Former CPPIB private markets chief Weisdorf joins Star Mountain

  • Weisdorf led CPPIB private markets from 2000-2003
  • Went on to be CEO, CIO of JPMorgan’s $10 bln infra team
  • Joins advisory group that includes John Mack, Todd Benson

Star Mountain Capital tapped the former head of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s private markets team as a strategic investor and senior adviser, Buyouts has learned.

Mark Weisdorf led CPPIB’s private markets division from 2000 through 2003 before joining JPMorgan Asset Management, where he was CEO and CIO of its $10 billion infrastructure group for nine years, according to his LinkedIn account.

Star Mountain invests in the lower middle market through direct investments, fund investments and the secondary market.

“Having led very large investment management organizations — one as an LP, and one as a GP — I know full well the challenges of getting meaningful access to the attractive risk-adjusted returns that are available in well-managed strategies in the lower middle market,” Weisdorf told Buyouts in an email. He added:

“I had to be very creative in trying to get access to such returns for the CPP Investment Board, (and just couldn’t access them effectively at JPMorgan). When I learned of Star Mountain Capital’s distinctive strategy, I immediately grasped its attractions — I just had to invest and I had to get involved — very compelling.”

Star Mountain’s network of senior advisers also includes former Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, Citigroup Private Equity Co-Founder Todd Benson and David Javdan, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal.

“Mark brings a wealth of experience and relationships to Star Mountain, having run one of the largest private equity programs in the world at CPPIB,” Star Mountain founder and CEO Brett Hickey said in a statement. Hickey also said the firm would leverage Weisdorf’s relationships and management expertise to bolster its institutional-investment platform.

Star Mountain has offices in New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, San Francisco and Washington.

Action Item: Star Mountain Capital: starmountaincapital.com

Photo of Mark Weisdorf courtesy Star Mountain Capital.