Centana Growth Partners Promotes Jay Lee to Principal
Lee has been promoted amid ongoing team expansion, which also includes two new hires
NEW YORK, NY. & PALO ALTO, CA. – Centana Growth Partners, a specialized growth equity firm that invests in fintech and related enterprise software, announced today the promotion of Jay Lee to Principal.
“Since starting at Centana as our first professional hire, Jay has played a pivotal role across the firm and in our growing portfolio. He exemplifies the traits of a true Centana team member, and we look forward to working alongside him in his new role,” said Ben Cukier, Partner.
“We are very confident in Jay’s contributions to Centana’s mission and growth. This promotion recognizes his individual successes and underscores Centana’s commitment to attracting and cultivating top-tier talent,” said Eric Byunn, Partner.
Jay joined Centana in 2015, and his portfolio involvement includes Beacon, Ease, True Link, Jumio and Vena. Prior to Centana, Jay worked in investment banking at FT Partners, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and private capital raises for software and financial technology businesses. Jay received a BBA in finance and BA in economics cum laude from the University of Notre Dame.
In addition, Centana has expanded its team by hiring Anahita Daghoghi as Director of Platform and Devi Malhotra as Vice President.
Prior to Centana, Anahita worked at Charles River Ventures as Head of Business Development and Partnerships, focused on value creation across the portfolio and firm. Before that, Anahita served as Senior Vice President at Guidepoint, a leading global expert network, where she led growth for an institutional investor client base – primarily venture capital, private equity, hedge funds and large asset managers.
Before joining Centana, Devi spent six years at Goldman Sachs, most recently at GS Growth, on the fintech investing team working in New York. During her time at GS Growth, Devi worked on investments in wealth, asset management, capital markets and insurance technology. She was a Board Observer at Vestwell and Diligence Vault and an investor in Newfront Insurance. Prior to GS Growth, Devi was an investor in Goldman’s Special Situations Group (SSG).
About Centana Growth Partners
Centana is a specialized growth equity firm that invests in the future of financial services. We collaborate with companies across the entire financial services ecosystem, from institutions to fintech disruptors, to add strategic and long-term value to our portfolio companies. We empower entrepreneurs with a combination of capital, network, and expertise to accelerate the growth of our portfolio companies. The Centana team taps into decades of financial services expertise and insight to invest in companies that bring real value and innovation to the industry.