Charles Cherington

Managing Partner

Charles Cherington co-founded Ara in 2017, co-heads the firm alongside Troy Thacker, and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. He has more than 25 years of private equity experience in the industrial, energy and chemical industries in which he has executed over 50 transactions. Charles’ ten most recent investments have all targeted carbon reduction in the industrial and chemical industries.

Prior to co-founding Ara, Charles founded Intervale Capital in 2006 after successfully managing two smaller private equity firms focused on industrial buyouts. Charles previously worked for Lochridge & Company, a strategy consulting firm. Prior to that, Charles worked for the Vietnam Fund in Hanoi and Saigon. After graduating from business school, Charles’ first job was with Credit Suisse, in municipal finance.

Charles holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wesleyan University and a Master of Business Administration, with honors, from the University of Chicago. Charles has long been active in the land conservation movement. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Conservation Fund, a national land conservation organization. Charles and his wife Ashley have donated more conservation easements in the State of Vermont than any other individual or private entity.

Charles grew up in Central Vermont, where he attended public schools, ran cross country and track poorly, and sold firewood as a side gig. He is married, with three sons. Charles enjoys hiking, running, reading, and reminding people that the world is getting hotter.

Teresa O’Flynn

Partner, Infrastructure

Teresa joined Ara in 2022 and co-leads the Firm’s infrastructure strategy.  She has more than twenty years of sustainable investing expertise with extensive renewable power energy infrastructure experience, both in the fund management sector and at the operating company level.

Teresa joined BlackRock in 2011 as a founding member of its Global Renewable Power Infrastructure business. In 2019, she became Global Head of Sustainable Investing for BlackRock’s Alternatives investment platform. Prior to joining BlackRock, Teresa worked for NTR plc, a private infrastructure developer, across several of the group’s European and US wind development subsidiaries. Teresa holds a bachelor of commerce degree from University College Galway and is qualified as a Chartered Accountant and Tax Consultant with Arthur Andersen.

David Touhey

Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Services

David Touhey is Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Services, focused on the best in project development with respect to Ara’s industrial portfolio. Prior to joining Ara, David was the Executive Vice president for Kent, a global EPC, Operations and Maintenance business. At Kent, David was a key member of the executive team that grew the organization from 4,000 people across 19 countries to 12,500 people across 26 countries. During his time at Kent, he was the executive sponsor and trusted advisor to his clients, which included ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron in the space of early project investment planning and execution strategies. David’s program execution philosophy is the alignment of owner, EPC, commissioning, start-up, and operations phases of development planning during the investment decisions of projects to ensure all project stakeholders are aligned on the business strategy of the project investment decision.

David holds a Bachelor’s in electrical services engineering from Technological University Dublin, Ireland and a Master’s of Science in Strategic Leadership and Management from Nottingham Trent University in the UK.

Shameek Konar

Partner, Energy Decarbonization

Shameek is Partner, Head of Ara Energy Decarbonization, leading the firm’s innovative strategy to acquire, optimize and decarbonize conventional energy assets. This strategy initially focuses on thermal power generation, biofuels production, and the transportation and distribution of retail energy products. Shameek has over 25 years of experience in the energy sector and prior to Ara Shameek served as the CEO of Pilot Company, the largest supplier of transportation fuels in the US. During his time at Pilot the company’s EBIT grew by over 80% in just over two years. His efforts there significantly boosted fuel sales, focused on customer experience and made the company a leader in low carbon fuels in the industry. Pilot became the largest seller of renewable fuels to the transportation industry at 1.5 Bn gallons a year and developed a nationwide network of DC fast chargers in partnership with GM to promote EV integration.

Before his tenure at Pilot, Shameek served as Chief Investment Officer at Castleton Commodities and Mercuria Energy Group, where he led significant expansions in their presence in North American commodity markets through the acquisitions of the J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley Commodities platforms, and invested in and operated investment portfolios of physical energy assets (power, logistics, production and processing) across multiple geographies. Shameek also spent time at Goldman Sachs, where, as Co-Head of Global Commodities and Principal Investing, and Constellation Energy, a leading U S energy merchant, where he was part of the executive leadership team responsible for the company’s strategy and M&A efforts. Shameek started his career as a public policy associate at Putnam, Hayes and Bartlett focusing on environmental and energy policy matters

Shameek’s comprehensive understanding of the global energy landscape drives Ara Energy’s focus on applying sustainable and innovative solutions to conventional energy assets. Shameek serves on the Advisory Board of the Haslam School of Business at the University of Tennessee, the Board of Directors for The Conservation Fund and in his spare time teaches climate change and mergers & acquisitions at the University of Tennessee. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Vanderbilt University, with a focus on Finance and Corporate Environmental Performance. Beyond his professional pursuits, Shameek is passionate about the outdoors, actively engaging in hiking, cycling, golf and tennis.

Chris Picotte

Partner

Chris Picotte joined Ara in 2021 as Partner and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Ara, Chris co-founded Aksiom Group in 2017.  Aksiom focused on the European technical services sector in companies enabling decarbonisation, industrial energy efficiency and digital transformation.  Aksiom’s portfolio included: px Group (acquired by Ara in 2021), Axess Networks Solutions (sold to Hispasat in 2022) and Jernbro Industrial Services.  He previously served as a Managing Director and Senior Advisor at ArcLight Capital Partners from 2001-2014, where he led their European investment activity. As both an institutional and private investor he has originated and managed more than $2 billion of equity investments in the infrastructure services, power, midstream and natural resources sectors throughout Europe and in the US.

Mr. Picotte earned a B.A. in Physics from Harvard University.

Tuan Tran

Partner

Tuan Tran is a Partner at Ara, is a member of the Firm’s investment committee, and is involved with all aspects of the firm’s investment process. He has over 20 years of experience in private equity, investment banking and equity research.

Prior to joining Ara, Tuan was a Partner and a member of the Investment Committee at Intervale Capital (“Intervale”), a $1.3 billion firm he helped build over 15 years. As a Founding Member of Intervale, he led numerous M&A assignments, equity issuances, and debt financings. He was instrumental in developing the firm’s strategies around environmental services, industrial services, energy technology, growth equity and combination investing. While at Intervale, he also spearheaded recruiting, firm building, fundraising and implementation of portfolio management best practices. Across three funds, he served on the Board of Directors for over 15 portfolio companies.

He started his professional career in Lehman Brothers’ Investment Banking Division, with assignments in New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Tuan earned a BA with honors from Harvard University. In his spare time, he volunteers for “Little Brothers, Friends of the Elderly” and serves as a Mentor for the Harvard Alumni Association.

Irina Markina

Chief Decarbonization Officer and Managing Director

Irina Markina is Managing Director, Chief Decarbonization Officer at Ara Partners. Irina oversees the firm’s sustainability strategy, ESG programs, and integration across portfolio companies and assets.

Prior to joining Ara, Irina was a Corporate Sustainability Manager at Baker Hughes, a $33 billion energy technology company, where she was instrumental in building out Baker Hughes’ sustainability team and operationalizing its net zero strategy and ESG operating model. Irina designed and oversaw ESG diligence process in M&A transactions, and managed investment-grade data governance framework and sustainability disclosures across the global business. Prior to Baker Hughes, Irina served as the Senior Energy Advisor at the European Union Delegation to the United States, where she provided technical guidance and directed the European Commission’s cooperation on energy, climate, and GHG emissions reduction strategies with U.S. government agencies. Prior to joining the EU Delegation in Washington D.C., Irina served at the European Parliament based in Brussels, Belgium, where she advised lawmakers on the Future of Science and Technology Panel, and managed legislation on decarbonization.

Irina is a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center where she speaks and has published on transatlantic decarbonization issues. Irina completed executive education at Wharton in corporate finance and Harvard on sustainable business strategy. She holds a Master of Science degree in Public Policy from Lund University, Sweden. In her spare time Irina enjoys road cycling, skiing, and mentoring students in sustainability and international affairs.

Troy Thacker

Managing Partner

Troy Thacker co-founded Ara in 2017, co-heads the firm alongside Charles Cherington and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Troy has been investing in or serving as Chief Executive Officer of sustainable, impact-oriented businesses for over 25 years. He has led over 30 private equity transactions spanning the 1990’s to today in the environmental, industrial, software, renewable and conventional energy and insurance industries. In addition, Troy spent eight years leading, growing and building businesses in the recycling, environmental services and safety industries, generating exceptional returns for investors.

Prior to co-founding Ara, Troy served as the Chief Executive Officer of Total Safety, Inc., an international worker safety solutions company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. Total Safety has approximately 4,000 employees, over 150 locations and serves multinational industrial, energy and process industry customers in more than 26 countries. From 2010 until 2013, Troy served as President and Chief Executive Officer of R360 Environmental Solutions, Inc., a leading recycling and environmental services business, which he sold for $1.4 billion to Waste Connections, Inc. in 2012. He was also a founding partner of Paine & Partners, LLC, (now known as Paine Schwartz Partners), a generalist private equity firm that together with its predecessors, managed in excess of $3 billion in equity capital across three institutional funds and based in San Francisco, CA.

Troy holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and attended Harvard Business School to play rugby and get an MBA. Troy sits on the Council of Overseers of Jones Business School at Rice University and serves as a director of the Hermann Park Conservancy. He is married, has three children and in his free time can be found on a paddleboard in the Gulf of Mexico watching sea turtles and fishing plastic out of the ocean.

Alyssa Hooper

Managing Director, Infrastructure

Alyssa Hooper joined Ara in 2022 as a Principal focused on the Firm’s infrastructure strategy.  Alyssa has over ten years of infrastructure investment and project management experience.

Prior to joining Ara, Alyssa was a Principal at Global Infrastructure Partners focused across numerous verticals, including transportation, digital infrastructure, and energy.  Previously, Alyssa served as a Vice President in Goldman Sachs, where she built and led the Midstream Leveraged Finance business.  She started her career in investment banking at Credit Suisse, where she served as Associate in the Leveraged Finance Origination & Restructuring group and as an Analyst in the Global Energy and Project Finance group.

Alyssa holds a bachelor of science in Finance and Accounting from New York University Stern School of Business.

Peter Saldarriaga

Managing Director

Peter Saldarriaga is a Managing Director at Ara and is involved with all aspects of the firm’s investment process. Peter has over fifteen years of experience in private equity and consulting.

Before joining Ara in 2022, Peter was a Principal on the private equity investment team at Bain Capital, where he spent over twelve years focused on buyouts and growth investments in the industrial, business services, and technology sectors. Peter also was the co-founder, CEO, and CFO of Belong Acquisition Corp, a $150 million SPAC focused on high-growth tech-enabled businesses, underpinned by a belief that diverse teams win. He began his career as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company in New York and India, serving clients in the industrial, private equity, technology, and media sectors.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science cum laude from Harvard College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Myles O’Shaughnessy

Managing Director

Myles O’Shaughnessy is a Managing Director at Ara and is involved with all aspects of the firm’s investment process.

Before joining Ara as a Principal in 2021, Myles served as a Vice President at Aksiom Group. Prior to Aksiom, Myles was a Vice President in the Corporate Credit Group of Guggenheim Partners where he was responsible for European corporate debt investments including syndicated and direct middle market leveraged loans as well as high yield bonds across the energy, utilities, infrastructure, services and chemicals sectors. Previously, Myles worked in a number of trading and operations roles within financial services.

Myles received a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin and a Master of Finance from The University of New South Wales, Sydney.