Robert L. Johnson Adds Top Executives to his RLJ Private Equity and Hedge Fund Ventures

Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television and Chairman of The RLJ Companies, today announced four key additions to RLJ's private equity and hedge fund ventures: Daphne J. Dufresne as Managing Director of RLJ Equity Partners, Alan Nichols as Managing Director of RLJ Equity Partners, Derek Saleeby as Executive Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for RLJ Select Investments, and Carlton A. Byrd as Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer for RLJ Select Investments.

The new executives will be responsible for the overall growth and success of RLJ Equity Partners, a private equity fund partnership with the Carlyle Group that will develop co-investment opportunities and share private equity deal flow; and RLJ Select Investments, a hedge fund of funds formed in joint venture with Deutsche Asset Management ("DeAM"). Through partnership with DeAM, RLJ Select Investments will launch a hedge fund of funds that will offer a diversified set of products to institutional investors.

"With the addition of these four senior executives, The RLJ Companies is well-positioned within the private equity and hedge fund of funds market segments to deliver the best and most strategic value to investors," said Robert L. Johnson, Chairman of The RLJ Companies. "We have assembled an experienced and reputable team of professionals who have proven track records in delivering exceptional results."

Private Equity Fund

Daphne Dufresne, Managing Director of RLJ Equity Partners, was most recently a Venture Partner with Parish Capital Advisors, a fund-of-funds that offers institutional investors exposure to emerging managers capable of delivering superior returns. Ms. Dufresne initiated and led Parish's direct investment and co-investment program. Formerly, Ms. Dufresne was a Principal at Weston Presidio, a diversified private equity fund with $3.4 billion of assets under management. As Principal, Ms. Dufresne sourced investments, led full due diligence, monitored investments and exited investments. She has been directly involved in investing over $100 million in capital into companies at various stages of the investment cycle. Ms. Dufresne was involved with investing Weston Presidio Capital III, a $600 million fund, and Weston Presidio Capital IV, a $1.3 billion fund. Ms. Dufresne is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and The Harvard Business School.

Alan Nichols, Managing Director of RLJ Equity Partners, began his career on Wall Street, where he advised technology and media clients as a corporate finance executive at Salomon Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston. Following his tenure as an investment banker, BET Holdings hired Mr. Nichols as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Nichols joined RLJ from Golden Gate Capital, a $2.5 billion private equity fund, where he was Operating Partner responsible for media and communications. While with Golden Gate Capital, Mr. Nichols sourced over 300 potential transactions across a broad range of old and new media content and distribution companies, and was involved in closing multiple transactions including Max Media, a small to mid market TV and radio broadcaster, Sign Storey, a CPG focused place based digital media network, and Lexicon, a direct marketer of English as a second language educational tools. Mr. Nichols is a graduate of Stanford University and Columbia Business School.

Hedge Fund of Funds

Derek E. N. Saleeby, Executive Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for RLJ Select Investments, most recently was a principal with hedge fund advisor and fund manager RAM Capital Resources, LLC in New York City. Mr. Saleeby will manage investments from New York City. As a senior asset management and finance professional, Mr. Saleeby brings in-depth hands on experience working with hedge funds, public and private equity and debt, structured products, mergers and acquisitions, and international equities/debt. His background includes investment banking, capital markets and commercial banking with Citibank, Smith Barney, PaineWebber, and Spain's BBVA. Mr. Saleeby is a graduate of Princeton University and The Harvard Business School.

Carlton Byrd, Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer for RLJ Select Investments, was most recently Senior Vice President at Friedman Billings Ramsey (FBR) responsible for the institutional business development of FBR's single strategy hedge fund and fund of fund products. Formerly, Mr. Byrd was a Managing Director at Cameron Capital Management, LLC, a convertible arbitrage hedge fund, and a Vice President at Goldman Sachs where he spent over eight years as a sales trader on their equity trading desk. Mr. Byrd is a former Lieutenant in the United States Navy and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and The Harvard Business School.

About RLJ Companies

The RLJ Companies, founded by Robert L. Johnson, founder and former CEO and Chairman of Black Entertainment Television, provides strategic investment and direction in and for a diverse portfolio of companies in the financial services, real estate, hospitality/restaurant, professional sports, film production, gaming and recording industries. An innovative business network, The RLJ Companies seeks to target undiscovered or underserved markets, then exercise solid management and achieve results.

The RLJ Companies' core businesses include: RLJ Development, a privately held hotel real estate investment company and RLJ Urban Lodging Fund, a private equity real estate fund, which together have over $800 million in combined assets; RLJ Asset Management Group, which includes RLJ Select Investments, LLC, a hedge fund of funds joint venture with Deutsche Bank AG and RLJ Equity Partners, LLC, a private equity fund formed in partnership with The Carlyle Group; Rollover Systems, a financial services company providing retirement plan rollover services; NBA Charlotte Bobcats, WNBA Charlotte Sting and Charlotte Arena Operations; Our Stories Films, a film production company; Casino and Gaming Entertainment (C.A.G.E.), a video lottery company operating in the Caribbean; and Three Keys Music, a jazz recording company.

Source: RLJ Companies