Aurora Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm with over $2 billion of assets under management, announced that it made the an addition to, and promotions within, Aurora Capital Group, Aurora Private Equity and Aurora Resurgence.

Aurora Capital Group: Steven D. Smith joined Aurora Capital Group as partner. Michael J. Marino was promoted to partner at Aurora Private Equity, and Ryan McCarthy was promoted to partner at Aurora Resurgence.

Smith joined Aurora effective January 2012. He previously held a variety of leadership positions at UBS Investment Bank including global head of Restructuring, global head of Leverage Finance and Americas head of Financial Sponsors. He also served on the Americas Executive Committee and Global Management Committee. Before joining UBS in 2001, Smith was a managing director at Credit Suisse and DLJ, where he was a member of the restructuring and leveraged finance groups. Smith began his career in leveraged finance and restructuring as an associate at Latham & Watkins.

Smith received a BA in English and American Literature from the University of California, San Diego and a JD/MBA from UCLA. He served as a judicial clerk on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals following his graduation from UCLA. He currently serves on the advisory board of the American Bankruptcy Institute and is a member of the Turnaround Management Association.

Marino joined Aurora in 2003 and then rejoined the firm after earning a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. Previously, he was a member of the Mergers & Strategic Advisory/Industrials Group of Goldman, Sachs & Co in New York. Marino currently serves on the Board of Directors of Porex Corporation and served on a number of Aurora’s successfully realized portfolio companies, including Anthony International, Douglas Dynamics and K&F Industries.

Marino received a BA in Economics, with honors, from Boston College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

McCarthy is responsible for the origination, evaluation, management and execution of private equity investments, including buyouts, recapitalizations and distressed debt transactions. McCarthy also serves on the Board of Directors of Aurora Resurgence control investments.

McCarthy has over 13 years of direct restructuring, turnaround and private equity experience. He was formerly a senior director at Alvarez & Marsal, where he led turnaround and restructuring engagements and served in numerous interim management roles including COO, CFO and Treasurer. Prior to A&M, McCarthy was an investment banking analyst in New York.

McCarthy holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University and attended Boston University’s International Business program in London, England. He is also a founding member of the LA Restructuring Society and is active in fund raising for the Children’s Bureau, an LA based non-for-profit.

Gerald L. Parsky, chairman of Aurora Capital Group, said, “We are very proud to make each of these announcements. The addition of Steve Smith, whose investment and leadership experience spans a highly distinguished career at UBS and DLJ in leveraged finance and restructuring, will add value not only to each of our traditional investment programs in Private Equity and Resurgence, but also as we expand our capabilities across other areas of the middle market.”

With respect to the firm’s internal promotions, Parsky added, “Aurora is focused on firm culture and on developing talent from within. We believe having a team committed to long-term careers with Aurora creates an environment that attracts and retains the highest caliber professionals who are committed to the long-term interest of our Limited Partners. Congratulations to Michael and Ryan on their well-deserved promotions.”