AI Pathfinder for Private Equity Podcast

I'm on a mission to guide private equity from AI uncertainty to empowerment by building a network for successful AI adoption. It's giving me firsthand access to PE leaders and experts across the AI value chain.

Contributors

Host

Steve Budd

Steve Budd is the host of the AI Pathfinder for Private Equity Podcast and Founder of AI Pathfinder.

AI Pathfinder is a network and platform dedicated to exploring AI strategy in Private Equity. Through quarterly breakfast briefings and strategy events, Steve helps PE professionals cut through the AI hype with practical insights, real case studies, and hands-on learning. With a background in product management, Steve focuses on how portfolio companies can leverage AI to transform operations and customer value delivery while protecting intellectual property and reputation.

https://www.aipathfinder.co/

Guests

Guest

Aris Valtazanos

Aris Valtazanos is Head of Data & Analytics at Oakley Capital, based in the Office London.

Aris joined Oakley in 2024 and has over 15 years of experience in data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI). Aris’s focus at Oakley is to help portfolio companies identify, plan, and implement data and AI initiatives, while improving how data is used across the investment lifecycle.

Prior to joining Oakley, Aris was the Chief Scientist at WovenLight, a data and analytics firm focused on value creation for private equity-owned portfolio companies. Before that, Aris was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company’s AI division QuantumBlack, where he led multiple analytics consulting projects spanning industries such as pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, banking, and public sector.

Aris holds a Ph.D. in Robotics and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, both from the University of Edinburgh.

https://www.oakleycapital.com/

Guest appearance on:

Aris Valtazanos: Start with the Pain Point, AI Isn't Always the Answer

Guest

John Gunn

John Gunn joined IK Partners in 2024 and is Lead of Data Science & AI in the Operations team, based in London.

Prior to joining IK, John worked as Data Scientist & Machine Learning Engineer for Landscape AI, following roles in cyber security, web development and mechanical engineering in the Netherlands and UK. He holds an MSc in Computer Science specialising in Data Science from the Leiden University and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Kingston University.

Outside of work, John enjoys exercise through sports or gym, digital music production, and woodworking.

https://ikpartners.com/

Guest appearance on:

John Gunn: The AI Maturity Gap is Your First-Mover Advantage

Guest

Zuzana Manhart

Zuzanna Manhart is Portfolio Manager for Data and AI at CBPE, a UK mid-market private equity firm with over 40 years of experience backing management teams across business services, healthcare, technology, and financial services. With a master's in computer science, Zuzanna brings deep technical expertise to portfolio value creation. Her career began as a data scientist working across blockchain, fintech, and AI consulting before joining General Atlantic, where she focused on growth acceleration and data science. Since joining CBPE last year, she has worked at the intersection of data strategy and operational transformation, helping portfolio companies unlock value through intelligent use of AI and data infrastructure.

https://www.cbpe.com/team/zuzana-manhart