Michael Arougheti

Michael Arougheti co-founded Ares Management and has served as its CEO, overseeing the company's growth from approximately $40 billion to over $400 billion in assets. Ares became one of the five largest alternative asset management firms globally, with particular strength in private credit — a structural trend where companies borrow directly from alternative investment firms rather than from banks. Ares has expanded geographically and into adjacent strategies including real estate, infrastructure, and private equity. Arougheti has been an effective spokesman for the private credit industry, arguing that it provides more stable and flexible capital to companies than bank lending, while offering attractive risk-adjusted returns to institutional investors. Under his leadership, Ares went public on the NYSE in 2014 and subsequently expanded into European and Asian markets, reflecting the globalization of private credit as an asset class. His strategic vision extended the firm's reach from leveraged buyout financing into middle-market lending, asset-backed finance, and real estate debt.