Leon Brujis

Leon Brujis is a Partner and Co-Head of US at 65 Equity Partners, a Temasek-backed private equity firm founded in 2021 with roughly US$4.2 billion under management. Based in New York, he brings nearly two decades of investing experience backing family- and founder-owned companies. His Wall Street career began in the mergers & acquisitions group at Lehman Brothers, where he worked as an analyst before moving into private equity.

Brujis joined Palladium Equity Partners, a New York–based middle-market firm focused heavily on the U.S. Hispanic market, in 2007. Over roughly 16 years there he built a reputation as one of the industry's highest-profile deal originators, first concentrating on consumer products and later expanding into the services sector. In an April 2021 interview he noted he had worked on some 16 transactions since joining, with a combined value of about US$1.2 billion. He was promoted to Partner and admitted to the firm's Management Committee in January 2020, and led investments across Palladium's services and consumer verticals.

During his Palladium tenure he served on numerous portfolio-company boards, including TransForce, Daniel's Jewelers, Cannella Response Television, Celeritas, Del Real Foods, Pronto Insurance, Raben Tire and Teasdale. He stepped down from Palladium in 2023 to help build out 65 Equity Partners' U.S. platform.

Brujis holds an M.S. in Finance, Economics & Cost Engineering and a B.S. in Operations Research (magna cum laude), both from The George Washington University. He also serves as Chairperson of the New America Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding capital access for women- and minority-owned firms, particularly in asset management.

• Invests in established, well-run family- and founder-owned businesses with clear long-term growth strategies — not early-stage or seed-stage startups.
• At 65 Equity Partners, typically deploys ~US$50–150 million per deal, often as a supportive minority shareholder, providing "flexible capital solutions" to help companies pursue organic growth, operational efficiency and international expansion.
• Sector focus spans consumer, business services, industrials, healthcare and technology; his personal track record is heaviest in consumer products and services.
• A specialist in deal origination and underwriting — his edge is sourcing proprietary, relationship-driven transactions rather than auctions.
• Positions himself and his firm as a long-term, trusted partner to owners rather than a short-hold financial buyer.