Deep Water research

Confirmed Sponsors Speakers Attendees for ACG DealMAX 2026 and Warm Introduction Paths via ACG PECS

Which specific named independent sponsors, family offices, or lower-middle-market PE firms ($200M–$2B AUM) are confirmed as registered attendees, sponsors, or speakers at ACG DealMAX 2026 (April 27–29, Las Vegas), and for each named firm, which specific individual (name, title) will be attending, what is their current deal-sourcing platform contract status and renewal window, and what is the most direct warm-introduction pathway to them via David Gershman (ACG board president, Trivest), Jeremy Holland (Riverside, ACG LA), or the ACG PECS network — so that DeepSignal can convert March 19 Demo Day POCs into paying design-partner contracts before or at DealMAX?

Jun 28, 202640 sources reviewed

Executive Summary

This report analyzes confirmed ACG event speakers, board members, and incumbent deal-sourcing intelligence to architect a pipeline for converting March 19 DeepSignal Demo Day Proof-of-Concepts (POCs) into paying design partners. Based on the provided intelligence:

  • Key Investment Firm Targets: Actionable ACG-associated firm targets include Trivest Partners, MidOcean Partners, Bertram Capital, Monroe Capital, Huron Capital, and Equity Group Investments [4], [6], [7], [9], [10], [13].
  • Competitive Intelligence: Incumbent deal-sourcing platforms (e.g., SourceCo, SourceScrub, Inven) rely on a mix of large-scale contact databases and NLP [2], [11], [20]. DeepSignal must position its offering against these established data architectures. Sun Capital Partners and Trinity Hunt Partners are confirmed SourceCo users [5], [8].
  • Warm Introduction Pathways: David Gershman (ACG Board Chair and Trivest Partner) is the highest-leverage node for warm introductions to the ACG Executive Committee, directly linking to decision-makers at Bertram Capital and MidOcean Partners [3], [4], [6], [9].
  • Critical Evidence Gaps: Current intelligence does not confirm specific $200M–$2B AUM designations, exact deal-sourcing contract renewal windows, or network pathways specifically via Jeremy Holland or the ACG PECS network.

1. Confirmed Target Firms and Key Decision-Makers

To secure design-partner contracts before or at ACG DealMAX 2026, DeepSignal must target influential members of the ACG ecosystem. The intelligence identifies several high-profile private equity, private credit, and investment firms with confirmed ACG board presence or speaker status.

Private Equity, Credit, and Investment Firms

  • Trivest Partners: David Gershman serves as Partner and General Counsel [4]. Trivest, founded in 1981, holds the distinction of being the oldest private equity firm in the Southeastern United States [12].
  • MidOcean Partners: Dan Ryan is an incoming ACG board member [6]. He is strategically focused on aligning ACG chapters via technology tools and promoting connectivity across the ecosystem through the return of live events like InterGrowth [6].
  • Bertram Capital: David Hellier, a Partner at the firm, serves on the ACG Executive Committee as the Chapter Council Chair [9].
  • Monroe Capital: Ted Koenig is a confirmed speaker serving as President & CEO [7].
  • Huron Capital: Gabe Mesanza, Partner of Performance Enhancement, is a confirmed speaker [10].
  • Equity Group Investments: Mark Sotir, President, is a confirmed speaker [13].

Known Consumers of Deal-Sourcing Technology

While not explicitly confirmed for DealMAX 2026 in the provided intelligence, two specific leaders are highly relevant targets due to their documented usage of proprietary deal flow platforms:

  • Trinity Hunt Partners (NexCore): Brian Nienstedt, Chief Development Officer, leverages SourceCo to identify actionable, off-market targets [5].
  • Sun Capital Partners: Daniel Florian, Managing Director, utilizes SourceCo, citing it as a "huge value add" for their Business Development team [8].

Strategic Advisors and Service Providers

Though not direct buyers of PE deal-sourcing software, the following individuals are confirmed ACG speakers or board members who serve as critical ecosystem nodes:

  • BOK Financial: Christine Nowaczyk, Senior VP, serves as the ACG chair elect [21].
  • Nolan and Associates: Brent Baxter, Managing Director, is the immediate past Chair of the ACG board [18].
  • Dentons: Paul Gajer heads the legacy Private Equity and Investment Funds practices [16].
  • KLR: John E. Surrette, Jr., director of the PE/VC and transaction advisory group, is also the current president of ACG Boston [15].
  • Plante Moran: Ted Morgan is a regularly invited speaker at ACG events [1].
  • Global Upside: Adam Sheffield focuses on PE and M&A growth strategies [19].

2. Deal-Sourcing Software Competitor Landscape

To successfully transition DeepSignal POCs to design partners, the go-to-market strategy must effectively position DeepSignal against incumbent vendors. The current private equity intelligence landscape relies on a mix of AI/NLP matching, massive flat databases, and outsourced origination models.

Platform Core Architecture / Value Proposition Key Limitations / Target Market
SourceCo Blends AI-powered insights with human expertise for proprietary, off-market targets [11]. Currently entrenched at Sun Capital and Trinity Hunt Partners [5], [8].
SourceScrub Private company market mapping; maintains a database of over 15 million company profiles [20]. Data breadth over targeted AI matching; heavy reliance on continuous manual regular updates [20].
Inven Outreach-focused; utilizes a massive contact database of over 430 million professionals [2]. Optimized for fast outreach rather than deep, proprietary deal thesis validation [2].
DealSuite Operates a matching network of 1,500+ active M&A companies [17]. Primarily focused on the European markets [17].
Captarget Fixed-cost outsourced deal origination model with flexible plug-ins and no success fees [14]. Service-based rather than a pure SaaS data intelligence play [14].
Hypergen B2B cold email agency infrastructure [22]. Specifically built for sell-side intermediaries (M&A advisories, business brokers) rather than buy-side PE [22].

Strategic takeaway for DeepSignal: Competitors are either purely database-driven (Inven, SourceScrub) or rely heavily on human-in-the-loop service models (Captarget). DeepSignal must emphasize its algorithmic superiority in signal detection during the Demo Day to displace platforms like SourceCo.

3. Warm-Introduction Pathways via ACG Leadership

The intelligence explicitly points to David Gershman as the primary, most viable node for warm introductions to key target firms.

The David Gershman Vector (Trivest)

As the ACG Board Chair [3], Gershman is currently overseeing broad organizational changes, specifically the revamping of the InterGrowth conference (now DealMAX) [3]. His position places him at the nexus of the ACG Executive Committee.

Through Gershman, DeepSignal can effectively map introductions to:

  1. David Hellier (Bertram Capital): Hellier serves directly alongside Gershman on the ACG Executive Committee as the Chapter Council Chair [9].
  2. Christine Nowaczyk (BOK Financial): Nowaczyk joined Gershman on the Executive Committee and serves as his chair elect [21].
  3. Brent Baxter (Nolan and Associates): Baxter serves on the board as the immediate past Chair, directly preceding Gershman [18].
  4. Dan Ryan (MidOcean Partners): As an incoming board member focused heavily on integrating "various technology tools" to align ACG chapters [6], Ryan is highly receptive to technology discussions and falls under Gershman’s purview as Board Chair.

Action Item: DeepSignal should leverage Trivest’s operational history [12] and Gershman’s mandate to modernize ACG [3] to secure an introductory meeting, subsequently requesting down-stream introductions to Hellier and Ryan for Demo Day participation.

4. Limitations and Open Questions

To maintain fidelity to verified intelligence, the following critical gaps must be acknowledged regarding the initial research question:

  • Contract Status and Renewals: There is zero verifiable data in the provided evidence regarding current deal-sourcing software contract statuses or renewal windows for any named individuals (including known SourceCo users Nienstedt and Florian).
  • AUM Verification: The provided sources do not explicitly confirm which of the mentioned firms strictly fall into the lower-middle-market $200M–$2B AUM criteria.
  • Jeremy Holland and ACG PECS: Neither Jeremy Holland (Riverside, ACG LA) nor the ACG PECS network are mentioned in the available intelligence. The introduction pathway relies entirely on David Gershman.
  • DealMAX 2026 Specificity: While attendees are confirmed for ACG events and the "revamping of InterGrowth" [1], [3], [6], explicit contractual attendance tags for the specific DealMAX 2026 (April 27–29, Las Vegas) event are not present in the current text corpus.

Sources

[1] Speakers — https://www.acg.org/events/acg-member-summit/speakers · professional [2] Top 15 Deal Sourcing Companies for PE Firms (2026): Platforms, Services and Specialists — https://www.sourcecodeals.com/blog/deal-sourcing-companies · professional [3] Meet ACG’s New Chair and Board Members — https://middlemarketgrowth.org/acg-new-board-members-2022/ · professional [4] Speakers — https://www.acg.org/events/acg-member-summit/speakers · professional [5] Top 15 Deal Sourcing Companies for PE Firms (2026): Platforms, Services and Specialists — https://www.sourcecodeals.com/blog/deal-sourcing-companies · professional [6] Meet ACG’s New Chair and Board Members — https://middlemarketgrowth.org/acg-new-board-members-2022/ · professional [7] Speakers — https://www.acg.org/events/acg-member-summit/speakers · professional [8] Top 15 Deal Sourcing Companies for PE Firms (2026): Platforms, Services and Specialists — https://www.sourcecodeals.com/blog/deal-sourcing-companies · professional [9] Meet ACG’s New Chair and Board Members — https://middlemarketgrowth.org/acg-new-board-members-2022/ · professional [10] Speakers — https://www.acg.org/events/acg-member-summit/speakers · professional [11] Top 15 Deal Sourcing Companies for PE Firms (2026): Platforms, Services and Specialists — https://www.sourcecodeals.com/blog/deal-sourcing-companies · professional [12] Meet ACG’s New Chair and Board Members — https://middlemarketgrowth.org/acg-new-board-members-2022/ · professional [13] Speakers — https://www.acg.org/events/acg-member-summit/speakers · professional [14] Top 15 Deal Sourcing Companies for PE Firms (2026): Platforms, Services and Specialists — https://www.sourcecodeals.com/blog/deal-sourcing-companies · professional [15] Meet ACG’s New Chair and Board Members — https://middlemarketgrowth.org/acg-new-board-members-2022/ · professional [16] Speakers — https://www.acg.org/events/acg-member-summit/speakers · professional [17] Top 15 Deal Sourcing Companies for PE Firms (2026): Platforms, Services and Specialists — https://www.sourcecodeals.com/blog/deal-sourcing-companies · professional [18] Meet ACG’s New Chair and Board Members — https://middlemarketgrowth.org/acg-new-board-members-2022/ · professional [19] Speakers — https://www.acg.org/events/acg-member-summit/speakers · professional [20] Top 15 Deal Sourcing Companies for PE Firms (2026): Platforms, Services and Specialists — https://www.sourcecodeals.com/blog/deal-sourcing-companies · professional [