CDC Capital Partners, the UK government-owned private equity group that invests in emerging markets, has appointed Peter Smitham, the chairman of Schroder Ventures Europe, as non-executive director.

Smitham joined Schroder Ventures in 1985, the year it was formed. He became head of the London office in 1994, and has worked on numerous deals during his tenure, including buy-outs at the Roxboro Group, Solartron, Servomex, Astra Training Services and the Tetley Group. In August 2000, Smitham worked on the €2.6bn ($2.3bn) acquisition of Veba Electronics Group from E.ON AG.