DARIEN – Aqualis Partners, a private equity secondaries firm has added two senior people to its team, according to its founder and Managing Partner Cari Lodge.
Dan Santopietro has joined as CFO, and Dylan Arpey has joined as director of investor relations. The appointments strengthen the firm’s finance, operations and investor relations capabilities as Aqualis continues to build its platform in the private equity secondaries market, Lodge said.
Secondaries in private equity are transactions where investors buy and sell existing stakes in private equity funds or portfolio companies.
“Dan (Santopietro) and Dylan (Arpey) represent exactly the kind of senior talent we set out to attract when we launched Aqualis,” Lodge said. “Dan has led fund finance and operations for more than $20 billion in secondary assets, and his experience building institutional-grade finance functions across multiple fund platforms will be critical as we continue scaling the firm.
“Dylan has worked closely with institutional investors across private markets and brings valuable capital formation and investor relations experience to Aqualis. Together, they strengthen the foundation we are building to serve investors and pursue opportunities across the secondaries market.”
Santopietro brings more than 20 years of experience in private equity fund finance and operations. He joins Aqualis from CVC Secondary Partners (formerly Glendower Capital), where he most recently served as head of fund finance, leading a global team responsible for the financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and operations.
Also, he served as CFO for CVC’s U.S.-based Evergreen vehicle. Prior to CVC, Dan oversaw fund accounting, financial reporting, and administration for Strategic Partners Fund Solutions at The Blackstone Group and previously was responsible for the accounting and financial reporting for the flagship leveraged buyout funds at Credit Suisse. He began his career at KPMG.
Arpey leads investor relations, capital formation and business development for Aqualis. He joins from SV Health Investors, where he served as director of investor relations for the firm’s growth buyout team, leading marketing and capital formation for its healthcare-focused strategy.
Previously, he was vice president of investor relations at Orangewood Partners, a lower-middle-market private equity firm, where he led investor relations and capital formation for the firm’s third institutional fundraise. Earlier, he founded and served as co-managing partner of Geyser Advisors, a boutique alternative investment placement agency.
