Scott Graves has joined Ares Management as a partner in its Private Equity Group based in Los Angeles. He will lead the Ares Special Situations Funds platform as portfolio manager and head of Distressed.

“We have had the pleasure of knowing Scott professionally and personally for the better part of 20 years. Scott has exceptional experience in investing, leading teams and building businesses, and we are excited to have him join our leading Private Equity franchise,” said David Kaplan and Bennett Rosenthal, Ares’ co-founders, partners and co-heads of Private Equity. “We are confident that he will have a tremendous impact on the management of our special situations funds and the further development of our global distressed investing capabilities.”

A 23-year industry veteran, Graves’ departure from Oaktree Capital Management was announced at the end of September 2016. He spent more than 15 years at Oaktree in various capacities as a senior executive and investment professional. He was responsible for a substantial portion of Oaktree’s credit platform, managed investment portfolios spanning the breadth of Oaktree’s credit strategies and was active in Oaktree corporate management.