Ridgewood Private Equity Partners Appoints Ross Posner to Lead Energy-Focused Real Asset Strategy

NEW YORK and MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ridgewood Private Equity Partners (RPEP), an investment firm focused on energy-centric real asset strategies, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ross Posner as Senior Managing Director. Mr. Posner, who most recently ran the Global Infrastructure & Real Asset Private Equity Group at Allstate Investments, will lead the development and growth of RPEP. 

RPEP's strategy, utilizing deep domain expertise, a rigorous investment process, and relationships with top management teams, will deliver access to best-in-class investments throughout the energy value-chain for ultra high-net-worth and family office investors.

RPEP is part of the affiliated Ridgewood Companies, which were founded in 1982 by Robert Swanson and have raised over $4.5 billion in total capital and commitments primarily focused on direct equity investments in energy, infrastructure and other real assets. Ridgewood Energy, which focuses on the exploration and production of oil fields in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico, is also part of the affiliated Ridgewood Companies, and in January closed on a $1.1 billion private equity fund. RPEP's investment strategy will have a distinct mandate that includes upstream, midstream, and related infrastructure and services, and is being pursued by a separate investment team, led by Mr. Posner.

"We are very pleased to be executing this new strategy under the leadership of Ross, who possesses a unique combination of investing and business building capabilities gained from over two decades of successful private equity experience," said Matthew Swanson, Senior Managing Director of RPEP and Ridgewood Energy. "As a result of accelerating technological innovation, Ridgewood continues to identify compelling investment opportunities throughout the energy value-chain. Building on our history and domain expertise in the energy sector, RPEP is well-positioned to selectively pursue the most attractive opportunities through a combination of fund and direct investing in partnership with best-in-class management teams."

Mr. Posner joined RPEP from Allstate Investments, where he was an executive leading its alternative investment and private equity strategies. Most recently, Mr. Posner created and led Allstate's Infrastructure and Real Asset private equity business where, as Global Group Head, he managed an investment portfolio of over $1 billion. In prior roles at Allstate Investments, Mr. Posner was a senior member of the private equity team that executed a multi-billion dollar global investment strategy, as well as the senior member overseeing its project finance and private placement businesses. As a proven business leader, with extensive experience as both an investor and an active member of fund advisory and portfolio company boards, Mr. Posner is ideally qualified to lead RPEP's energy-focused real asset strategy.

"RPEP will build on Ridgewood's differentiated sector knowledge and experience to access compelling energy-centric real asset investment opportunities for our investors," said Mr. Posner. "Our disciplined process and ability to opportunistically invest across the rapidly evolving energy industry, combined with Ridgewood's 30-year investment history, will enable us to be smart, nimble partners to leading management teams pursuing the highest-value strategies. I am excited to lead this business and to be part of the Ridgewood Companies."

About Ridgewood Private Equity Partners
Ridgewood Private Equity Partners (RPEP), part of the affiliated Ridgewood Companies, focuses on energy-centric real asset investments in partnership with leading management teams through a combination of fund and direct investment strategies. Through this approach, RPEP will deliver best-in-class, institutional-quality private equity investment opportunities to ultra high-net-worth and family office investors seeking to benefit from Ridgewood's differentiated expertise and access. RPEP is led by Ross Posner, who joined Ridgewood from Allstate Investments, where he most recently created and led its Global Infrastructure and Real Asset private equity investment team, with a portfolio of over $1 billion. RPEP is run out of Ridgewood's Montvale, NJ and New York City offices.

About the Ridgewood Companies
The affiliated Ridgewood Companies sponsor and manage specialized investment funds, primarily focused on energy and real asset investments.  Since their founding by Robert Swanson in 1982, the Ridgewood Companies have raised over $4.5 billion in capital and commitments, focused primarily on energy, infrastructure, and other real asset investment strategies.  In January 2014, Ridgewood Energy, which is focused on the exploration and production of oil in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico, closed on its most recent $1.1 billion private equity fund.

Contacts
Jonathan Keehner / Casey Landau
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449

SOURCE Ridgewood Private Equity Partners