Nominations are now being accepted for the 2026 edition of Private Equity International’s annual 40 Under 40: Future Leaders of Private Equity list.
Entering its eighth year, the list recognises individuals under the age of 40 who are helping to shape the future of the private equity industry. It celebrates rising stars based around the world, across five categories:
- Investors (LPs)
- Fundraisers
- Dealmakers
- Lawyers
- Operators
The deadline for submissions is the end of the day (GMT) on Tuesday 3 February 2026.
Last year’s honourees included the likes of Neal Prunier, managing director for industry affairs at ILPA; Sonya Park, portfolio manager at AustralianSuper; Tyler Alexander, a partner focused on M&A in the media sector at RedBird Capital Partners; and Laura Carolina Frattaroli, deputy chief compliance officer at General Atlantic, to name a few.
To be eligible, nominees must be under the age of 40 on 1 May 2026 and cannot have appeared in any previous PEIÂ Future 40 list.
PEI’s editorial team will decide the final list based on three criteria:
- Evidence of leadership and innovation;
- The calibre of the firms/clients that nominees have worked with, and any deals they have generated; and
- Whether they possess an X factor that marks them out as a future leader in private equity.
How to submit your nomination
Fill in the online nomination form here.
On the form, in less than 300 words, include details of what the person has achieved to make them worthy of being included in the list. Please include any specific deals the nominee has worked on, or any career achievements that should be considered.
Any information included in the nomination should be suitable for publication.
Please also include the nominee’s date of birth in day/month/year format. Nominees must be under the age of 40 on 1 May 2026.
Tell us which category you are entering the nominee for: investor (LP), fundraiser, dealmaker, lawyer, or operator. Choose the category that applies most closely, but please note that PEI’s editorial team reserves the right to reassign entries to different categories where appropriate.
Firms and PRs alike are welcome to submit nominations, but each firm should submit no more than one in-house nomination per category. If you are nominating someone from your own firm, you must also nominate a candidate from another firm.
If you have any queries, please contact:Â future40@pei.group
