Archives for September 23, 2014

Preston Hollow Capital has hired three former ORIX USA executives to fill key positions on the firm’s rapidly growing team. Preston Hollow Capital was launched in January 2014 by Jim Thompson, the long-time President and CEO of ORIX USA.

John Bills has been named as Chief Credit Officer, Greg May was selected as the new Managing Director of Corporate Development and Kandice Stephens was named the Director of Operations for the Dallas-based merchant bank.

“Mr. Bills, Mr. May and Ms. Stephens each bring a unique set of skills and knowledge to their roles at Preston Hollow Capital,” said Mr. Thompson. “We’ve experienced significant growth at Preston Hollow Capital and we will continue to look for specialized experience, track record and expertise.”

Preston Hollow Capital invests in fixed income, private equity, venture capital and alternative opportunities. The firm is based in Dallas (www.phcllc.com).

“We’re pleased that the growth of our business requires the expansion of our team at Preston Hollow Capital by filling these key roles with a group of highly capable professionals,” said Mr. Thompson. “Mr. Bills, Mr. May and Ms. Stephens are exceptional talents with a wealth of knowledge that will further position us for success.”

Mr. Bills, in his role as Chief Credit Officer, will oversee real estate credit analysis and underwriting for the firm’s investments that have real estate components. Before joining Preston Hollow Capital, Mr. Bills served 11 years at ORIX USA, where his most recent position was Managing Director, Chief Credit Officer and Surveillance Manager. Prior to this role, he was a Director and Senior Underwriter for the company.  Mr. Bills received a BBA degree in finance and political science at Southern Methodist University.

Mr. May, as Preston Hollow Capital’s Managing Director of Corporate Development, will have responsibilities for sourcing, evaluating and executing acquisitions and investments for the firm. He previously served as Deputy General Counsel for ORIX USA, which he joined in 2003. He provided a range of legal, transactional and governance support to ORIX USA’s various business lines in the investment banking, asset management, real estate finance and life sciences sectors.  Mr. May received his BBA degree in accounting from Baylor University and his JD degree from Baylor University School of Law.

Ms. Stephens, as Director of Operations, will be responsible for managing the company’s back office operations supporting all of Preston Hollow Capital’s trading and investment activity. Before joining Preston Hollow, Ms. Stephens served with ORIX USA for more than 31 years in various senior management functions including Director of Operations in ORIX USA’s Dallas Headquarters, Corporate Income Tax Director, Division Controller in Los Angeles and SVP of Operations in Atlanta. Ms. Stephens has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics from Iowa State University.

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-23-14

H.I.G. Capital has expanded its investor relations team with the hiring of Jordan Peer as Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations, and Thierry Edde as Director of Investor Relations.

Ms. Peer will be based in New York and will oversee all marketing and investor relations activities globally across the firm’s private equity, growth equity, real estate, credit and life sciences funds. Mr. Edde will be responsible for investor relations efforts in the Middle East and Europe and will be based in London.

“We are excited to welcome these talented professionals to the firm.  Jordan and Thierry have been hired at a time of significant growth in demand for the firm’s alternative asset product offerings. Moreover, Jordan’s profound knowledge of the capital raising process, her extensive network of relationships and deep understanding of the private markets makes her the ideal person to lead H.I.G.’s investor relations team,” said Tony Tamer, H.I.G. Capital co-founder and Managing Partner.

Prior to H.I.G., Ms. Peer spent five years at Blackstone’s credit business, GSO Capital Partners, where she led a number of fundraising and investor relations activities, across mezzanine, distressed, hedge fund and customized credit strategies. Prior to Blackstone, she was an investment banker at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers in the firm’s Leveraged Finance Group.

Mr. Edde is joining H.I.G. from MAB Partners, where he spent the past six years leading business development and key investor relationships with a focus on Europe and the Middle East. Before MAB, he was a Sales Director at Turner Broadcasting where he was responsible for commercial activities for CNN International across Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, the CIS and the Balkans.

H.I.G. Capital specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. Capital has more than $17 billion of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1993 and is based in Miami with additional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro (www.higcapital.com).

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-23-14