Bloomfield Hills’ Aquila Equity Partners Hires Gray, Sanker, Promotes Weiland

Aquila Equity Partners in Bloomfield Hills, an entrepreneurial private investment firm on partnering with lower middle market companies, has hired Ashley Gray as managing director and Christiana Sanker as operations and transaction coordinator. The company also promoted Bobby Weiland is senior associate.

“We are very excited to announce the additions of Ashley and Christiana to the Aquila team, as well as the promotion of Bobby,” says Gary N. Lewis, managing partner of Aquila. “They are tremendously talented professionals who each bring a unique set of experiences and valuable perspectives that align well with our team-oriented and entrepreneurial culture. These investments in our team are a direct reflection of the considerable momentum that we have as a firm and optimism for the future. We look forward to the expertise and energy which Ashley, Christiana, and Bobby bring to our team and are confident that they will greatly contribute to our continued success.”

Gray brings more than a decade of experience across investment banking, advisory, corporate finance, and operations. Her background supporting lower-middle market companies crosses a diverse range of sectors including technology, building products, industrial and field services, manufacturing, business services, and health care.

Prior to Aquila, Gray was the financial director at ArtiFlex Manufacturing, a privately held tier-one automotive supplier, where she led the company’s acquisition activity, developed and managed business analytics, and managed the company’s banking relationship and compliance.

She is an active member of ACG Detroit and ACG Western Michigan. Gray earned both her Masters of Business Administration and Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and accounting, with honors, from Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business.

In her new role, Ashley will be involved in all areas of the company’s activities, from deal sourcing, underwriting, and transaction execution to supporting our portfolio company partners.

Sanker joins Aquila with a background in entrepreneurship, operations, project management, and process creation and implementation. In the newly created role of operations and transaction coordinator, Sanker supports the due diligence and transaction execution processes, as well as help to guide smooth transitions and successful onboarding for new acquisitions and partnerships. Additionally, she will collaborate with the leadership teams of both Aquila and our portfolio companies to help accelerate their growth.

Previously, Sanker co-founded an e-commerce business, assisted an entrepreneur in the pursuit of a new acquisition, and helped to drive several critical initiatives at Pixoul, a digital design and development firm, where she worked directly with the company’s founder. Sanker earned a Bachelor of Science in integrated studies from Grand Valley State with a focus in entrepreneurship and creativity.

Weiland was promoted to the role of senior associate. Utilizing his depth of experience in driving the financial analysis and due diligence processes, Wieland is expected to continue to create value through leading and developing junior resources and taking on a larger role in the transaction execution process. In addition, he will continue to support operating company leadership on their growth and value-creation strategies, as well as their financial planning and analysis teams.

Prior to joining Aquila, Wieland began his career as a strategy analyst at La-Z-Boy Inc. where he worked on corporate acquisitions and supported the company through growth and strategic initiatives. Previously he was a consultant at Plante Moran on its Transaction Advisory Team where he worked on quality of earnings and financial due diligence for both buy-side and sell-side private equity clients.