Alexander Messick

Associate

Alex Messick is an Associate at Ara, where he is focused on identifying and evaluating investment opportunities as well as transaction execution and portfolio company management.

Prior to joining Ara, Alex was an Investment Banking Analyst in Morgan Stanley’s M&A and Global Industrial Groups. At Morgan Stanley, Alex advised on M&A transactions, debt and equity financings, and strategic advisory services for primarily industrial technology and environmental services clients.

Alex graduated cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Minor in Environmental Systems and Society.

Allen Rickard

Principal

Allen Rickard joined Ara in 2025 as a Principal focused on the firm’s Infrastructure investment strategy. He brings over a decade of experience in infrastructure investing, project development, and capital markets across the power, utilities, renewables, midstream/energy, and waste sectors.

Prior to Ara, Allen served as Senior Vice President at Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investments Team (formerly the Green Investment Group), where he led the origination, execution, and asset management of energy transition investments. Before that, he was a Senior Vice President in Macquarie Capital’s Infrastructure & Energy Group, overseeing transaction execution for principal investments and debt advisory mandates. He began his career in the Project Finance & Infrastructure Group at Moody’s Investor Services.

Allen earned his B.S. in Finance, graduating cum laude from the University of Connecticut’s School of Business, where he also played on the men’s lacrosse team.

Caroline White

Executive Assistant

Prior to joining Ara Partners, Caroline worked as an Executive Assistant at Sares Regis Group, a commercial real estate company, in Newport Beach, CA.

Caroline holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Stonehill College. She spends most of her free time exploring the area with her family.

Padraig Murphy

Analyst, Private Equity

Padraig Murphy joined Ara Partners as an Analyst in 2025, supporting the broader investment team on portfolio company management and investment execution.

Before joining Ara, Padraig was an Investment Manager at Goodbody Capital Partners, an Irish private equity team providing growth capital to Irish SMEs. Padraig also worked on the Mezzanine Finance team at Allied Irish Banks.

Padraig holds a BSc. in Finance from University College Cork and is a CFA charterholder.

Robert Cobb

Head of Analytics

Robert Cobb is an experienced analytics leader with deep expertise in optimization, advanced analytics, and pricing strategy. His work spans the design and deployment of algorithmic pricing engines, the leadership of high-performing advanced analytics and data science teams, and the development of enterprise-wide strategies that turn data into competitive advantages.

Prior to joining Ara, Robert led advanced analytics initiatives at Pilot Travel Centers, where he built enterprise-grade pricing systems to support retail and fuel strategy. His work blends rigorous quantitative modeling with a practical understanding of market dynamics, delivering tools that shape decision-making in real time.

Robert holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Economics and Computer Information Systems, as well as a Master of Arts in Econometrics from Western Kentucky University. He also holds a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Tennessee and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Drexel University, where his dissertation introduced a new framework for the optimization of dynamic pricing systems.

Seth Deutsch

Operating Partner

Seth Deutsch is an Operating Partner at Ara Partners, where is focused on investments in the Build Environment, Blue Collar Trades, Legal Services and Professional Service companies. Seth is a proven growth leader, with a successful track record of delivering profitable growth for private equity-backed, founder/family-owned, and public companies. 

Seth previously served as the Board Member and Chief Growth Officer at a rapidly growing provider of finance and accounting services to the private equity industry. In a two-year span, he scaled the business from 50 to over 400 employees and successfully recapitalized the company, resulting in a 6.5X MOIC. Seth is also one of the foremost leaders in alternative business structures in the North American legal markets and served as a Board Chair and Operating Partner at a very successful roll up and recapitalization of law firms in the US and Canada. 

More recently, Seth founded Samson Partners Group to assist other founders and CEOs in achieving their goals. He has had the privilege of serving exceptional leaders. Through Samson, he sits on the boards of numerous family/founder-led and private equity-backed companies, including RUI (a restoration platform), Roofed Right America (a re-roofing platform), The CSM Group (an industrial construction management platform), and America’s Best (a re-flooring platform). He also acts as an outside independent member of the investment committees at several mid-market private equity firms. 

Over his distinguished career, Seth has had numerous successful exits and has architected nine buy-and-build platforms, executing over 70 platform and add-on acquisitions. He has an undergraduate degree from Rice University, and a MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. 

Shefali Srinivasan

Associate, Investor Relations

Shefali Srinivasan is an Investor Relations Associate at Ara Partners.

Prior to joining Ara, Shefali was an Investment Banking Analyst in New York with KeyBanc Capital Markets’ Industrials Group, where she focused on M&A transactions across the Chemicals & Materials, Building Products, and Industrial Technology sectors.

Shefali holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and minor in Economics from The Ohio State University.