Onex, Hamilton Lane, GrowthCurve Capital, Searchlight Capital Partners and Spectrum Equity have all added senior-level professionals to oversee HR and talent management in recent weeks.
In one of the most recent moves, Lawrence Shaw has joined asset manager Onex’s Toronto office as talent management director, according to his LinkedIn profile. Shaw most recently served as director of executive global talent acquisition for Manulife. Onex, which manages $48 billion of assets, completed fundraising for its $7.15 billion buyout fund Onex Partners V in 2017.
Shaw’s hiring and that of others come several months after news of a significant number of firms losing senior or mid-level talent and HR professionals, positions that have been gaining importance.
Not only are talent professionals being called on to supervise HR and recruiting at their own firms, they often get involved in those functions at portfolio companies. Many also play a role in meeting growing investor demands for diversity, equity and inclusion.
“You’re seeing movement because people who are currently in those roles are getting recruited out of them to move to firms where there are brand new opportunities, where those people can start and launch these human capital programs from scratch at firms that have never before had someone dedicated to this role,” said Lori Gleeman, founder and CEO at the executive search firm Soul Equity Solutions.
Indeed, Kristin Brandt has joined money manager Hamilton Lane to fill a newly-created chief human resources officer position, according to a Sept. 13 news release. Brandt previously served as HR director of Americas Investment Banking for the financial company Lazard.
Based in Hamilton Lane’s Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, headquarters, Brandt will help find, foster and support employees, CEO Mario Giannini said in the release. Publicly traded Hamilton Lane has expanded its payroll to more than 540 employees, marking a 42 percent increase since March 2020, the firm said.
Alice Lindenauer, who works as senior director of solutions strategy at the education administration program Bright Horizons, served as Hamilton Lane’s managing director of global human resources before leaving the firm this past June, according to Lindenauer’s LinkedIn profile.
Other recent HR and talent executive hires include the following:
*Kate Migliaro has joined Searchlight Capital Partners as head of portfolio talent in New York. Migliaro formerly served as principal in talent management and organizational effectiveness at Apollo Global Management.
*Chanel Andre has joined growth equity firm Spectrum Equity as senior manager for internal recruiting and talent management, according to her LinkedIn profile. Andre previously worked as an executive recruiter for Liberty Mutual Investments and before that as vice president of executive search firm Amity Search Partners.
*Angela Geffre has joined GrowthCurve Capital as head of human capital and a member of the investment committee, the private equity firm said in a Sept. 12 statement. Geffre formerly led talent and human resources at Sun Capital Partners.
Of the departures reported on earlier this year, some firms have since hired new professionals:
*Kathleen Gardner became vice president of human resources at Palladium Equity Partners in June, according to her LinkedIn profile. Gardner previously led North America business operations for Bridgepoint. Private Equity Career News earlier reported that Crissy Wu stepped down this April as a vice president of human resources at the firm.
–Michelle “Moe” Saxton