Fundraising Fox

Aquarian Holdings

Family office

New York · Late Stage · 42 people tracked

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Investment thesis

Aquarian combines insurance operations with alternative asset management and private credit strategies. The firm leverages expertise built through acquiring and managing regional insurers and reinsurance companies, while expanding into credit partnerships and strategic opportunity funds. The integrated platform approach enables the firm to develop meaningful investment opportunities across insurance, reinsurance, and alternative asset classes for its investor base.

Invests inFintechInsurTechNew York

Source: firm website, verified Jul 21, 2026.

Stage
Late Stage
HQ
New York, US
Instruments
Equity
Founded
2017
AUM
$1.8B
Tracked investments
1

Team · 42 people

from the firm's website
Rudy Sahay· Founder and Managing Partner

Founder and Managing Partner of Aquarian Holdings, a diversified global holding company with insurance and asset management solutions. He previously co-founded 54 Madison Partners, a real estate private equity firm, and was a founding member of Guggenheim Partners' principal investments, real estate, and venture capital groups. He has held investment roles at H.I.G. Capital, Albright Capital Management, and Jupiter Partners, and began his career at The Boston Consulting Group.

Brian Safstrom· Partner Head of Underwriting

Partner and Head of Underwriting at Aquarian Private Credit. Previously a Vice President at Guggenheim Partners' integrated credit asset management platform where he led underwriting and monitoring of directly originated and broadly syndicated debt and equity investments.

Brian Salvitti· Partner Head of Origination

Partner and Head of Origination for Aquarian Private Credit with over 15 years in corporate and middle market principal investing and commercial lending. Previously Head of Capital Markets and Managing Director at LBC Credit Partners.

Edward Taibi· General Counsel

General Counsel at Aquarian Holdings with over 25 years of experience as a legal advisor and senior executive. Has executed transactions totaling more than $30 billion across regulated sectors including defense, energy, fintech, and consumer products. Previously a Partner at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, Executive Vice President of MacAndrews & Forbes, and General Counsel of Archaea Energy.

Eric Murzyn· Partner and President

Eric Murzyn is a Partner and President of Aquarian Investments with extensive experience in growth equity, venture capital, private equity, and private credit. He previously held leadership positions at Silverman Capital and its affiliated investment entities, and began his career at J.P. Morgan in the Real Estate and Lodging Investment Banking group.

Hope Cooper· Chief Human Resources Officer

Chief Human Resources Officer at Aquarian Holdings responsible for talent management and development. Previously served as Chief Human Resources Officer at safeXai, Vice President of HR at Genpact, Head of HR at Bridgewater Associates, and Managing Director at UBS. Also served as CEO of the State of New Jersey Civil Service Commission and began her career as a litigation associate at a major law firm.

John Frye· Chief Executive Officer, Aquarian Insurance Holdings

Operating Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Aquarian Insurance Holdings. Previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Advisors Excel, an insurance marketing firm, and Chief Financial Officer at Security Benefit and its life insurance subsidiaries. Spent 20 years at GE Capital in senior positions, including CFO roles for GE's life and health insurance and commercial insurance businesses.

Kevin Holmes· Partner Head of Aquarian Real Estate Partners

Partner and Head of Aquarian Real Estate Partners responsible for originating, executing, and monitoring equity investments in development, value-add, and operating real estate projects. Previously a Founding Partner at Iviron Capital Partners.

Kevin Raymond· Partner Head of Aquarian Liquid Credit

Partner and Head of Aquarian Liquid Credit team with experience managing over $5 billion in CLO assets. Previously served as Co-Portfolio Manager of CLOs and Leverage Loans at Vibrant Capital Partners.

Matt Bristol· Partner Co-Head of Corporate Credit

Partner and Co-Head of Corporate Credit with experience sourcing, underwriting, and monitoring debt and structured equity investments. Previously a Managing Director on the Private Investments Team at Guggenheim Partners managing approximately $5 billion in below investment grade assets.

Michael Bender· Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer at Aquarian Holdings with over two decades of experience in alternative investments, particularly credit strategies and structuring. Previously spent 18 years at TPG Angelo Gordon as Partner and CFO responsible for various credit strategies. Holds CFA charter and CPA license.

Simon Porter· Chief Operating Officer

Chief Operating Officer of Aquarian, leading strategy, technology, marketing, and operational functions. Previously a Partner in Bain & Company's Financial Services practice advising insurers and investment managers on growth strategy and operational transformation. Led Bain's Financial Services M&A capability in the Americas.

Taylor Barrise· Partner Co-Head of Corporate Credit

Partner and Co-Head of Corporate Credit responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and monitoring debt and equity investments in middle market companies. Previously a Director on the Private Investments Team at Guggenheim Partners.

Alex Lee· Principal Head of Loan Operations

Principal and Head of Loan Operations at Aquarian Liquid Credit. Previously held the same capacity at Gallatin Loan Management and Hildene Leveraged Credit, with additional CLO compliance experience at Guggenheim and Primus Asset Management.

Daniel Esposito· Principal

Principal on Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team responsible for structuring solutions and ratings advisory. Has extensive experience in regulatory and capital structure optimization, ratings advisory, and capital securities structuring, supporting credit originations exceeding $5 billion.

Eliza Pransky· Principal Head of Client Services

Principal and Head of Client Services for Aquarian Investments leading client relationship building and investor management efforts. Previously a consultant at Boston Consulting Group and spent five years at BlackRock in the Financial Institutions Group.

Jeff Byrne· Principal Head of Loan Trading

Principal and Head of Loan Trading at Aquarian Liquid Credit. Previously Head of Loan Trading at Gallatin Loan Management and Founding Partner at Hildene Leveraged Credit, with trading experience at Gleacher & Company and Z Capital Partners.

Kait McCann· Managing Director

Managing Director at Aquarian Private Credit originating, structuring, and executing private credit investments. Over 18 years in finance advising and investing in private debt and equity, previously led originations for Sagard's private credit team.

Katherine Brewster· Principal Deputy Chief Compliance Officer

Principal and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer helping oversee compliance program and advising investment teams on regulatory matters. Over 20 years in alternative investments with 13 years focused on compliance, previously Senior Compliance Officer at BC Partners' Credit platform.

Ken DePre· Principal Chief Operating Officer

Principal heading Investment Operations at Aquarian Holdings. Previously served as project manager and blockchain solutions expert, was part of the founding investments team at Security Benefit Life Insurance, and held roles at Guggenheim Partners and JP Morgan.

Lee Stern· Managing Director

Managing Director at Aquarian Private Credit focused on origination with over 30 years in private credit investing. Previously held senior roles at Centre Lane Partners, Monroe Capital, KKR Private Credit, and Blackstone/GSO Credit.

Patrick Deem· Principal

Principal on Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team. Previously Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Voodoo Manufacturing and led M&A and Strategic Partnerships at MakerBot.

Sissi Zheng· Principal

Principal on the Aquarian Private Credit team focused on credit research in Healthcare/Pharma, Aerospace/Defense, and Airline/Transportation sectors. Previously at BlackRock conducting high-yield credit research and began career in leveraged finance at Barclays.

Suyash Bhagwat· Principal

Principal on Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team with experience in asset-backed finance, structured finance, and special situations strategies focused on real assets and aviation. Previously a Director at Castlelake and held roles at H.I.G Capital, Jefferies, and JPMorgan Chase.

Tom Lyle· Managing Director

Managing Director on Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team with over 20 years building businesses in equipment leasing and finance. Previously Chief Operating Officer at North Mill Equipment Finance and held senior leadership roles at PEAC Solutions and Xerox Financial Services.

Tyler Gibson· Principal

Principal at Aquarian Liquid Credit focused on investments in business services and industrials sectors. Has experience across primary and secondary syndicated corporate loans covering performing and stressed situations, with prior roles at J.P. Morgan, Octagon Credit Investors, and Hayfin Capital Management.

Vikram Menon· Principal

Principal on Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team. Previously a Vice President on the Distressed Credit & Special Situations team at Invesco and investment professional at Oaktree Capital Management focused on debt and equity investments in middle-market companies.

Andrew Librot· Vice President

Vice President on Aquarian Private Credit team. Previously a Senior Associate on the Special Situations and Opportunistic Credit team at Charlesbank Capital Partners, responsible for underwriting and monitoring directly originated and secondary credit investments.

Aryan Biyani· Vice President

Vice President on Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team responsible for originating, underwriting, and executing investments across asset classes, with focus on fund and GP capital solutions and media, sports and entertainment.

Brandon Sanders· Head Economist

Head Economist at Aquarian Liquid Credit. Previously a Partner at Gallatin Loan Management and Investment Analyst at Elm Ridge Capital, with restructuring experience at Greenhill & Co.

Charles Gibson· Vice President

Vice President on Aquarian Private Credit team focused on underwriting directly originated credit investments across the capital structure. Previously a Senior Associate at Arrowhead Investment Management underwriting direct and secondary credit investments.

Grace Bradford· Vice President

Vice President at Aquarian Holdings. Previously a Senior Associate at Edison Partners and Associate at Brighton Park Capital, beginning career in technology investment banking at Evercore.

JC Pardo· Vice President

Vice President on Aquarian Private Credit team. Previously a Senior Associate on the Direct Lending Investment team at Blue Owl Capital managing over $91 billion in AUM across various fund structures and investment vehicles.

Jon Herrick· Chief Compliance Officer

Chief Compliance Officer at Aquarian Holdings overseeing compliance program to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements and industry best practices. Previously a Managing Director at Guggenheim Investments leading transactional compliance, with prior leadership roles at Intertrust Group and Morgan Stanley.

Matthew Killian· Vice President

Vice President on Aquarian Private Credit team focused on originating new investments and cultivating sponsor relationships. Previously worked in Leveraged Finance and High Yield Capital Markets at SMBC Nikko Securities America.

Meghan Muller· Vice President

Vice President at Aquarian Real Estate Partners focused on sourcing, executing, and managing real estate investment opportunities. Previously at Guggenheim Partners' Commercial Real Estate investments team where she executed over $5 billion in transactions.

Quinn Conway· Vice President Investment Operations

Vice President on Investment Operations team at Aquarian Holdings managing funding, onboarding, and reporting of investments. Previously an Associate on the Direct Lending Operations team at Jefferies.

Spencer Thomas· Vice President

Vice President on Aquarian Liquid Credit team focused on investments in technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. Works across primary and secondary syndicated corporate loans covering performing and stressed situations, joined Aquarian in 2021.

Syed Haq· General Counsel

General Counsel overseeing legal strategy across the firm's investment platforms. Over a decade of experience advising on complex debt and equity transactions, corporate governance, and platform growth initiatives across private credit, private equity, and special situations.

Thomas D. Shea· Vice President Investment Operations

Vice President of Investment Operations at Aquarian Holdings serving as Program Manager overseeing firmwide technology and operational initiatives. Previously Head of Middle Office and Senior Project Manager at A-CAP leading enterprise system implementations.

Victoriya Poplavskaya· Vice President Client Services

Vice President at Aquarian Holdings responsible for building and scaling the Client Services function. Previously a Vice President at BlackRock's Financial Institutions Group managing institutional relationships and began career at J.P. Morgan focused on U.S. insurance sector relationships.

William Carpenter· Vice President

Vice President at Aquarian Real Estate Partners focused on underwriting, execution, and management of commercial real estate investments within the CMBS portfolio. Previously at Marathon Asset Management and StoneX Group in structured products and CMBS.

Investments · 1 tracked

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Frequently asked questions

What stage does Aquarian Holdings invest at?
Aquarian Holdings invests at the Late Stage stage.
What sectors does Aquarian Holdings focus on?
Aquarian Holdings focuses on Fintech, InsurTech.
Where is Aquarian Holdings located?
Aquarian Holdings is headquartered in New York, US.

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