First Avenue makes another North America hire

First Avenue has hired Dan Rudgers to serve as the principal overseeing the firm’s business in northeastern US and eastern Canada, PERE's sister publication, Private Debt Investor, reported Tuesday.

Rudgers, who joins the London-based placement agent from advisory group Lazard Frères & Co., will work from the firm’s New York branch in a newly-created role. He brings over 15 years of experience in the alternative asset space, including private credit, private equity and real estate finance, according to the statement.

While at Lazard, he managed US and Canadian investors for eight years before departing in May, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also previously worked at Lehman Brothers as a senior vice president for both the funds of the firm and for third-party funds throughout the eastern US and eastern Canada. Rudgers has also held similar roles at Wachovia Securities, Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust Company.

Rudgers’s hire follows several new team member additions at First Avenue recently. Earlier this month, Jess Larsen, former global head of sales at Highland Capital Management, joined the firm as a partner and head of Americas in the firm’s New York and San Francisco offices. This October, Haroon Chishti, previously a vice president at Unigestion, came on board at First Avenue as its new director of its private credit team in New York.

First Avenue is a global advisory and placement agent focused on private funds and private companies, with clients that include GPs and management teams in private equity, private credit and real assets.