Heartwood Partners is honored to be named a recipient of the 2026 Top Private Equity Innovator Award by BluWave for the fifth consecutive year. Now in its fifth annual edition, BluWave’s Top Private Equity Innovator Awards recognize the top 2% of private equity firms that differentially embrace proactive due diligence, transformative value creation, modern firm operations, and corporate citizenship practices.
“Receiving this recognition for the fifth consecutive year is a meaningful reflection of how our team approaches this work,” said Demetrios Dounis, Managing Partner of Heartwood Partners. “At Heartwood, continuous improvement is not a program — it is embedded in how we partner with founder and management-owned businesses to build lasting value. This award reaffirms that our commitment to thoughtful, integrity-driven investing continues to resonate in the broader private equity community.”
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 their 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 awards involve no financial obligations from any participants, and the selection process is independent of any customer relationships.
“This year’s top private equity innovators are proving that thoughtful innovation fuels real economic impact,” said Sean Mooney, Founder and CEO of BluWave. “By rethinking how value is created, they are leading the industry forward and delivering meaningful outcomes for businesses, communities, and investors alike.”
Please contact the following members of the investment team at Heartwood Partners with investment or add-on opportunities:
John Willert | Partner
jwillert@heartwoodpartners.com
John Newman | Managing Director
jnewman@heartwoodpartners.com