Sweetwater hires senior leaders from K1 and Blackstone

Sweetwater Private Equity added Kellen Haines as managing director and Kassy Haleen as director of capital formation as the firm expands its small-cap secondary strategy. The hires come as the San Diego-based investment manager continues deploying capital in direct secondary transactions across tech-enabled growth companies.

Why it matters: - Sweetwater Private Equity is adding senior leadership as it scales a strategy focused on private equity secondaries in the small-cap market. - The hires bring experience in sourcing, deal execution, capital formation, investor relations, and board-level oversight. - Sweetwater is trying to deepen its reach with founders, employees, general partners, co-investors, and institutional investors.

What happened: - Sweetwater Investment Management appointed Kellen Haines as managing director and Kassy Haleen as director, capital formation. - Haines joins after more than 13 years at K1 Investment Management. - Haleen joins after more than 11 years at Blackstone. - Sweetwater said the appointments support its continued deployment of capital in direct secondary transactions across the small-cap segment of the private market.

The details: - Haines served as a principal at K1 Investment Management and sat on several boards of growth-stage software businesses. - His work at K1 included sourcing, deal execution, and capital formation. - Haines began his career at Utility Consulting Group. - He earned an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BS in business administration from the USC Marshall School of Business. - In his new role, Haines will help lead Sweetwater's investment team on sourcing, executing, and structuring tailored liquidity solutions. - Those solutions are aimed at founders, employees, GPs, and co-investors. - Haleen advanced from analyst to principal at Blackstone across the firm's New York and Los Angeles offices. - She started on Blackstone's investment team before moving into capital raising and investor relations. - Haleen built and managed relationships with institutional investors and consultants across Blackstone's private equity strategies. - She earned a BA in economics and a secondary in psychology from Harvard University. - Sweetwater described its focus as small-cap, tech-enabled growth companies. - Sweetwater manages more than $1.6 billion of RAUM and was established in 2016. - The firm says it has investments in more than 80 tech-enabled services companies across technology, healthcare, and industrial sectors. - Sweetwater's website is More information.

Between the lines: - The hires point to Sweetwater's effort to pair investment skill with fundraising and investor-relations experience. - Haines' background in lower-middle-market software investing fits Sweetwater's stated niche. - Haleen's Blackstone experience brings credibility in the secondary market, which has become more competitive as the asset class has matured. - Founder James Gamett said Haines' primary investment background matches Sweetwater's focus on small-cap, tech-enabled growth companies. - Gamett said Haleen's institutional breadth will strengthen Sweetwater's mission-driven message to partners. - Haines said the lower middle market remains one of the most compelling and underserved segments of private equity. - Haleen said Sweetwater's single-asset secondary focus drew her to the firm.

What's next: - Haines will help source and structure future liquidity solutions and broaden Sweetwater's investment capabilities. - Haleen will help present Sweetwater's strategy to existing and prospective investors. - Sweetwater is expected to keep deploying capital in direct secondary transactions across the small-cap segment.

The bottom line: - Sweetwater is building out both investing and capital-raising muscle as it pushes deeper into small-cap private equity secondaries.