Former Partners Group exec joins First Avenue in US

Global placement and advisory firm First Avenue is expanding its North American team by hiring Jenny Nelson, who as a director at the firm’s San Francisco office will be in charge of sales distribution in the Western US and Western Canada.

Nelson joins the firm from Switzerland-based investment firm Partners Group, where she was head of US consultant relations. Before joining Partners, Nelson worked in EY’s transaction advisory services practice.

“We are a growing fund placement firm,” David Breuner, First Avenue’s San Francisco-based partner and head of North American Sales, told Infrastructure Investor. “This is an effort to grow our West Coast distribution, origination and sales efforts,” he said referring to Nelson’s hiring and the firm’s recent move to a larger office in downtown San Francisco.

Founded in 2006, First Avenue focuses on raising capital for alternative asset managers across private credit, private equity, real assets and real estate strategies in developed and emerging markets. The company counts 52 professionals across offices located in London, New York, San Francisco and Sydney.