Accordion, an AI and data-powered financial consulting firm focused on private equity, today announced the promotion of Kyle Roemer to Global Head of Data & AI. In this expanded role, Roemer will lead Accordion's data, analytics, and AI capabilities across the firm's global footprint, guiding strategy behind fastest-growing part of business, which has doubled since he joined in October 2024.
Sponsors have made their expectations clear. Accordion's 2026 PE AI Adoption Benchmark survey of 150 AI, data, and technology Operating Partners found that 86% expect buyers to pay premium for AI-enabled finance capability within two years. Most CFOs are not ready for that conversation. Only 17% have claimed AI transformation as strategic mandate, and just 14% of portfolio finance functions have moved past back-office automation into genuine decision intelligence.
"Closing that gap takes more than deploying tools faster," said Nick Leopard, CEO of Accordion. "It takes a data foundation, engineers embedded inside business, and people who understand CFO's world well enough to make first two matter. Most firms are strong in one of those areas. A few are strong in two. We're the only firm we know of that has built real depth in all three, on staff, purpose-built for private equity."
Roemer joined Accordion's Data, Analytics & AI practice in 2024 and has played central role in building firm's engineering and technology capabilities, including work in agentic AI, data platforms, and AI-enabled analytics. He also hosts Accordion Intelligence's podcast, AI & PE: The Future of Value Creation, where he and guests from firms including Charlesbank and Searchlight Capital examine what is actually working as AI moves into portfolio company finance functions.
His promotion reflects continued investment in practice, which now spans three core areas: Data platforms and foundations, which builds modern data estate, knowledge graphs, and semantic layer that agentic AI reasons over. AI and value creation analytics, which identifies where AI creates EBITDA and designs agentic workflows to capture it. AI product and engineering, which builds and runs AI-native systems in production, including Accordion's own suite of finance products.
"CFOs don't need another automation project," said Roemer. "They need AI that changes how value gets created across hold period. That work starts with fixing data. Get foundation, engineering, and functional expertise working together, and AI stops being tool finance team uses and starts becoming thing that moves EBITDA and writes exit story."
About Accordion
Accordion is CFO's partner in value creation. Built for modern finance function, only firm at intersection of deep CFO domain expertise, technology, and leading-edge AI and data. Headquartered in New York, with 11 offices and 1,700+ professionals around globe.
