The Sterling Group Announces New Hires

HOUSTON, April 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sterling Group ("Sterling"), a Houston-based, operationally focused middle market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the additions of Robert Gray, Managing Director, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer and Pierce Edwards, Managing Director, Business Development to the Sterling team.

Robert Gray joined Sterling in February to lead the firm's legal and compliance functions. Rob previously spent more than fifteen years at Riverstone Holdings LLC, an energy-focused asset management firm, where he most recently served as General Counsel, overseeing legal matters including transaction execution, fund formation, and regulatory compliance. Rob brings over 25 years of legal experience and will support Sterling's operations, as well as provide broader legal guidance to Sterling portfolio companies.

Pierce Edwards joins Sterling's Dallas office to expand the firm's sourcing efforts. Prior to Sterling, Pierce served as Managing Director & Head of Business Development at Valesco Industries, a Dallas based private equity firm. Pierce brings nearly a decade of experience in business development in the lower middle market and will work closely with Sterling's Foundation Fund team to source new platform investments as well as add-on acquisitions across all of Sterling's strategies.

"We are pleased to welcome Pierce and Rob to the Sterling team," said Scott MacLaren, Partner at The Sterling Group. "Pierce's deep relationships and sourcing experience in the lower middle market will be highly valuable to our Portfolio Resources Group, and Rob's legal expertise and experience navigating complex regulatory environments will further strengthen our legal and compliance capabilities."

To learn more about a career at The Sterling Group, please visit sterling-group.com/careers/ or contact Claudine Lussier at [email protected].

About The Sterling Group

Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity and private credit investment firm that targets investments in basic manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $1 billion. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 78 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $27 billion. Sterling currently has approximately $9.0 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.

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SOURCE The Sterling Group