Daphne J. Dufresne and Alan Nichols joined private equity manager RLJ Equity Partners as managing directors, while Derek Saleeby was named executive managing director and CIO and Carlton A. Byrd was named managing director and chief marketing officer for hedge fund-of-funds firm RLJ Select Investments. Both firms are subsidiaries of the RLJ Cos., an investment management firm created by Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television. The positions are new, said Anne Little, RLJ spokeswoman. Ms. Dufresne was principal at Parish Capital Advisors, and Mr. Nichols was executive vice president and CFO of BET Holdings, the holding company for the television network. Mr. Saleeby was a principal with RAM Capital Resources and Mr. Byrd was senior vice president at Friedman Billings Ramsey. Gabrielle Bowers Jackson, director at Parish Capital; Michael Fine, president of RAM Capital Resources; and Lauren M. Burk, spokeswoman at Friedman Billings Ramsey, could not be reached by press time for comment on replacements.
Dean M. Rubino joined The Richcourt Group as managing director and director of manager research. He oversees research and evaluation of hedge fund managers for the hedge fund-of-funds manager, with more than $1 billion under management. Mr. Rubino replaced Pantelis Apessos, who is leaving the firm to pursue other opportunities, according to a statement from Richcourt. Mr. Rubino was partner, managing director and portfolio manager at Taylor Investment Advisors, managing 20 hedge funds of funds. He will remain an equity partner and adviser in parent Taylor Cos., according to a Richcourt statement. Mr. Rubino's duties were assumed by others, said Kevin McDonald, a partner and managing director at Taylor Investment Advisors.
