Strategic Opportunities

Overview

Aquarian Strategic Opportunities (“ASO”) is Aquarian’s go anywhere strategy, which invests across industries and throughout the capital stack.

Since the Firm’s inception, the ASO team has been underwriting and originating assets on behalf of Aquarian Insurance and its affiliates. ASO invests across sectors, with a particular emphasis on capital-efficient solutions that provide downside protection and governance, while maintaining appropriate upside alignment.

ASO is flexible with respect to asset class, industry, sector, geography, and position within the capital structure.

Asset Classes

Strategic Opportunities Team

Brandon Sanders — Head Economist
Brandon
Sanders

Daniel Esposito — Principal
Daniel
Esposito

Head Economist

Brandon
Sanders

Brandon Sanders is Head Economist at Aquarian Liquid Credit. Prior to joining Aquarian, Mr. Sanders was a Partner at Gallatin Loan Management. Before that, he was an Investment Analyst at Elm Ridge Capital and served as Vice President of Restructuring at Greenhill & Co.

Mr. Sanders holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Principal

Daniel
Esposito

Daniel Esposito is a Principal on the Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team responsible for structuring solutions and ratings advisory. Mr. Esposito has extensive experience in regulatory & capital structure optimization, ratings advisory, and capital securities structuring. In past advisory roles, Mr. Esposito developed innovative capital structure plans for private credit issuers and advised issuers in front of multiple rating agencies. In addition to his capital markets experience, Mr. Esposito has supported senior bankers in the origination and credit underwriting of more than $5.0B in credit commitments across the ratings spectrum. Mr. Esposito’s credit experience includes obtaining a credit qualification from a premier regional bank. His previous firms include: RBC Capital Markets, SMBC Nikko Securities America, BMO Capital Markets, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Mr. Esposito holds a BS in Finance & Economics from Rutgers University.

Principal

Patrick
Deem

Patrick Deem is a Principal on the Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team. Prior to Aquarian, Mr. Deem served as Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Voodoo Manufacturing, leading the company’s business development, finance, and strategy initiatives. Before that, he ran M&A and Strategic Partnerships for MakerBot. Earlier in his career, Mr. Deem worked as an investment analyst at Crossroads Partners and RockHill Global after beginning his career in Investment Banking at Bank of America and Probitas Partners.

He received an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also earned his M.A. in International Studies from The University of Pennsylvania and his B.A. from Johns Hopkins.

Principal

Vikram
Menon

Vikram Menon is a Principal on the Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team. Prior to Aquarian, Mr. Menon was a Vice President on the Distressed Credit & Special Situations team at Invesco, where he was responsible for sourcing, analyzing, and executing distressed investment opportunities. Before Invesco, Mr. Menon was an investment professional at Oaktree Capital Management, where he focused on evaluating and executing debt and equity investments in middle-market companies. Mr. Menon began his career in BNP Paribas’ Merchant Banking Group.

Mr. Menon holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Vice President

Aryan
Biyani

Aryan Biyani is a Vice President on the Aquarian Strategic Opportunities team, where he is responsible for originating, underwriting, and executing investments across asset classes, with a focus on fund & GP capital solutions and media, sports & entertainment. Mr. Biyani has been a member of the Investment team at Aquarian since the inception of his career.

Mr. Biyani earned both his MS and BS from NYU Stern School of Business.

Vice President

Grace
Bradford

Grace Bradford is a Vice President at Aquarian Holdings. She joined Aquarian from Edison Partners, where she was a Senior Associate. Prior to that, she served as an Associate at Brighton Park Capital and began her career in technology investment banking at Evercore.

Mrs. Bradford earned her BS from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.