Deep Water research

Named PE Firms Hiring Business Development Origination in Late 2025 Using Deal Sourcing Platforms

Which specific named PE firms ($200M–$2B AUM) have posted Business Development Senior Associate/VP or Head of Origination roles on LinkedIn, SelectLeaders, or PE Hub between November 2025 and January 2026 — and for each named firm, who is the hiring partner or COO making the technology-stack decision, what deal-sourcing platform do they currently use (Grata, SourceScrub, PitchBook, Inven, or none), and which of Jonathan Zucker (Intrepid), David Gershman (Trivest/ACG), Sasha Bernier (Cheltenham), or Janet Welch (Trove) has the most direct connection to that specific person — so DeepSignal can intercept firms during their active BD-hiring technology-evaluation window and convert them into POC design partners before the March 19, 2026 ACG Middle-Market AI Demo Day?

Jun 28, 202632 sources reviewed

Executive Summary

This report evaluates target private equity and investment firms for DeepSignal's business development interception campaign leading up to the March 19, 2026, ACG Middle-Market AI Demo Day. Based on the provided intelligence corpus, the analysis yields the following findings:

  • Target Identification: Bridgeway Capital Management is the primary firm identified in the current intelligence dataset, operating with a highly quantitative, evidence-based investment approach. (Note: Explicit confirmation of AUM bracket and Nov 2025–Jan 2026 job postings is absent from the provided data).
  • Technology Leadership: Technology decisions at Bridgeway are steered by Co-Chief Investment Officer Elena Khoziaeva (high-level oversight) and Donald Chang (day-to-day operations and software design).
  • Current Tech Stack & Vulnerabilities: Bridgeway currently utilizes PitchBook for deal and company intelligence, alongside 4Degrees for CRM. Crucially, they are experiencing friction with their CRM's outbound call tracking and are actively evaluating Zapier and OpenPhone integrations to bridge this gap, signaling an active technology-evaluation window.
  • Advisor Network Gap: Current data does not map direct connections between the target firm and the specified DeepSignal advisory board (Zucker, Gershman, Bernier, Welch), requiring secondary network mapping prior to outreach.

1. Target Firm Identification & Organizational Structure

While the research parameters targeted PE firms with $200M–$2B AUM posting Business Development or Origination roles between November 2025 and January 2026 on LinkedIn, SelectLeaders, or PE Hub, the available intelligence isolates Bridgeway Capital Management as the core actionable target.

Bridgeway Operational Profile

Founded in 1993 by John Montgomery, Bridgeway has a deeply entrenched culture of statistical and quantitative investing [8]. The firm’s leadership reflects a highly technical orientation, which DeepSignal must factor into its Proof of Concept (POC) messaging. Key leadership includes:

  • Jacob Pozharny (Co-CIO): Formerly led the quantitative equity investment platform at QMA (a PGIM company), overseeing international equity research and portfolio management [10].
  • Andrew L. Berkin (Head of Research / Portfolio Manager): Oversees the development and implementation of Bridgeway's evidence-based, statistically driven investment strategies [11].
  • Lemuel Soh: Joined in 2018 and elevated to Partner in 2020 [9].

DeepSignal's go-to-market motion for Bridgeway must index heavily on AI data integrity and statistical validity to resonate with this quantitative leadership team.

2. Technology Decision-Makers & Current Sourcing Platforms

To successfully intercept Bridgeway during an active technology-evaluation window, DeepSignal must route its pitch through the correct stakeholders currently managing the firm's sourcing and CRM architecture.

Primary Technology Decision-Makers

Bridgeway’s investment technology decisions are split between strategic oversight and tactical implementation:

  1. Elena Khoziaeva (Co-Chief Investment Officer): Holds ultimate oversight of the Bridgeway research program, trading, portfolio management, and investment systems [6]. She is the executive sponsor for major technology shifts.
  2. Donald Chang (Investment Management Technology): Manages the day-to-day operations of investment management technology [2]. Crucially, Chang is directly involved in the design and implementation of software systems governing statistical modeling, risk analysis, and portfolio management [4]. Chang represents the technical buyer and primary evaluator for any DeepSignal POC.

Current Deal-Sourcing and CRM Architecture

Bridgeway's current business development and deal origination stack relies on a combination of established private market databases and modular CRM tools.

Functional Area Current Platform Notes / Operational Status
Deal / Company Info PitchBook Acts as the primary deal and company information database [3]. No evidence suggests they are currently utilizing Grata, SourceScrub, or Inven.
CRM / Deal Tracker 4Degrees Utilized as the primary relationship management and deal tracking tool [1].
Information Database SharePoint Serves as the central internal information database and document repository [5].

The Interception Opportunity: Stack Vulnerabilities

Bridgeway is currently experiencing acute friction within their business development technology stack, specifically regarding outbound engagement tracking. Their current CRM (4Degrees) lacks meaningful phone integration for tracking outbound calls [7].

To remedy this, the firm is currently evaluating a workaround utilizing OpenPhone connected via Zapier to bridge the CRM divide [7]. This active tinkering with API connections (Zapier) and third-party telephony integrations indicates that Bridgeway is currently in an active technology-evaluation window. DeepSignal can leverage this by positioning its platform as a native, unified solution that eliminates the need for fragmented, Zapier-based workarounds before the March 19 Demo Day.

3. Advisor Network Mapping

The interception strategy relies on utilizing DeepSignal's advisory network—Jonathan Zucker (Intrepid), David Gershman (Trivest/ACG), Sasha Bernier (Cheltenham), or Janet Welch (Trove)—to facilitate warm introductions to Elena Khoziaeva or Donald Chang.

Critically, the current intelligence corpus contains no evidence mapping professional connections between these four advisors and Bridgeway's leadership.

To secure Bridgeway as a POC design partner, DeepSignal must initiate an immediate secondary network analysis (e.g., via LinkedIn Sales Navigator or ACG member directories) to identify 2nd-degree connections between David Gershman (given his ACG affiliation and the target Demo Day) and Donald Chang.

Limitations / Open Questions

The findings in this report are constrained by gaps in the provided intelligence corpus. Future research sprints must address the following open questions:

  • Hiring Signals: There is no evidence confirming that Bridgeway (or any other named firm) posted Business Development Senior Associate/VP or Head of Origination roles specifically between November 2025 and January 2026 on LinkedIn, SelectLeaders, or PE Hub.
  • AUM Verification: The dataset does not explicitly confirm if Bridgeway falls strictly within the target $200M–$2B AUM bracket.
  • Advisor Network Validation: As noted in Section 3, there is zero data establishing a direct link between the specified DeepSignal advisors (Zucker, Gershman, Bernier, Welch) and the decision-makers at Bridgeway.
  • Alternative Platform Usage: While PitchBook is explicitly named as their deal information source [3], the evidence does not state whether they have previously evaluated or churned from Grata, SourceScrub, or Inven.

Sources

Source Quality Summary
Evidence draws on 7 professional sources (direct corporate bios and operational data) and 4 social/professional forum sources (industry technology stack discussions).