First Avenue hires former Park Hill MD for Hong Kong office

Placement agent First Avenue has recently opened an office in Hong Kong and appointed former Park Hill Group managing director, Michael Henningsen, as partner to lead its operations, according to a statement.

Henningsen will be Asia co-head along with Martin Donnelly, who is also a partner and runs the firm’s Sydney office.

Prior to First Avenue, Henningsen was managing director at Park Hill Group, where he led that firm’s Hong Kong office and oversaw project management and all Asian origination. He was a director at UBS Private Funds Group in London before working at Park Hill.

“Asia Pacific is a critical component to our future success, and Michael’s joining is a natural step to complement our firm’s already strong distribution network in the region with our on-the-ground coverage in both Hong Kong and Sydney,” Donnelly said in a statement.

First Avenue has been raising capital for alternative asset managers and corporations across private credit, private equity, real assets and real estate in both developed and emerging markets since 2006.

In October, it hired Jenny Nelson as a director in its San Francisco office, as reported by Private Equity International. The firm also has offices in London and New York.

Its clients include buyout firm Metalmark Capital, Permira Debt Managers, M&G Investments and Actis, according to its website.