Private Equity Data Guy

Behind every value creation plan, there's a data problem nobody wants to talk about. In this episode, I sat down with Ben Banks to get into why the vast majority of enterprise AI deployments are delivering no measurable P&L impact, and what AI readiness actually means beneath the slogan. Ben brings 30 years of operational experience, with 18 of those leading global transformations and exit rea...

We covered why the Rolodex only approach keeps failing, how to write job descriptions that pull in the right people, and what private equity teams can do to build discretionary effort after an acquisition. Frank also shared a simple metric that too many teams ignore: quality of hire, measured early and consistently, not months later when everyone is already frustrated. The theme that stuck with me...

Elon Salfati joined me this week to break down what most PE-backed companies are getting wrong about AI. Not the surface-level stuff, not the board slide version. The real operational gap between clicking a button and actually changing how a business runs. Elon advises PE firms, enterprise operators, and has consulted the UK House of Lords on AI policy alongside leaders from Microsoft and Palantir...

Peter Kang built Barrel into a cash-flowing agency over fifteen years before he ever touched a deal. That patient foundation is what separates Barrel Holdings from a traditional PE firm. No fund, no management fees, no forced exit timeline. Just cash flows reinvested into acquiring good businesses at fair prices, with SBA financing doing the heavy lifting until the flywheel grows strong enough to...

In this episode, I sat down with Derek Sather, CRO at KKR-backed Education Perfect, to talk about what actually happens when someone with deep systems thinking and revenue architecture experience steps inside a PE portfolio company. Derek breaks down what it means to move from managing a pipeline to underwriting revenue, and why that shift matters more now than ever before. We get into the real co...

Holli Moeini spent 35 years as a CFO scaling companies through acquisitions before leaving corporate to help founders protect their value when going up against PE buyers. Her book, Find the Missing Millions in M&A, breaks down the five moments in every deal where money moves toward you or away from you. In this episode, she maps out each one and explains what sellers can do before they ever ge...

Tim Schulte leads value creation at Council Capital, a healthcare-focused PE firm in Nashville. He spent years at Vista Equity Partners before building something different at Counsel. In this conversation, we get into why the playbook model breaks down across a diverse portfolio, what a toolkit approach actually looks like in practice, and what AI is doing to the work of value creation right now....

Ryan Krook has spent his career at the intersection of data and operations, working inside companies like Uber, Shopify, and McKinsey before founding Pareto Apps. In this episode, we get into what it actually looks like to walk into a mid-market PE portfolio company that has never taken data seriously, and what to do about it. Ryan brings a perspective I don't hear often: he has sat on the LP side...

Greg Hood has spent over 20 years as a finance executive inside Canadian and US fintechs and financial services firms. He built Sky Site Analytics to help PE firms, sell-side M&A advisors, and high-growth companies fix the data layer before buyers find it first. We cover the dirty data discount, what actually breaks during exit, and why the back office is always the last to get the budget it n...

Shota Ishii joined me on The PE Data Guy to talk about what happens when PE-backed manufacturers cannot answer a basic question: which products are actually making money? He has spent two decades building systems that give companies a clear picture of where their cash goes, and we got into why that gap exists and what it takes to close it. We covered working capital, data architecture, and what mi...

Shawn Olds spent two decades building AI companies and advising PE firms on what actually produces returns from the technology. He went from the 82nd Airborne to West Point computer science to co-founding Boodle Box, and along the way he has worked with over 200 companies on AI adoption. The number that should make every operating partner stop: over 80% of AI programs in portfolio companies fail....

Lee McCabe joined me to talk about why private equity value creation keeps running into the same problem. The problem is messy systems, unclear metrics, and leaders making decisions without clean reporting. Lee shared how that shows up inside portfolio companies, and why the operating partner model often depends on influence, not authority. We also got into what it takes to fix the foundation. Lee...

I sat down with Paul Evangelista, Chief Data Officer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, to talk about what happens when decisions carry real weight. Paul spent 30 years in the Army, from engineer officer to operations research analyst, and now leads data strategy where leadership is forged under pressure. We talked about why decision literacy matters more than data literacy, how...

I've spent 20 years watching brilliant people build companies on gut instinct and prayer when it comes to hiring. After losing a million dollars on a single bad hire who tanked an entire engineering team for six months, I wanted to understand if there was actually a way to measure the thing everyone claims is unmeasurable: culture fit. Jacob Crockett built Higher Aligned after nearly getting fired...

I sat down with Scott Golder, Senior Director of Data Science at Home Depot, to talk about what actually works when you're building data teams. Scott has spent 20+ years fixing what others couldn't, from Capital One to running algorithms behind one of the top five e-commerce platforms in the world. He breaks down why deeper academic backgrounds don't always make better data scientists, how to make...

In this episode, I sit down with Ian Alden Russell to talk about something most leaders miss when they look at data. We dig into how cultural signals and qualitative insights can predict market shifts before they show up in your revenue reports. Ian shares his approach to helping companies, from luxury retail to AI startups, understand the human side of business decisions. We explore the concept o...

This conversation with Dr. Marquise Rivera challenged everything I thought I knew about treating chronic pain. Most of us track steps and lab panels but ignore the clearest data source we have: the body's own signals. Dr. Marquise reads what she calls the bioenergetic language of the body through applied kinesiology, muscle testing, nutrition, and trauma release. Her bar is measurable change withi...

I sat down with Jordan Mix, Operating Partner at Late Checkout and founder of Startup Empire. Jordan builds, acquires, and scales community driven Internet businesses, and he's seen hundreds of founders succeed and fail. What separates the empire builders from the serial starters? It's not the idea. It's the data loops, the reinvestment cycles, and the systems that actually compound. Jordan breaks...

Maddie Hill joins us to dive deep into the often misunderstood world of fitness and data, emphasizing that movement is indeed medicine. We explore how many of us, including Maddie, have navigated the overwhelming fitness landscape, often driven by outdated ideas about exercise and body image. She candidly shares her own journey from performance arts into the fitness realm, revealing how personal e...

Elliot Blacklist joins us to share his remarkable journey in scaling a CBD brand through innovative digital marketing strategies, despite fierce competition from well-funded players. We dive into how he leveraged data-driven insights to navigate the complexities of the industry, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer acquisition costs and lifetime value. Elliot’s story is not just ab...

Today, we dive into the fascinating intersection of art and artificial intelligence, exploring how AI is reshaping the creative landscape. We chat with Ellery, the CEO of Voight AI, who reveals the complexities of navigating AI compliance in entertainment while advocating for the irreplaceable human touch in creativity. As we discuss the impact of AI on artists, Ellery shares her insights on why t...

In a world where sales tactics often resemble a high-pressure game of “sell me this pen,” we challenge the notion that success hinges on pushing products onto disinterested buyers. Instead, we advocate for a sales philosophy rooted in genuine relationships and mutual benefit. Our compelling discussion with Assad Ali, a veteran in leveraging behavioral psychology for sales success, reveals how unde...

How to Master Public Speaking with Data: Transform Your Communication Skills Chuck Garcia, Columbia University professor and communication expert, joins Graeme Crawford to reveal how data transforms public speaking and leadership communication. They explore the 55-38-7 formula for first impressions, proven techniques to eliminate verbal filler words, and how treating soft skills as measurable data...

The episode of Transformed With Data podcast, Graeme Crawford talks with Michael Young, owner of an outsourced accounting firm, about the hidden patterns in small business financial data. Michael shares insights from analyzing hundreds of M&A deals at PwC and now helping small businesses navigate their finances, revealing why sophisticated data systems can actually hurt small companies and the...

How to Scale Trust in the Age of AI: Data-Driven Marketing That Actually Works Transformed With Data Episode 13:How to Scale Trust in the Age of AI: Data-Driven Marketing That Actually Works On this episode of Transformed with Data, Graeme Crawford talks with Lauren Gibson, marketing professional and strategic brand consultant, about why traditional marketing metrics might be destroying the trust...