Taking your diligence to new heights.
We’re Athena Ridge Advisors.
An extension of your investment team.We provide an independent, comprehensive, institutional quality Operational Due Diligence Assessment enabling clients to meet diligence objectives for an investment target. Assessments include a high-level overview accompanied by detailed analysis across six key operational risk areas.
As a boutique provider, ARA can provide customized reviews and work with investment targets to achieve best in class infrastructure. We aim to seamlessly integrate with the investment team to identify and contextualize findings. Turnaround times are also shorter as compared to "platform" providers.
Meet our teamThe experts behind Athena Ridge Advisors
Our team has 80 years of industry experience, with over half of that focused on operational due diligence and developing operational and legal frameworks from the ground up.
Erica Davis
Sarah Reich
Kristine Richards
Kristin Hartman
Erica Davis
Erica Davis
Operational Due Diligence
Erica Davis has 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, with 17 years dedicated to Operational Due Diligence. Erica created an ODD framework in 2004 for Glenwood Capital (wholly owned subsidiary of Man Investments) and in 2009 was promoted to lead the global operational due diligence team for Man Investments. In 2011 she joined TIAA Endowments (f/k/a Covariance Capital Management, Inc.), an Outsourced CIO, with the mandate to build the ODD infrastructure across hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, and real estate funds. Erica has covered hundreds of Investment Managers and built working relationships with industry CFOs and CCOs across a variety of asset classes. Prior to a career in ODD, Erica began as an audit professional with Ernst & Young, gained regulatory reporting experience with Fidelity’s broker dealer arm, and nuances of infrastructure, valuation, and operations at an early-stage venture firm as a Senior Financial Analyst. Erica launched Athena Ridge Advisors with Sarah Reich October 2020. She has a bachelor’s degree (Accounting) and MBA (Finance) from Boston College. Erica is a CPA.
Sarah Reich
Sarah Reich
Operational Due Diligence
Sarah Reich has 18 years of experience in the asset management industry. She worked at TIAA Endowments (f/k/a Covariance Capital Management, Inc.) for 5 years where she performed operational due diligence reviews across a variety of asset classes. Prior to that, she was a Senior Manager at PwC, where she spent 12 years in the financial services audit practice leading teams in audits of private equity, hedge, and mutual funds and their advisors. She has a bachelor’s degree (Accounting and Finance) and Master’s degree (Accounting) from Boston College. Sarah is a CPA
Kristine Richards
Kristine Richards
Legal Diligence
Kristine Richards leads the legal aspects of operational due diligence, legal review and analysis of underlying commingled fund governing documents, interpreting the liquidity provisions of managers’ legal documents, and coordinating the firms’ proxy review and voting process.
Kristine has 22 years’ experience in the legal industry, and 18 years’ experience focusing on alternative investments. Kristine joined Glenwood Capital (a wholly owned subsidiary of Man Investments) in 2003 to conduct legal due diligence on all existing and future alternative investments. In 2004, she was promoted to Associate General Counsel and, in 2008, she was named Chief Compliance Officer of Man-Glenwood Lexington LLC, a 1940 Act-registered fund of funds investment vehicle. In 2011, Kristine joined TIAA Endowments (f/k/a Covariance Capital Management, Inc.) to conduct legal due diligence on hedge funds, private equity, venture, real estate, private debt and infrastructure funds. Kristine earned a Bachelor's degree magna cum laude (History) from University of Notre Dame and Juris Doctorate from Notre Dame Law School.
Kristin Hartman
Kristin Hartman
Operational Due Diligence
Kristin Hartman joined Athena Ridge in 2021 to expand the firm’s due diligence efforts with a different perspective, but similar approach to conducting operational reviews. Kristin has 20 years of experience working in financial services, with 10 years in Operational Due Diligence and 6 years in the role of CFO. She serves as the CFO for Anabatic Investment Partners, a small equity investment fund where she established the operational infrastructure and continues to provide CFO consulting. Kristin spent 2 years as the CFO of a Chicago family office. Previously, Kristin was Vice President of Operational Due Diligence at Mesirow Advanced Strategies, a multi-billion-dollar Fund of Funds, where she covered both prospective and hired managers across hedged equity, convert arb credit & event strategies and was instrumental in defining proper governance for hedge fund investing. Prior to Mesirow, Kristin was a Manager in the Financial Services tax consulting departments at Deloitte & Touche LLP and Arthur Andersen. She earned a BA from the University of Iowa. Kristin is a CPA and CFA Charterholder.