Daphne Dufresne - Awani Capital
From Private Equity Fast Pitch by Northstar
March 19, 2026 · 38 min · Season 1 · Episode 196
About this episode
Daphne Dufresne discusses her extensive experience in private equity and her role at Awani Capital.
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…
People in this episode
Guest: Daphne Dufresne
Topics covered
- private equity
- investment strategies
- business growth
- portfolio management
- leadership in finance
Keywords
- private equity
- investment
- Awani Capital
- Daphne Dufresne
- business services
- portfolio growth
- exit strategy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Awani Capital, GenNx360, RLJ Equity Partners, Parish Capital Advisors, Weston Presidio, Bank of Scotland, Accenture, NYSE, UNFI
Places: New York
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