Private Equity Funcast

24 episodes scanned. 14% of ad slots promote the show's own products.

Recent Episodes

1. Parker Gals | Why an English Major Is a Secret Weapon in Finance (w/ Kate Nimmo, PSG)

   Nov 2, 2026

   Kate Nimmo, an investor on PSG's healthcare team, discusses her path from an English major at Dartmouth to investment banking in Seattle and then growth equity, which she describes as a middle ground between venture capital and traditional LBO private equity focused on building companies. The conversation covers how her liberal arts background helped her in banking and deal work, her mentors, the value of small firms, and the technology shift in healthcare. The episode also includes lighter segments on her interests, reading, and a TV pilot she wrote.

2. How Private Equity Carves a Business Out of a Company

   Oct 28, 2026

   ParkerGale's Ryan Milligan interviews colleague Kevin "KG" Gorman in a corporate carve-out 101 discussion covering how private equity buys a business unit from a larger parent. The conversation addresses why sellers divest these units, how buyers build a price from a contribution margin view, and why shared services, transition services agreements, and stock versus asset structures make carve-outs harder than they look. KG draws on two recent carve-outs, including Comperemedia from Mintel, and an earlier complex investment banking deal, and discusses how AI has changed both the deal rationale and the diligence process.

3. Parker Gals | How I Became a Chief of Staff (w/ Lena Diasti, Ariel Investments)

   Oct 26, 2026

   Lena Diasti, Chief of Staff to John Rogers, chairman and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, discusses her path from JP Morgan's investment bank to a special assistant role at the value investing firm. The conversation covers what a chief of staff does day to day, how relationships matter in finance, and the firm's history and investment strategies. The episode also includes a lighter segment of personal questions.

4. Measure Engineering Like You Measure Sales (w/ Dan Bender & Kirby Montgomery, Code & Co.)

   Oct 21, 2026

   Dan Bender and Kirby Montgomery of Code & Co. join host Jim Milbury to discuss why engineering has been hard to measure for decades and which metrics are realistic now, including speed paired with stability and outcomes over activity. They cover how technical diligence has moved earlier in deals, often before the LOI, and how AI-generated code, token-based metrics, and the gap between CTOs and investors affect value creation. The conversation closes with the guests' view that engineering measurement should be used to learn rather than to punish.

5. Parker Gals | Trust Over Transactions: The Heart of Private Equity (w/ Nori Welles-Gertz, ParkerGale)

   Oct 19, 2026

   Nori Welles-Gertz, a principal on the investment team at Parker Gale, joins host Cass at the firm's headquarters to discuss her path from consulting into lower middle market private equity. The conversation covers why she sees PE as built on relationships and reputation over a five-to-seven-year hold, how the role changes from associate to VP to principal, and how the team is using AI in its work. The episode also includes the show's lighter segments on personal favorites, hobbies, and career-related hypotheticals.

6. The Deal Closed. Now What?

   Oct 14, 2026

   Paul Stanzik and his Parker Gale partner Ryan Milligan discuss what private equity owners should do in the first year after closing a deal, covering the shift from diligence to ownership, listening to management and employees, and sharing diligence findings. They also cover go-to-market levers such as weekly reporting, customer-base growth through CEO communications, and building new-logo pipeline in founder-owned software businesses.

7. Parker Gals | Building a Med Spa Roll-Up from Scratch (w/ Amanda Blank, Founders Beauty Group)

   Oct 12, 2026

   Amanda Blank, co-founder and CEO of Founders Beauty Group, describes building a med spa roll-up from a 2018 Booth business school idea to five practices in Seattle, California, and Chicago. She explains the MSO and MSA structure that lets non-physicians own medical practices, how she secret-shopped targets during diligence, and why she considers med spas healthcare rather than consumer businesses. The conversation also covers managing deal sourcing, LP and lender relationships, and running operations, along with personal topics like outsourcing and mentorship.

8. 11 Years as a PE-Backed CFO: What Sponsors Actually Want (w/ Jon Apter, Accordion)

   Oct 7, 2026

   Jon Apter, CFO of Accordion, discusses his 11-year journey from investment banking and private equity at Merrill Lynch, JW Childs, and Evercore to leading the finance function at a 12-person consulting startup that has grown to 1,600 employees across two PE transactions. He shares the hard skills and soft skills that translate from PE to operating roles, the phases of building a finance function from startup through scale, and how to maintain exit-readiness from day one through KPIs, data hygiene, and customer analytics. The conversation covers preparing for and executing two successful PE-backed exits, the evolving role of the CFO in an AI era, and the strategic imperatives sponsors should consider.

9. Parker Gals: From Advising to Investing: Building a Career in PE (w/ Katie Yuan, Hg Capital)

   Oct 6, 2026

   Katie Yuan, a private equity associate at Hg Capital in London, discusses her transition from investment banking at JPMorgan to tech-focused investing in B2B software. She traces her path from studying economics at Cambridge through two years in JPMorgan's industrials group to her current role at Hg, one of Europe's largest tech investors, where she participates in board-level discussions and helps portfolio companies integrate AI into their operations.

10. Relationships are the Atomic Unit of Deal Flow (w/ Ken Fine, CEO of Affinity)

    Sep 29, 2026

    Ken Fine, CEO of Affinity, discusses how relationship intelligence and CRM technology can transform deal sourcing in private equity. The conversation covers the structural differences between venture capital and PE sourcing models, why relationships—not processes—drive deal flow, and how AI can scale relationship-building without replacing human connection. Fine argues that PE firms should adopt venture's relationship-first mentality, knowing every potential target owner before they decide to sell.