Parker Gals: Why Private Equity is for Everyone w/ Jessica Patton, 5th Century Partners

What does it look like to "plant seeds" so aggressively that serendipity starts looking like a strategy? This week on Parker Gals, Cass sits down with Jessica Patton to trace her path from Detroit to Howard University to landing a rare straight-out-of-college private equity role in New York. Jessica shares how she eventually landed in an impact-oriented role at Andreessen Horowitz, and what it took to jump off the deep end and start 5th Century Partners — Gmail, an anchor investor, and a one-way ticket to Chicago. Now 15 people strong, 5th Century is a lower middle market PE firm investing in healthcare and business services. Plus: "Sex and the City" as the ultimate palate cleanser, making spaghetti and meatballs from scratch, and a trio of book recommendations that speak to being a woman in private equity.  

Corporate AI spend in 2026 looked like a teenager loose at the mall with their parents' credit card. No policy, no budget, no discipline about what was purchased and why. That will change in the 2027 budget season, just kicking off. Devin goes deep with Accordion's Justin D'Onofrio using an 8-step framework to get it right. They cover why 91% of PE-backed CFOs can't size their AI spend, and why 83% of portfolio companies have AI pilots running with almost none tied to measurable value. That won't fly anymore. Justin is a Managing Director on Accordion's Performance Management team and spends his days at the intersection of finance, technology, and FP&A. He's deep in conversation with PE-backed CFOs every day about this big cost looming over 2027 budgets so he's the perfect guest to help you out. https://www.accordion.com/how-to-build-ai-budget-2027/

What does it look like to go "all in" at every stage of your career, even when you're not on the traditional track? This week on Parker Gals, Liz and Cass sit down with Hannah Song, a former senior associate at Promus Equity Partners who's heading to UChicago Booth this fall. Hannah shares her non-traditional journey from KPMG audit to investment banking at Mesirow to private equity — and opens up about the difficult decision of choosing between a surprise promotion and business school. Plus, why Hannah chose culture over prestige when picking firms, her obsession with Ratatouille (the movie AND the dish), and why she believes that everything's "figure-out-able."

Paul and Ryan break down what PE-backed executives should know about their management equity: how the economics work, what's worth negotiating, and how you can use it to start things off the right way with your PE sponsor.

What if the future of private equity looks exactly like its past? The days of cheap debt and multiple expansion are over, so the only way to win going forward is to operate your way out. Buy well, execute, and exit well. In this episode, Devin and Paul sit down with Lee McCabe — recovering operating partner, Facebook and Alibaba alum, and Founder of Claymore Partners — to unpack what the new playbook for PE actually looks like. Paul and Lee share stories about Operating Partner roles inside private equity funds, how to bond with management teams so you can get stuff done, and how to share bad news with the deal team when they don't want to hear it. We detail the operating plays that continue to work post-close and why, in the end, there are no shortcuts, only execution. Lee calls it common sense. You can connect with Lee at https://www.claymorepartners.com/ and follow his prolific LinkedIn account at https://www.linkedin.com/in/leemccabe/

Cass sits down with Angela McCoy, Managing Director at May River, a private equity firm investing in lower middle market industrial businesses. Angela shares her journey from leveraged finance at Bank of America through the 2008 financial crisis, to a family office, and ultimately to May River, where she started remotely during the pandemic while pregnant.  They dig into why Angela believes sector-focused strategies are winning in today's PE landscape, how May River approaches portfolio management, and why the "private equity = cost cutters" stereotype couldn't be further from her reality. She also opens up about the power of peer networks, building a "personal board of advisors," and why 10-year-old Angela wanted to be a marine biologist.

What if the thing founders are proudest of in diligence — "AI wrote most of our code" — is actually the reason investors should worry? Jim sits down with Jason Gill and Kirby Montgomery of Code & Co. to talk about what happens when vibe coding meets private equity due diligence, why every diligence summary suddenly looks identical, and why the old scars (custom integrations, undocumented paths, the stuff nobody wanted to deal with) just became the most valuable thing a company owns. We break down the one question that separates real engineering from AI smoke and mirrors and lay out their approach to Quality of AI (QoAI). To learn more about Code & Co., check out their website (https://www.codeandco.com/) or visit them on LinkedIn (codeandcogroup. 

In this episode of Parker Gals, Liz Xu sits down with her former JPMorgan colleague and friend Caroline Carman, Senior Associate at Rallyday Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm based in Denver, Colorado. Caroline shares her journey from leveraged finance analyst to becoming Rallyday's first associate, building the firm's junior team from the ground up. We dive into what drew her to private equity, the transition from heads-down number crunching to providing strategic thought partnership to portco management teams, and the mentor who shaped her career along the way. Plus, why the "PE guy" stereotype isn't accurate, why she will always identify with Monica on "Friends," and the lesson Caroline wishes she'd learned earlier.

Devin and Cass sit down with Kate Hopkins, founder of OneGuide, to break down the 36 AI value creation plays private equity firms and portfolio companies are running right now. From TAM mapping and list building with AI to revenue leakage detection, workflow automation, and agent ecosystem strategy — this episode covers what's actually working, what's not, and what's coming next. OneGuide's "Top 36 AI Value Creation Plays" report: https://connect.askoneguide.com/hubfs/OneGuide%20-%20AI%20Value%20Creation%20Plays%20-%202026.pdf This episode is sponsored by NetSuite Next. Try it free at netsuite.ai/funcast.

In this episode, host Cass Ziebel sits down with Frontenac VP Maggie Pugel for a candid conversation about breaking into private equity the non-traditional way. Maggie shares how she went from buy-side equity research at Ariel Investments to private equity at Frontenac — without the classic investment banking pedigree — and why she's glad she took the "career switcher" route.  They dig into what makes PE uniquely demanding and rewarding, how AI is changing the deal process, the value of great mentorship, and the mindset shift that comes with learning to let go of what you can't control. Plus: favorite books, cheesy eggs, karaoke songs, and how hearing a professional opera singer changes your toddler's perception of your own voice.