Nexa Equity hires senior investors; $390M Fund II drives growth US

Nexa Equity has expanded its senior bench with three strategic hires that sharpen the firm’s founder‑first playbook and deepen its technology and AI capabilities across portfolio companies. The moves come as the firm deploys capital from Nexa Equity Fund II, an oversubscribed vehicle of $390 million, and pushes past $1 billion in assets under management.

The investment team gains two experienced dealmakers: Peter Stefanski, who joins as a Partner from Thoma Bravo, and Blake Shott, who arrives as a Principal from Sumeru Equity Partners. Both bring multi‑deal track records in application and vertical software investing and are expected to strengthen sourcing, diligence and portfolio execution across the firm’s concentrated vertical SaaS strategy.

Stefanski’s background includes leadership roles investing in enterprise software platforms and guiding scale‑ups through operational enhancements and M&A. Shott’s time at Sumeru included primary responsibility for sourcing and scaling application software assets. Nexa also recently added Jason Canavan from Lead Edge Capital and LLR Partners to its investment ranks, underscoring a broader hiring push to support deal flow and value creation.

On the operating side, Conor Barber joins as Nexa’s fourth dedicated Operating Partner. Barber, whose technical career spans names such as Apple and Airbyte, will work directly with founders and CTOs to accelerate practical AI adoption — from productivity tooling to productizing AI features — and to raise engineering execution across the portfolio.

Founder and Managing Partner Vlad Besprozvany framed the hires as an extension of Nexa’s operator‑led, founder‑friendly model. He said the additions expand the firm’s capacity to act as a hands‑on partner for vertical SaaS entrepreneurs, combining sector expertise, GTM discipline and technical operating resources to scale companies into category leaders.

Practical implications for founders: the new hires signal Nexa’s intent to deliver both deal execution and post‑deal technical and go‑to‑market support. With a dedicated AI operating partner and fresh investment coverage, portfolio companies can expect closer engagement on product roadmaps, M&A playbooks and GTM scaling. For investors, the firm’s > $1 billion AUM and the oversubscribed $390M fund point to sustained appetite for specialist software strategies that blend capital with operator experience.