Longevity in private equity is rare, and Reeve Waud has a lot of it. He founded Waud Capital Partners in 1993 and still leads it as Founder and Managing Partner. Three decades in, the Chicago-based firm has kept its aim narrow on purpose, and that restraint is a big part of the story.
Two sectors get the firm’s attention: healthcare services and software and technology. This discipline shows up in how Reeve Waud builds. He’d rather know a handful of industries cold than chase whatever happens to be hot in a given year, and the firm’s structure reflects that choice at every level. Deals outside those two lanes are mostly passed over, however attractive they might look on paper.
Healthcare, Built Through Add-Ons
Reeve Waud’s healthcare work goes back a long way. He founded Acadia Healthcare in 2005, and that company became an early marker of how he likes to build care businesses over time rather than flip them.
The firm’s healthcare method leans on patient compounding. Waud Capital acts as a control-oriented growth equity investor, and its healthcare platforms usually complete 10 or more add-on acquisitions during the hold. The recent medical device and supply chain platform with Bill Mixon runs on that same logic, with more than $100 million of equity anticipated to build it out. Each add-on is chosen with care, then folded into the larger platform over time. Small deals, stacked over years, add up to a much larger operating business than the one the firm started with.
Software, the Second Pillar
The firm’s other half is software and technology, and it’s grown into a genuine focus rather than an afterthought. Reeve Waud’s partnership with George Ahn shows how it works in practice: back a veteran operator, then go after a platform in vertical application software. The 2026 hire of a Chief AI and Data Officer points in the same direction, a sign the firm wants sharper technology muscle across both sectors.
Across both sectors the mechanics stay consistent. Typical equity investments run between $75 million and $200 million, and a five-person human capital team is kept on hand to place and support leaders. Deals are sourced with that same two-sector filter in mind. Reeve Waud has said human capital is at the heart of the firm’s work. After 30-plus years, that focus on people, paired with a deliberate choice to stick to just two sectors, is still the throughline that ties the whole firm together.
