Aaron Aiken

Aaron Aiken is the Managing Partner of Hanover Partners, Inc., a San Francisco-based private equity firm founded in 1994 that specializes in acquiring and partnering with management teams of small-to-medium-sized product- and equipment-centric companies across the United States. Aaron joined Hanover in 2007 as an Associate and has risen through the ranks over nearly two decades to lead the firm. He brings over twenty years of experience investing in lower middle-market companies with a focus on specialty manufacturers and engineered equipment businesses.

Prior to Hanover Partners, Aaron built his career in private equity at two Chicago-based firms. He served as a Portfolio Analyst with Baird Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity fund, and before that as an Analyst with LaSalle Capital Group, a lower middle-market private equity fund. This progression through increasingly senior roles at investment firms gave him deep expertise in deal sourcing, due diligence, portfolio management, and operational value creation in the industrial and manufacturing sectors.

Aaron holds a BA in History and Political Science from Northwestern University. He currently serves as Chairman of Car Wash Equipment Holdings LLC and as a Director of Ska Fab Holdings, LLC, Blast Deflectors Group, LLC, and Wohler Technologies, Inc. He previously served as Chairman of Powertronix Holdings, LLC and Westside Equipment Holdings, LLC, and as a Director of Ligchine International Corporation and Freedom Communication Technologies, Inc.

Hanover Partners, under Aaron's leadership, targets majority acquisitions of lower middle-market companies with strong niche positions in proprietary products, engineered equipment, and industrial technology. The firm seeks companies with revenues of at least $8 million, operating income of at least $1.5 million, and gross margins of 30% or higher. Hanover's approach emphasizes partnering closely with management teams to drive operational improvements and long-term value creation. The firm also selectively invests in niche branded consumer product companies and business-facing software companies. Aaron is additionally active as an angel-stage investor in seed-round opportunities, reflecting a broader interest in early-stage innovation alongside his core buyout activity.