Former Polaris Alpha chief joins private equity firm

Former Polaris Alpha CEO Peter Cannito has joined private equity firm AE Industrial Partners as an operating partner and he will also become a member of the board of directors at AEI portfolio company Gryphon Technologies.

In a release Tuesday, AEI cited Cannito’s nearly two decades of experience in the government technology and professional services market that includes leadership of companies through large-scale transformations, acquisitions and integrations.

Cannito more recently led defense technology integrator Polaris Alpha through its sale last year to Parsons Corp.

Polaris Alpha was owned by Arlington Capital Partners, which created the contractor through a merger of three portfolio companies that included EOIR Technologies, which Cannito was CEO of prior to the roll-up. He then became chief executive of Polaris Alpha.

AEI manages approximately $3.1 billion in capital and is currently investing out of its second fund closed in July of last year for $1.36 billion in equity commitments.

The firm acquired defense technology services firm Gryphon in September of last year and has this year since steered that company through two transactions: the March acquisition of another AEI portfolio business in Belcan and purchase of cyber services firm PGFM Solutions earlier this month.