Star Mountain Capital, LLC (“Star Mountain”) a specialized investment manager focused on the large and underserved North American lower middle-market continues to grow its Collaborative Ecosystem® with the appointment of communication, branding and digital media strategist, Deirdre Breakenridge as a Star Mountain Senior Advisor. Ms. Breakenridge will help further Star Mountain’s development in these areas as well as provide value to its small and medium-sized portfolio company investment partners. As a 30+ year veteran in public relations, marketing, and branding, she has worked with senior leaders at organizations including JVC, Kraft, Nasdaq, NBA Events and Attractions, Wind River Systems and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
“Given the value of effective communication and the increasing importance of digital media for all businesses, Deirdre’s extensive background as a communications, marketing and digital media strategist and trainer will further add value to Star Mountain and our portfolio companies,” said Brett Hickey, Star Mountain Capital Founder & CEO.
“I look forward to sharing my expertise to help Star Mountain further its reputation as a value-added specialized lower middle-market investment firm,” said Deirdre Breakenridge. “Improving strategic communication and branding can also be an effective way to help maximize long-term relationships and value creation for businesses.”
Ms. Breakenridge is the Founder & CEO of Pure Performance Communications, a communication, branding and digital media advisory firm, and is an author of several published books. She has taught public relations, branding, and social media courses for over 15 years, online and in the classroom at New York University, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Rutgers University, and Fairleigh Dickinson University. She took her passion for teaching to Lynda.com, and when the company was later acquired by LinkedIn, she became a LinkedIn Learning Instructor, developing more than eight video courses on public relations and marketing.
As an international speaker, Ms. Breakenridge shares her research and career journey in the industry. She has been blogging at PR Strategies for over 12 years and she is also the host of the podcast Women Worldwide. In its seventh year, the podcast has approximately two million downloads. Ms. Breakenridge was previously the host of a Livestream show for Nasdaq, interviewing thought leaders and influencers on various media topics, which broadcast out of the Nasdaq MarketSite studio in Times Square, New York City.
Ms. Breakenridge is the author of five Financial Times Press books including, “Social Media and Public Relations” and “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations”. Her latest book, “Answers For Ethical Marketers: A Guide to Good Practice in Business Communication” was released by Routledge Publishing in April 2021.
Ms. Breakenridge holds a BA from Rowan University and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University where she also taught for seven years in the Global Business Management Department.
Star Mountain was again named Best Places to Work by Pensions & Investments and one of the 2020 Best Places to Work by Crain’s New York Business highlighting the firms focus on culture and community.
ABOUT STAR MOUNTAIN
With over $2 billion in assets under management (as of September 30, 2021), Star Mountain takes a data-driven approach to investing into the North American lower middle-market through two complementary investment strategies: (i) direct debt and equity investing and (ii) secondaries (acquiring LP interests and direct assets). Star Mountain believes these complementary strategies provide scalable and diversified access for its institutional and high-net-worth investors to established small and medium-sized businesses that generally have at least $15 million in annual revenues. Star Mountain’s 75+ person, 100% employee-owned team and Collaborative Ecosystem ® provides distinctive value to lower middle-market businesses as a flexible capital solution partner.
Since 2010, Star Mountain has made over 120 direct investments in North American small and medium-sized businesses and over 20 secondaries / fund investments within its Collaborative Ecosystem ®, exclusively focused on the lower middle-market. With over 75 team members (including advisors/operating partners) across 20+ locations nationwide, Star Mountain believes its focus and dedication has been productive for job creation and economic development. Star Mountain is dedicated to this large market of underserved businesses purpose-built to address the challenges and opportunities of these companies. As part of its commitment, Star Mountain has trademarked Investing in the Growth Engine of America ®.
As part of its ESG program (Environmental, Social and Governance), Star Mountain’s Charitable Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 focuses on improving lives through economic development, including job creation, health & wellness and cancer research. Notable missions include helping match veterans and women with high quality small and medium-sized business career opportunities across the country, including within Star Mountain’s portfolio.
Note: This does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase interests in any investment product. Awards and recognitions by unaffiliated rating services, companies and/or publications should not be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he / she / it will experience a certain level of results if Star Mountain is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services; nor should they be construed as a current or past endorsement, testimonial endorsement, recommendation or referral of Star Mountain or its representatives by any of its clients or any other third party. Rankings published by magazines and others are generally based exclusively on information prepared and / or submitted by the recognized advisor. Moreover, with regard to all performance information contained herein, directly or indirectly, if any, readers should note that past results are not indicative of future results. The description and the selection methodologies of each award and recognition are subjective and will vary.
Awards and recognitions by unaffiliated rating services, companies, and/or publications should not be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she/it will experience a certain level of results if SMFM is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services; nor should they be construed as a current or past endorsement, testimonial endorsement, recommendation or referral of SMFM or its representatives by any of its clients or any other third party. Rankings published by magazines and others are generally based exclusively on information prepared and/or submitted by the recognized advisor.
Crain’s two-part survey process consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems, and demographics. The second part involved an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Detailed eligibility criteria can be found here: https://www.bestplacestoworknyc.com/eligibility-criteria
To be named to P&I's Best Places list, all firms met Best Companies' high threshold for inclusion and were evaluated against others of similar size. Individual firm profiles, which were compiled based on survey results, reflect U.S. employment numbers, and were confirmed by Best Companies in the summer. Company and employee comments were edited for space, style, and clarity. Assets under management or advisement are as of August 31, 2021, unless otherwise noted. To participate, companies had to have at least 20 employees in the U.S., at least $100 million of discretionary assets under management or advisement and be in business for at least one year. An anonymous employee survey, which aimed to evaluate employee engagement and satisfaction, accounted for 75% of a firm’s score; an employer survey, which evaluated workplace policies, practices, benefits and demographics, made up 25%. https://www.bestplacestoworkmm.com/eligibility-criteria.
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