BluWave Names Bertram Capital the 2026 Top Private Equity Innovator of the Year

BluWave’s fifth annual awards program recognizes Bertram Capital for setting a new standard in technology-enabled value creation, driven by its in-house innovation engine, Bertram Labs, and its disciplined, modern investment approach.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BluWave, the leading market network and enablement platform that connects the private equity industry with top-tier service providers and interim executives, today announced Bertram Capital as its 2026 Top Private Equity Innovator of the Year*.

BluWave’s fifth annual Top Private Equity Innovator Awards recognize the top 2% of private equity firms advancing the industry through proactive due diligence, transformative value creation, modern private equity firm operations, and corporate citizenship practices. The Top Private Innovator Awards are distinct in that they involve no financial obligations from any participants, and the selection process is independent of any customer relationships.

The Top Private Equity Innovator awardees were selected by a cross-functional committee that assessed candidates in consultation with a broad universe of limited partners, investment bankers, industry thought leaders, and service providers in the private equity ecosystem. As part of its selection process, the committee evaluated more than 6,000 private equity firms and utilized more than 75 different factors, incorporating more than 400,000 data points.

The Top Private Equity Awards selection committee chose Bertram Capital as the PE firm that most exemplified the award’s criteria.

The selection committee recognized Bertram Capital for embedding technology-driven insight and execution into every stage of the investment lifecycle. Through Bertram Labs, its dedicated in-house technology group, Bertram identifies actionable opportunities during diligence and rapidly translates them into measurable value creation initiatives post-close, accelerating portfolio transformation and sustained growth.

A focus on responsible ownership and durable value creation is central to Bertram Capital’s approach, supported by a collaborative, firmwide process for evaluating investment opportunities. That same long-term mindset carries through to the firm’s engagement in corporate citizenship, underscoring a broader commitment to building value that extends beyond individual investments.

“This recognition reflects our belief that innovation in private equity starts well before an investment is made,” said Jeff Drazan, Founder and Managing Partner of Bertram Capital. “By leveraging our in-house capabilities through Bertram Labs to inform diligence and enable rapid value creation, we can execute with speed and purpose post-close, helping our portfolio companies build durable, long-term growth while also driving meaningful, positive change within our broader communities.”

“Bertram Capital exemplifies what it means to lead with innovation in today’s private equity landscape,” said Sean Mooney, Founder and CEO of BluWave. “Bertram combines disciplined use of technology with a collaborative, forward thinking investment process. This approach consistently turns insight into action and delivers sustainable value for portfolio companies, investors, and the broader economy.”

As the go-to connector of private equity-grade resources for due diligence and value creation, BluWave has a one-of-a-kind perspective that enables it to uniquely understand best practices and innovation across the private equity industry. For more information on the BluWave 2026 Top Private Equity Innovator Awards, including the selection process, criteria, and recipients, please visit bluwave.net/awards.

About Bertram Capital

Bertram Capital is a private equity firm targeting investments in lower middle market companies. Since its inception in 2006, the firm has raised over $4.0B of capital commitments. In addition to supplying strategic growth capital, Bertram Capital seeks to leverage proprietary processes and services, BertramHigh-5^sm and Bertram Labs, to empower its portfolio companies to unlock their full business potential.

The BertramHigh-5^sm is an operationally-focused value creation strategy, which includes management augmentation, operational initiative implementation, complementary business acquisition, sales and marketing improvements, and leveraging technology and IP. The cornerstone of this strategy is Bertram Labs, its in-house technology team, which aims to drive growth and value through digital marketing, e-commerce, big data and analytics, application development, and internal and external platform optimization. Bertram Capital V focuses on control investments in industrial, business services, and consumer sectors with north of $7.5M of EBITDA. Bertram Ignite I focuses on control and non-control investments in industrial, business services, and consumer sectors with a minimum of $3M of EBITDA.

Visit www.bcap.com for more information.

About BluWave

BluWave is the execution and value creation resources platform of the private equity industry. Trusted by hundreds of PE firms and thousands of their portfolio companies, BluWave connects the exact-fit service providers, independent consultants and interim executives top business builders need to assess, create, and grow value. The company combines proprietary AI technology, data-driven insights, and a concierge-grade experience to help PE firms and their portfolio companies execute with speed, precision, and confidence.

For more information about BluWave, visit BluWave.net.

*BluWave, LP has not received investment capital from and holds no ownership interest in the PE firms recognized under the PE Innovator awards program. BluWave received no compensation from any of the PE firms in connection with this awards program. However, BluWave may otherwise provide services to the PE firms and/or portfolio companies, but BluWave confirms that its assessment of the PE firms was independent of any such service arrangements. Top 2% in the PE industry is based on BluWave’s review of the more than 6,000 PE firms in the U.S. and Canada from which the 105 PE firms were selected as award recipients.