About Us
About Us
Success isn’t just what we do — it’s how we think.
DAO combines transaction advisory and readiness expertise with hands-on execution support. We help leadership teams and investors reduce execution risk, strengthen decision-making, and improve outcomes across capital raising and M&A processes.
Our team of experts will help you in all situations
DAO supports broader business improvement and technology-enabled transformation beyond transactions. We help leadership teams diagnose performance bottlenecks, strengthen strategy-to-execution discipline, and build scalable operating foundations—covering operating model design, KPI and reporting frameworks, process redesign, governance and decision rights, and delivery planning. Where technology is a lever, we guide practical adoption and optimization of systems, data, and automation—improving visibility, control, and efficiency without over-engineering. The focus is always measurable outcomes: reduced friction, stronger accountability, better customer and operational performance, and faster execution of growth initiatives.
Our Team
Kevin Obara
Kevin has over 15 years of experience as a global public and private equity investor, operator and investment banker across technology-enabled services, healthcare services, financial services and industrial sectors. Most recently, he co-founded and served as CEO of Externi Inc, an AI-powered SaaS platform for managing experiential learning programs between allied health schools and healthcare providers, leading the business from concept through merger and raising $500K in early-stage capital.
Prior to Externi, Kevin was a Director of Private Equity at Trident Management, sourcing and executing middle-market investments across industrial, business services, healthcare services and consumer sectors, and previously led corporate development and strategic finance at Handshake, a $3.5B Series F SaaS company. Earlier in his career, he was a Senior Associate at Citadel LLC, a Private Equity Associate at The Carlyle Group’s Sub-Saharan Africa fund and at FTV Capital, and began his career as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs. Originally from Kenya, Kevin holds a BS in Finance and Mathematics (summa cum laude) from William Paterson University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Tawanda Pasirayi
Tawanda focuses on advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, and private funds advisory across Africa and the global markets. He has advised private equity sponsors, and corporates on sell-side and buy-side M&A, debt and equity financings, and corporate restructurings, with experience spanning both the developed and emerging markets.
His transaction and investment experience includes advising Concrete Pipe & Precast on its sale to Commercial Metals Company (USA); advising Transaction Network Services on the acquisition of British Telecom’s Radianz business (USA); leading Ninety One’s investments and exits in Kamoso Africa (Southern Africa), Mobisol GmbH (East Africa), and IHS Towers (Pan Africa); and executing on Emerging Capital Partners’ exit in Java House Group (East Africa).
Prior to DAO, Mr. Pasirayi was an investment banker at Evercore in New York City, where he focused on M&A advisory and capital markets transactions. He previously held principal investing roles at Zoscales Partners (East Africa), Ninety One PLC (Pan Africa), and Emerging Capital Partners (Pan Africa), and began his career as a syndicated and private credit investor at Guggenheim Partners in New York City.
Mr. Pasirayi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics from Bowdoin College (USA), and an MBA from Harvard Business School (USA)
Brian Obara
Brian is a technology and execution leader with a strong track record in IT strategy, systems delivery, and operational improvement across both the public and private sector. He has led complex digital transformation initiatives spanning enterprise systems, infrastructure modernization, and stakeholder-heavy programs—bringing structure, governance, and hands-on delivery discipline to high-impact work.
He currently serves in senior ICT leadership, with experience in ERP implementation and optimization (including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central), systems administration, cybersecurity-minded infrastructure management, and organization-wide productivity platforms. Brian is known for translating business needs into practical solutions—aligning teams, simplifying complexity, strengthening controls, and improving performance through better processes and systems.
He holds a BSc in Computer Science and is pursuing an MSc in Project Management, with research interests in distributed teams and project performance. At DAO, Brian focuses on technology-enabled operational improvement, execution planning, and building scalable systems that support growth and better decision-making.
Our Values
Integrity & Confidentiality
Execution Excellence
