Star Mountain Capital Welcomes Adam Fitzner as Managing Director and Strategic Portfolio Partner

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 26, 2026--

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 Adam Fitzner has joined the firm as a Managing Director and Strategic Portfolio Partner. Mr. Fitzner will support Star Mountain's continued growth by leveraging his expertise in private equity investing and operational value creation to strengthen and optimize portfolio company performance.

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Mr. Fitzner brings more than 30 years of experience as a private equity investor, board member and turnaround and restructuring advisor, working with more than 60 businesses across growth, transformation and complex situations. He has created many successful companies by building culture, developing high-performance teams, creating clear and aligned strategic plans and driving accountability. His experience spans a vast range of markets including industrial, business services, consumer, financial and technology-enabled companies, with particular expertise in founder, entrepreneur and family-owned lower middle-market companies and Qualified Small Business Stock eligible investments (IRC section 1202). Over the course of his career, he has successfully raised and / or invested over $3 billion of new capital and restructured over $5 billion of debt.

Prior to joining Star Mountain, Mr. Fitzner spent 14 years at Hamilton Robinson Capital Partners and Corinthian Capital Group, two lower middle-market private equity firms, where he sourced, executed and managed control private equity investments including identifying and executing strategic acquisitions. In these roles, he served as an investment committee member, led portfolio company boards and was instrumental in developing and implementing a standardized value-creation approach focused on culture and leadership, strategic planning, commercial growth, operational excellence, digital transformation, financial management and acquisition integration.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Fitzner spent 12 years advising companies, boards, private equity sponsors and creditors on operational turnarounds, financial restructurings, financings and mergers and acquisitions at Evercore (NYSE: EVR), Miller Buckfire (now a part of Stifel Financial, NYSE; SF), Houlihan Lokey (NYSE: HLI) and Phoenix Management (now a part of JS Held). Across these roles, he helped management teams navigate complex situations, improve liquidity and operating performance and execute recapitalizations, sales and restructurings.

"Adam's combination of private equity investing experience and deep operational expertise in the lower middle-market makes him an exceptional addition to our team," said Brett Hickey, Founder and CEO of Star Mountain Capital. "His track record of building high-performance teams, executing value-creation plans and navigating complex business situations aligns directly with our mission of being a true value-add partner to the entrepreneurs and management teams we back."

"Star Mountain's focus on culture and people and its differentiated approach to the lower middle-market, including its advanced use of technology, breadth of lower middle-market solutions (debt, equity, secondaries, NAV loans and fund solutions) and its deep commitment to partnering with small businesses, represents exactly the kind of platform I have been interested in joining," said Mr. Fitzner. "I look forward to helping our portfolio companies reach their full potential and optimizing value for our management team partners and investors."

Mr. Fitzner earned a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, with dual majors in Finance and Marketing from Lehigh University where he was a Division I swimmer, team captain and recipient of the Coaches Award for team leadership. He also earned an MBA, cum laude, from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he was a Park Leadership Fellow. While at Cornell, he co-founded SightSpeed, a peer-to-peer videoconferencing business that was subsequently acquired by Logitech (NASDAQ: LOGI).

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:

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:

 

Adam Fitzner, Managing Director & Strategic Portfolio Partner at Star Mountain Capital.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A fire killed 14 newborns in a nursery at a major government hospital in Pakistan’s capital early Wednesday, according to hospital officials and the government, which already has launched an investigation.

The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad housed at least 15 newborns in the nursery and at least one baby was rescued from the fire that began about 6:45 a.m. after an air-conditioning unit compressor exploded inside the nursery on the third floor, hospital and rescue officials said.

The fire was confined to the nursery in the gynecology ward, while the rest of the hospital remained unaffected and there were no other injuries reported, according to hospital officials and witnesses. Television footage showed rescue workers using ladders to reach the area through broken windows.

Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal confirmed at least 14 children had died.

“One baby was rescued by a doctor,” said Dr. Aneeza Jalil, a hospital spokesperson. She said the bodies of six babies had been handed over to their families, while the remaining bodies would be released soon.

The deaths of the children sent a wave of shock and grief across the country. Police were deployed at the hospital as grieving parents and relatives gathered, some weeping while others called for accountability and demanded answers about how the fire began and whether the nursery had adequate firefighting equipment.

A woman who identified herself as Mrs. Mohammad Sami said she gave birth three days earlier and her baby was receiving intensive care in the nursery when the fire erupted. She said hospital officials told families that the bodies would be released after the necessary paperwork was completed.

“I don’t know what to say or whom to blame,” she said through tears. “I have lost my child.

Malik Israr, whose niece was a patient in the gynecology ward, told the newspaper Dawn that it was troubling the nursery was housed in a building undergoing repairs and renovation. When the fire broke out, he said, patients were told to evacuate the building and women who had given birth a short time ago had to rush down the stairs.

Firefighters quickly responded and extinguished the blaze and rescue teams began cooling operations at the site, local media reported. Islamabad Chief Commissioner Suhail Ashraf later said the fire had been extinguished and authorities were coordinating with the families.

Within hours, the Islamabad district magistrate appointed a multiagency fact-finding committee with directions to submit a report within 24 hours. The panel will investigate the cause of the fire and its spread, determine whether adequate fire-safety measures were in place and evaluate the emergency response, a government notification said.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the fire.

“A tragedy involving children is an irreparable loss,” said Sharif, who ordered an immediate investigation.

Hours later, Sharif held a high-level meeting and ordered Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri to be removed from office, as well as expressing anger at other officials from relevant agencies in attendance, according to a government statement.

The meeting, held despite a national holiday marking the eve of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, also resulted in the formation of a committee to investigate the fire, the statement said.

President Asif Ali Zardari also offered condolences to the families, describing the deaths as “heartbreaking and an irreparable loss.”

Zardari called for those responsible to be identified and dealt with under the law and urged hospitals to ensure effective fire-safety measures and emergency procedures, particularly in wards caring for newborns.

Kamal, the health minister, told local Geo News channel that he was traveling from Karachi to Islamabad to personally oversee the investigation.

He said the director-general of health and the federal health secretary were already at PIMS, one of Islamabad’s largest public hospitals, which recently was the site of a medical examination of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Officials were in contact with the families, according to Kamal, who said the immediate priority was to support the parents and return the infants’ bodies to them.

A father, center, of a victim in a fire is comforted as his child's coffin is carried outside a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/M.A. Sheik)

Parents react after their child died in a hospital fire in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/

Relatives of the children who died in a hospital fire, gather at the hospital, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/M.Yousaf)