Private Equity Funcast

Recent Episodes

1. Building Your 2027 AI Budget (w/ Justin D'Onofrio, Accordion)

   Sep 16, 2026

   Justin D'Onofrio, Managing Director of Performance Management at Accordion, joins host Devin to discuss how PE-backed CFOs should budget for AI in 2027. The conversation covers Accordion's research showing 91% of PE CFOs cannot size their AI spend and 83% of portfolio companies have AI pilots with minimal ROI tracking. They walk through an 8-step framework for disciplined AI budgeting, covering how to move from tool-based spending to outcome-based investment cases, manage token costs, and implement quarterly tracking to ensure value capture.

2. Parker Gals: Hannah Song, Promus Equity Partners

   Sep 14, 2026

   Hannah Song, Senior Associate at Promus Equity Partners in Chicago, discusses her non-traditional career path from KPMG audit to investment banking at Mesirow to private equity, and her decision to attend UChicago Booth this fall. She explores the difficult choice between a surprise promotion to Senior Associate and pursuing an MBA, ultimately deciding that business school aligned with her long-term goals. Hannah shares insights on problem-solving in PE, the importance of culture and mentorship in career decisions, and challenges common misconceptions about private equity being purely numbers-focused.

3. Understanding Management Equity: What PE CEOs Should Know

   Sep 9, 2026

   Ryan Milligan, a partner at Parker Gale, discusses management equity in private equity-backed companies with co-host Paul Stanzick. The episode covers how equity economics work in PE deals, common structures (profits interests vs. stock options), the waterfall mechanics, vesting schedules, and negotiation strategies for executives joining or already in PE portfolio companies. Key themes include alignment between management and sponsors, understanding company trajectory and time horizon, and asking the right questions before signing employment agreements.

4. What's Wrong in Private Equity (w/ Lee McCabe)

   Sep 2, 2026

   Lee McCabe, Founder of Claymore Partners and recovering operating partner from a top-tier PE firm, discusses how private equity must shift from relying on financial engineering and multiple expansion to actually improving business operations. McCabe argues that PE firms need to obsess over data fundamentals, build companies on metrics, and execute the boring operational work that drives real returns—not flashy strategies. The conversation covers why most PE operating partner roles fail, what the 100-day plan should actually accomplish, and why authenticity and content creation are critical for PE firms competing for deal flow.

5. Parker Gals: Angela McCoy, May River

   Aug 31, 2026

   Angela McCoy, Managing Director at May River, discusses her journey from leveraged finance at Bank of America through the 2008 financial crisis to private equity investing in lower middle market industrial businesses. She shares insights on sector-focused PE strategies, why May River focuses on job creation and growth rather than cost-cutting, and the importance of peer networks and personal boards of advisors in career development.

6. Can You Still Trust Tech Due Diligence? (w/ Jason Gill & Kirby Montgomery, Code & Co.)

   Aug 26, 2026

   Jason Gill (Engineering AI/ML Practice Lead) and Kirby Montgomery (Head of North America) from Code & Co discuss the emerging risks and opportunities of AI-generated code in private equity due diligence. They introduce Quality of AI (QoAI) as a framework for evaluating whether companies have genuinely defensible AI capabilities or are employing "vibe coding"—shipping untested, AI-generated code at scale. The conversation covers how AI adoption is outpacing PE investors' technical understanding, the dangers of cognitive atrophy in engineering teams, and why legacy business moats (custom integrations, undocumented systems, hard-won scars) are now more valuable than ever.

7. Parker Gals: Caroline Carman, Rallyday Partners

   Aug 24, 2026

   Caroline Carman, Senior Associate at Rallyday Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm in Denver, discusses her transition from leveraged finance analyst at JPMorgan to becoming Rallyday's first associate. She shares how she built the firm's junior team, her attraction to people-centric investing in healthcare, professional services, and tech, and the mentorship that shaped her career, particularly from her boss Dom Morrell. Caroline also discusses Rallyday's AI transformation initiative and her belief that private equity success depends on authentic relationships with founders rather than stereotypical "PE guy" approaches.

8. How PE Firms Are Actually Using AI Right Now (w/ Kate Hopkins, OneGuide)

   Aug 19, 2026

   Kate Hopkins, founder of OneGuide, discusses how private equity firms and portfolio companies are deploying AI across 36 distinct value creation plays. The conversation covers revenue generation through TAM mapping and list building, EBITDA improvement via workflow automation, preventing value leakage through revenue detection, and evolving software products for AI agent ecosystems. Hopkins shares insights from her consulting background at Bain and Mainsail, drawing on real client use cases across dozens of PE firms managing thousands of portfolio companies.

9. Parker Gals: Maggie Pugel

   Aug 17, 2026

   Maggie Pugel, VP at Frontenac Company, discusses her non-traditional path into private equity after starting in buy-side equity research at Ariel Investments. She shares insights on the deal process, the value of mentorship, AI's transformative impact on PE workflows, and why career switchers bring distinctive value to the industry. The conversation covers her philosophy on control, motherhood, favorite books, and her belief that the PE career is ultimately rewarding despite its demands.

10. Another False Start: PitchBook's H1 2026 Private Equity Data (w/ Steven Buibish)

    Aug 12, 2026

    Steven Buibish, Director of US Private Equity Research at PitchBook, discusses the firm's H1 2026 private equity market data. The conversation reveals a market in stasis: deal value dropped 38% from Q1 to Q2, mega deals now dominate headline numbers while smaller deals remain flat, and valuations remain at 2021 peaks despite collapsing volume and reduced leverage. Key findings include the software sector's freeze (down 60% Q2 vs Q1), a rotation into hard assets and data centers (the "HALO" trade), and the paradox that only A-tier assets are transacting at high multiples while B-tier deals remain stuck. The discussion covers why 60% of software deals in market aren't closing, the add-on economy's dominance in middle market (75% of deals by count, 40% by value), plummeting DPI across recent vintages, and emerging opportunities in evergreen funds.