Private equity firm Altius still hiring after boosting headcount 20%

Bucking the trend among smaller private equity houses, Altius Associates has increased its headcount by around 20% over the past 12 months and is still hiring.

Altius has made three key hires to its investment team in the last three months. Arnaud Garel-Galais this week  joins the firm’s London office from Dahlia Partners and Jeffrey Kopocis was hired for its Richmond, Va., office, both as senior associates. The moves follow the appointment of William Charlton as partner and head of U.S investments.

“Our business is expanding and we’ve been hiring for both our investments and investor relations team to reflect this,” said Eric Warner, partner and head of investor relations at Altius. “We see a strong future for private equity going forward and expect to continue to expand.”

Globally, Altius’s team now stands at 45 people, compared to 38 at this point in 2012, according to Warner.

Despite the clamour to move from investment banking positions into private equity, Warner insists that most new recruits have a background in the industry. However, some recent hires suggest the firm is open to other types of experience.

Charlton was a senior lecturer in finance at the University of Texas, Austin, before joining Altius Associates, having previously worked at specialist consultants BH Equity Research. In January, Joachim Suter joined as a partner in the firm’s investor relations team from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) as part of a push into this area by Altius.