Michael Mcmahan

Michael K. "Mick" McMahan is the founder of Gaston Capital Partners, a growth-equity firm he launched in Gastonia, North Carolina in 2006. He has more than thirty-five years of experience managing investment portfolios and working with small businesses, and has managed hundreds of millions of dollars in client assets since 1984. Before founding Gaston Capital, he worked as a stockbroker in Charlotte and then, in 1984, started his own financial-advisory business in Gastonia. On the last Thursday of 2006 he sold that 22-year-old advisory practice — which by then managed roughly $400 million — and the following Monday opened Gaston Capital Partners as a private-equity company. He has been recognized as a top-ranked Charlotte-area financial advisor by the Charlotte Business Journal and named in Barron's as one of the top 100 independent financial advisers in the country.

McMahan earned a B.A. with Honors in Economics and a Master's in Public Administration, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and holds the Certified Financial Planner designation with expertise in estate planning, investments, and taxation. Gaston Capital was built on the objective of "finding and supporting companies that possess great potential," and today invests as a growth-equity partner in cash-flow-positive businesses across healthcare, industrial, financial services, and technology sectors.

On April 1, 2024, McMahan transitioned from Managing Partner to Founding Partner as long-time colleague Glenn Walthall (the firm's Chief Investment Officer since 2015) was promoted to Managing Partner. McMahan remains actively involved in the firm. The current team also includes partner Don McCaughey (a former Eaton Vance vice president who joined in 2018) and senior associate Kyle Radavich (joined 2024).

Beyond investing, McMahan is a decorated Vietnam War veteran who rose to Captain in the U.S. Army and received the Silver Star (November 6, 1968), Bronze Star, and Air Medal. He is also a prolific writer — for many years he authored a weekly column in The Gaston Gazette and has published in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Times, along with several novels and a fictionalized memoir. He frequently speaks to veterans' groups with a presentation titled "The Legacy of Vietnam."

• Invests as a growth-equity partner in cash-flow-positive companies with solid fundamentals and disciplined management — not early-stage/pre-revenue bets.
• Firm mandate: "finding and supporting companies that possess great potential"; makes meaningful minority investments (and occasionally control positions) alongside strong operators.
• Check size roughly $2–10M, targeting companies with EBITDA above ~$1M and exceptional management teams in high-growth or disruptive industries.
• Sector focus spans specialty pharmaceuticals and medical devices (cardio-assist; hip, knee, shoulder and total-disc replacement), business services, financial services, light industrial (print rolls, industrial turbines), and SaaS.
• States a preference for companies aligned with the firm's core values of commitment, integrity, partnership, and respect; will invest standalone or co-invest alongside reputable investors.
• Historically hands-on: in at least one deal (Enviro-Master) Gaston took a 50% interest and installed a financial officer to professionalize operations.