STAR MOUNTAIN’S SENIOR ADVISOR / OPERATING PARTNER NETWORK

To add additional value to both investors and the companies / funds we invest in, Star Mountain has strategically developed an aligned team of 40+ Senior Advisors & Operating Partners.

These individuals have distinctive experience, relationships and capabilities to assist Star Mountain’s comprehensive full-time team.

Thoughtfully located across many cities within the United States, they assist with relationships, resources and industry knowledge to help optimize results for Star Mountain portfolio investments and investors alike.

Our aligned network includes personal capital invested and a share in the investment profits.

Executive backgrounds include former:

  • Chairperson of the Board of Shire (a formerly $45 billion publicly traded pharmaceuticals company prior to acquisition by Takeda)
  • General Counsel of the U.S. Government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) and Investment Committee Member of the SBA’s SBIC program
  • Managing Directors at leading restructuring firm, Alvarez & Marsal
  • Washington State Treasurer & Chairman of Washington State Investment Board
  • Chief Credit Officer of Fitch Ratings
  • Managing Director at BlackRock
  • CEO of the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA)
  • President – 3M Investment Management Corporation ($40 Billion AUM retirement plan manager for 3M Company)
  • Chief Investment Officer – Employees Retirement System of Texas ($35 billion AUM)

Senior Advisors

Maury Bradsher

Senior Advisor (Washington D.C.)
  • 25 years of private equity and operating company experience
  • Chairman & CEO of District Equity, a private equity firm serving the defense, healthcare and cyber-security industries
  • Founder of Azimuth Business Solutions, a systems engineering and software development firm
READ FULL BIO Maury Bradsher

Deirdre Breakenridge

Senior Advisor (New York, NY)
  • CEO, Pure Performance Communications & PR Strategist
  • Executive Media & Presentation Trainer
  • Seven-time Published business Book Author
  • University Professor & LinkedIn Learning Instructor
READ FULL BIO Deirdre Breakenridge

Peter Cieszko

Senior Advisor, New Canaan, CT
  • Managing Partner, Convergency Partners
  • Former Chief Client Officer & Head of Enterprise Strategic Relationships, American Century Investments (~$200 bn AUM)
  • Former President of Fidelity Investment Institutional Services (division of ~$450 bn AUM Fidelity Investments)
READ FULL BIO Peter Cieszko

Tom Brust

Senior Advisor (Greenwich, CT)
  • Former U.S. Naval Officer with 25+ years of operations, consulting and business development experience across a broad range of industries
  • Former Head of Business Development - Americas at TowersWatson (now WillsTowersWatson)
  • Former Vice President at Prudential Financial
READ FULL BIO Tom Brust

T. J. Della Pietra

Senior Advisor (Greenwich, CT)
  • Global Head – Citi Holdings, a division of $2+ trillion global commercial and investment bank, Citigroup
  • CEO, COO and Chief Investment Officer, Citigroup Japan
  • Divisional General Counsel roles, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan
READ FULL BIO T. J. Della Pietra

Stephen J. Dondero

Senior Advisor (New York, NY)
  • Managing Director, Aegis Capital Group
  • Head of High Yield Research, BMO Capital Markets
READ FULL BIO Stephen J. Dondero

Dennis Duerst

Senior Advisor (St. Paul, MN)
  • Former President – 3M Investment Management Corporation, the ~$40 Billion AUM retirement plan manager for 3M Company (NYSE: MMM)
  • Former Member of Investment Advisory Council – Minnesota State Board of Investment
  • Founding Board Member of the Committee on the Investment of Employee Benefit Assets (CIEBA)
READ FULL BIO Dennis Duerst
Erik Falk

Erik Falk

Senior Advisor (Chicago region)
  • Senior Executive at Magnetar Capital
  • Former Global Head of Private Credit, KKR
  • Former Global Head of Special Situations, Deutsche Bank
READ FULL BIO Erik Falk
Peter Freire

Peter Freire

Senior Advisor (Washington, DC)
  • Former CEO of the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA)
  • Former Managing Director and Executive Committee Member, World Economic Forum (WEF)
READ FULL BIO Peter Freire
Stephen Fromm of Star Mountain Capital

Stephen Fromm

Senior Advisor (New York NY)
  • Vice Chairman of the Financial Institutions Group
  • Head of Americas Insurance at Deutsche Bank
  • Head of Insurance M&A at Morgan Stanley
READ FULL BIO Stephen Fromm

Curtis Glovier

Senior Advisor (New York, NY)
  • Chairman and CEO, PENSCO Trust Company; Senior Executive Vice President Opus Bank
  • Managing Director, Fortress Investment Group
  • Board Member, Retirement Industry Trade Association
READ FULL BIO Curtis Glovier

David A. Javdan

Senior Advisor (Washington, D.C.)
  • Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
  • SBIC Investment Committee Member
  • General Counsel, Small Business Administration
  • Board of directors of the New York State Banking Department
READ FULL BIO David A. Javdan

Thomas Jones

Senior Advisor (New York, NY)
  • Group Co-Head and Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
  • Former Head of Corporate Lending in the U.S., JP Morgan
  • Board Member, National Humanities Center
READ FULL BIO Thomas Jones

Nancy McAllister

Senior Advisor (New York, NY)
  • Managing Director & Co-Head, Credit Suisse FIG for Americas
  • Managing Director & Co-Head, Lehman Brothers Depository Institutions Coverage
READ FULL BIO Nancy McAllister

James McIntire

Senior Advisor (Seattle, WA)
  • Former Washington State Treasurer & Chairman of State Investment Board
  • Immediate Past President of the National Association of State Treasurers
READ FULL BIO James McIntire

Jay Meschke

Senior Advisor (Kansas City, MO)
  • President of EFL Associates and CBIZ Talent & Compensation Solutions
  • University of Kansas School of Business Board of Advisors
READ FULL BIO Jay Meschke

John Olert

Senior Advisor (New York, NY)
  • 30 years of financial services experience
  • Former Chief Credit Officer, Chief Compliance Officer & Global Head of Structured Credit at Fitch Ratings
  • Former roles at MetLife & Chase Manhattan Bank
READ FULL BIO John Olert

Gilbert Palter

Senior Advisor (Toronto, Canada)
  • Chairman & CEO – EGADS Group (a family office investment firm)
  • Co-Founder, Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer – EdgeStone Capital Partners ($2.5 bn AUM private equity firm)
  • McKinsey & Co (Consulting) & Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney (Investment Banking)
READ FULL BIO Gilbert Palter
Dr Anthony Pesco of Star Mountain Capital

Dr. Anthony Pesco

Senior Advisor (New York, NY)
  • Deputy Head, Strategic Risk Management, Credit Suisse
  • Global Head of Derivatives, Credit Suisse
  • Global Head of Derivative Products, Santander Bank
READ FULL BIO Dr. Anthony Pesco
Bruce Pfau

Dr. Bruce Pfau

Senior Advisor (New York, NY)
  • Vice Chair, Human Resources & Communications, KPMG
  • Human Capital Consulting, Willis Tower Watson
READ FULL BIO Dr. Bruce Pfau

Tom Tull

Senior Advisor (Dallas, TX)
  • Former Chief Investment Officer – Employees Retirement System of Texas ($35 bn AUM)
  • Former Founding Partner, Gulfstream Global Investors (sold to WestLB in 2001)
  • Former council member of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
  • U.S. Army Veteran who served in Korea and Vietnam
READ FULL BIO Tom Tull
Douglas Waggoner

Douglas Waggoner

Senior Advisor (Palm Beach, FL)
  • 40 years of financial and executive management experience
  • Former Managing Director and Head of the US and Canada Institutional Client Business, BlackRock
  • Investment Committee Member, University of Nebraska Foundation
READ FULL BIO Douglas Waggoner
Mark Weisdorf of Star Mountain Capital

Mark Weisdorf

Senior Advisor (New York, NY)
  • Global CIO & CEO, JPMorgan Asset Management Infrastructure Investments Group
  • Head of Private Markets, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)
READ FULL BIO Mark Weisdorf

Operating Partners

Chris Calabrese

Operating Partner (Philadelphia, PA)
  • 30+ years of private credit investment and direct lending experience
  • Co-Founding Partner of LBC Credit Partners (now part of $40 billion CIFC)
  • Managing Director at Wachovia (now part of ~$2 trillion Wells Fargo)
READ FULL BIO Chris Calabrese
Mehrzad Emanuel of Star Mountain Capital

Mehrzad Emanuel

Environmental Services & Logistics Advisor (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Head of Filtration Division, BakerCorp
  • Founder & President, Cameron Environmental Inc. (CEI)
  • Advisor, TYLT Venture
READ FULL BIO Mehrzad Emanuel
Jack Finlayson

Jack M. Finlayson

Telecom & Communications Advisor (Charleston, SC)
  • Chairman & CEO, Layered Technologies
  • President & COO, SAVVIS Inc.
  • Senior Vice President, AT&T
READ FULL BIO Jack M. Finlayson
Stanley Friedman

Stanley K. Friedman

Team, Culture & Human Resources Management (New York, NY)
  • Managing Director & CHRO, Fortress Investment Group
  • Global Head of HR, Amaranth
READ FULL BIO Stanley K. Friedman
Mark Froehlich of Star Mountain Capital

Mark Froehlich

Operating Partner (Birmingham, AL)
  • Founder & Principal of Impact Partners Global
  • Former Treasurer of Thompson Tractor Company
  • Former Vice President of Thompson Investments
READ FULL BIO Mark Froehlich
Billy Goldstein of Star Mountain Capital

Billy Goldstein

Telecom & Communications Advisor (New York, NY)
  • Managing Director, Co-Head of Global Satellite, & Head of Wireless Tower Sectors, Goldman Sachs
  • Head of North American Telecom, Macquarie Capital
READ FULL BIO Billy Goldstein

Joyce Hrinya

Operating Partner (Kansas City, MO)
  • Founder & Managing Partner of A & R Strategy Partners
  • Managing Director & Operating Partner at Z Capital Partners
  • CEO for Famous Brands International
READ FULL BIO Joyce Hrinya
Isaiah Kacyvenski

Isaiah Kacyvenski

Media and Sports Advisor (Boston, MA)
  • Founder & Managing Partner, Will Ventures
  • Co-Founder and Former Managing Director, Sports Innovation Lab
  • Former Professional Athlete in the NFL (3-time Captain of the Seattle Seahawks)
READ FULL BIO Isaiah Kacyvenski
Jonathan Kahn of Star Mountain Capital

Jonathan E. Kahn

Manufacturing & Operating Advisor (Chicago, IL)
  • CEO, AgriFiber Solutions LLC
  • Founder, Geneva Wood Fuels (now known as, Lignetics of Maine, LLC)
READ FULL BIO Jonathan E. Kahn
Michael Kalen of Star Mountain Capital

Michael Kalen

Insurance & Financial Services Advisor (Hartford, CT)
  • CEO of Covr Financial Technologies
  • President & CEO of Futurity First Financial Corp.
  • Board of Directors, Phoenix Life Insurance Company
READ FULL BIO Michael Kalen

Susan Kilsby

Healthcare & Consumer Advisor (Sarasota, FL)
  • Director of Diageo, Unilever, BHP, Fortune Brands Home and Security
  • Former Chairman of Shire plc
  • Former Senior Advisor at Credit Suisse
READ FULL BIO Susan Kilsby
Miles Lee of Star Mountain Capital

Miles Lee

Business Services Advisor (Louisville, KY)
  • CEO, Alliance Cost Containment
  • 20+ years of executive strategic sourcing and group purchasing experience
READ FULL BIO Miles Lee
Wendell Reilly

Wendell Reilly

Media & Insurance Advisor (Atlanta, GA)
  • Chairman, Berman Capital Advisors
  • Partner, Peachtree Capital Partners
  • CFO, Haas Publishing Co. & Lamar Advertising
  • Board Member, Brown and Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO)
READ FULL BIO Wendell Reilly
Stefanie Shelley of Star Mountain Capital

Stefanie Shelley

Brand, Marketing & PR/Corporate Communications Advisor (New York, NY)
  • Former Global CMO & Head of PR/Corporate Communications at Broadridge Financial Solutions
  • Board Member, Mercer Advisors (~$35 bn AUM)
  • Former Board Member, Green Bank (NASDAQ: GNBC)
READ FULL BIO Stefanie Shelley
Salem Shuchman of Star Mountain Capital

Salem Shuchman

Operating Partner (Philadelphia, PA)
  • Founder & Managing Partner, Entrepreneur Partners
  • Senior Partner, Apax Partners ($12 bn AUM)
  • Principal, Odyssey Partners
READ FULL BIO Salem Shuchman