Arax, the wealth management platform backed by RedBird Capital Partners, has announced an expanded role for its CFO to match its broader ambitions for growth.
On Tuesday, Arax Investment Partners announced the appointment of its CFO Diego Galan into the position of chief operating officer, a newly created tole at the firm.
The move gives Galan, who has run the firm's finances since 2022, control of the operations, technology, M&A and human resources functions. He will retain his position as chief financial officer.
Galan succeeds the previous COO John O'Connor, who is moving to Arax's Project Management Office to work on strategic initiatives across the New York-based firm.
The change puts the firm's dealmaking and the back office that absorbs those deals under one executive. So far in 2026, Arax has counted at least seven acquisitions under its belt, and its wealth management business now oversees more than $45 billion in client assets.
"From the outset, he has played a central role in building Arax into what it is today, with leadership that has extended well beyond finance," Arax founder and chief executive Haig Ariyan said of Galan. "This appointment formalizes the broader role he has executed across the firm since day one."
Galan described the new structure as a way to coordinate and execute better as the firm gets bigger.
"We have tremendous momentum and an extraordinary opportunity ahead of us," he said. "As we continue to scale, greater coordination across our core business functions will allow us to execute with the discipline and speed our next phase of growth requires."
Galan has close to 20 years of experience across financial services, strategy, operations and technology. Before Arax, he co-founded wealth management fintech Bento Engine and was its COO. Earlier, he held senior leadership roles at Raymond James and Deutsche Bank and worked as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group.
Ariyan said the two have worked together for many years. Arax, which Ariyan founded in 2022, makes what it calls strategic control investments in established RIAs and advisor teams. In practice, this means it takes controlling stakes while partner firms keep running their client relationships.
For Arax, the 2026 deal calendar began in February when it brought Cleveland-based GFP Private Wealth onto its platform. In March it added Omni Financial Advisory Group of Poughkeepsie, New York.
In June, Arax acquired Coral Gables, Florida-based Millares Asset Management a family-run wealth and tax practice with more than three decades of history. The next month, it agreed to buy $3 billion RIA Transcend Capital Advisors in Madison, New Jersey, marking its biggest-ever acquisition.
An M&A snapshot by Berkshire Global Advisors counted 225 transactions involving RIAs with at least $100 million in assets in the first half of 2026, up nearly 40% from 162 a year earlier.
Arax's C-suite reset comes shortly after it inked a strategic partnership with KingsRock Advisors, an independent global advisory firm. The deal revealed last week gives Arax clients access to private capital markets services – such as capital raising, structured financing and strategic transaction advisory – while at the same time reinforcing the investment banking capabilities Arax already had.
"Our advisors have deep relationships with business owners, and we see a significant opportunity to support them beyond their traditional wealth management needs," Ariyan said.
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