Buyer Dossier: Bernhard Capital Partners

Buyer Profile

Platform

Bernhard Capital Partners (direct investor)

Backer

Independent (founder-managed infrastructure PE)

Headquarters

Baton Rouge, LA

Revenue

Not disclosed (fund manager)

Verticals

Energy Services, HVAC Technology, Infrastructure

Acquisition Strategy

Energy-services platform build; tech + field services thesis

Key Contacts

Name	Title	Email	Notes
Jeff Baudier	Senior Managing Director	—	Joined May 2024; ex-CORE Electric Cooperative; utility-infrastructure background
Matt Kowalczyk	VP, Deal Pipeline	—	Promoted Jan 2024; building deal pipeline including energy-services adjacencies
BCP Partner	Managing Partner	—	Fund strategy and investment committee lead

Strategic Fit

Bernhard Capital Partners made a strategic HVAC software investment with their Optimum Energy acquisition in June 2023 — a building automation and energy optimization platform. That investment creates a natural deployment channel thesis: pair HVAC technology with a field services platform to offer integrated energy-services solutions. Air Control's McLean footprint, with its federal building and government contractor customer base, is an ideal commercial deployment channel for Optimum's technology stack.

The arrival of Jeff Baudier (ex-CORE Electric Cooperative) as Senior Managing Director in May 2024 signals Bernhard's intent to deepen into energy and infrastructure-adjacent services. Matt Kowalczyk's VP promotion in January 2024 further indicates an active deal pipeline build. The DC federal corridor aligns with Bernhard's infrastructure thesis and provides a new geographic anchor for an integrated energy-services platform narrative.

Approach Strategy

Call Opener

"Your Optimum Energy deal in June '23 was a smart play on HVAC software — have you thought about pairing that with a services platform in the DC federal corridor that could be your deployment channel?"

Optimum Energy needs a field deployment channel. Bernhard's HVAC building automation investment is a technology asset that multiplies in value when paired with a field services company that can deploy and service it. Air Control's McLean customer base — government buildings and federal facilities — is the exact commercial environment where Optimum's energy optimization platform performs best.

Jeff Baudier's utility-infrastructure background points to DC. Baudier joined from CORE Electric Cooperative — with his background, the team is clearly looking at energy-services adjacencies. The DC federal corridor is the country's most energy-intensive building stock and the logical geography for that thesis.

Matt Kowalczyk's VP pipeline is active now. Kowalczyk has been building the deal pipeline since making VP in January 2024 — we have a McLean-based HVAC platform that fits Bernhard's infrastructure-services thesis and could be the first step in a DC-corridor energy-services build.

Pipeline History

Step	Status	Date	Notes
Target Identified	Complete	2025	Identified as energy-infrastructure buyer with HVAC tech adjacency
Research Complete	Complete	Mar 2026	Full dossier built; Optimum Energy deal and Baudier hire confirmed
Outreach	Next Step	—	Contact Matt Kowalczyk or Jeff Baudier at Bernhard Capital
Intro Call	Pending	—	Qualify energy-services platform thesis and DC appetite