Dennis Duerst joined Star Mountain Capital, a specialized investment manager with approximately $2.5 billion in assets under management, as a senior advisor. Star Mountain senior advisors and operating partners are aligned with Star Mountain’s full-time team and investors, sharing in investment profits through their personal capital invested.
“We are thrilled to have another veteran senior executive with over 40 years of investment management, portfolio allocation, risk management, and manager selection experience broadening our value-add capabilities in helping grow established smaller businesses across North America,” Brett Hickey, founder and CEO of Star Mountain Capital, said. “We believe the comprehensive and diverse investment experience and insights Dennis has will be complementary to our team and further add value to our team, our investors and the portfolio companies we invest in.”
“I have known Dennis for over 15 years through his time on the board of the Committee on the Investment of Employee Benefit Assets (CIEBA) and found him to be a highly thoughtful investment professional and I look forward to working with him now at Star Mountain,” John Ide, managing director at Star Mountain Capital, said.
“Star Mountain is a distinguished investment firm that is purpose-built to capitalize on the market inefficiencies of the large, growing and fragmented lower middle-market,” Duerst said. “They have generated meaningful alpha across their portfolio and I am excited about the opportunities ahead where I can assist with my insights as Star Mountain scales its business.”
Duerst was most recently president at 3M Investment Management Corporation, the $25 billion investment fiduciary for 3M’s retirement plans on a global basis. He launched initial investments in hedge funds and private credit and focused on absolute return and private market investing. Duerst managed an innovative asset allocation and investment approach which resulted in well-funded plans and attractive risk-adjusted performance. He served in this capacity since 2003 when he was promoted from director of financial risk management where he led 3M’s global capital markets and risk management activities. Duerst started his career at 3M in 1982.
Duerst is currently a member of the Investment Advisory Council for the $130 billion Minnesota State Board of Investments as well as a member of the board of directors and chairs the finance and investment committees for the $90 million St. Croix Valley Foundation. Duerst is also a member of the advisory board for the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the University of Wisconsin School of Business.
A sought-after speaker at conferences including Institutional Investor, MFA, Pension & Investments, aiCIO Magazine, Global ARC and CIEBA, Duerst has received industry recognition numerous times for innovation and thought leadership by organizations that include Institutional Investor and aiCIO.
