Private Equity Power Talks: Map of the Maze

This episode of the PepTalks Podcast is about the impact of AI on SaaS as a business model, how it's reshaping valuations and competitive risk, and what every PE-backed leader needs to take from it regardless of sector.

We are joined by Lars Pedersen, CEO of beqom and chair of MaxContact and Klearcom. This is Lars's sixth CEO role in a PE-owned business. Lars covers:

• The three real threats facing SaaS companies from AI.
• The five characteristics that separate resilient businesses from vulnerable ones.
• What PE investors are actually looking for right now, and why the bar has shifted.

Whether or not you're in SaaS, this episode is essential listening for any PE-backed leader trying to stay ahead of where the market is heading.

In this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we discover why monetisation is bigger than pricing, where value leaks out of a business unnoticed, and what getting it right does for margin, enterprise value and the multiple at exit.

We are joined by Tim Ham, founder and CEO of Pearson Ham Group, a specialist pricing and monetisation consultancy and one of PepTalks' Advisory Members. Tim walks through the four steps to effective monetisation, why product-centric thinking holds companies back, and how AI is exposing business models that charge for time and effort rather than value.

Drawing on twenty years in pricing across both B2C and B2B, Tim makes the case that most companies leave far more on the table than they realise. Could yours be one of them?

Other episodes with Tim:

Tim Ham, CEO, Pearson Ham - The Six Key Steps to Pricing Implementation

Tim Ham, CEO, Pearson Ham: Private Equity Power Talks

This episode of the PepTalks Podcast is about data, its fundamental role in the PE cycle, how it drives value creation decisions, and how it tells the story that gets you the best outcome at exit.

We are joined by Anush Newman, founder and CEO of JMAN Group, a commercial data partner to the PE industry. Anush covers where to start with data strategy, what sits beneath the reporting layer, how to align your operational infrastructure with your exit narrative, and the role AI now plays in all of this.

Having taken investment from Baird Capital in 2023, Anush speaks from both sides of the table as an advisor to PE-backed businesses and as a founder navigating the same journey himself.

Mark Banfield returns to the PepTalks Podcast for part two of our deep dive into building and scaling a high-performing sales function under PE ownership.

In his first appearance, Mark shared how to lay the foundations of an effective go-to-market engine. You can listen to that episode here: https://pep-talks.co.uk/podcast/mark-banfield-cro-teamviewer/

In this episode, the focus shifts to execution. How to raise standards, drive accountability, and create predictable revenue performance once the structure is in place.

We discuss practical insights on performance management, lifetime value and account prioritisation, balancing inbound and outbound sales, pipeline discipline, KPIs and board-level reporting.

In this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we explore what PE-backed executives can learn from elite athletes about resilience, recovery and sustainable high performance.

We’re joined by Matt Symons, former professional rugby player with 200 appearances, including a Premiership title with Harlequins in 2021. Today, Matt is Founding Partner at Malvern Street, where he works with senior leaders to strengthen personal performance and resilience in high-stakes, high-growth environments.

Matt shares practical, evidence-based strategies for building self-awareness, managing energy, and avoiding burnout, especially useful as you start planning for 2026.

This special episode, recorded live with 250 PE-backed CEOs at the PepTalks Conference, features Graham Donoghue’s 8 steps that have helped Forge become an AI-first business.

Graham breaks down how he has utilised AI to enhance efficiency, unlock margin, and drive real enterprise value by staying at the cutting edge of the newest tech and enabling his team to thrive.

You can download the accompanying documents here.

This episode of the PepTalks Podcast focuses on how PE-backed leaders can implement quick and sustainable change using Generative AI.

We are joined by Greg Nieuwenhuys, a PE-backed CEO turned Chair, and partner at Generative AI Strategy, who are actively helping PE houses and portfolio companies implement generative AI to improve efficiency, achieve companywide adoption and most importantly, drive value.

This episode of the PepTalks Podcast is all about building an effective sales function and driving organic growth under PE ownership. We are joined by Mark Banfield, Former CEO at 1E, which he recently sold to TeamViewer, where he now drives growth as Chief Revenue Officer.

Mark is a sales enablement and GTM expert and shares his insights on developing an organic growth plan, assessing sales team capabilities, strategic data and segmentation techniques and sales methodologies.

Our guest on this episode of the PepTalks Podcast is experienced Chief People Officer, Andy Doyle. Andy is CPO at Kantar, the world’s leading marketing data and analytics business, who work with 96 of the world’s 100 biggest advertisers.

Andy explains the mindset of a CPO who can drive meaningful growth under PE ownership, especially when it comes to aligning the people strategy around the value creation plan.

We also discuss the emerging CPO role in AI implementation, and how both businesses and individuals need to embrace this evolving technology to get ahead of their competitors.

In this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we are joined by Pippa Begg, Founder and CEO of Board Intelligence, Europe’s largest board technology and advisory firm.

 

Pippa and her team have helped hundreds of boards become more effective through AI-enabled board software, a capability now central to their investment thesis with PE House K1 who acquired the business in August last year.

 

Pippa shares practical insights on building a board that has the time and focus to address the issues that truly matter, as well as how to embed AI into your business in ways that drive clarity, performance, and value.