Star Mountain Capital, LLC ("Star Mountain"), one of the largest dedicated lower middle-market teams in the country with approximately $5 billion in assets under management ("AUM"), is pleased to announce that Michael Patchen has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor. Mr. Patchen will support Star Mountain's continued growth by contributing his expertise in enterprise risk management and AI-driven technology to help strengthen the firm's institutional infrastructure and operational capabilities.

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Michael Patchen, Senior Advisor at Star Mountain Capital.

Michael Patchen is a financial services veteran and technology leader with nearly three decades of experience spanning quantitative portfolio management, enterprise risk oversight and AI product development. He has built enterprise risk platforms and AI-driven technology solutions across some of the most complex investment environments in the industry.

Mr. Patchen served as Partner and Chief Risk Officer at AQR Capital Management, where he led enterprise risk oversight across more than $140 billion in AUM spanning equities, global macro and event-driven strategies. In that role, he designed and oversaw the development of Intercept, an industrial-strength, cloud-based risk management platform providing exception-based analytics across hundreds of funds, dozens of strategies and thousands of assets. He also led the Enterprise Risk Committee, presented to regulators and engaged directly with clients on the firm's risk management capabilities.

Prior to AQR, he served as a Managing Director, Senior Risk Manager at Carlson Capital, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund, and as a Portfolio Manager at SAC Capital, where he co-managed large market-neutral systematic equity portfolios across major developed markets.

Most recently, Mr. Patchen co-founded Colleva, an AI software company focused on helping financial services firms develop, assess and coach employees. As Chief Executive Officer and Chief Product Architect, he has led product vision, engineering execution and enterprise deployment of an AI Talent Copilot platform built for sales coaching, talent development and compliance training.

"Having spent my career at the intersection of risk management and technology infrastructure, I see a natural fit with Star Mountain's hands-on approach to the lower middle-market," said Mr. Patchen. "I look forward to helping the firm continue to scale its capabilities in ways that drive lasting value for investors and portfolio companies."

"Michael has built the kind of institutional capabilities that enable investment firms to perform at the highest level,” said Brett Hickey, Founder and CEO of Star Mountain Capital. "His track record overseeing risk across some of the most complex investment platforms in the industry, combined with his experience building and deploying AI-powered technology in financial services, makes him a valuable addition to our team and the investors we serve."

Earlier in his career, Mr. Patchen held senior roles at Deutsche Bank Asset Management, where he served as Head of Portfolio Management for the Global Quantitative Equities Group, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He was also part of AQR at its inception before returning to the firm later in his career.

Mr. Patchen holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a concentration in Finance from The Wharton School and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Science from The Moore School, both at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

About Star Mountain Capital

With ~$5 billion in AUM (committed capital including debt facilities as of 7/31/2026), Star Mountain specializes in providing scalable and data-driven investment solutions across two core strategies:

• Direct Investments: Providing debt and equity capital to established lower middle-market businesses.
• Secondary Investments: Acquiring LP interests, direct assets and making primary LP commitments.

Star Mountain’s investors include public and private pensions, insurance companies, commercial banks, endowments, foundations, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Employee-owned and sharing profits with 100% of its U.S. full-time employees, the firm prioritizes alignment of interests to maximize value for stakeholders.

Since 2010, Star Mountain has completed over 100 direct platform investments and 50 secondary / fund investments in the North American lower middle-market. The firm has been recognized as one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies and a Best Place to Work by Crain’s New York Business and Pensions & Investments.

For more information, visit www.starmountaincapital.com.

Legal Disclaimer:

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase interests in any investment product. Awards and recognitions by third-party rating agencies, companies or publications should not be interpreted as a guarantee of future results or performance. They should not be considered as an endorsement, recommendation or referral of Star Mountain Capital or its representatives by any client or third party. Rankings published by media and industry organizations are based on information provided by the recognized advisor. Additionally, readers should understand that past performance is not indicative of future results. Award descriptions and selection methodologies may vary.

Awards and Recognition Disclosure:

Star Mountain Capital’s awards and recognitions are based on third-party evaluations and criteria, which may be subjective. These honors do not imply a guarantee of future performance or an endorsement by current or past clients.

Ranking Methodologies:

• Crain’s Best Places to Work: Evaluations were conducted through a two-part process, assessing workplace policies, practices and employee satisfaction via surveys. Participation required a fee solely for survey processing purposes. More details are available at Crain’s eligibility criteria.
• Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work: Companies were evaluated based on surveys measuring employee engagement (75%) and employer policies (25%). Participation required a minimum of 20 U.S. employees and $100 million in discretionary assets under management. Further details can be found at P&I eligibility criteria.
• Inc. 5000 Rankings: Companies were ranked based on revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. To qualify, firms had to be U.S.-based, privately held and independent, with revenue thresholds of at least $100,000 in 2019 and $2 million in 2022. More details are available at Inc. 5000 criteria.

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