People and Company News, Week of June 6, 2025
- Andy Marcell has been appointed CEO of Global Solutions by professional services firm, Aon. Marcell now leads Aon’s integrated risk capital and human capital capabilities across the firm’s reinsurance, commercial risk, health, wealth and talent teams. He will remain CEO of reinsurance until John Neal joins Aon on September 1, 2025, and continue to report to Aon President and CEO Greg Case and serve on the Aon Executive Committee.
- Lindsay DeGrazia has been appointed managing director, head of alternative investments distribution by Advisors Asset Management, effective May 19. She will oversee sales and distribution for private markets investments, reporting to AAM CEO and CIO, Cliff Corso. DeGrazia most recently oversaw the third party wealth alternative investment specialist team at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Earlier in her career, she was regional director for Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
- Douglas DeLong has joined Norwand Capital, a $4B multifamily office and RIA, as managing director and financial advisor to expand the firm’s investment management and estate planning services for high-net-worth clients. He joins Nordwand from Fiduciary Trust, where he was a senior portfolio manager overseeing $700M in assets. DeLong will be based in Nordwand’s headquarters in Radnor, PA.
- Doug Fordyce has joined Rothschild & Co’s global advisory business as head of energy, North America, effective June 2. Fordyce brings over 30 years of experience advising on a broad range of energy sector mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings. He will be joining the firm’s infrastructure, power, renewables & energy group, based in Houston and reporting to Lee LeBrun, partner and head of global advisory, North America. He joins from Lazard, where he spent more than two decades as a managing director and led the firm’s Houston office. Fordyce also held investment banking roles at Credit Suisse First Boston and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
- Eric Van Nostrand has joined Lazard Asset Management as global head of markets and chief economist. In this newly created role reporting to CEO Evan Russo, Van Nostrand will work across the firm’s investment and research teams. As a member of the executive leadership team, he will lead economic and market analysis for the firm and its clients, including oversight and development of investment content. Van Nostrand most recently served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy, serving as chief economist at Treasury under Secretary Janet Yellen. Prior to his government role, Van Nostrand was a portfolio manager and managing director at BlackRock.
- Anastasia Amoroso has been appointed managing director and chief investment strategist for private wealth and retirement by private equity firm Partners Group. Based in NY, Amoroso will provide macro, private markets and portfolio insights to wealth advisors and individual investors. She joins from iCapital and previously held senior investment roles at JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch. Her hire follows a series of leadership additions to support Partners Group’s growing private wealth platform. In February, Phil Shankweiler joined as managing director and head of RIA sales from Starwood Capital Group, and Heather Grubbs recently became global head of private wealth marketing, bringing experience from Ares, Black Creek Group, and Fidelity.
- Bernhard Capital Partners has acquired TechServ, a Texas-based utility services provider, to establish a new platform focused on utility engineering and consulting. Founded in 1992, TechServ operates in 21 states with more than 850 employees, offering services including construction oversight, utility and telecom design, joint use coordination and storm support. The partnership positions TechServ to expand its capabilities and address rising demand for outsourced utility engineering driven by electrification and digital infrastructure growth.
- Stout, a global advisory firm, has partnered with Integrum Holdings, a private equity firm focused on technology-enabled financial and business services. Funds managed by Integrum will invest alongside Stout’s employee shareholders to support the firm’s growth. Stout’s current management team will remain in place, and employees will retain a significant equity stake. The deal is expected to close in Q3 2025. The new partnership follows Stout’s successful relationship with Audax Private Equity, which first invested in the firm in 2021.
- C Street Advisory Group, LLC, a strategic communications advisory and crisis management firm, announced the launch of its Digital Assets and Crypto Communications Practice – a new initiative designed to support clients across the blockchain, digital currency, and decentralized finance ecosystem. The practice is led by senior managing director Jackie Rubin.
- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Reno, NV-based Wilkins & Associates Insurance Services, Inc. Wilkins & Associates, founded by Tom and Melanie Wilkins, is a retail insurance broker serving commercial and personal lines clients in Reno and western Nevada. Steve Wilkins, Jared Wilkins and their team will operate under the direction of Scott Firestone, head of Gallagher’s Southwest region retail property/casualty brokerage operations.Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
- Antares Capital has closed Antares’ first continuation vehicle with over $1.2B in commitments. The continuation vehicle was established to purchase assets and limited partner interests from two comingled private credit funds comprising over 100 underlying first lien, floating rate loans originated and managed by Antares. The transaction was led by Ares Credit Secondaries funds, along with a commitment from Antares.
- Energize Capital, a multi-stage investor in climate solutions, announced the close of its Ventures Fund III at $430M. The firm’s fifth institutional fund and third of its Ventures strategy, Ventures III will deploy into earlier-stage companies focused on scaling energy and industrial transformation through digital and software-enabled solutions. This latest raise brings Energize’s total assets under management to over $1.8B.
- Great Rock Capital, an asset-focused commercial finance company specializing in middle market lending, has closed a $75M senior secured credit facility for Pacific Ag, North America’s largest crop residue harvesting and supply company. The new capital refinanced the company’s existing senior debt, supported a strategic acquisition, and will provide Pacific Ag with additional liquidity to support their platform. The bespoke debt facility includes a revolver, a term loan, and a delayed draw term loan.
- AlpInvest Partners closed its first co-investment fund since 2021 at $4.1B from more than 185 new and existing investors. AlpInvest Co-Investment Fund IX will invest alongside GPs in private equity buyouts and growth capital transactions across industry sectors globally. The previous fund closed in 2021 at $3.5B. Founded in 2000, AlpInvest Partners is one of the three core divisions of The Carlyle Group.
- Zeal Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based VC firm, announced the close of Zeal Fund II, bringing its total assets under management to $186M across three funds for investments across financial technology, healthcare, and the future of learning and work. Zeal Fund II will invest in about 25 early-stage companies over a four-year investment period, with a strategy designed to lead or co-lead seed-stage financings. The mandate will target initial check sizes between $1M and $2.3M. Zeal’s limited partners now include Citi Impact Fund, M&T Bank, MassMutual, Wells Fargo, Zaffre Investments and Spelman College.
