Member Highlight – Meet Ari David Kocen (You can call him David)

David is a Partner with Bluehenge Capital Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm that manages a $185 million Small Business Investment Company, providing $5-$15 million mezzanine, senior secured and leveraged one-stop debt solutions to strategically strong, lower middle market businesses generating $20-$250 million in annual revenues. With his over 21 years with Bluehenge, David knows the value of relationships: “Because our investments can run anywhere from three to seven years in duration, we do not view ourselves as simply executing transactions with our portfolio partners. We are establishing relationships with the people that own and manage these businesses, and ninety nine times out of a hundred, we are made better investors by virtue of our interactions with them.”

David also knows the value of a good impression: “While I am not a particularly avid Star Wars fan, I do a really good Chewbacca impression.” (I hope he knows we will be looking to hear that at the next Upstate Capital event!)

“Since 2001, I covered Upstate New York, beginning with our downstate New York office. In 2015, I relocated from the region to help build our nationwide practice at its historical headquarters in Louisiana. Since several important LPs of our fund are located in Upstate New York, I still actively market for investments in the region at least quarterly with a visit, usually scheduled around an Upstate Capital event. The rotation of the events around the state gives me a great opportunity to visit different regions, each of which usually has its own distinct opportunity set. I get state-wide coverage in one organization.”

David is a member of the Upstate Capital Board of Directors – and Upstate Capital is proud to serve him and the Upstate New York investment ecosystem. 

If you’d like to hear more about what Upstate Capital can do for you, please reach out to us at info@uptatecapital.org.