Key Takeaways
- • Sweetwater Investment Management, a private equity secondaries firm, appointed Kellen Haines as Managing Director after more than 13 years at K1 Investment Management, where he was a Principal.
- • Kassy Haleen joins Sweetwater as Director, Capital Formation, bringing over 11 years of investment and capital formation experience from Blackstone, where she rose from Analyst to Principal.
- • Haines will help lead sourcing, execution and structuring of liquidity solutions for founders, employees, GPs and co-investors.
- • Sweetwater, established in 2016, reports over $1.6 billion in RAUM with investments in more than 80 tech-enabled services companies.
- • The hires come as Sweetwater continues deploying capital in direct secondary transactions across the small-cap private market.
Summary
Sweetwater Investment Management, which operates as Sweetwater Private Equity and specializes in private equity secondaries, announced on October 13, 2026 the appointment of Kellen Haines as Managing Director and Kassy Haleen as Director, Capital Formation, according to an EIN Presswire release.
Haines joins from K1 Investment Management, where he spent over 13 years and served as a Principal. There he sat on several boards of growth-stage software businesses and held responsibilities across sourcing, deal execution and capital formation. He began his career at Utility Consulting Group and holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BS in Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business. At Sweetwater he will help lead the investment team in sourcing, executing and structuring tailored liquidity solutions for founders, employees, GPs and co-investors. Haines said the lower middle market remains one of the most compelling and underserved segments of private equity.
Haleen joins Sweetwater's capital formation team with more than 11 years of investment and capital formation experience at Blackstone, where she advanced from Analyst to Principal across the firm's New York and Los Angeles offices. She began on the investment team before moving into capital raising and investor relations, working with institutional investors and consultants across Blackstone's private equity strategies. She holds a BA in Economics and a Secondary in Psychology from Harvard University. Haleen said she was drawn to Sweetwater's single-asset secondary focus.
Founder and Managing Partner James Gamett said Haines's K1 experience aligns with Sweetwater's focus on small-cap, tech-enabled growth companies, and that Haleen's institutional breadth will strengthen the firm's messaging to partners.
Sweetwater was established in 2016 and, according to the release, manages over $1.6 billion in RAUM with investments in more than 80 tech-enabled services companies across the technology, healthcare and industrial sectors. The firm acquires interests in small-cap companies through growth equity financings and direct secondary transactions. The appointments come as it continues to deploy capital in direct secondary transactions across the small-cap segment of the private market.
Haines joins from K1 Investment Management, where he spent over 13 years and served as a Principal. There he sat on several boards of growth-stage software businesses and held responsibilities across sourcing, deal execution and capital formation. He began his career at Utility Consulting Group and holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BS in Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business. At Sweetwater he will help lead the investment team in sourcing, executing and structuring tailored liquidity solutions for founders, employees, GPs and co-investors. Haines said the lower middle market remains one of the most compelling and underserved segments of private equity.
Haleen joins Sweetwater's capital formation team with more than 11 years of investment and capital formation experience at Blackstone, where she advanced from Analyst to Principal across the firm's New York and Los Angeles offices. She began on the investment team before moving into capital raising and investor relations, working with institutional investors and consultants across Blackstone's private equity strategies. She holds a BA in Economics and a Secondary in Psychology from Harvard University. Haleen said she was drawn to Sweetwater's single-asset secondary focus.
Founder and Managing Partner James Gamett said Haines's K1 experience aligns with Sweetwater's focus on small-cap, tech-enabled growth companies, and that Haleen's institutional breadth will strengthen the firm's messaging to partners.
Sweetwater was established in 2016 and, according to the release, manages over $1.6 billion in RAUM with investments in more than 80 tech-enabled services companies across the technology, healthcare and industrial sectors. The firm acquires interests in small-cap companies through growth equity financings and direct secondary transactions. The appointments come as it continues to deploy capital in direct secondary transactions across the small-cap segment of the private market.
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