Blue River Financial Group Names Sara Clevenger Chief Executive Officer and Rich Phillips Chief Operating Officer

Founders William Loftis and Bryan Berent transition to the board of directors as the firm advances its decision-intelligence platform

June 24, 2026 — Blue River Financial Group, a leading middle-market mergers and acquisitions advisory firm, today announced that Sara Clevenger has been named Chief Executive Officer and Rich Phillips has been named Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Co-founders William Loftis and Bryan Berent have transitioned to non-operating roles on the firm’s board of directors.

The appointments elevate two leaders who have shaped Blue River from within. Clevenger has led the firm’s buy-side advisory practice for 14 years, building it into one of the most respected in North America. Phillips has driven the firm’s technology, revenue, and operational performance, serving as a central force in its growth. Their appointments place day-to-day leadership in the hands of the executives who have long carried the firm’s most important work.

From the board, Loftis and Berent will focus on long-term strategy, selective acquisition opportunities, and the continued development of Blue River’s proprietary intellectual property—including a forthcoming book on the firm’s M&A decision system and a new owner-education program built from it. The work is designed to extend Blue River’s standing as a thought leader for owners, buyers, and advisors across the industry.

“We built Blue River to outlast any one of us,” said Bryan Berent, Co-founder and Board Member. “What gives us confidence is not that we are still here. It is that the people who have done the work are now the ones leading it.”

“This is a moment of strength, not change for its own sake,” said Bill Loftis, Co-founder and Board Member. “Sara and Rich are ready—not ready enough, but fully ready. The right time to hand a firm to its next leaders is when they are prepared and the founders are still here to back them. That is today.”

“Blue River’s foundation is the trust owners and buyers place in us at the most important decisions of their lives,” said Sara Clevenger, Chief Executive Officer. “Our focus is to make this firm more capable in everything we do—deeper relationships, sharper intelligence, and outcomes that close well and endure. We are building Blue River’s next chapter on the strongest foundation in the middle market.”

Blue River Financial Group has been named an M&A Top Firm of the Year for five consecutive years (2022–2026) by the M&A Source. The firm advises owners and buyers across the middle market from its headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

About Blue River

Blue River Financial Group is a middle market merger and acquisition advisory firm. We assist corporations, private equity groups and individuals in the sale and acquisition of businesses and have completed assignments in multiple business segments. With over 20 years of experience spanning across 50 global industries, Blue River provides a suite of services to middle market clients including corporate development, private equity support, valuations, and transaction consulting, placing a premium on relationship-centered transaction counsel and client focus.

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