Principal or Managing Director, Value Creation Team, Services and AI

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Job Description

Ares Private Equity flagship corporate opportunities funds pursue investments in growth-oriented middle market companies in North America and Europe. Our senior investment professionals average over 21 years of experience investing in, advising, underwriting, and restructuring leveraged companies. We seek to invest in high-quality middle market companies in our core industries – Healthcare, Services, Industrials, and Consumer – where we can utilize our extensive growth-oriented investing experience, proprietary Value Creation System, and our ability to flex into distressed to seek to generate consistent returns across market environments.

Ares is seeking an experienced Principal/Managing Director to join the Value Creation Team (“VCT”) within the Private Equity Group (“PEG”) in our Los Angeles, CA office. The VCT’s core mission is to create value across Ares’ Private Equity portfolio companies and optimize the performance of Ares’ Private Equity funds. The Principal/Managing Director, AI Value Creation role will focus on identifying, designing, and implementing AI-driven initiatives that enhance revenue, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency across portfolio companies. This is an exciting opportunity to join a lean team with high visibility into senior private equity leadership.

Primary Functions
The Principal/Managing Director exists to create value in Ares funds and portfolio companies through AI-driven initiatives. The role is executed through influence and partnership with constituents (deal teams, boards, portfolio company management teams) and trusted third parties, without direct line control, and seeks to tie all activities back to measurable value creation.

• During diligence and capital deployment: Partner with deal teams to evaluate targets, identify high-impact AI opportunities, and advise on build vs. buy vs. partner decisions.
• During ownership: Engage with portfolio company management teams to design and implement scalable AI solutions, accelerate adoption, and deliver fast wins in resource-constrained environments.
• On an ongoing basis: Partner with deal teams to cultivate sector-oriented networks of AI advisors, vendors, and executive-level operators. Build and improve core practices for AI deployment across portfolio companies, including opportunity assessment, implementation, measurement, and scaling.

Essential Responsibilities

• Establish credibility as a trusted member of the firm with portfolio group, deal teams, and leadership.
• Identify and prioritize AI opportunities that drive measurable value across at least two portfolio companies.
• Deliver at least one scalable AI solution that can be replicated across the portfolio.
• Partner with deal teams and management to support adoption and change management of AI initiatives.
• Build and maintain relationships with third-party AI vendors, advisors, and partners to expand capacity.
• Establish portfolio-wide metrics and reporting systems to track AI-driven value creation.

Qualifications
Education

• Minimum of a B.S. degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

Experience Required

• 10+ years of relevant experience in AI, technology strategy, or value creation, preferably within a private equity or consulting environment.
• Proven track record of delivering measurable business outcomes through AI initiatives.
• Strong understanding of AI applications in commercial and operational contexts.
• Ability to distinguish between realistic solutions and hype; sound judgment in build vs. buy vs. partner decisions.
• Experience implementing AI solutions in portfolio or corporate environments.
• Exceptional communication skills; able to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Strong change-management and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Executive presence and ability to inspire confidence across deal teams and portfolio leadership.

General Requirements

• Ability to work effectively in a collegial, fast-moving, demanding, and dynamic environment.
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