Brenton Point adds five hires as portfolio expands

Brenton Point Capital Partners added five employees across investing, finance and AI as the New York private equity firm grows its portfolio of lower-middle-market companies. The hires come as the firm says it has doubled headcount this year and added two new platform investments.

Why it matters: - Brenton Point Capital Partners is adding capacity as its portfolio grows, signaling more deal activity, deeper finance support and a bigger push to use AI across the firm and its partner companies. - The additions bring new talent into investment execution, compliance and portfolio support at a time when the firm says 2026 has been a year of expansion.

What happened: - Brenton Point announced five new hires in New York on Sept. 30, 2026. - The firm named Riley McCabe vice president; Jagger Gillman senior associate; Lorenzo Di Sarro associate; John Gokey finance associate; and Vir Sawhney AI builder. - McCabe, Gillman and Di Sarro join the investment team. - Gokey joins the finance team. - Sawhney will build and deploy AI tools for Brenton Point and its partner companies.

The details: - Brenton Point said the firm has grown from seven employees to 12 after the new hires. - The firm added two platform companies this year: Lakeshore Ag Distributors and Merit Restorations. - Brenton Point’s portfolio also includes Easton Select Group, Premier Equipment Solutions and Landmark Funeral Group. - Tim Hall, founder and managing partner, said the firm is investing in the team needed to support growth. - Hall said McCabe, Gillman and Di Sarro add experience to deal teams, Gokey strengthens finance and compliance, and Sawhney brings practical AI tool-building skills.

Between the lines: - The hiring mix shows Brenton Point is building beyond traditional investing roles and treating AI as an operating capability, not just a side experiment. - The focus on lower-middle-market businesses suggests the firm is likely leaning on hands-on support for acquisitions, operations and scaling, not only capital. - McCabe joins from Turnspire Capital Partners, where he worked on lower-middle-market special situations in industrial, consumer manufacturing and business services. - Gillman joins from H.I.G. Capital’s Infrastructure Fund, where he evaluated investments and supported portfolio companies on acquisitions, operations and growth. - Di Sarro joins from UBS, where he focused on industrial services in global industrials investment banking. - Gokey joins from Deloitte, where he advised private equity and hedge fund clients on tax reporting and compliance. - Sawhney previously interned at Incline Equity Partners and has built AI research, soccer analytics, operational data and enterprise resource planning applications.

What's next: - Brenton Point is likely to use the new hires to support additional acquisitions, portfolio-company expansion and internal process upgrades. - The firm said Sawhney will develop AI-powered tools that support investment processes, operations and information management. - Brenton Point continues to position itself around partnerships with entrepreneurs, owners and management teams to build businesses through strategic acquisitions and expansion.

The bottom line: - Brenton Point is scaling headcount and capabilities in step with portfolio growth, with AI now part of the firm’s operating model.