Ernest “Ernie” Pittarelli, chief operating officer of Sailfish Capital Partners, died on 24 September at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City after an 18 month battle with a rare form of leukemia.  

Pittarelli was born 2 November 1953 in Brooklyn, New York.
 
In 2005, he left retirement to join Sal Naro at Sailfish Capital Partners as chief operating officer. A recognised leader in hedge fund operations, he helped the firm grow to over USD4.5bn in assets. 

When the decision was made to wind down Sailfish, Pittarelli continued to direct operational matters and enabled the firm to exit the marketplace in a responsible manner, ultimately returning 98 per cent of investor assets. 

Prior to Sailfish, he served in leadership at UBS for 21 years, most recently as head of all US operations, including banking and securities related processing and settlement activities for the organisation in North and South America.  Pittarelli also committed a significant amount of time to the development of the financial markets, by working closely with the Securities Industry Association, Bond Market Association, The Federal Reserve and the New York Stock Exchange. 

Prior to UBS, he spent nine years at AG Becker, where he held a number of management roles, including the support of its clearing businesses.
 
“Ernie was my unwavering friend, mentor and partner for more than eleven years,” says Naro. “His loyalty, generosity of spirit and courage will forever be an inspiration to me and the many others he touched during his lifetime. I will miss him every day of my life.”
 
A service will be held 29 September 2009 at Lesko & Polke Funeral Home in Fairfield, Connecticut.