# Nautic Partners

Nautic Partners is a Private Equity based in Providence, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** Providence, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Providence, RI, United States
- **Founded:** 1986
- **Assets under management:** $3B - $5B (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** nautic.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/nautic-partners
- **Wikidata:** Q6981473

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 159822
- **SEC file number:** 801-73944
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/159822

## About

Nautic Partners is an SEC-registered investment adviser in Providence, RI, registered since 2012. The firm manages approximately $14.0 billion in assets. It has 69 employees and 45 investment advisers.

## Sectors

- Healthcare Services
- Industrial Tech
- Enterprise Software

## People

- Habib Y. Gorgi — Managing Director
- Bernie Buonanno III — Managing Director
- Scott Hilinski — Managing Director
- Chris Crosby — Managing Director

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Nautic Partners?

Investment decisions are made by the partnership's senior Managing Directors, a group that includes Habib Gorgi, Bernie Buonanno III, Scott Hilinski, and Chris Crosby. Gorgi joined the firm in 1994 and epitomizes its internal-promotion culture. The investment committee functions as a consensus-driven body among the managing directors rather than a singular founder-CIO governance model.

### How does Nautic Partners source deals without offices in New York or Boston?

Nautic relies on a decades-old network built from its Providence base, emphasizing direct relationships with founder-owners, family businesses, and regional intermediaries. The firm's operating partners — former CEOs and senior industry executives — expand the sourcing footprint through their own networks. Nautic's willingness to accommodate long founder-transition periods makes it a distinctive counterparty in auctions where cultural fit outweighs the highest bid.

### Does Nautic Partners use operating partners to manage portfolio companies?

Yes. Nautic employs a dedicated internal operating partner group composed of experienced former CEOs and functional executives who engage directly with portfolio company management teams. This group emphasizes operational improvements in pricing, procurement, sales effectiveness, and talent development rather than financial engineering alone.

### Is Nautic Partners formally related to any legacy bank or financial institution?

No. Nautic was originally formed as the private equity arm of Fleet Financial Group in 1986, but it spun out as a fully independent partnership decades ago. Fleet was subsequently acquired by Bank of America, and no ongoing financial or governance ties remain between Nautic and any banking institution.

### Does Nautic Partners co-invest alongside other private equity firms?

Nautic predominately pursues control positions where it is the lead or sole institutional investor. The firm does participate in select club deals or co-investment structures alongside other middle-market sponsors, particularly in larger transactions, but its default posture is majority ownership with board control.

## Related profiles

- [Natixis Advisors](https://altss.com/profile/natixis-advisors)
- [Nautilus Investment](https://altss.com/profile/nautilus-investment)

---

Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/nautic-partners

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology