GarMark Partners

Steven C. Pickman, the firm's founder and managing partner, oversees all investment decisions. Prior to forming GarMark in 1997, Pickman led the middle-market lending division at CIT Group, where he developed the credit-first discipline that defines the firm's underwriting approach. No other investment committee members have been publicly identified.

The firm sources primarily through credit-bank relationships, trade associations, and direct origination within the US lower middle market — rather than through broad auction processes run by investment banks. Pickman's decades-deep network from his CIT Group tenure provides access to situations where sellers value a lender's certainty of close and restructuring capability over the highest nominal bid.

Yes. The firm provides subordinated debt and both minority and control equity, typically targeting companies with $20 million to $100 million in revenue. Transactions include buyouts, growth capital, and recapitalizations. The firm is also willing to underwrite turnaround and restructuring situations where its credit expertise gives it an advantage over equity-first sponsors.

The firm targets North American lower-middle-market companies generating between $20 million and $100 million in revenue. This is the segment where credit analysis and asset-coverage ratios are often the decisive underwriting factors — larger than community-bank small business but below the scale where institutional equity sponsors dominate auction processes with leverage-driven bids.

GarMark pursues niche industrial manufacturing, enterprise software, and healthcare services. The firm does not concentrate on consumer brands, biotechnology, or real estate. Its industrial focus reflects Pickman's CIT lending experience, where asset-heavy businesses with tangible collateral formed the core of middle-market credit portfolios.