a $24M first closing of its Series B round led by Insight Partners, with continued support from Blumberg Capital, Chrysalix Venture Capital, and Orion Industrial Ventures. The new capital will help accelerate the testing and economic development of VerAI’s 60+ mineral projects with its exploration and development partners. VerAI technology detects hidden mineralization beneath covered terrains, including dense forests, ice sheets, gravel layers, and young rock formations.
