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

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.

The private equity market in 2026 was supposed to rip. So why has it fallen flat? Devin sits down with Steven Buibish, CFA, Director of US Private Equity Research at PitchBook, to break down the first half 2026 data. Deal value in Q2 dropped 38% from Q1. Software dealmaking froze. Mega deals are doing all the heavy lifting, distorting every headline number, and yet prices haven't budged. We're sitting at 2021 valuation peaks while volume collapses and leverage dries up. They dig into what's actually happening beneath the surface: the HALO rotation into hard assets and data centers, the add-on economy holding up the middle market, why 60% of software deals in market aren't closing, the zombie fund overhang, DPI falling off a cliff post-2018, and why first-time fund counts have cratered. Plus: why 2026 could still be a great vintage if you're doing the right kind of deals — and Stephen's prediction on where the next wave of growth in PE is coming from. "Another False Start" report: https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q2-2026-us-pe-breakdown Check out all of PitchBook's research at pitchbook.com.

Welcome to Parker Gals — the podcast by and for women in private equity. Hosts Cass Ziebel and Liz Xu kick off the very first episode from ParkerGale HQ in Chicago, introducing themselves and the show. In this debut episode, you'll hear how Cass stumbled into PE after a 2.5 hour "networking lunch" that turned into an accidental interview, and how Liz almost talked herself out of the job before Cass convinced her she was more than ready. Other agenda items include butter-to-egg ratios, Gilmore Girls VHS tapes, a pair of auction-won sunglasses, and two very different answers to "what would you do if not private equity?" Plus, a peek at the show's recurring segments: Indication of Interests (rapid-fire personal questions), Shop Talk (career stories), and Closing Call (fun finishers). If you know a woman in PE who should be on the show, reach out. We're just getting started. Theme music by Jon O'Hara.

40% of PE firms and 60% of credit funds still track their portfolios on spreadsheets. That's now a way to monitor a few trillion in AUM. Private equity (and credit) are about to get way more transparent as retail investors get access to PE, and the tools you need to monitor and report your exposure must evolve. The products are way ahead of the plumbing.  Devin sits down with Kevin Hsu, founder of Lumonic, a portfolio monitoring software company now part of PitchBook. We discuss Kevin's early career in private markets technology and what that taught him about the difference between the needs of VCs and PE firms. We talk about the coming convergence of public and private markets, and why the old ways of doing things (in spreadsheets) won't cut it in the new world of heightened transparency and regulation. ParkerGale is in the middle of automating much of its internal workflows with new AI-powered tools, so this conversation will help other funds think through the options. Should you roll your own (Kevin has a surprising opinion on this), stick with what you've got, or make a switch? What should you expect from your software provider and how do you handle those edge case portfolio companies? We cover all this and more with Kevin. https://www.lumonic.com/  

PE GUY turned a Snapchat filter into millions of views and a seven-figure business. Host Devin Mathews (a real PE guy) conducts due diligence on Johnny Hilbrant Partridge's background, business model, and the wealthy towns he's taking on next. We sat down with Johnny in PE GUY's natural habitat -- a Winnetka, IL pool house to figure out how a goofy internet character became an oddly accurate and honest mirror of the private equity industry. Johnny grew up in Winnetka and now lives in Wellesley (two classic PE Guy towns). He went to New Trier (the affluent North Shore high school that inspired "Breakfast Club"), played water polo at the University of Denver, worked for the Ellen Degeneres Show, and the PE-backed Barry's, and Soul Cycle before creating the viral character. What started out as an Instagram reel to make his friends laugh is now generating millions of views from more than 500,000 followers. We go deep into the PE GUY universe. Catchphrases like "decent," "substantial," "due to my role," plus his three kids named Tarantino, Montauk, and EBITDA. Not to mention Wifey and Nanny's #1, #2, and #3. We also break down Johnny's revenue streams: Cameo, brand deals, appearances, and PE GUY swag. Then Johnny puts Devin under the microscope and asks, "Can private equity ever be stopped?"