Paul Capital hires former GE lending executive

The New York-based secondaries firm has hired Sabina Sammartino to head up due diligence in London and promoted two in Paris.

Paul Capital has hired Sabina Sammartino as a principal within the firm’s private equity secondaries team responsible for the UK team’s due diligence activities.

Sammartino also will be responsible for the sourcing, analysis, negotiation and closing of secondary private equity transactions.

Prior to joining Paul Capital, Sammartino was an executive director at GE Equity where she led the origination, execution and management of private equity direct and fund investments in Europe. She earlier headed the private equity investment team at Italian bank BNL.

In addition to the hire of Sammartino, Paul Capital has promoted two additional members of its secondaries team to principal at a time when the secondary market in the US and Europe has heated up as limited partners squeezed by liquidity needs seek to sell their interests in private equity funds.

Paul Capital also has promoted to principals Elizabeth Coleon, who rejoined Paul Capital last year after graduating from Harvard Business School, and Guillaume Partiot, who joined in 2001. Both are based in Paris.

Paul Capital manages approximately $6.6 billion in commitments across three investment platforms: private equity secondaries, healthcare royalty and revenue interests and venture funds of funds. The firm has been in the secondary private equity market for more than fifteen years.

The firm’s ninth secondaries funds closed on $1.65 billion in May.