David Touhey

Building great companies that build great projects.

David Touhey is a Managing Director at Ara Partners and Head of APEX, the firm’s Project Execution and Operations value creation platform. He brings more than 25 years of experience spanning the design engineering, construction, Commissioning & Start-up, industrial development, operational leadership and private-equity investing.

At Ara, David works alongside investment teams and portfolio-company leaders to assess emerging technologies, de-risk capital projects and scale businesses across clean energy, industrial decarbonization, critical minerals, advanced materials, power and energy infrastructure. He has overseen more than $4.5 billion of portfolio capital projects and contributed to more than 120 technical and process diligences.

Central to David’s approach is the belief that great projects are delivered by great companies. His work extends beyond individual project execution to building the leadership, HSE culture, systems, processes and organizational capabilities that allow companies to deliver successfully and repeatedly. He focuses on translating promising technologies and investment theses into bankable, executable projects through disciplined development, stage-gate governance, cost and schedule control, construction, commissioning and operational readiness.

Before joining Ara, David was Executive Vice President at Kent, where he was a key member of the executive team that grew the global EPC and operations business from approximately 4,000 people in 19 countries to 12,500 people in 26 countries. He has advised major industrial clients including ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Abbotts, Bristol Myers Squib and Intel.

David holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Services Engineering from the Technological University Dublin and an MSc degree in Strategic Leadership and Management from Nottingham Trent University.