Human resources in the secondaries industry is becoming one of the most difficult areas to manage, with stiff competition for the best and brightest talent. The past 12 months have seen their fair share of poaches, resignations and fresh firm launches.
Here are the top five most notable people moves this year.
5. HQ Capital secondaries co-heads depart
Christian Munafo and Chris Lawrence, co-heads of HQ Capital‘s secondaries team, left the German family office’s investment arm in June. Munafo subsequently joined private securities platform SharesPost and Lawrence launched his own firm – Labyrinth Capital Partners – in December. HQ Capital hired two Pantheon investment professionals – Ben Wilson and Alec Brown – for its secondaries team.
4. Park Hill poaches Lazard’s Johanna Lottmann
Johanna Lottmann, a 14-year Lazard veteran and Secondaries Investor Young Gun, left the investment bank in August. London-based Lottmann is set to join Park Hill‘s secondaries advisory group in the new year to lead its European team. She is replacing Pablo Calo and will be joining managing director Sandro Galfetti, who has been with the team since 2014.
3. Pablo Calo leaves Park Hill
In March, Secondaries Investor reported that Pablo Calo, Park Hill’s head of secondaries advisory international, was to leave the firm. London-based Calo, a more than two-decade private equity and secondaries industry professional, went on to launch his own advisory firm – Fairview Capital Group – in September, bringing on a transatlantic team of industry executives.
2. Houlihan Lokey illiquids heads join Manulife
It’s hard to find two more experienced secondaries veterans than Jeff Hammer and Paul Sanabria. The pair, who have worked together for around two decades, left investment bank Houlihan Lokey‘s illiquid financial assets unit in July. In October, they resurfaced at Canadian insurance giant Manulife Financial to launch a secondaries investment team.
1. Landmark Partners’ Ian Charles leaves firm
In a move that rocked the industry, Ian Charles, a partner and 13-year veteran of the real estate and private equity secondaries stalwart Landmark Partners, left the firm. Secondaries Investor reported in September that Charles, who had co-founded advisory firm Cogent Partners prior to Landmark, had left to pursue a new investment opportunity. His next venture will not conflict with any of Landmark’s secondaries activities, top executives wrote in an email to investors announcing Charles’s departure.
Other notable moves include:
- Siguler Guff’s secondaries head, Tony Cusano, left in March. Cusano went on to found Banner Ridge Partners which is seeking $350 million for its debut vehicle.
- Schroder Adveq‘s head of secondaries Nico Taverna left the Swiss firm in the second half of the year. He subsequently founded his own investment firm, Mill Reef Capital.
- Neil Harper, chief investment officer of Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners Private Markets, left the bank in the first half of the year. Harper later joined Turkish private equity firm Turkven as chairman.
- Richard Golaszewski, widely recognised as one of the most influential lenders in the secondaries market, left Nomura in June. The Secondaries Investor Young Gun later joined 17Capital.
- Whitehorse Liquidity Partners poached a number of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board secondaries professionals, most notably Sebastien Siou in June.