Kim Kardashian's private equity firm, SKKY Partners, has hired a number of financial industry professionals in a bid to expand the company's reach. The firm has now grown to almost a dozen employees and expects to surpass 15 by the end of the year. The new hires include a chief operating officer, Kaitlin May, who previously worked at Apollo Global Management, Citigroup, and Putnam Investments, as well as Brittany Serafino, who joined from L Catterton, and Zachary Litner, a former employee of Bain Capital.
SKKY Partners, which is based in Boston, invests in consumer products and the media industry, with Kardashian and co-founder Jay Sammons serving as co-managing partners. Sammons, a 17-year veteran of Carlyle Group, has worked on investments such as Beats by Dre, Philosophy, and Beautycounter.
The new hires at SKKY Partners also include Riyanka Ganguly, formerly of Blackstone, as a senior associate, Ashley Baxter, who worked at growth investment firm Stripes, as an associate, and Mark Urso, who joined as a director of finance from Petra Funds Group.
Kardashian, who first became famous for the reality TV show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians", has also launched a number of successful businesses, including undergarment company Skims. She stressed that SKKY Partners has "an incredibly diverse team and dynamic culture" and that the company is looking forward to seeing its first investments come to life.
According to Sammons, the company is focused on building a highly inclusive culture that brings the most impactful and creative thinking out of everyone. With this approach, SKKY Partners aims to make the best decisions and expand its reach in the world of private equity.