People & Company News, Week of March 13, 2026
- Zane Suren has been appointed as the chief revenue officer of BridgePort, a fintech platform. Suren will lead BridgePort’s global revenue strategy, owning revenue and commercial architecture, and pipeline development. Prior to joining BridgePort, Suren served as a managing director for Zodia Custody, a digital asset custodian backed by Standard Chartered Bank. At Zodia Custody, he most recently led commercial activity across the Middle East and Africa for the custodian.
- Paul Claro has joined New York-based Blue Wolf Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, as an operating partner with a specialization in industrial investments. Prior to joining Blue Wolf Capital Partners, Claro served as CEO and president of Douglas Machines Corporation. Additionally, Claro has worked for private equity-owned, family-owned, and publicly traded companies.
- Marc Puglia has been tapped as CFO and partner at Ethos Capital, a private equity investment firm. Puglia will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the firm’s financial operations and strategy. Additionally, he will contribute to the investment process and operational value creation initiatives at portfolio companies. Before joining Ethos Capital, Puglia was the CFO and managing director of PSG Equity and Providence Equity Partners.
- SolaREIT, a Solar and storage real estate investor, has made several executive appointments. Valerio Lombardo has been promoted to EVP of corporate finance, Brendan Burtis has been promoted to VP of finance, and Christina Akay has been promoted to CMO.
- Financial advisors Frank Boley and Susie Garber-Johnson have joined LPL Financial to launch their independent practice. Sheridan, WY-based Legacy Ridge Private Wealth has joined LPL Strategic Wealth and was previously affiliated with D.A. Davidson. The Legacy Ridge Private Wealth also includes Olivia Koltiska, Brenna Zink, and Janelle Kemerling. Boley and Garber-Johnson, who bring 50 years of combined experience, oversee about $600M in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets. The team chose to affiliate with LPL Strategic Wealth for its pricing, technology, and dedicated support.
- Harrison Wright has been promoted to VP of corporate real estate solutions at Chicago-based Brennan Investment Group, a privately-owned real estate investment firm. Harrison will be responsible for executing corporate real estate solutions nationwide, partnering with occupiers and sale leasebacks.
- Dimuth Fernando has been named CCO of AIP Capital, an alternative investment manager. Fernando will be responsible for leading AIP’s global commercial efforts and has been with AIP Capital since 2024, where he served as head of AIP’s Singapore. Prior to joining AIP Capital, Dimuth served as the SVP of marketing for global aircraft lessor at Jackson Square Aviation.
- Zico Parmar has joined Evolve Private Wealth, a wealth management firm, as COO. Parmar will be responsible for leading operational strategy and building a “scalable” platform designed to enhance advisor productivity and client experience. At Evolve, Parmar plans to introduce new vendors to financial advisors to synchronize client data across their technology stack. Additionally, with Evolve’s partners, he plans to build out the firm’s back-office teams. Prior to joining Evolve, Parmar most recently served as managing director at IEQ Capital.
- Stephen Siderow has been named a senior advisor and operating partner to the general partner of RE VC, a real estate tech venture capital fund manager. Siderow also serves as the founder and managing principal at Siderofsky Strategic Advisors. Siderow will provide strategic advice to RE VC, while also assisting in building, operating, and scaling the firm’s fund management business. Through Siderofsky Strategic Advisors, Siderow is an advisor to investment managers, fintech companies, and other growing enterprises.
- Texas-based Pittman Financial Group has joined Bluespring Wealth Partners and will merge into Security Financial Management, which is an existing Bluespring firm. Pittman Financial Group is led by founder Page Pittman and includes client service administrator Elizabeth Eagle. Pittman oversees more than $60M in client assets under management, and brings its total assets managed by SFM advisors to $1.3B.
- State Street Investment Management has launched an investment-grade public and private asset-backed securities ETF. The ETF, dubbed State Street IG Public & Private ABS ETF, will allow investors to gain exposure to collateralized loan obligations, residential, and commercial mortgage-backed securities. The fund’s private ABS allocation may include securities sourced by Apollo Global Securities and will be managed by State Street’s active fixed income team.
- Easterly Asset Management, an investment firm, has acquired the fund management division of Olstein Capital Management. Under the acquisition, mutual funds under Olstein will be reorganized into the Easterly fund complex and the Easterly Snow investment team of Easterly Investment Partners. Easterly has proposed that the Olstein Strategic Opportunities Fund be reorganized into the Easterly Snow Small Cap Value Fund, and the Olstein All Cap Value Fund will be reorganized to a new series of the Easterly Funds Trust, Easterly Snow All Cap Value Fund.
- Betterment, a wealth and savings platform, has launched its AI-powered Account Recommender tool. Through the Account Recommender, advisors and plan sponsors will be enabled to “streamline their workflows.” Betterment plans to further integrate AI into its platform and operating model throughout this year.
- TaxStatus, a wealth tech tax platform, has partnered with Advice.ai to integrate its suite of tax planning strategies into TaxStatus’s Verified Financials platform, which will allow financial advisors and CPAs to identify tax, financial, and estate planning opportunities based on IRS-sourced data. The platform has launched with over 100 tax planning strategies and plans to further expand the offerings. Early adoption of the platform has gained partners, including Hightower Advisors, which will be deploying the platform across its national advisor network.
- Texas-based Journey Financial Group has acquired Houston-based Lone Star Bank, a banking association. The acquisition is set to close in the late second quarter or early third quarter of this year. Lone Star Bank, established in 2006, is a privately owned community bank primarily engaged in commercial banking. The bank operates across four banking locations in Harris, Colorado, and Austin, Texas. Lone Star Bank manages $191M in total assets as of December 31.
- Jump, an AI-powered wealth tech platform, has rolled out its AI Operating System for financial advisors. The new platform organizes Jump’s capabilities into three products: “Meet, Grow, and Operate.” The system will document and craft emails based on advisor-client conversations to help firms “strengthen relationships, uncover revenue opportunities, and scale operations.” All three products are powered by the AI Operating System, which incorporates firm-wide data across meetings, emails, and external systems.
- Texas-based Greenbelt Capital Management has acquired Peak Utility Services Group, a utility infrastructure provider, from ORIX Capital Partners, the private equity division of ORIX Corporation. Peak serves as a partner to the U.S’ leading utilities, providing a suite of maintenance, repair, and upgrade services.
- SEI has teamed up with IBM Consulting to boost AI automation across its current operational systems, to process redesign and modernization across the enterprise. The initiative was designed to improve productivity and enhance the client experience by streamlining client relationships and expanding automation. Additionally, SEI will leverage IBM’s Enterprise Advantage platform to accelerate operating model transformation, fuel operational excellence, and enhance employee and client experiences.
- New York-based Mega, an AI-powered growth platform, has raised $11.5M in the closing round for its Series A funding. The round was led by Goodwater Capital, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Atreides Management, SignalFire, and Kearny Jackson. Mega aims to use the funding to expand its marketing platform and scale its automated growth infrastructure for SMBs.
- Nexthop AI, an AI-powered platform, has raised $500M in the closing round for its Series B funding. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with Andreessen Horowitz joining as a major investor, and participation from Altimeter. The funding boosted the firm’s valuation to $4.2B.
- Greenwich, CT-based Eagle Point Credit Management, an investment manager, has raised $559M in the closing funding round for its Defensive Income Fund III, exceeding its targeted goal of DIF III $400M and original hard cap of $500M. DIF III is Eagle Point’s third closed-end fund in its Defensive Income Fund series and was supported by a group of limited partners, including public and private pension funds, endowments and foundations, insurance companies, and family offices.
- Coefficient Capital, a growth equity firm, has raised $290M in the closing round for its second fund. Fund II is “actively” deploying its capital across multiple sectors, and some investments include Sincerely Yours and Untamed. The new capital brings the firm’s total assets under management to more than $800M.
- Los Angeles-based Truelink Capital, a private equity firm, has raised $2B in the closing round for the Truelink Capital Fund II, exceeding its targeted goal of $1.5B. Fund II will focus on a continuation of Truelink’s strategy of partnering with businesses across the industrials and business services sectors, with a focus on driving commercial growth acceleration, operational transformation, and strategic M&A.
- New York-based Level Equity, a private investment firm, has raised $293.5M in the closing round for the Level Structured Capital III, surpassing its targeted goal of $225M. The funding will go towards continuing Level Structured Capital’s strategy of partnering with software businesses, and the capital will be deployed to support companies seeking funding to accelerate growth initiatives, pursue acquisitions, or provide liquidity to shareholders.