Jack Dempsey

Jack Dempsey is an Operating Advisor at Norwest Equity Partners, a Minneapolis- and West Palm Beach-based middle-market private equity firm. NEP says he partners with its portfolio companies and investment teams on customer and competitive research, strategic planning, pricing, and ESG best practices.

Before NEP, Dempsey spent 18 years at McKinsey & Company, where sources describe him as a senior partner working with companies across industries on strategy, growth, operations, performance improvement, and organizational development. He then spent about five years at Pentair, including as President of the Filtration Solutions Global Business, President of the North American Water Filtration business, and Senior Vice President of Operations and Technology.

He holds a B.S. from Canisius College/Canisius University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In March 2025, the University of St. Thomas named him Schulze Executive Fellow of Entrepreneurial Practice; he had been an adjunct professor there since 2022, teaching applied entrepreneurship courses including entrepreneurship capstone and venture capital/deal-flow analysis.

Dempsey is also active in the Twin Cities startup ecosystem. The University of St. Thomas describes him as an active investor and adviser for numerous local and national startups and venture funds, and MESA Group describes him as a venture capital and angel investor who has mentored at more than a dozen Techstars accelerator programs.

• NEP looks for companies with $10-50M EBITDA, North American headquarters, first-time institutional capital opportunities, and $75-175M equity-check opportunities.
• NEP’s stated target sectors are business services, consumer, and industrials, with themes including tech-enabled BPO, managed technology services, logistics, outdoor/recreation products, designer-led home/interior brands, specialty materials, building products, and essential services.
• NEP’s firm-level thesis is to “find and fuel what’s working,” using its Performance Engine framework to support growth, operational excellence, strategy, and organization-building.
• Dempsey’s personal operating focus, per NEP, is customer and competitive research, strategic planning, pricing, and ESG best practices.
• In startup contexts, public sources describe his focus as mentorship, founder networks, innovative founders, unique business models, and leadership coaching alongside business strategy.