Archwell Capital Names Mike Middleman Chief Executive

RADNOR, Pa.: Archwell Capital, a private investment management company with businesses in financial services, real estate, technology and professional sports, has named Mike Middleman chief executive officer, according to a Sept. 18 release distributed by PR Newswire.

The company, founded in 2013, is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and has a new flagship office in Radnor. It says it has more than 40 current and former investments, including wholly owned companies that serve hundreds of corporate clients and employ more than 10,000 people worldwide. The release does not say who, if anyone, held the CEO title before Middleman.

Middleman Already Knows the Portfolio

Middleman is no stranger to Archwell. He co-founded Moder, Archwell's business intelligence company, where he remains executive chairman. Moder's AI and operations teams help financial institutions work more efficiently and reduce risk. He has also been closely involved in building BrightCover, Archwell's insurance business.

His main career has been at Freedom Mortgage, which the release calls one of the nation's largest mortgage lenders and servicers. He spent a decade in senior leadership there and remains vice chairman. He holds bachelor's degrees in finance and accounting from Hofstra University and an MBA from the Wharton School.

Scaling Existing Bets and Deploying New Capital

As CEO, Middleman will focus on growing Archwell's existing investments and operating companies and on deploying new capital in mortgage, insurance, commercial real estate, professional sports and its other industries.

"Archwell Capital is an investment management company built by operators," he said, describing a model of providing "active capital to the companies we incubate, build, and in which we invest."

Seven Senior Appointments Alongside the CEO

The company named seven other senior leaders at the same time:

James Blanco becomes chief operating officer and president of Archwell Reinsurance. He joins from Guggenheim Partners, where he was a senior managing director, and previously served as an executive vice president at OneMain Financial.

Raj Patel is chief financial officer. He led the finance function at Freedom Mortgage for several years.

Matt Harbus is chief strategy officer. At Freedom Mortgage he oversaw origination sales and the servicing contact center responsible for more than $650 billion in loans, and he has overseen Archwell's technology work, including Moder's partnership with Palantir Technologies.

Kat Rugge is chief people officer, Jordan Glick is chief investment officer for real estate, sports and early-stage investments, Kristin McHale-Johnson is chief AI officer in the Office of the CEO, and Melissa Rubenstein is general counsel after more than 20 years in private practice.

The Freedom Mortgage Connection

The appointments show how closely Archwell's leadership is tied to Freedom Mortgage. Middleman remains its vice chairman, and Patel and Harbus both come from its senior ranks. The release does not describe the ownership relationship between the two companies, and TradeFlock has not independently confirmed it.

The Palantir link is also worth noting. Moder's work with Palantir puts one of Archwell's companies next to a software provider whose commercial backlog has been growing, driven by manufacturers and logistics firms.

Archwell's announcement came a day after Texas-based Surety Capital Corporation named Bradley White its chief executive, in a week when two U.S. financial services firms named chief executives.

As a private firm, Archwell does not publish financial results. The clearest signals of Middleman's direction will be where the company puts new capital among mortgage, insurance, real estate and sports.