Awani Capital is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in leading essential business and industrial services companies.
Rooted in expertise. Grounded in partnership. Driven by results.
Awani Capital is a private equity firm that makes control investments in leading North American middle-market companies that provide essential business and industrial services.
With a disciplined, collaborative approach honed across market cycles, we partner with management teams to navigate complexity, scale operations, and invest in what matters most — people, performance, and enduring success.
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The word Awani has multiple meanings:
We practice servant leadership to empower management teams and unlock the full growth potential of portfolio companies.
We are committed to authentic partnerships and empower management teams to think and act like owners.
We provide foundational capital to help portfolio companies transform from good to enduringly profitable enterprises.
Capital is critical, but character is fundamental. At Awani, we are guided by core values that shape how we invest and how we partner:
We uphold the highest standards of honesty and accountability in everything that we do
We pursue the highest level of performance, applying discipline and focus on achieving exceptional outcomes
We foster a culture where everyone is valued, heard, and included
We cultivate trust through collaboration and shared goals
We are dedicated to responsible management of assets and resources for sustainable growth
Why partner with Awani Capital
We create value by investing in sectors where we have deep expertise and proven track records
Through careful preparation, disciplined execution, and focused integration, we drive transformational and strategic growth in partnership with management teams
We emphasize operational excellence by targeting improvements across supply chain, technology infrastructure, and core processes to unlock efficiency, cost savings, and purchasing synergies
We leverage data analytics, mapping, and generative AI to empower portfolio company management teams to operate smarter, move faster, and drive meaningful impact
We take a proactive, hands-on approach to investing. We combine a systematic process with internal expertise, strategic partnerships, and third-party resources to maximize value throughout the investment lifecycle
We foster strong, trust-based relationships with management teams, working together to establish and achieve shared goals
We are deep-sector specialists who take a thesis-driven approach to investing in essential business and industrial services companies.
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- Enterprise value of $50 to $500 million
- EBITDA of at least $5 million
- Equity investment of $25 to $100 million
- Essential services
- Recurring or repeat revenues
- High switching costs
- Scalable margin profile
- Low capital intensity
- Technology-enablement ready
- North America for platform investments and strategically pursue accretive add-on acquisitions globally
- Control buyouts and leveraged recapitalizations
- Strategic add-on acquisitions
- Environmental & infrastructure services
- Facility & residential services
- Food processing & distribution
- Tech-enabled services
- Maintenance, repair & operations (MRO) services
- Transportation & logistics
The Awani Impact: How we work with our partners
The Awani Impact™ is our hands-on value-creation framework for building businesses. In partnership with management teams, expert advisors, and Limited Partners (LPs), we invest in people, refine strategy, and enhance operations.
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- Establish board governance based on best practices
- Appoint independent directors with deep industry experience
- Build out executive leadership teams to support profitable growth and lasting success
- Optimize reporting structure to promote thoughtful, efficient decision-making
- Implement leadership and employee training programs
- Minimize attrition through enhancements to culture and benefits plans
- Perform detailed total addressable market (TAM) assessments to enhance go-to-market strategies and growth plans
- Build out focused, functional sales teams
- Develop sales enablement, operations infrastructure, and processes
- Refine pricing to support and sustain higher margins in target markets
- Create advanced customer relationship management (“CRM”) analytics as well as supervisory and executive-level revenue dashboards
- Develop contract- and customer-level profitability analyses
- Establish minimum margin requirements
- Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to manage critical functional teams, such as estimators, project managers, field supervisors, etc.
- Implement or upgrade key technology systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics
- Hire in-house training coordinator and establish programs to enhance employee skills
- Prioritize highly fragmented, target-rich industries with attractive growth potential to allow for substantial consolidation opportunities
- Pursue acquisitions that enhance capabilities, complement offerings, or expand reach to accelerate growth and to build regional and national market leaders
- Execute post-acquisition integration with an emphasis on operational alignment, cultural fit, and synergy realization
- Leverage economies of scale through purchasing synergies to reduce costs, improve cash flow, and boost margins
- Focus on lowering the blended cost of investment
Awani Capital is led by a seasoned team with 110+ years of combined experience and a strong track record in business and industrial services.
Daphne J. Dufresne
Nigel M. Howard
Otey Smith
Renae Griffin
Elyse C. Wilkinson
Laura Nelson
Daphne Dufresne is the Founder and Managing Partner of Awani Capital. She leads the firm’s strategic direction, investment decisions, and value creation initiatives across the portfolio. With over 25 years of private equity experience, Daphne has a long-standing track record of building scalable businesses in the business and industrial services sectors. She plays an active role in all phases of the investment process—from deal sourcing and thesis development to portfolio company growth and exit strategy.
Before founding Awani, Daphne was a Managing Partner at GenNx360, a $2.2 billion middle-market private equity firm based in New York. She served on the investment, valuation, and exit committees, and led direct investments in GenServe, Precision Aviation Group, Aero 3, and Whitsons Culinary Group, completing 31 add-on acquisitions across these platforms.
Daphne was also a founding Managing Director at RLJ Equity Partners. Earlier in her career, she also held senior roles at Parish Capital Advisors, Weston Presidio, and the Bank of Scotland’s Structured Finance group, and began her career at Accenture.
Daphne is on the board of directors of NYSE (UNFI) where she chairs the Compensation Committee.
Daphne earned a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Nigel Howard is a Partner at Awani Capital with over 20 years of private equity experience focused on business and industrial services. He is responsible for investment sourcing, execution, and portfolio management, and serves on the firm’s Investment Committee. Nigel also contributes to Awani’s strategic, operational, and investment decision-making processes.
Prior to joining Awani, Nigel was a Partner at RLJ Equity Partners, where he served on investment and exit committees and held board roles with several portfolio companies, including as Chairman of Crossfuze, Ogle School Management, and Flow Service Partners.
Previously, Nigel was a Vice President at TA Associates and held earlier roles at J.P. Morgan Partners and Salomon Brothers, building deep expertise in growth investing and transaction execution. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Howard University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
T. Otey Smith is a Partner at Awani Capital with over 20 years of private equity experience focused on business and industrial services. He leads investment sourcing, evaluation, and execution, and oversees portfolio management. Otey is a member of the Investment Committee and contributes to Awani’s strategic, operational, and investment decision-making.
Prior to Awani, Otey was a Partner at RLJ, serving on its investment and exit committees and on the boards of several portfolio companies, including as Chairman of Native Maine Operations, Immediaship, and Olson Bros ProVac. He was also a board member of EnviroVac, MarketCast, and RLJ Thompson Trucking.
Earlier in his career, Otey was a founding member of Reliant Equity Investors and an analyst in Goldman Sachs’ Mergers & Acquisitions group.
He holds a B.A. in Finance from Morehouse College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Renae Griffin leads fundraising, investor engagement, and strategic communications at Awani Capital. With over 35 years of experience in institutional investing, marketing strategy, and business development, she drives the firm’s capital formation efforts and cultivates long-term partnerships with Limited Partners.
Prior to joining Awani, Renae was a Managing Director at GCM Grosvenor, where she led the growth of its emerging and diverse manager platform. She was also the Founder and CEO of RG + Associates, a pioneering advisory firm that launched the first institutional conference connecting emerging managers with institutional investors.
Earlier, she held senior roles at Progress Investment Management, focusing on client acquisition and brand positioning.
Renae holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of San Francisco and maintains FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.
Elyse C. Wilkinson is a Senior Associate at Awani Capital, where she plays a key role across fund formation, deal sourcing, transaction execution, portfolio-value creation, and institutional fundraising. Leveraging eight years of experience in investment banking and management consulting, she applies a rigorous strategic and analytical methodology, coupled with hands-on operating insight, to help drive value for the firm’s investors and portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Awani, Elyse was an associate in the Technology Investment Banking group at Morgan Stanley, where she advised leading technology companies in the internet, software, and semiconductor verticals. Her responsibilities included valuation analysis, capital raising, and managing M&A transactions.
Earlier in her career, she was a Senior Strategy Consultant at Ernst & Young LLP, leading cross-functional teams on product strategy, digital transformation, technology implementation, and broader business transformation for Fortune 500 companies.
Elyse holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. from Cornell University. She holds FINRA Series 79 and Securities Industry Essentials licenses.
Laura Nelson brings over two decades of multifaceted experience supporting senior executives, managing operations, and delivering exceptional client service across the insurance, healthcare, hospitality, and private equity sectors.
As a previous Executive Assistant to Founding Partner Daphne Dufresne, Laura continues to play a central role in overseeing scheduling, communications, and administrative coordination at Awani Capital.
She is valued for her discretion, reliability, and proactive approach to problem-solving. Laura is honored to support the leadership team and contribute to Awani’s mission and growth.