Castle Hall Alternatives, a specialist provider of operational due diligence to global investors, has expanded its activities to Europe, opening a new office in London. Michael Bolger, ACA CFA FRM, recently joined Castle Hall as Director to lead the firm’s European due diligence practice. “We are delighted to expand our business in Europe and welcome Michael to Castle Hall,” says Chris Addy, CEO. “Our new location will enhance our ability to conduct due diligence on European asset managers and will allow Castle Hall to strengthen its relationship with our European clients.” Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Castle Hall’s London office continues

HazelTree, a provider of Treasury management services for alternative investment managers, has announced the appointment of Paul Calderone to the position of Managing Director of Operations, effective immediately. Calderone brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his years in institutional sales and development at Credit Suisse. In his new position, he will manage all aspects of HazelTree’s rapidly expanding operations, which are focused on delivering high-performance Treasury functionality to multi-primed hedge funds. "HazelTree’s client base has tripled over the past six months, so Paul is joining us at a particularly exciting and opportune time," says company CEO Stephen Casner

Carey Olsen has announced the appointment of two new partners in its Jersey office. Daniel O’Connor and Peter German (pictured) join the busy corporate, finance and investment funds group. O’Connor joined Carey Olsen in 2008 and specialises in investment funds, private equity and financial services regulation. He has extensive transactional experience of a wide range of investment structures working for both global financial institutions and specialist fund managers. Dan is an active member of several industry consultation and steering groups which develop funds policy and regulation, including his technical work for the Jersey Funds Association. German has been working at

Private market advisory firm Somerset Capital has appointed Michelle M Donabedian as a partner. Donabedian is an experienced hedge fund marketer with a background at BlueBay, CQS, Credit Suisse, Tremont, and Man Investments. Somerset Capital’s Jill Hodges (pictured) was one of her clients when she was at Credit Suisse in 2007. Hodges says: “I am delighted that Michelle has joined us. She is well-known as a bright and professional marketer and her relationships with investors will further strengthen our offer, both in the US and in Europe.” Jim Miller, Managing Director, says: “I am delighted to welcome Michelle to the

Offshore law firm, Mourant Ozannes, has appointed Advocate Daniel Birtwistle as the Managing Partner of its Jersey office. His appointment will take effect from 1 February 2012. Mourant Ozannes advises on the laws of the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey from offices in each of those jurisdictions as well as Hong Kong and London. Birtwistle has been at the firm since 1995. He qualified as a Jersey lawyer in 1998 and was admitted as a partner in 2004. He ran the firm’s London office between 2006 and 2007 and has been on Mourant Ozannes’ management committee since 2008. A member

Former RJ O’Brien Fund Management business development SVP Timothy Phillips has joined Systematic Alpha Management as Marketing Director. Phillips, an institutional marketing and relationship management specialist, began his career in 1991 at Citibank. He has raised over USD200 million of new assets for managed futures strategies in his career, from both high net worth individuals and institutional investors. After leaving Citibank in 1993 Phillips joined Refco, a New York City-based commodities firm, holding a variety of positions over 12 years, including Managing Director of the Refco Alternative Investments Group, acting as Head of Product Management and Director of Investor Relations.

Noam Gottesman, a founding partner and Principal of GLG Partners, Inc has stood down as co-CEO and taken on the role of non-executive Chairman of GLG’s business and interests in the US (GLG (US)). Manny Roman continues as sole CEO of GLG and Chief Operating Officer of Man Group plc. Jon Aisbitt (pictured), Chairman of Man Group, says: “We thank Noam for his contribution in helping to integrate GLG into Man. He has outstanding entrepreneurial talents and market expertise which will continue to be available to Man in his new role as non-executive Chairman of GLG (US).”   Gottesman says:

Gamma Finance, a provider of solutions-based services for transactions in illiquid assets, has appointed Miroslaw Izienicki to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Izienicki has experience across Investment, Commercial and Private Banking sectors. Most recently, he was Managing Director of Fifth Capital, a Think Tank & Leadership Counsel that offers high level advisory services in support of an integrative approach to wealth creation, governance and sustainability. He has been invited as high level speaker to the OECD and has contributed on the subjects of Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Investment. Prior to Fifth Capital, Miroslaw was Head of Corporate Finance

Rapid Ratings, an independent ratings, research and analytics firm, has appointed Jeffrey Gibb as Senior Vice President of Strategic Relations & Head of Legal Operations. Gibb, a former practicing attorney, in-house counsel for GE Capital and entrepreneur, will have a multi-faceted role at Rapid Ratings. He will be primarily responsible for legal affairs and business development initiatives. Gibb will also work closely with Chairman and CEO, James H Gellert, on regulatory and legislative activities in Washington DC.   “Jeff has a wealth of experience across the legal, regulatory and investment sectors that will be of material benefit to Rapid Ratings’