Ariel Alternatives

General contacts
Investor type

PE

Founded

2021

AUM

$1 500 M

Location

New York, New York, United States

Investment Ticket

$10-50 m

Investment Stage

Series B Late Stage (Series C+)

Region of investment

North America

ESG Focus

Impact investor
Investor profile last updated: 16 August, 2026

Profile

Ariel Alternatives is a private equity firm based in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2021 by Mellody Hobson and Leslie A. Brun. The firm is affiliated with Ariel Investments and focuses on scaling sustainable, middle-market, minority-owned businesses. With a team of 19 professionals, Ariel Alternatives is committed to creating value through strategic investments and fostering diversity in its operations.

The firm primarily invests in middle-market companies across North America, with a focus on sectors such as industrial services, educational software, and other commercial services. Ariel Alternatives operates with a significant asset under management, including its flagship fund, Project Black, LP, which launched in 2023 with $1.5 billion. The firm targets buyout opportunities and aims to enhance vendor diversity among Fortune 500 companies.

Notable investments by Ariel Alternatives include Taylor's Industrial Coatings - a provider of industrial coating services, Front Line Power Construction - a power infrastructure company, and Groome Industrial Service Group - a provider of industrial cleaning services. These investments reflect the firm's strategy of supporting businesses that contribute to economic growth and diversity.

Industry

Education Business Services (B2B) Consumer Products Consumer Services (B2C) Financial Services Fintech Healthcare Services Industrial IT Services Marketing and Advertising Infrastructure Media and Entertainment Transportation Technology

Ariel Alternatives Funds

Name Type
Questionare
Industry
Questionare
Stage
Questionare
Region 		Size AUM Launch date
Project Black, LP
Private Equity (PE)
Consumer Products
Consumer Services (B2C)
Financial Services
Fintech
Healthcare Services
Industrial
Media and Entertainment
Transportation
Technology
Series B
Late Stage (Series C+)
North America
$5-10 m
$1500 M
January 2023

Contacts

Name
Title
Email
Social Networks
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Joanne Cheng Vice President
Vice President
j•••@•••
LinkedIn
avatar
Norman Walters Vice President
Vice President
n•••@•••
LinkedIn
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Investment-team contacts for Ariel Alternatives — including verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — are available to Private Equity List subscribers.
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FAQs about Ariel Alternatives

Ariel Alternatives is a private equity firm. It backs companies at Series B and Late Stage (Series C+), writing tickets of $10-50 m.
Ariel Alternatives is located in New York, New York, United States.
Ariel Alternatives was founded in 2021.
Ariel Alternatives invests in companies and startups in Education, Business Services (B2B), Consumer Products, Consumer Services (B2C), Financial Services, Fintech, Healthcare Services, Industrial, IT Services, Marketing and Advertising, Infrastructure, Media and Entertainment, Transportation, Technology.
Ariel Alternatives invests in companies and startups in North America.
Ariel Alternatives invests in companies and startups at Series B, Late Stage (Series C+).
Ariel Alternatives usually invests $10-50 m on average.
Ariel Alternatives has around $1 500m assets under management.
Ariel Alternatives last fund was created/launched in 2023-01-15
Yes, Ariel Alternatives is impact investor.
Ariel Alternatives can be reached through its website arielalternatives.com, its LinkedIn page and its X account. Its general enquiries address is [email protected]. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Ariel Alternatives — names, roles, verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — available on a Pro plan from $129/month (see pricing). Contacts are sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn and re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.
Yes. Every field on this page — profile, funds, investment criteria, portfolio and investment-team contacts — is available programmatically through the Private Equity List REST API and MCP server, so AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can query Ariel Alternatives directly instead of scraping this page. One subscription covers both the web app and machine access — see API & MCP.
Private Equity List re-verifies investor profiles on a rolling cycle, pulling from the firm's own website and LinkedIn rather than a one-off import. This profile was last updated on 16 August, 2026. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.