Ziegler has appointed Eric Smith as managing director, Chris Claps as senior vice president and Dan Contardi as vice president, to form a specialty healthcare private equity practice. Smith brings 20 years of experience in originating, underwriting and managing principal investments in long-term care, senior housing and healthcare services. He has served as a partner in the formation and management of seven healthcare investment funds.

Prior to joining Ziegler, Smith served as a partner of Contemporary Healthcare Capital, LLC (which he co-founded in 2006), where he was responsible for the day-to-day management and oversight of multiple investment funds.