Best wat to exit - From Corporate M&A to..

Hi all, I have been lurking around for a long time for often useful insights on WSO, but this is my first post. I have already went through most of the related threads and relative answers, however I am searching for something more specific to my situation.

I am almost 25, European and I got a bachelor in Business Administration and Econ, First class (GPA around 3.8/4.0) from a regional target (non-target outside my country). After I took a gap year to work in RE Dev and then went to business school. I recently got my masters (GPA around 3.7/4.0). It is again a regional top target, but probably Tier 2/Tier 3 in Europe/Asia (following general WSO rankings). I have some finance certifications, 700+ GMAT and two top semester abroad experiences (H-W-S and Europe Tier 0/Tier 1). I also wrote my thesis under the supervision of a very very "big name".

For a number of reasons, during my bachelor I never had any industry related internship (IB/PE, nothing) and despite working while studying during my masters, I can say the same for that period. Nothing that can really be considered relevant or anywhere on par with the more "academic credentials" listed above. To keep it short, I ended up with a FT job in Corporate M&A. It is a "full role", meaning that I am involved since the very beginning of the target selection, the deal flow is quite decent, targets size from startups to small cap and modelling level good (we do not use LBOs, but I can do LBO models). It is interesting, but for sure not in line with what I aim for in the long term. Apart from networking, what would be the best appraoch to try to move into PE (no large funds, not interested), distressed debt or special situations?

Apologize for the long intro, but backgorund was necessary. Fell free to ask for any additional info and thanks in advance!