Private equity firm Advent International has hired an executive from rival 3i to a new role that will involve working with the boards of the businesses it buys, underscoring the importance buyout groups attach to the partners they place at the helm of their portfolio companies.

Conor Boden joins Advent as head of portfolio board development. Boden has spent nine years at 3i, where he managed a group of executive chairmen and industrialists for the UK-listed firm's buyout divsion. He also managed its chief executive programme.