Orion Energy Partners Expands Leadership Team to Support Investments in Environmentally Innovative Infrastructure Markets

Recent Strategic Hiring and Promotions Align with the Firm’s Commitment to Providing Capital Solutions for Innovative and Sustainable Infrastructure Businesses in North American Middle Markets

NEW YORK & HOUSTON--()--Orion Energy Partners (“Orion” or the “Firm”), a provider of credit and equity capital solutions supporting energy transition and environmental innovation in infrastructure, today announced the promotion of two partners and other key team members, as well as several new additions to the Firm’s senior leadership, investment, and value optimization teams. On the strength of the Firm’s recently announced final close of a $1.1 billion infrastructure credit fund (Orion Energy Credit Opportunities Fund III) and following significant deal momentum of 18 previously transacted deals in Fund II, these five new leadership appointments reinforce Orion’s market position and growing presence as a leading infrastructure investor in North American middle markets.

The Orion origin story has a rich history, underpinned by a team of individuals with deep-rooted experience as investors, operators, owners, and entrepreneurs in energy, infrastructure, and sustainability sectors. Of the 31 current team members, which include 22 dedicated investment professionals, 15 members of the Orion team have previously worked together in roles at Goldman Sachs and K Road Power, many connections dating back to the early 2000’s.

“Orion’s success is anchored by our highly motivated, experienced and diverse team. We have worked passionately since our founding in 2015 to build out our organizational culture on a foundation of trust, shared values and aligned incentive structures,” said Nazar Massouh, CEO and Co-Managing Partner. “We have always believed that creating career advancement pathways for our high performers is an essential aspect of attracting and retaining the top talent in the industry.”

Orion’s two new partners, Mark Friedland and Karen Vejseli, were promoted from within to recognize their strong leadership qualities and invaluable contributions to the Firm. Karen and Mark have been an integral part of Orion’s success since 2015. In parallel, Rob Rusk, Co-Founder and Partner, who helped grow the organization into what it is today, has decided to transition from Orion’s full-time Partner ranks to the part-time role of Senior Advisory Board Chairman, allowing him to pursue commitments to several philanthropic and other community endeavors.

  • Mark Friedland, Partner, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer– Mark is a member of the Deal Allocation Committee and the Valuation Committee. He is responsible for providing legal and compliance oversight of Orion’s operational and investment activities, as well as managing legal and structural review of investment transactions. With over 25 years of power sector experience, Mark was previously the Executive Vice President, Head of Finance, Planning & Legal at K Road DG, and earlier at Sithe Energies and S.G. Warburg.
  • Karen Vejseli, Partner, Group Chief Financial Officer – Karen is Chairwoman of the Valuation Committee and is a member of the Management Committee. As Group CFO, her purview includes all aspects of fund operations and corporate accounting, financial reporting, valuation, deal structuring analysis, tax investor reporting and budgeting and forecasting. Karen brings over 20 years of accounting, tax, and operational experience to her new role, previously serving as the CFO of The Carlyle Group covering Global Market Strategies, and earlier as an audit partner at Ernst & Young.

“Orion’s strategy and ability to stay ahead of the curve by originating our own investments through creative yet disciplined processes, has been one of the biggest drivers of our success,” said Mark Friedland, Partner & Chief Legal and Compliance Officer. “We aim to empower each member of the team to take ownership of investment initiatives and I look forward to continuing this tradition in my new role.”

Karen Vejseli, Partner & Group CFO, added, “Orion’s focus on institutional protocols combined with an entrepreneurial mindset creates a unique opportunity for agile and forward-looking investing. Focusing on innovation and value optimization in our portfolio has been a key advantage and differentiator for Orion over the years.”

Joining Vejseli and Friedland on Orion’s leadership team are Jeremy Glick, Chrissy Benson, and Bethany Gorham. These senior hires are stepping into roles that enable them to make a long-lasting impact, leveraging private capital as a tool for driving forward energy transition and environmental innovation in infrastructure, with a goal of promoting and supporting a sustainable economy for generations to come.

  • Jeremy Glick, Managing Director & Investment Principal, Growth Strategies (New York) – Most recently, Jeremy served as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, responsible for Research and Development across the bank. Before returning to Goldman Sachs, he spent several years at Noble Group, a Fortune 100 commodity company based in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for technology, valuation, and structuring of all material positions in power, gas, metals, and agricultural commodities. Jeremy began his career by spending a decade at Goldman Sachs leading the strategists’ team for all commodities in New York, where he worked closely with many other senior members of Orion’s team. Jeremy will focus on growth initiatives, leading evaluation, structuring, and execution of investment opportunities that fall outside of the Firm’s core credit mandate.
  • Chrissy Benson, Managing Director & Investment Principal (New York) – Chrissy brings nearly two decades of principal commodities risk management and investing experience with an emphasis on the energy sector, including originating and executing structured commodity financing and hedging transactions across the natural resources sector as a Managing Director for Goldman Sachs. Chrissy started as an analyst on the energy team at Goldman Sachs in 2004 where she worked with many members of the current Orion team. Chrissy joins Orion as Managing Director and Investment Principal responsible for originating, evaluating, executing, and monitoring investments.
  • Bethany Gorham, Senior Vice President, Investor Development, Engagement & Accountability (IDEA) Group (New York) – Bethany was previously a Vice President at Energy Impact Partners (“EIP”) where she led fundraising and ESG activities. She brings 10 years of combined experience as a fundraising professional, sustainability analyst, and ESG investor and advocate, with deep roots in GP/LP collaboration on responsible investment practices. Prior to EIP, Bethany gained industry experience at S&P Global, U.S. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Natural Resources Defense Council. Bethany joins Orion’s newly expanded investor-focused IDEA Group, responsible for collaborating with existing and future investors, and leading Orion’s thought leadership activities covering ESG integration, environmental innovation and accountability between GPs and LPs. She is also a voting member of the ESG Committee.

Orion is growing at a rapid pace, with several additional new hires, as well as team promotions in Houston and New York made within the past few months.

Team Additions:

  • Jonathan Magaziner (New York) – Vice President, Investments
  • Georgiana Zehner (Houston) – Senior Associate, Investments
  • Robert Finger (Houston) – Senior Associate, Investment Performance & Optimization (IPO) Group
  • Devin James (New York) – Senior Associate, IDEA Group
  • Ariel Mor (New York) – Associate, Investments
  • Harris Pritchard (Houston) – Associate, Investments
  • Roy Ochoa (New York) – Associate, IPO Group
  • Kaitlyn Evins (Houston) – Associate, Fund Operations & Finance
  • Dimitrios Konstantellos (New York) – Senior Analyst, Risk & Investment Strategists
  • Lindsay Hagemann (Houston) – Senior Analyst, Fund Operations & Finance

Recent Promotions:

  • Lauren Key (Houston) – Managing Director, Fund Operations & Finance
  • Matt Kondratowicz (Houston) – Senior Vice President, Head of Investment Performance & Optimization (IPO) Group
  • Tim Mister (New York) – Senior Vice President, IPO Group
  • Zhao Yang (New York) – Senior Vice President, Senior Counsel
  • Josh Shishkoff (Houston) – Senior Vice President, Investments
  • Dave Blanchard (New York) – Vice President, Investments
  • Jon Saelinger (New York) – Vice President, Investments

About Orion Energy Partners

Based in New York and Houston, Orion is a leading private credit and equity capital provider supporting middle market infrastructure and related companies focused on energy transition and environmental innovation, with firmwide assets under management of more than $2.5 billion. Orion provides a range of creative capital solutions as an alternative to conventional equity investments and traditional loans. The Firm’s target investment sectors include energy efficiency, digital infrastructure, sustainable power generation, renewable fuels, waste & recycling, water, transportation and midstream. Orion manages long-term, committed capital across multiple investment funds, allowing Orion’s team to forge transformational relationships across a diverse group of companies and to be patient and supportive as these organizations execute on their business plans. For more information, please visit www.OrionEnergyPartners.com.

Contacts

Bethany Gorham
+1 (212) 292-0968
Bethany@OrionEnergyPartners.com

Release Summary

Orion Energy Partners Expands Leadership Team to Support Investments in Environmentally Innovative Infrastructure Markets

Contacts

Bethany Gorham
+1 (212) 292-0968
Bethany@OrionEnergyPartners.com