In 1995, the typical "PE operating team" was a few old-timer ex-CEOs. Today there are 20,000 of them. Cass and Paul from ParkerGale's ops team sit down with Devin to walk through how private equity operations actually evolved — from the "I got a guy" Rolodex era, to the captive consulting model, to today's proliferation of professional operators. Plus hot takes on the AI-specialist hiring boom, why a lot of operating teams will get skinnier, and how to know if you're helping or propping up a company.