Steven Sugarman advises financial institutions, emerging enterprises, and investors on complex regulatory, corporate, and transactional matters. A seasoned entrepreneur, executive leader, and investor, Steven brings decades of experience founding, growing, and transforming financial services companies in both private and public markets.

In addition to his role at the firm, Steven is the Board Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Patriot National Bancorp (NASDAQ: PNBK), the bank holding company for Patriot Bank, N.A., based in Stamford, Connecticut. He was appointed to lead the company’s strategic restructuring efforts.

A longtime advocate for equitable access to capital, Steven is also the Founder of The Change Company, a U.S. Treasury- and State of California-certified Community Development Financial Institution dedicated to lending to underserved borrowers. Since its inception in 2017, The Change Company has deployed more than $10 billion to low- and moderate-income communities, partnering with over 75 banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and socially responsible corporations, as well as 1,000 non-bank partners leveraging its proprietary lending and banking platforms. Under Steven’s leadership, the company has earned national recognition, and he has been honored as “Best CEO for Diversity” and “Best CEO for Women.”

Previously, Steven founded and served as Board Chair, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Banc of California (NYSE: BANC), which became one of Forbes’ “Top Banks in America,” one of Fortune’s “Fastest Growing Companies,” and the largest independent bank in California to receive an “Outstanding” rating for Community Development from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He pioneered Banc of California’s award-winning financial literacy initiative in collaboration with nonprofit, community, and faith-based organizations throughout Southern California. In 2014, alongside President Bill Clinton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Steven helped set two Guinness World Records for the world’s largest financial literacy event.

Steven’s broader business experience includes leading the recapitalization and sale of COR Clearing (acquired by Axos Bank in 2019), founding COR Capital LLC, and serving as a founding partner of GPS Partners, a $2 billion investment advisory firm. Earlier in his career, he worked at Lehman Brothers and as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.

From 2017 to 2020, Steven served as General Counsel of the National Diversity Coalition, and he currently sits on the Board of Los Angeles Team Mentoring, where he received the Keystone Award in 2014. He was also recognized by the National Diversity Coalition and National Asian American Coalition with the 2015 Giraffe Award for public service leadership.

By virtue of his long-standing leadership, Steven—co-author of The Forewarned Investor: Don’t Get Fooled Again by Corporate Fraud (Career Press)—was named a “Banking and Finance Visionary” by the Los Angeles Times in 2025.