Four more Greenhill MDs depart firm

Greenhill has lost four more managing directors from its secondary advisory unit, bringing the total to seven in the space of a month.

Todd Miller, Andy Nick and Chris Bonfield are to join Jefferies, according to three sources familiar with the matter. They will join former Greenhill managing directors Brenlen Jinkens and Scott Beckelman, who moved there in September to launch a secondaries advisory unit, Secondaries Investor reported.

Dallas-based managing director Brian Mooney is leaving to join the buy-side, according to two of the sources. His destination is not clear.

Miller took leadership of the team after the departure of Stephen Sloan, who joined Portfolio Advisors in September, Secondaries Investor reported.

London-based Bernhard Engelien and Briac Houtteville are now leading the team, Engelien told Secondaries Investor: “The European and Asian offices remain intact … We have a number of talented principals and VPs and we’ll look to rebuild our US team in time,” he said.

Frustration around Greenhill’s declining share price and the desire to take a larger share of the market for GP-led deals were among the reasons for the departures, Secondaries Investor understands.

The secondary advisory team, formerly known as Cogent Partners, were acquired by Greenhill in 2015. It received an earnout linked to its post-acquisition performance in March 2019, according to a results announcement.

Greenhill advised on $17 billion-worth of transactions in 2019 including the landmark process with Japan’s Norinchukin Bank – the largest-ever secondaries sale.

Jefferies did not wish to comment.