The full ACG attendee list for M&A East, bucketed against the motion, enriched company by company and scored on a five-point test. Every person here has a reason to meet and a line to open with. Only 2.8 percent of the room are operating companies that acquire, so the value is concentrated and the schedule matters more than the volume.
Each needs a different approach. The first are direct conversations, the second are routes to an introduction, the third maps AIT’s competitive landscape. Mixing them is the most common way this kind of list gets worked badly.
Operating companies that acquire and keep brands: several businesses joined through acquisition, each still on its own website or CRM, a fresh reason to consolidate, and an owner pushing for results. These are direct buyers.
Funds attending as a route into a portfolio company they already own. The conversation is with the sponsor, but the work sits in the portco. Every entry names the specific company we would be pointed at.
Firms at M&A East selling technology assessment, diligence or value-creation advice to the same PE sponsors and portfolio companies as AIT, with what each is pushing right now.
Every shortlisted attendee with firm type, title, why to connect and email. Searchable and filterable. This is the follow-up list, not the meeting list.
Open the list →Recent LinkedIn activity for the seven must-meet contacts at target companies and PE firms. Every card on the bucket pages carries the same highlighted block. Ready-to-send drafts for each person are in the Google Sheet.
Goldblum moderated ACG Philadelphia’s 2025 operating-partner panel with Caruso on it. They share the 10:00 stage again: one good conversation opens both.
Joe Mirabile (USSC) shares a mutual connection, Joginder Singh. Patrick Mumman (CBIZ) is also 2nd-degree. Ask for the intro this week.
Koloseike, Segal and Caruso. Reach them by email or right after their session, not through comments.
Wed–ThuThoughtful comments on recent posts from Joe and Patrick, so Sachin’s name is familiar.
Thu–FriConnection notes and DMs that quote each person’s own post or news. Patrick first, he flies to SuiteWorld after.
Oct 21Use the Seth–Tom connection at 10:00; Kurt at 11:00; Brad at 1:20.
AfterFollow up within 48 hours and tag the active posters in Sachin’s recap post.
| Person | LinkedIn activity | What they’re posting | How to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe MirabileUSSC | Very active | APTA show yesterday; Recaro seating partnership (Aug); Reacton (Mar) and Dafo acquisitions; five groups merged into one Perth site | Comment on the APTA post now. Ask Joginder Singh (mutual) for an intro. Open on how a dozen acquired brands come together |
| Patrick MummanCBIZ | Active | CBIZ heading to SuiteWorld (NetSuite) right after; spoke on a NYC M&A panel in July | NetSuite partner angle plus the B&I carve-out. Book before Oct 20, he flies out after |
| Lisa FlaniganSole Source | Occasional | Published a children’s book (Jul 31); first CHRO hire (Oct 3); PitchBook #1; Brite acquisition (Jan) | Open with congrats on the book, then Peak’s 18 add-ons and Brite |
| Seth GoldblumCBIZ | Occasional | Moderated ACG Philly’s 2025 operating-partner panel with Tom Caruso; CBIZ PE golf outing | Reference his 2025 panel; work the 10:00 session with Tom and Joe together |
| Tom CarusoGuardian | Reposts only | Fund IV $441M; portco docks-doors.com website relaunch (Mar); LINX and Nugredient growth | “Saw the new docks-doors.com.” Ask how early they integrate systems after an add-on |
| Brad SegalEurofins | Low, comments off | Element NA life-sciences deal (closed Oct 1, 27 labs); M&A Forum on post-close execution | In person after 1:20; ask where the bumps show up in the Element integration |
| Kurt KoloseikeParis Corp | Dormant | No posts since Sep 2025 (new CEO role) | In person after 11:00 or email; Paris brands on separate sites, homepage names the old CEO |
All on Oct 21, back to back. Arrive early to the 10:00 and stay after it: that single room holds the closest multi-brand roll-up, the largest delegation at the event, and an operating partner with a fresh two-brand combination.
3 targets in this room
1 target in this room, plus 1 firm from AIT's landscape
How AIT and Axelerant work the room together.
Several brands joined through acquisitions, each on its own website and CRM, a fresh reason to consolidate (new deal, rebrand, new CEO) and a PE owner pushing for results. Our recent proof point: a four-brand safety manufacturer moved onto one HubSpot CRM.
AIT assesses technology for PE-owned companies and sets the roadmap; Axelerant builds what the assessment recommends. One conversation covers diagnosis and delivery.
Each person is checked against five points as a potential M&A target. Each point is Yes or No, and the score is the number of Yes answers. Priority follows from the score: 4 or 5, or speaking at M&A East = Must meet; 2 or 3 = Should meet; 0 or 1 = If time. Change any Yes/No and the priority on 'Who to Meet' updates.
M&A target points: 1. Several brands from acquisitions. 2. Brands run their own websites or CRMs. 3. A fresh reason to consolidate (deal, rebrand or new leader in 2026). 4. A PE firm or owner pushing for results. 5. The attendee leads the company or is the PE partner responsible for it.
Context for anyone working the list after the event. The buckets are not evenly useful.
Out of 1,054. This is a deal-intermediary event, so the direct-prospect pool is small and the channel and sponsor routes carry most of the value.
Only four hold portfolio-operations or value-creation titles, and that is the persona that buys this work. Guardian Capital is sending two of them.
At PE firms. Easy to meet, wrong persona: they source deals rather than buy services. Do not spend meeting slots here.
CBIZ 12 people, NewSpring Capital 11, Cozen O'Connor 11, RSM 11. Day & Zimmermann sends 3, all from corporate development, which is a commitment signal.
Curotec, a Philadelphia custom software agency, is attending with its CEO. Worth meeting to understand positioning. Not a pitch.
S. Walter Packaging appears twice with opposite reads: as Paris Corporation with a new CEO and separate brand sites, and as sold to Veritiv with little left to sell into. Resolve before approaching.
Book the Must meet people first. Five are speaking on Oct 21, so catch them after their session.
Ask partners and business development heads at PE firms for introductions to their portfolio companies.
Walk through the competitor landscape together and agree who covers which conversations on the day.
Check titles on LinkedIn before reaching out. Anything doubtful is flagged under "Check first" on each card.