Cowen Partners Insights Featured in CFO Brew on AI Deployment in Private Equity and the Middle Market
Cowen Partners Executive Search President Shawn Cole was quoted in CFO Brew on why so many private equity firms and portfolio companies are stalling out in what the article calls AI’s “messy middle,” the expensive stretch between early experimentation and real operating leverage.
In the article “Private equity, middle market CFOs must push through AI’s ‘messy middle’ deployment,” writer Demi Lawrence examines how firms are getting stuck in “pilot purgatory,” spending on AI experiments without an operational playbook to turn them into portfolio value. Shawn’s contribution focuses on what actually separates the firms seeing returns from the ones spinning their wheels.
His core point is that AI deployment has to follow a clear value plan, not just curiosity. He likens it to R&D: without a consultancy or existing software that knows how to capture the benefit, companies are left out in the cold.
The foundation, Shawn stresses, is clean data, meaning data that isn’t duplicative, carries consistent definitions, and can scale with the business. Without that, the rest doesn’t hold.
Shawn also offered a look at where this is all heading.
The real value arrives when AI stops being a bolt-on to existing financial software and starts operating independently across platforms.
As he puts it, AI is still in its infancy, and it’ll go mainstream only when the major accounting and forecasting systems all talk to each other and deliver insight as part of the solution rather than an add-on.
He compares today’s tools to a clunky plug-in for Microsoft Word, useful only if you know how to work it, and not yet built into the system the way it eventually will be.
Read the full CFO Brew article for complete coverage how CFOs are deploying AI.
About CFO Brew
CFO Brew is a leading digital publication from Morning Brew Inc. that serves chief financial officers and finance professionals with essential news and insights on risk management, compliance, strategy, talent management, and corporate finance trends.
Through its daily newsletter, virtual events, digital guides, and in-depth resources, CFO Brew delivers timely analysis and practical guidance that helps finance leaders navigate the complexities of their evolving roles.
The publication covers everything from SEC regulatory changes and treasury operations to AI adoption in finance and executive compensation trends, making it a trusted resource for CFOs and senior finance executives seeking to stay ahead of industry developments.
About Cowen Partners Executive Search
Cowen Partners Executive Search is a leading national executive search firm, known for placing world-class C-suite leaders, board members, and senior executives across industries.
Specializing in finding and recruiting top talent, we provide clients with comprehensive access to the executive marketplace, ensuring that each search is tailored to the unique needs of the organization. Our clients benefit from a proven track record of delivering high-impact leaders who drive growth, innovation, and performance.
At Cowen Partners Executive Search, we go beyond traditional executive search by offering strategic insights and expertise that help companies build high-performing teams and navigate complex market challenges.
Whether it’s sourcing transformative CEOs, CFOs, or board directors, we are committed to excellence, transparency, and results-driven solutions, making us the trusted partner for businesses looking to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.
About Shawn Cole, President & Cofounder
Shawn Cole is a serial entrepreneur and executive leader with over 15 years’ experience founding and running successful companies. Shawn’s business career has been centered on value creation for both turnarounds and startups.
Shawn is President and Co-Founder of Cowen Partners Executive Search, a national CFO executive search firm focused on the key elements of a successful business: sales, marketing, and finance. Business clients across the country trust Cowen Partners Executive Search to take their companies to the next level by finding them executive talent, such as a CEO, CFO, COO, Chief Revenue Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer. Clients are both small and large, publicly traded, pre-IPO, private, and non-profit organizations.
An active participant in the business community and startup space, Shawn Co-Chairs The Cowen Partners Venture Fund, which provides seed funding and early-stage investments, focusing on market disruptors in niche markets, community businesses, and minority entrepreneurs.
Shawn attended Oregon State University’s College of Business Austin Entrepreneurship Program and participated in a first-of-its-kind experiential entrepreneurship experiment at Weatherford Hall. He was also a Founding Member and President of Oregon State University’s Students in Free Enterprise, an international non-profit organization working with university students who want to positively change their communities and learn practical knowledge to become socially responsible business leaders.
At the age of 16, Shawn became a volunteer firefighter and EMT, eventually founding and managing a half-marathon to raise funds for the community. To date, he has raised over one million dollars benefiting the community.
As trailblazing leaders in executive search, Cowen Partners Executive Search is also an innovator that routinely develops groundbreaking resources to empower better insights, decisions, and understandings of what it takes to recruit and retain top talent in today’s C-suites. Explore some of our elite resources below to see why Cowen Partners Executive Search continues to be a top executive search firm nationwide.
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