Charlie Ittner

Charlie Ittneris the Founder and President of Darien Group, the branding and communicationsagency built for private equity, real estate, and the broader alternativeinvestment industry. Branding and communications for investment managers is theonly work he has done since he was twenty-two. Darien Group is the result ofbuilding a single discipline, deliberately, for more than a decade.

When Charliefounded the agency in 2015, brand was still treated as decoration across mostof private equity. The firms that took it seriously did so quietly, as a meansof accessing deals and winning LP commitments. Darien Group was built on theconviction that brand is a competitive instrument rather than an ornament. Thatposition was early, and the agency has held the lead since, shaping how theindustry approaches positioning, messaging strategy, and the materials thatcarry a firm’s story to investors.

In the earlyyears, Charlie played every role himself. As Darien Group grew, his focusshifted to building and leading the team, driving growth, and lending hisstrategic voice to select client engagements. That work spanned most of thelast decade, and the team, proprietary processes, and exacting standards itproduced are what make the agency what it is today.

Today DarienGroup works across the full range of the alternative investment industry: itslargest managers, its strongest new funds, and sponsors of every strategy,vintage, and geography. The work reaches every audience that matters to amanager, drawing on industry-specific depth in brand building, capital-raisingpositioning, website design and development, and investor communications.Eleven years in, the agency’s maturation shows most in its people. DarienGroup’s strategists, designers, and account leaders are more experienced, morecohesive, and stronger than at any point in its history.

Prior tofounding Darien Group, Charlie was the Director of Investor Relations at BKMCapital Partners and Director, Office of the Chairman at Platinum Equity. Heholds an MBA from UCLA Anderson and a BA in English Literature from PomonaCollege.

Charlie livesin Miami Beach with his wife, Alina, their dog, Saoirse, and two cats, Enya andBarky. A lifelong New York sports fan, he is still adjusting to the Knicks’status as NBA champions and has not lost hope that the Mets will one day begood.