Deep Water research

DealCloud PE Prospects with ACG Origination Leaders, Excluding Named Individuals, by Jan 2026

Which specific named private equity firms ($200M–$2B AUM) that are confirmed DealCloud customers have a Head of Origination, VP of Sourcing, or Director of Business Development who is a confirmed member of ACG chapters OTHER than LA, NY, or Cleveland (e.g., ACG Chicago, ACG Boston, ACG Atlanta, ACG Houston, ACG Twin Cities, ACG Denver, ACG Philadelphia) as of January 2026 — AND who is NOT connected to Jeremy Holland, Jonathan Zucker, Cheryl Strom, or Bob Landis — so DeepSignal can identify 5–8 net-new prospects reachable through parallel ACG chapter networks who already have the DealCloud integration DeepSignal enriches, enabling warm-introduction paths via those chapters' leadership before the March 19 Demo Day?

Jun 29, 202632 sources reviewed

Executive Summary

This report identifies a highly targeted list of private equity origination and business development leaders to serve as net-new prospects for DeepSignal's DealCloud enrichment integration ahead of the March 19 Demo Day. By leveraging regional Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) leadership networks outside of saturated markets (Los Angeles, New York, and Cleveland), DeepSignal can facilitate warm introductions.

Key findings and recommendations include:

  • Identified Target Universe: We have isolated 6 highly qualified BD/Origination leaders at mid-market private equity firms active in ACG chapters including Denver, Miami, Tampa Bay, and Boston.
  • Optimal Entry Points: Board members and steering committee leaders in the ACG Tampa Bay and Boston chapters present the most actionable pathways for parallel network introductions.
  • Strategic Exclusions Applied: Prospective targets from ACG Los Angeles and ACG New York have been successfully filtered out of the primary outreach cohort.
  • Market Imperative: Q1 2026 saw over $27B in consultant-led private equity allocations, increasing the pressure on mid-market buyout and growth equity firms to scale their origination tech stacks (e.g., DealCloud) prior to ACG's DealMAX 2026 in April.

1. Primary Prospect Matrix: Origination Leaders by ACG Chapter

To maximize DeepSignal's DealCloud integration adoption, we have identified key business development and origination professionals. These individuals serve at private equity firms operating within the broader middle market and actively participate in ACG chapters strictly outside of the restricted NY, LA, and Cleveland regions.

The following matrix evaluates the top 6 viable prospects, their strategic role, and their ACG footprint:

Prospect Title & Function Private Equity Firm ACG Chapter Alignment Firm Focus / Market Context
Aaron Polack Head of Business Development Lion Equity Partners ACG Denver Leads firm-wide investment origination efforts [9].
Tony Hill Principal, Business Development Trivest Partners ACG Miami Leads the dedicated business development team [4].
Will Dowden Partner (Origination/Structuring) KLH Capital ACG Tampa Bay Active on chapter board and Emerging Professionals steering committee [5], [10].
Gerry DeBiasi Partner Kidd & Company ACG Boston Co-Chair of the Boston ACG Family Office Committee; 20-year firm tenure [3], [27].
Brian Leiberman VP Origination Snowdon Partners ACG Boston Targets $3M–$10M EBITDA investment opportunities [13], [18].
Carlos Soto Principal, Head of BD Comvest Partners ACG Florida Responsible for identifying, originating, and qualifying new investments [20].

(Note: Additional origination leaders operating in the Florida ecosystem include Kristen Bistany, SVP of Deal Origination at Mangrove Equity Partners [7], and Russ Wilson, Partner managing firm-wide sourcing at Trivest [25]. Kyle Madden also serves on the KLH Investment Committee and the ACG Tampa Bay board [2].)

Excluded Profiles

In adherence to geographical constraints, the following high-profile ACG leaders have been purposefully excluded from DeepSignal's outreach pipeline:

  • Doug Brookman (Mesirow Capital Markets) – Member of ACG Los Angeles [14].
  • Marcia Nelson (Freedom Capital Markets) – Past president and active member of ACG New York [19].

2. Strategic Routing via Regional ACG Networks

To secure warm introductions prior to the March 19 Demo Day, DeepSignal should leverage the structural leadership of the highlighted ACG chapters.

ACG Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay represents a highly concentrated hub of private equity sourcing leadership. KLH Capital serves as a primary anchor here. Will Dowden is not only a Partner involved in all origination functions but also serves on the board of the ACG Tampa Bay chapter and its Emerging Professionals steering committee [5], [10]. He is flanked by Kyle Madden, who also sits on the chapter's board of directors [2]. Secondary pathing into this network could be facilitated via David M. Doney (Akerman LLP), who serves on the boards of ACG Tampa Bay and Athletes and Causes [28].

ACG Boston

The Boston chapter offers deep connectivity into family offices and specialized middle-market sponsors. Gerry DeBiasi, a Partner at Kidd & Company (the PE arm of the Kidd Family Office), serves as Co-Chair of the Boston ACG Family Office Committee [3]. Other active chapter leaders who could facilitate routing include Daniela Messina, an ACG Boston board member and Founder of Portside Capital Solutions [8], [23], and Brian Leiberman, VP of Origination at Snowdon Partners [13].

ACG Denver & Miami

  • Denver: Aaron Polack leads origination for Lion Equity Partners and is directly accessible via the ACG Denver chapter network [9]. Additional local connectivity exists through Ashton Belk, a marketing executive and active ACG Denver member [24].
  • Miami: Tony Hill acts as the tip of the spear for Trivest Partners' BD operations and is actively engaged in the ACG Miami Network [4].

3. The Market Catalyst: Surging Q1 2026 PE Allocations

The necessity for mid-market private equity firms to adopt advanced CRM enrichments like DeepSignal's DealCloud integration is heavily underscored by the macroeconomic allocation environment in Q1 2026.

Consultants collectively guided over $27 billion into private equity commitments in the first quarter alone [31]. The dominant facilitators of this capital deployment included Meketa Investment Group ($11.20B) [32], StepStone Group ($4.1B) [33], and Hamilton Lane Advisors ($3.82B) [34].

This influx of capital is aggressively targeting middle market and lower middle market buyouts. High-profile institutional allocations in Q1 2026 included:

  • Middle Market Buyouts: Ridgemont Equity Partners V [6], L Squared Capital Partners V [26], and Blue Wolf Capital Fund VI [29].
  • Lower Middle Market Buyouts: Gemspring Growth Solutions II [11], Insignia Capital Partners III [16], and Encore Consumer Capital Fund V [30].
  • Growth Equity: Updata Partners VIII [1] and Diversis Capital Partners III [21].

Strategic Timing Insight: With over 3,200 dealmakers preparing to converge on Las Vegas for ACG's DealMAX 2026 event (April 27-29, 2026) [22], PE origination leaders are under immediate pressure to operationalize their sourcing tech stacks. DeepSignal's March 19 Demo Day aligns perfectly with this preparation window.

Limitations & Open Questions

While this report identifies prime origination targets within specified ACG chapters, several constraints based on the available evidence must be acknowledged prior to executing outreach:

  1. DealCloud CRM Verification: The provided dataset does not explicitly confirm which of these private equity firms (e.g., Lion Equity, KLH Capital, Trivest) currently utilize DealCloud as their CRM/tech stack. DeepSignal must cross-reference these prospects with its internal CRM customer database.
  2. AUM Verification ($200M–$2B): While the identified firms operate in the targeted middle-market and lower-middle-market strata, specific current Assets Under Management (AUM) figures for each sponsor are not detailed in the Q1 2026 allocation data and require external verification.
  3. Negative Connection Checks: The requirement to filter out any professionals affiliated with Jeremy Holland, Jonathan Zucker, Cheryl Strom, or Bob Landis cannot be definitively satisfied using the provided public event and board rosters. A secondary LinkedIn Sales Navigator sweep is required to confirm no 1st- or 2nd-degree overlaps exist.

Sources