Areté taps Adam Pollock to lead workout platform

Areté named Adam Pollock senior managing director to lead its Workout-as-a-Service platform for lenders and other capital providers handling stressed and transitional credits. The hire adds nearly 30 years of credit, restructuring and operating experience as Areté pushes deeper into special situations support.

Why it matters: - Areté is building a national service for lenders and other investors that need outside help on stressed, distressed or transitional credits. - Pollock’s mix of lending, restructuring and operating experience is meant to give the platform senior-level execution without requiring clients to add permanent staff. - The hire signals Areté wants to compete as an extension of internal credit teams, not just as an advisory shop.

What happened: - Areté named Adam Pollock senior managing director and said he will lead Workout-as-a-Service, or WaaS. - Pollock is based in Houston. - The announcement was dated Oct. 7, 2026. - Pollock will oversee a credit-focused platform for lenders, private credit funds, secondary buyers and other debt investors.

The details: - Pollock brings nearly 30 years of experience as an investor, advisor and operator. - He spent nearly two decades investing in and managing credit from the lender side. - Pollock was a founding member of Stellus Capital Management, a U.S. direct lender focused on the lower-middle market with about $4 billion in assets under management. - At Stellus, Pollock served as managing director with senior responsibilities across origination, underwriting and portfolio management, and he led West Coast origination. - Before Stellus, Pollock was chief restructuring officer at the D. E. Shaw Direct Capital Group. - In that role, he led value-creation and restructuring work across a roughly $3.5 billion portfolio of middle-market investments. - Earlier, Pollock held interim management and strategic advisory roles for sponsor-backed companies. - Pollock also worked as a director at Ernst & Young Corporate Finance, where he helped lead North American transaction advisory efforts in the power and oil and gas sectors. - He began his career in Tokyo in Mitsubishi Motors Corporation’s International Procurement & Supply Chain Division. - WaaS gives investors access to senior restructuring, operational, underwriting, board-level and change-of-control expertise. - Areté said the platform is aimed at situations where investors do not have the internal bandwidth or specialized resources to manage a problem investment. - The offering is designed for moments when a borrower or investment needs more than additional capital. - The work can include operating support, restructuring expertise, enhanced governance or a path to control. - Areté said more of this work is happening outside formal restructuring processes, where speed and practical execution matter. - Pollock said the platform is meant to serve as a “true extension” of clients’ internal teams. - Pollock said the service will cover the full credit lifecycle, from early identification and assessment through negotiation, restructuring, documentation, change of control and value creation or recovery. - Pollock will spend the next year building the WaaS platform, recruiting the team and expanding relationships with lenders and other capital providers nationwide. - Shawn Hassel, Areté’s managing partner, said Pollock’s experience investing capital, navigating corporate stress and implementing turnarounds makes the practice possible. - Hassel said WaaS is the next step in Areté’s evolution and a portfolio approach to helping clients protect and grow value. - Areté operates from offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and Park City, Utah. - Areté says it works directly with boards, owners and executives and brings independent perspective and hands-on leadership. - The company also points readers to its website and a full bio for Adam Pollock. - Areté also shared its LinkedIn page: Areté on LinkedIn.

Between the lines: - Areté is positioning WaaS as a practical, lender-side solution for special situations, not a traditional restructuring advisory practice. - Pollock’s background suggests the firm wants someone who has sat on both sides of distressed-credit decisions and can move quickly when a portfolio company slips. - The emphasis on “outside a formal restructuring process” points to a broader market need for early intervention before problems become full-blown restructurings.

What's next: - Pollock will focus on team building and business development over the next 12 months. - Areté is likely to expand the platform by adding more lender relationships and nationwide coverage. - The success of WaaS will depend on whether credit investors view it as a credible extension of their own teams when situations turn difficult.