Chumani Mokoena

Associate, Private Equity

Chumani Mokoena is an Associate at Ara, where he focuses on identifying and evaluating prospective investments, executing transactions and portfolio company management. 

Prior to joining Ara, Chumani was a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Co serving major global utilities with renewables, gas, coal and nuclear power strategy and operations. Chumani received his BS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and MS in Nuclear Science and Engineering from MIT.

Mary Murphy

Executive Assistant

Prior to joining Ara Partners, Mary Murphy was Executive Assistant/Office Manager and Fund Accountant at The Rohatyn Group (formerly Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo) specializing in private equity and emerging markets. She also served as a Personal/Executive Assistant for a prominent philanthropic family office in Boston.

Mary holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Southern Maine. She spends most of her free time enjoying outside activities.

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.

Karthik Narasimhan

Chief Operation Officer and Chief Legal Officer

Karthik Narasimhan manages all aspects of Ara’s legal and compliance functions. He has significant experience in transaction execution and structuring and tax matters.

Prior to joining Ara, Karthik was a Vice President and Senior Counsel at Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE: AMG), a publicly traded company that invests in leading boutique investment management firms.  Karthik advised AMG on a variety of domestic and international transactions. Prior to joining AMG, Karthik was an associate in the Boston office of Goodwin Procter, a prominent global law firm, where he counseled public and private companies and private equity firms on mergers and acquisitions, fund formation and other transactional matters.

Karthik holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Katie Norton

Executive Assistant

Prior to joining Ara, Katie Norton was an Executive Assistant at Intervale Capital, LLC.

Katie received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Lisa O’Brien

General Counsel, Europe

Lisa O’Brien joined Ara in 2021, and serves as General Counsel, Europe.

Lisa previously served as General Counsel for Aksiom Group and has over twenty years of experience in finance and corporate law.  Prior to joining  Aksiom, Lisa was a partner in the New York office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she was a member of the Partnership Council and a Co-Head of the US Energy and Infrastructure practice. Her transaction expertise includes private equity, energy and infrastructure, project finance and corporate finance and securities in both the US and Europe.

Lisa earned her JD from Georgetown University Law Center, was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Geneva and received her undergraduate degree from Smith College.

Abbie O’Connor

Executive Assistant And Office Manager, Dublin

Abbie is an Executive Assistant and Office Manager for Ara Partners’ Dublin office, bringing extensive experience in c-suite support and office operations. Before joining the firm, she worked in the Chief Executive’s Office at Primark and held a similar role at lululemon, supporting the CEO’s office for the global retailer.

Her background spans international markets, including a period in Vancouver, Canada, where she managed operations and executive support for the CEO and COO of Charitable Impact. Abbie began her career at Intertrust, where she built a strong foundation in corporate administration. She holds a BA in Creative and Cultural Industries from TU Dublin.

Myles O’Shaughnessy

Managing Director, Private Equity

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.

James O’Shea

Vice President, Private Equity

James O’Shea is a Vice President at Ara, where he is focused on identifying and evaluating investment opportunities as well as transaction execution and portfolio company management.

James joined Ara in 2023 from PEAL Capital, a generalist UK lower mid-cap private equity firm. James was previously an Investment Banking Associate at Bank of America Securities in its UK Coverage Group and was a power, natural gas and carbon credits trader at institutions such as Royal Bank of Canada (Toronto), Just Energy (Toronto) and ESB (Dublin).

James holds an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD, a BE (Hons) in Electrical Engineering from University College Dublin and is a CFA charterholder.

Laura Olvera

Executive Assistant, APEX

Before becoming a part of Ara Partners, Laura worked as a personal assistant and house manager for a high net worth individual. Preceding this role, she provided support to various executives and C-Suite members through the digital platform at Waste Management.

Outside of her professional life, she cherishes spending time with her son, and holding the role of an avid baseball mom.

Harper Pertchik

Analyst, Energy

Harper Pertchik is an Analyst on the Energy investment team, specializing in identifying and evaluating investment opportunities and supporting transaction execution.

Before joining Ara Energy, Harper served as an ESG and Government Affairs & Global Policy Analyst at Nikola Motor Company, where she played a key role in shaping strategies for waste management, sustainability, policy advocacy, and regulatory compliance. She also worked as a Business Development Specialist at Ecolution Power, contributing to the expansion of renewable energy technologies.

Harper holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Resource Economics with a minor in Sustainability from the University of Tennessee.

Gina Pilot

Vice President, Infrastructure

Gina Pilot is a Vice President at Ara, where she is focused on the Firm’s infrastructure strategy.

Prior to joining Ara in 2022, Gina was an Analyst at Green Giraffe, a financial advisory firm focused on renewable energy, where she focused on M&A transactions in the offshore wind, solar, and hydrogen sectors. Prior to joining Green Giraffe, Gina was a Senior Strategy Analyst at Accenture Strategy, where she advised public companies in the power & utilities and chemicals industries on various growth strategies.

Gina holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Maria Cristina Polimeni

Analyst, Private Equity

Maria Cristina joined Ara Partners as an Analyst in 2026, supporting the broader investment team on portfolio company management and investment execution.

Before joining Ara, Maria Cristina was an Investment Banking Analyst at Perella Weinberg Partners within the TMT group in London.

Maria Cristina also worked at J.P. Morgan in the Consumer & Retail team within the Investment Banking division in London.

Maria Cristina holds a CEMS Master’s in International Management from University College Dublin and the National University of Singapore, and a Bachelor’s in Finance from Bocconi University.

Susanth Rajanala

Operations Analyst

Susanth Rajanala is an Operations Analyst at Ara.

Prior to joining Ara in 2024, Susanth worked as a Portfolio Analyst at CBRE, where he played a key role in managing a multibillion-dollar commercial real estate portfolio across various property types and participated in the closing process for multiple deals.

Susanth holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Outside of work, he enjoys watching and playing basketball, running, and exploring Houston’s food scene.

Max Ray

Vice President, Infrastructure

Max Ray is a Vice President at Ara, focusing on the firm’s Infrastructure strategy.

Before joining Ara in 2024, Max was a Senior Associate at Abry Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, where he worked on the tech-enabled services and communications team. In this role, he was responsible for evaluating new investment opportunities and driving value creation within current portfolio companies. Prior to Abry, Max was an Associate at Grain Management, a private equity firm specializing in communications infrastructure.

Max holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Holy Cross.

Jay Reynolds

Operating Partner

Jay is an Operating Partner at Ara with 20 years of experience in the energy industry across commodity trading, mid and downstream infrastructure and energy transition.

In 2014, he co-founded Zenith Energy, an early mover in the development of storage and logistics for the distribution of renewable fuels. As Chief Commercial Officer at Zenith, he was integral to the creation and operation of a global liquids storage business with 28 facilities in the United States, Europe and South America. Jay served as a director of several of Zenith’s international subsidiaries.

His strategic leadership in M&A included significant transactions totaling over $1 billion, including the take-private acquisition of a publicly traded MLP. Jay was also instrumental in multiple exits involving the divestiture of assets to prominent strategic buyers.

Prior to Zenith, Jay was a Managing Director and co-Head of the US subsidiary of LITASCO, a global commodity trading firm, which had annual revenues regularly exceeding $10 billion. He led and closed complex domestic and international joint ventures, P&L sharing agreements and supply and offtake agreements across various global markets.

Jay serves on the Board of Directors of The Energy Cooperative Association of Pennsylvania, a non-profit cooperative supplying renewable power and gas to residential and commercial members.

He holds a Juris Doctor from Temple University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University Maryland.

Allen Rickard

Principal, Infrastructure

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.

Natalie Rong

Analyst, Investor Relations

Natalie joined Ara in 2025 as an Investor Relations Analyst.

Prior to joining Ara, Natalie was an Investment Banking Analyst in Jefferies’ Automotive Aftermarket group in Boston. In that role, she focused on the aftermarket’s service vertical and supported in advising clients on M&A, debt, and equity transactions.

Natalie graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Relations.

Yuan Rotella

Market Research Analyst

Yuan is a Market Research Analyst at Ara Partners.

Previously, Yuan was a Marketing and Communications Intern at Ara.

Yuan received a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Boston College.

Cillian Ryan

Vice President, Private Equity

Cillian Ryan is a Vice President 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, Cillian was an Investment Manager at Development Capital, a growth capital investor into Irish SMEs. Cillian worked on due diligence, execution, and post-investment monitoring. Cillian previously worked at Activate Capital, a real estate credit fund, and at Key Capital, a boutique M&A advisory firm.

Cillian holds a BSc. in Finance from University College Cork. He is a CFA charterholder since 2017.