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.

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.

Shameek Konar

Partner, Head of Energy

Shameek is Partner, Head of Ara Energy, 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.

Teresa O’Flynn

Partner, Co-Head of 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.

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.

Cory Steffek

Partner

Cory Steffek joined Ara in 2018 as Managing Director, and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. He brings 25 years of experience launching new products and investing in the advanced materials and energy space. Cory has dedicated his career to working with talented entrepreneurs and executives who are focused on developing game-changing technologies that advance sustainability and lower carbon footprints. He currently serves on the board of directors for several Ara portfolio companies.

Prior to Ara, Cory was the founding Managing Director of Aramco Energy Ventures in North America. At Aramco Ventures, he led investments in companies involved in renewable energy, low carbon chemicals and fuels, advanced materials, and energy efficiency through digital automation and robotics. This included leading the investment and acquisition of Novomer Polyols, the first company to commercially develop a catalyst incorporating carbon dioxide into traditional hydrocarbons, dramatically lowering the carbon footprint for a variety of products.

Before joining Aramco Ventures, Cory was Director of Corporate Development and Strategy at First Solar, responsible for strategic investments and acquisitions, with an emphasis on new technologies and products. Preceding First Solar, he led sustainability investments in a broad range of energy technology companies at the Altira Group. In addition, he held several management roles in product development and engineering at PPG Industries, where he oversaw the launch of several new products and was responsible for 18 awarded patents.

Cory holds a PhD in materials chemistry from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

In his free time, Cory enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, particularly on family bicycle tours. He also loves going on long hikes with his dog, exploring rarely seen areas of the golf course to find his ball, and the endless pursuit of perfecting the small batch craft gin.

Churchill George Yong

Partner, Co-Head of Infrastructure

George Yong joined Ara in 2022 and co-leads the Firm’s infrastructure strategy.  George has over 15 years of experience in infrastructure private equity investment across the energy and industrial sectors.

Prior to joining Ara, George was a Managing Director and member of the Investment Committee at ArcLight Capital (“ArcLight”), a multi-billion infrastructure private equity manager.  During his decade-long tenure at ArcLight, George led numerous transactions in sectors such as power generation, industrials, transportation, and downstream infrastructure.  He originated and led a wide range of transactions spanning project development & construction, corporate asset carve-outs, joint ventures with industry incumbents, take-privates, and management buyouts.   Notably, many of George’s transactions have focused on leveraging existing infrastructure such as bulk liquid terminals and retail convenience stores to facilitate the transition to the low-carbon economy.  While at ArcLight, George also served on and chaired the boards of numerous portfolio companies, and was active in fundraising and recruiting efforts.

Earlier in his career, George served as a consultant at FTI Consulting and Charles River Associates, where he implemented multivariate economic simulation models to help clients such as private equity firms and utilities value power generation infrastructure assets across North America.  He started his career as a natural gas analyst at Saracen Energy, an energy commodities hedge fund, where he supported senior traders with rigorous natural gas market analytics, and also traded NYMEX natural gas futures.

George originally hails from Colombia, and first moved to the United States to complete a bachelor of science in Chemical Biological Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  In his free time, he is passionate about traveling with his wife and daughter, and fishing the coastal waters of New England on his kayak.

Tuan Tran

Senior Managing Director

Tuan Tran is a Senior Managing Director at Ara, where he serves as the firm’s Head of Strategic Relations and Head of Research across its Private Equity, Infrastructure, and Energy strategies. He has over 25 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 Barclays’ 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, Tuan serves on the Board of Directors of the Critical Minerals Institute, volunteers for “Little Brothers, Friends of the Elderly” and “Mended Hearts,” and serves as a Mentor for the Harvard Alumni Association.

Nishant Aranke

Associate

Nishant Aranke 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, Nishant was an Investment Banking Analyst in San Francisco with Bank of America’s Climate Technology Group, working on mandates across clean fuels, renewables infrastructure, and climate software.

Nishant attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.

Rajesh Athirathnam

Director of Engineering & Technology

Raj is a Director of Engineering & Technology in the Portfolio Services group, where he focuses on current and new process technology evaluations and emerging technology readiness levels across Ara’s industrial portfolio. He will also manage engineering contractor engagements.

Raj has over 25 years of engineering, technology, projects, and operations experience working for process licensors, end users, and EPC companies including Honeywell UOP, KBR, Pall, and Koch Industries. Raj joins the APS team after spending around 10 years with Honeywell holding titles of General Manager – Global LOB, Senior Director of Engineering, and Global Director of UOP Equipment.

Raj holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Degree from National Institute of Technology – India, a Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University – College Station and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston – Victoria. Raj is a certified Professional Engineer (Mechanical), Project Management Professional (PMP), and a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Toby Barnes

Senior Associate, Investor Relations

Toby Barnes joined Ara in 2024 as a Senior Associate, Investor Relations. He is involved in managing Ara’s relationships with existing investors as well as capital raising efforts and co-investments across the Ara platform.

Prior to joining Ara, Toby was an Associate at Campbell Lutyens in London. During his tenure at Campbell Lutyens, Toby advised private equity, private credit and infrastructure clients on their primary fundraises and strategic growth objectives, with a focus on sustainable strategies.

Toby holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford.

Jacinta Benetti

Investor Relations Analyst

Jacinta joined Ara in 2023 as an Analyst on the firm’s Investor Relations Team.

Prior to joining Ara, Jacinta worked as Manager of the Director’s Office at the National Gallery of Ireland, where she was responsible for the oversight of all matters pertaining to the Director’s Office, including stakeholder outreach and the management of various projects.

Jacinta’s career thus far has spanned across Australia and Ireland, and has primarily focused on project management, administrative coordination, event management, campaign outreach and stakeholder engagement.

Jacinta holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Corporate Finance & Marketing) & Bachelor of Arts (Communications) from the University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia.

Sallem Berhane

Public Partnerships Associate

Sallem Berhane is a Public Partnerships Associate at Ara Partners. She supports the firm’s government affairs strategy, policy monitoring, and government outreach across portfolio companies.

Before joining Ara, Sallem was a Manager in RMI’s (formerly known as Rocky Mountain Institute) Global South program. She worked to support sub-Saharan African partners in achieving their energy transition goals. Sallem managed RMI’s involvement in the Africa Minigrids Program, a 1.6 million USD Global Environment Facility-funded project jointly implemented by RMI, the United Nations Development Programme, and the African Development Bank, that aimed to increase access to electricity by improving the financial viability and promoting scaled-up commercial investment in renewable energy minigrids. Prior to joining RMI, Sallem worked as a Policy Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme. She has experience in strategy, policy development, and project management, having worked with international organizations, the private sector, governments, and donors on topics such as inclusive development, poverty reduction, and access to finance.

Sallem holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History from Macalester College and a master’s degree in International Development from Sciences Po Paris. She is a 2022 Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) fellow.

Jay Bhanushali

Associate

Jay Bhanushali 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, Jay was an Investment Banking Analyst at Nomura Greentech, where he advised public and private sustainable infrastructure and technology companies on M&A transactions, private placements and additional strategic advisory services. At Nomura Greentech, Jay worked extensively with various companies in the Water, Environmental Services and Low Carbon Infrastructure sectors.

Jay graduated Magna Cum Laude from University of Michigan Ross School of Business with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Katherine Black

Administrative Manager

Prior to joining Ara Partners, Katherine Black was Executive Assistant to C-Suite members of Total Safety, Inc., a Warburg Pincus-backed international safety services company. Prior to joining Total Safety, she worked with the Management teams at CRA, a global O&G tubing company based in Houston.

Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French, English Linguistics and Education, from the University of Surrey, Roehampton. Formerly she was on the board of a 501c(3) charity for animals in foster care. She is an avid animal advocate, currently fostering the most vulnerable cases for various charities and shelters in the Houston area.

Michelle Blowe

Executive Assistant

Prior to joining Ara Partners, Michelle served as the Assistant to a notable group of Neurosurgeons at Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian in the heart of New York City, gaining invaluable experience in a high-stakes and fast-paced environment. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Communications from Baruch College, blending her passion for strategic thinking with a strong communication foundation.

Outside of work, Michelle spends most of her time going to the gym, enjoying nature and spending time with her pets.

Robert Bond

Vice President

Robert Bond 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 as an Associate in 2021, Robert was an Investment Banking Associate at Bank of America Securities in its Global Industrials Group, where he performed strategic analyses across M&A, debt and equity products for a wide range of industrial clients.

Robert graduated cum laude from Tulane University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Alex Bonelli

Senior Decarbonization Associate

Alex Bonelli is a Senior Decarbonization Associate at Ara Partners. Alex develops and implements the firm’s sustainability strategy and initiatives, ESG integration across portfolio companies and assets, and impact reporting.

Prior to joining Ara, Alex was a Senior ESG Associate at KPMG working on ESG program development for financial services clients. Alex was responsible for managing and executing ESG readiness assessments, climate risk and impact measurements, ESG reporting, and sustainability strategy projects. Prior to KPMG, Alex was an ESG Associate at Morgan Stanley, where he conducted ESG research, corporate engagement, and proxy voting oversight.

Alex holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Sustainability from Cornell University and a Master of Arts in International Finance from the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

Roger Brown

Operating Partner

Roger Brown is an Operating Partner at Ara, where he brings more than 35 years of experience in the global downstream energy business primarily focused on building and optimizing fully integrated fuels value chains.

As CEO of Varo Energy, he led the company’s growth, through multiple acquisitions, to become a leading integrated manufacturer and supplier of fossil and biofuels in NW Europe. Previously Mr. Brown was CEO of Klesch Petroleum and held various senior management roles during a 25 year-career with BP Oil. These included roles in marketing, supply and trading in London, Kuwait, Australia, Singapore, and Dubai. In 1999, Mr. Brown became General Manager for BP’s Commercial Refining and Trading organization, where he was responsible for optimizing the supply of Crude Oil and Products to BP’s European and African refining and marketing businesses. In 2000, he was made COO of BP’s European Integrated Supply and Trading Business. In 2003 he moved to Moscow as Vice President of Downstream Finance, Planning & Performance Management for the newly formed TNK-BP joint venture. After five years of successfully building TNK-BP into a fully integrated downstream business, Mr. Brown moved to California to run BP’s US West Coast Downstream business, this included two major refineries and the market leading ARCO Retail Gasoline Station network.

Ciara Campion

Assistant Controller

Ciara Campion is involved with all aspects of Ara’s finance operations, including investor reporting, tax and audit.

Prior to Ara, Ciara was an accountant in the finance department of Guggenheim Partners where she was responsible for building out a finance function for the European businesses. The group provided financial control and oversight to management companies and a range of products, including regulated funds and structured product offerings.

Ciara started her career at KPMG within the financial services division of their audit practice. Ciara received a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Accounting. She is an Associate member of Chartered Accountants Ireland.