The 2025 Private Equity BD Professionals to Watch
Curated by Middle Market DealMaker editors based on more than 130 nominations
This year’s Private Equity Business Development Professionals to Watch list was curated by Middle Market DealMaker editors based on more than 130 nominations from the ACG dealmaking community.
We compiled this year’s list after carefully reviewing all the nominations. The honorees stood out for their professional achievements and reflect the future of the profession. They are indeed professionals to watch in the coming year.
Below, our honorees discuss their proudest professional accomplishment from 2024 and share a goal for 2025.
KAITLIN BROPHY
Vice President, Business Development, Transom Capital Group | Los Angeles, CA
PROUDEST 2024 PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: 2024 was a year of monumental personal and professional growth. It was a year of pushing myself and being pushed by my teammates, and I am proud of the woman Transom has helped me become since joining the team.
PROFESSIONAL GOAL FOR 2025: With a new, larger fund, many additions to the team, and a revamped business development strategy, I am excited to continue developing Transom’s relationships and putting Fund IV to work in 2025.
JONATHAN BABCOCK
Senior Associate, Compass Group Equity Partners | St. Louis, MO
PROUDEST 2024 PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: At Compass, we believe that people are at the core of everything we do. I’m proud of the relationships—and even friendships—I’ve built with intermediaries, executives and business owners. In 2024, I played a pivotal role in our proprietary sourcing efforts, reaching a new high of more than 130 direct conversations with owners in our thematic areas. Our team also reviewed a record number of over 55 proprietary and limited process opportunities. It’s most rewarding, though, to see the feats the team accomplished closing four new platforms aligned with investment theses, three of which were on a proprietary basis—a result of the hard work by team leads Bobby Bryan, Ryan Roepke, John Hubert and Patrick Murray.
PROFESSIONAL GOAL FOR 2025: In 2024, Since Compass’s founding in 2014, John Huhn, founding and managing partner, and Chris Gibson, managing partner, have guided our strategy with a refined playbook on thesis-driven investing and a proactive method to identifying promising industries. With this approach, it’s essential to have a steady inflow of high-quality opportunities that align with our thematic areas. Achieving this requires a commitment to building repeatable, predictable and scalable processes. In 2025, I aim to find ways to further integrate AI capabilities across our business development operations.
PHILLIP MARKS
Vice President – Business Development, Latticework Capital Management | Dallas, TX
PROUDEST 2024 PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: As the first business development professional in Latticework’s history, I was able to refine our entire BD/marketing organization, building off the reputation and prior successes of the team before me. In doing so, I was able to expand our addressable network by more than 40% and nearly doubled deal flow over 2023. Enhancing our already-existing efforts, defining our internal processes and building on the Latticework brand is an accomplishment of which I am extremely proud.
PROFESSIONAL GOAL FOR 2025: In 2025, I would like to continue embedding myself as a trusted resource for the healthcare and M&A communities. I endeavor to be considered a consummate go-to advisor for any information or networking that proliferates deal flow and the success of others. I am a firm believer that our industry does not need to be zero-sum—we can all win and succeed as a collective whole. In addition, I want to develop and grow LCM’s proprietary Direct Outreach Program to locate niche pockets within the healthcare industry in which we can make the most meaningful, long-lasting impact for business owners, their employees and patients alike.
DUSTIN HOLLAS
Principal, Capstreet | Houston, TX
PROUDEST 2024 PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: I couldn’t be prouder of what our team accomplished in 2024. We expanded our direct sourcing efforts by integrating automation tools and data analytics, enhancing efficiency and strengthening deal flow across both proprietary and intermediary channels. Thanks to the strong, team-oriented culture we’ve built, we also advanced our theme development process by combining in-depth market research, advanced prospecting technologies and collaborative brainstorming sessions. This approach has provided the insights needed to identify companies that align with our investment thesis and apply our Capvalue Framework.
PROFESSIONAL GOAL FOR 2025: My goal for 2025 is to further elevate our business development capabilities by incorporating advanced AI tools into our sourcing process to enhance theme research and uncover untapped opportunities with companies in our core focus areas: industrial, tech-enabled services and B2B software. Additionally, I want to strengthen collaboration across our network to deepen expertise within our key investment themes.
MADI SYKES
Vice President, Head of Business Development, Tower Arch Capital Partners | Salt Lake City, UT
PROUDEST 2024 PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: 2024 marked my first full year leading business development for Tower Arch Capital, and I am proud of what we achieved. By focusing on cultivating meaningful relationships with key industry professionals and building brand awareness, we were able to overcome headwinds and close two new platform investments and six add-on acquisitions in 2024. I’m grateful to work alongside such a talented team aligned in our commitment to our portfolio company partners. I am also proud to have joined the ACG Utah board and helped launch the ACG Utah Women’s Professional Network.
PROFESSIONAL GOAL FOR 2025: As our firm continues to evolve, leveraging our industry experience to focus more deeply on thematic investment strategies will be critical to our success. In 2025, my goal is to work with our investment team to further develop and execute on industry-specific theses and establish relationships with relevant industry partners. I will also be committed to advancing our reputation as founder-friendly investors. We are proud of the work we’ve done to create alignment with our portfolio company partners and management teams through flat capital structures and generous management incentives and look forward to continuing to be great partners.
JUSTIN SMITH
Managing Director, Head of Business Development, Agellus Capital | St. Louis, MO
PROUDEST 2024 PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: I was the first hire made by the partners when Agellus launched early last year. We hit the road together to raise our inaugural fund, which was completed in under five months. I was then tasked with building out the BD function from scratch. Not only was my BD playbook deployed in market to source investment opportunities and build the Agellus brand, it was also a cornerstone of our fundraising pitch. The warm reception that our team received from the M&A community made me particularly proud. By year end, we had closed four acquisitions and had grown the team to nine professionals. We now head into 2025 with nice momentum, poised for continued growth.
PROFESSIONAL GOAL FOR 2025: In 2025, I aim to develop deeper relationships with industry bankers who cover our core sectors. This will require more time on the road at banker-hosted events and industry conferences, as well as a continued commitment to understanding value creation within the various subsectors we invest in.
LAUREN SMYERS
Principal, Business Development, Validor Capital | Boca Raton, FL
PROUDEST 2024 PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: I’m most proud of contributing to the growth of Validor’s manufacturing portfolio companies and strengthening our market position as an industrials leader. Through The Fairway Society, a golf society for M&A professionals I founded, I’ve deepened relationships with our key partners. These efforts have not only enhanced actionable deal flow opportunities for Validor but have also supported the growth of emerging business development professionals. I’m excited to build on this momentum and capitalize on high-potential opportunities in 2025.
PROFESSIONAL GOAL FOR 2025: I’d like to continue honing my skills in securing the right investment opportunities for Validor. Beyond technical growth, I’m looking to foster an environment where my work feels fun. For me, that means embracing challenges alongside my partners, appreciating the people I meet and building friendships. Whether working with intermediaries, executives or other PE professionals, my focus in 2025 is to create meaningful connections that drive business success while making the journey enjoyable.
LAMAR STANLEY
Managing Director, Highland Rim Capital | Nashville, TN
PROUDEST 2024 PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: In 2024, I’m most proud of being a “plank owner” (a Navy term) at Highland Rim Capital, joining great friends and colleagues to “get the band back together” and build something exceptional. This year, we successfully launched the firm and completed two inaugural platform investments that embody our mission of partnering with management teams to drive growth. I’m especially proud of the culture we’ve cultivated—one that emphasizes preserving the legacy of the businesses we invest in while empowering leadership to take the reins. Building Highland Rim Capital has been a deeply rewarding journey, requiring vision, collaboration and resilience, and I’m excited about the positive impact we’ve already achieved.
PROFESSIONAL GOAL FOR 2025: In 2025, my goal is to continue building a reputation for Highland Rim Capital that we can be truly proud of—one defined by trust, integrity and exceptional partnerships. I want our firm to be recognized as a partner that can steward legacies of companies while effectively empowering leadership teams to thrive. This involves not only executing thoughtful investments but also ensuring we deliver on our promises to management teams, business brokers and investment bankers.
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