Credit Suisse Group appointed David Mulford as vice chairman international, focusing on governments, as well as corporate clients worldwide. Mulford rejoins Credit Suisse, having served as U.S. ambassador to India for the past five years.

Mulford also previously served as undersecretary and assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury for international affairs from 1984 to 1992, when he joined Credit Suisse First Boston to lead its global privatization business.

Barclays Capital named Gary Posternack head of mergers and acquisitions, Americas. Posternack was head of natural resources M&A and the M&A takeover defense practice. Based in New York, he will report to Paul Parker, head of global M&A.

Posternack came to Barclays as part of its acquisition of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s North American investment banking and capital markets businesses, where he worked from 1995 to 2008. Posternack led Lehman's natural resources M&A franchise from 2004 to 2008 and, before that, its industrial M&A practice. He also headed the M&A takeover defense practice for 10 years.

Sofinnova Ventures Inc. hired George Horner as entrepreneur-in-residence. Most recently, Horner was CEO of Prestwick Pharmaceuticals Inc. Biovail Corp. acquired Prestwick, a former Sofinnova portfolio company, for $100 million in September.

Horner was also CEO of Vicuron Pharmaceuticals Inc., which was sold to Pfizer Inc. for $1.9 billion in 2005. Earlier, he was vice president of commercial operations for Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. and worked at Abbott Laboratories for 17 years.

NewSpring Capital, a family of private equity funds, hired Bruce Downey as a partner, effective April 1. Downey joined Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 1993 as president and was elected chairman and CEO in 1994. He will join the firm's second dedicated healthcare fund, NewSpring Health Capital II LP, managed by Brian Murphy and Zev Scherl.

Greenpark Capital Ltd. tapped Eric Pathé as an investment director. He was a principal and founding member of Langholm Capital, a midmarket buyout fund. Pathé was previously a senior associate at McKinsey & Co., where he focused on financial services and technology related projects, and a corporate consultant at GE Capital Corp.

H.I.G. Europe, an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, appointed Alastair Mills as a director in its London office. Mills joins from Gresham Private Equity. Since January, H.I.G. has recruited Alex Bayliss from Greenhill & Co. and Claudia Rumeu from Novator Partners LLP.

Braemar Energy Ventures said Scott DePasquale joined the firm as a principal and executive-in-residence in Boston. Previously, DePasquale was a senior consultant for Energy Security Analysis Inc., a geopolitical think tank specializing in energy security policy and financial risk management. He was also a sitting member of the Boston Stock Exchange and an energy trader for an affiliate of oil trading giant Vitol SA.

Edward Napoli was named managing director of business development at NewOak Capital. He will also be assistant general counsel and joins from Dechert LLP in New York.

Thomas Strachan was promoted to senior executive vice president in the Boca Raton, Fla., office of First Capital. Previously, Strachan founded T&B Connections LLC.

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC made two hires for its Washington healthcare team. Judith Meritz was a partner at Blank Rome LLP, specializing in FDA compliance counseling for drugs, devices and life sciences. Jennifer Summa joins the healthcare policy group as a senior public policy adviser. Summa was a senior adviser in the healthcare and life sciences practice of Epstein, Becker & Green PC.

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP added Rachel Coan to the firm as a New York-based partner in its financial services practice. Coan, who covers the financial services, insurance and reinsurance industries, was a partner in the capital markets group at Morrison & Foerster LLP.

In Chicago, Gil Soffer returned to the firm as a partner in its white collar criminal and civil litigation practice, following his term as associate deputy attorney general of the United States. Soffer originally joined Katten in August 2000, after six years of practice as a federal prosecutor.

In Charlotte, Deborah Fletcher joined Katten Muchin as a partner in its bankruptcy and creditors' rights practice.

The Washington office of K&L Gates LLP expanded its public policy and law practice with two members. Retired U.S. Congressman James T. Walsh, R-N.Y., joins as a government affairs counselor, while recent California congressional candidate Nick Leibham comes in as of counsel.

The firm also welcomed Laura Brevetti as a partner in New York. She is a member of the regulatory-government enforcement practice, working with the white collar crime and criminal defense group. Brevetti left the government after nine years as the attorney-in-charge and a special attorney of the Department of Justice, organized crime strike force in the Eastern District of New York.

Separately, in Miami, K&L Gates enlisted Richard Winston as a partner in its international tax and corporate practices. Winston hails from Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP.