Driving the future of private fund finance and operations
Join us at the Private Funds CFO Network’s Europe Forum in London on 14-15 November 2023.
The Forum will bring together operations and finance professionals across all key asset classes while giving you the opportunity to network with and benchmark against your peers.
Secure your Private Funds CFO Network membership to gather with the most influential CFOs, COOs and their teams in Europe.
Why the Private Funds CFO Europe Forum?
Connect year-round
Build lasting relationships with your peers not only through the two-day event but also year-round with the Private Funds CFO Network membership.
Unrivalled content
Hear from leading experts as they offer a mixture of insightful, data-driven presentations, topical panel discussions and interactive debates.
More than an event
Use your Private Funds CFO Network membership year-round to stay ahead of the markets and connect with your peers.
Hear from Meta's previous DE&I Director
Emma Cashmore
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director
Ex-Meta
Join Emma Cashmore as she takes a deep dive into her previous role and DE&I as a whole. Topics of discussion include:
- Using DE&I to build a thriving ecosystem
- Implementing systemic change
- What matters most in the employee experience
- Why you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable
- And more…
Hear from industry-leading speakers
2022 attendees included:
What our attendees say about the Forum
Vantage Infrastructure
Alex Geach, Finance Director
An excellent conference offering a wide range of relevant panel discussions and the opportunity to effectively network
NTR
Marie Joyce, Chief Financial Officer
An excellent mix of peers – never a wasted journey to this conference, learn something new and make new connections every time
StepStone Group
Stephen Penny, Partner & CIO
Great coverage of current relevant topics for COOs/CFOs with good balance between high-level intro to broader issues and deep dives into most topical issues
2023 Agenda
This year’s agenda was built through consultation with influential finance and operations leaders in private equity and venture capital. The topics covered will improve processes and practices within your firm, including:
- Effectively managing your portfolio
- Staying on top of the latest regulatory initiatives
- Finding and retaining top talent
- Navigating the future of carried interest
View agenda page
Agenda
Day 1 - Tuesday 14th
08:00 - 09:00
Registration ＆ coffee
08:00 - 09:00
Invite-only women’s CFO ＆ COO networking breakfast
Plenary
09:00 - 09:05
Chairperson’s Welcome Address
09:05 - 09:45
Operational imperatives- CFO/COO top priorities for the next 12 months
Nicholas Clapham,
Alan Chu,
Chris Heyworth,
Nisha Raghavan,
Aaron Kienwald
- The future of fund management over the next decade, key themes and practical issues influencing their role.
- Key factors CFOs/COOs consider vital to their strategy for accelerating their organization’s growth
- Overriding implications of SVB collapse- what does it mean for the industry?
Moderator: Nicholas Clapham, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Sales (Alternatives), State Street
09:45 - 09:55
PEI Presentation
Evie Taylor
09:55 - 10:40
Navigating challenges in a rising rates and inflationary climate
James Duffield,
Raffael Rupprechter,
Jesper Söderberg,
Philippe Renauld
- In a high interest rate environment is alternatives still looking attractive in general?
- Managing liquidity in the current economic environment. What are investors return rate horizon across private markets?
- How is this market moving forward in the new age of fewer exit possibilities & higher interest rates?
- How are CFOs and COOs making sense of the higher rates environment?
Moderator: James Duffield, Group Head of Business Development, Aztec Group
Philippe Renauld
Group Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Sienna Investment Managers
Read bio
10:40 - 11:00
Fireside chat: Future of Carried interest
Simon Shipgood,
Karen Sands
- Is carried interest going to get taxed as an income?
- Should Impact-Based Incentive Structures penalize and/or reward GPs for the extent to which impact targets are met?
- Can we expect sustainability linked carry to become the mainstream?
Moderator: Simon Shipgood, Regional Director, EMEA, EWM Global
11:00 - 11:30
Networking coffee break
Plenary
11:30 - 12:10
Accelerating ESG and meeting investor demands
Lydwine Alexandre,
Joanne Butler,
Claire Hedley
- Is standardisation in reporting (managing and measuring ESG data) good for the industry?
- How are funds managing the latest investor demands in areas such as ESG?
- SFDR- is it fit for purpose for private funds?
12:10 - 12:35
In-Focus Fireside chat: LP Secondaries ＆ Liquidity
Malcolm Goddard,
Jason Howard
12:35 - 13:15
Panel: Cultivating and retaining human talent in a competitive market
Debojit Mukherjee,
Yves Frey
13:15 - 14:15
Lunch and networking break
Stream A
14:15 - 14:50
Portfolio Management
Steven Dunne
- Best ways to demonstrate exceptional portfolio management to end investors
- Best tools to quantity alpha in portfolios and predict future liquidity risks?
14:50 - 15:25
Navigating a changing regulatory and compliance environment
Priya McVeigh
- SEC registration reporting requirements and updates to policies.
- Regulatory developments and taxonomy issues that private fund managers need to keep on top of.
- Operations and regulation- how do they work together?
- Impact of ELTIF regulation on retailization
15:25 - 16:00
Valuation challenges in changing times
Bijal Patel ,
Nick Latner
Stream B
14:15 - 14:50
Mitigating emerging cyber risks and the CFO strategy
Simon Eyre,
Tom Cole
- How to successfully balance risk without paralyzing operational teams that are trying to grow?
- How have operational teams joined with legal and compliance to mitigate risks?
- How has the SVB collapse reiterated the problem of opportunistic cyber threats?
Moderator: Simon Eyre, Chief Information Security Officer, Drawbridge
14:50 - 15:25
Best practices for fund set-up
Matthias Dux,
Sandeep Giroud
- Key factors driving and influencing advisor appointmuient decisions, choice of fund domicile, and the key fund establishment challenges CFO/COOs are facing.
- Assessing liquidity risks
15:25 - 16:00
Data analytics: Why it’s the golden era of data
- Implementing an effective data strategy to create better firm visibility
- Impact of unifying disparate data and embracing predictive analytics on operational performance
- Best tools to capitalize on value-creation opportunities
16:00 - 16:30
Networking coffee break
Plenary
16:30 - 17:00
Debate: To outsource or not to outsource- When, where and how?
Patrick McCullagh,
Ted Frith,
Stephan Plagemann,
Robert Shaw
- Key areas for outsourcing and what makes for an effective outsourcing partnership.
- When is it better to do it inhouse?
- How do you balance cost and efficiency?
Moderator: Patrick McCullagh, Managing Director, Sales: Europe & North America, Alter Domus
17:00 - 17:40
Off the record - Audience roundtable discussions over drinks
Cameron Price
- The role of data sourcing and data management to support asset verification
- Capital raising against the current macro backdrop
- Managing investor due diligence process facilitated by Cameron Price, Chief Operating Officer, Vantage Infrastructure
- Handling large scale integration challenges
- Democratisation of the private funds market
- The demand for NAV and hybrid financing
17:40 - 18:40
Networking reception
Agenda
Day 2 - Wednesday 15th
08:00 - 08:45
Registration ＆ Coffee
Private think tanks – asset classes (GPs only)
08:45 - 09:40
CFOs ＆ COOs in Private equity (GPs only)
08:45 - 09:40
CFOs ＆ COOs in Private debt (GPs only)
08:45 - 09:40
CFOS ＆ COOs in Infrastructure (GPs only)
Alex Geach
Facilitated by Alex Geach, Finance Director, Vantage Infrastructure
08:45 - 09:40
CFOs ＆ COOs in Real estate (GPs only)
Melinda Knatchbull
08:45 - 09:40
CFOs ＆ COOs in Service providers (GPs only)
Plenary
09:40 - 09:45
Chairperson’s day 2 welcome remarks
09:45 - 10:05
Keynote Address
Emma Cashmore
10:05 - 10:45
Managing risk in an ever-changing environment
Chaim Langer
- Why do private credit funds need to be more mindful of sanctions?
- Conducting due diligence in the current sanctions environment.
10:45 - 11:15
Fundraising and the denominator effect
- Have fundraising dynamics cooled down across private market asset classes?
- What’s the best approach to meet investor demands and deal with longer fundraising cycles?
- How to tap data driven institutional capital to fuel growth in a challenging environment
11:15 - 11:45
Networking break
Plenary
11:45 - 12:25
Keeping up with technology integration in private markets
Richard Blakesley,
Richard Kirkby,
Manoj Jain
- Key technology implementations to drive automation
- Leveraging the opportunities of artificial intelligence and mitigating its risks
- Which focal areas are you seeing new investment ?
- Which technology benefits do CFO/COOs place most value on?
12:25 - 13:00
Debate: Adapting to new company sizes- small, mid and large cap
- Strategies to future proof target operating models
- How do the operational challenges compare across size?
- What does it mean to be a Large cap CFO vs emerging and small scale manager? How do you compete with larger players?
- Is it harder for smaller funds to spread out CFO capabilities over investor relations, compliance, ESG etc.?
13:00 - 14:00
Networking lunch ＆ end of conference
Pre-Event Resources
2023 Speakers
If you are interested in a speaking role for 2023 please contact Hannah Ogun at hannah.o@pei.group.
Lydwine Alexandre
CFO, PAI
Lydwine joined PAI in 2023 as Chief Financial Officer. She is a member of the Corporate Operations Team, the PAI Sustainability Committee, and PAI Portfolio Women Network (PPWN). She joined from Alma Capital (UCITS asset management company in Paris,… Read full bio
Joanne Butler
COO and Head of Investor Relations, DunPort Capital Management
Joanne is COO and Head of Investor Relations at DunPort Capital Management. Prior to joining the Company in 2022, Joanne spent over 7 years as a senior portfolio investment manager with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (“ISIF”)— ISIF is the Sove… Read full bio
Emma Cashmore
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leader, ex Meta
Emma is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader, who has worked as a strategic change agent alongside senior leaders in several sectors, to develop and realise the people dimensions of their business strategy. Emma is a highly networked connector w… Read full bio
Alan Chu
Partner, Finance ＆ Operations Director, Beechbrook Capital
Alan is a Partner and Finance ＆ Operations Director. He is a member of the Management Committee and also sits on the Valuation and Risk Committees. Prior to joining Beechbrook in 2014, Alan worked as Financial Controller of the limited partnership fu… Read full bio
Nicholas Clapham
Senior Vice President, Global Head of Sales (Alternatives), State Street
Nicholas is a Senior Vice President / Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Sales – Alternatives. Nick relocated from London where he previously covered EMEA to drive the development of State Street’s Alternatives business throughout North Am… Read full bio
Tom Cole
Managing Director, Abacus Group
As managing director of the UK and Europe regions at Abacus Group, Tom leads strategy, client service, technology infrastructure and business development in the UK and European markets. Tom is an expert in critical technology topics for hedge funds a… Read full bio
James Duffield
Group Head of Business Development, Aztec Group
James heads up our Group business development initiative across all core services and major asset classes, working alongside the Group’s board, executive and product development committees to determine our commercial focus and new business strategy.… Read full bio
Matthias Dux
Founder & Managing Partner, Avellinia Capital
Matthias is a member of the Management, Investment and Risk Committees of Avellinia Capital, a Private Debt fund with a focus on asset-based finance. He has over 25 years of professional investment experience across different asset classes, including… Read full bio
Simon Eyre
Chief Information Security Officer, Drawbridge
Simon Eyre is Chief Information Security Officer at Drawbridge. He is a leader and frequent public speaker on all aspects of Cybersecurity with a particular focus on the Alternative Investment Markets. Simon brings more than 20 years of deep expertis… Read full bio
Yves Frey
Executive Board Member/Head Corporate Operations, SUSI Partners
Yves Frey is Head Corporate Operations of SUSI Partners and has executive responsibility for a broad array of support functions, including Human Resources, Legal ＆ Compliance, Risk Management, ICT ＆ Data Science, as well as Operations. He has wide-ra… Read full bio
Ted Frith
Chief Operating Officer, GLIL Infrastructure LLP
Ted joined GLIL in 2018 and he is the Chief Operating Officer. He chairs the Executive Committee and is responsible for the day-to-day management of GLIL. Ted’s career spans 30 years in investment banking and asset management and he has a track recor… Read full bio
Alex Geach
Finance Director, Vantage Infrastructure
Alex is the Finance Director at Vantage Infrastructure. He is responsible for the Corporate Finance Function of the group, covering all aspects of financial management, including management accounting and reporting, budgeting, Treasury and Regulatory… Read full bio
Sandeep Giroud
Finance Director, AshGrove Capital
Sandeep started her finance career in 2010 at Deloitte where she qualified as a chartered accountant before working in Barclays Group Finance. Prior to joining AshGrove in 2021, Sandeep spent over 5 years at Barings working on the product structuring… Read full bio
Malcolm Goddard
Partner, Zetland Capital
Malcolm Goddard is a Partner of Zetland Capital; a European distressed and special situations manager established and whom he joined in 2016. Zetland manages €1.3bn of assets, and was Special Situations House of the Year, 2022 and 2023. Before Zetlan… Read full bio
Claire Hedley
ESG Director, 17Capital
Claire Hedley joined 17Capital in 2022 as ESG Director. Previously, Claire spent 15 years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) as an analyst in their Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) Group in both London and New York. Prior… Read full bio
Chris Heyworth
Group CFO, BC Partners
Chris re-joined BC Partners in 2023, having first worked for the Firm between 2018 and 2020. He is Group Chief Financial Officer and based in London. Previously, Chris worked as Chief Financial Officer at Greyhound Capital. Prior to this, he has held… Read full bio
Jason Howard
COO/CFO, Headway Capital Partners
Jason is CFO/COO and joined Headway Capital in 2018 He previously spent over 5 years as Managing Director of EQT Services UK, EQT’s London based AIFM. Prior to this, Jason worked as the COO for Neovara LLP, the spin out of the Lehman Brothers Europea… Read full bio
Manoj Jain
Director – Group Finance Operations, 3i Group Plc
Manoj joined 3i in 2011 and is Director, Group Finance Operation based in London, and leads Finance Operations team. He is responsible for financial reporting and operations for 3i funds, investment portfolio, Regulatory reporting, investment structu… Read full bio
Richard Kirkby
CFO, Veld Capital
Richard is Chief Financial Officer of Veld Capital. Richard joined Veld Capital in 2022 and is responsible for all fund and corporate finance functions, serving on the firm’s Executive Committee. Richard spent 18 years working in senior finance roles… Read full bio
Melinda Knatchbull
CFO, Sellar
Melinda is responsible for financial, tax and risk aspects at Sellar. Previously, Melinda was Global Chief Operating Officer for Schroder Real Estate from 2013 to 2022, responsible for finance and operations. She was a Director on all key real estate… Read full bio
Nick Latner
Finance Director, Hg
Nick is Hg’s Finance Director. He has overall responsibility for the Corporate, Fund and Operational Finance (including Treasury, Portfolio Reporting, Tax compliance and Luxembourg) accounting teams. Nick joined Hg in 2019, following a five-year spel… Read full bio
Patrick McCullagh
Managing Director, Sales: Europe ＆ North America, Alter Domus
The Alter Domus client base comprises over $2 Trillian of assets under administration for fund managers and investors. Preqin reports that we are the most frequently selected administrator in each asset class, (Private Equity, Private Debt, Infrastru… Read full bio
Debojit Mukherjee
Chief Operating Officer, Agilitas Private Equity
Debojit Mukherjee is Chief Operating Officer at Agilitas Private Equity, the pan-European, mid-market private equity firm. Agilitas backs high-quality businesses in defensible sectors addressing human or planetary needs and Debojit is a member of the… Read full bio
Bijal Patel
Managing Director, Fund Services, Actis
Bijal leads Actis’ Fund and Investment Operations function, which covers all aspects of investor services, fund and SPV administration, as well as transaction support. As part of his role, Bijal chairs all valuation committees and holds several board… Read full bio
Stephan Plagemann
Chief Financial Officer, Head of Portfolio Management, Mount Street
Based in London, Stephan is Chief Financial Officer and Head of Portfolio Management with 20 years’ experience in both trading and investment across credit and structured credit. Prior to Mount Street, he built his experience across buy and sell side… Read full bio
Cameron Price
Chief Operating Officer, Vantage Infrastructure
Cameron is the Chief Operating Officer at Vantage Infrastructure, responsible for Corporate and Fund Finance, Client Reporting, Operations, Information Technology and Human Resources. Cameron joined Vantage in 2006 and has held a variety of finance a… Read full bio
Nisha Raghavan
Partner, Chief Operating Officer, Actis
Nisha joined Actis in February 2023 as Chief Operating Officer. Nisha has responsibility for a broad range of operations, people, financial and executive leadership activities and is a member of Actis’ operational, risk and valuation committees. Nish… Read full bio
Philippe Renauld
Group Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Sienna Investment Managers
Philippe Renauld, aged 52, holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering and Economics from Ecole Centrale Paris. Prior to joining Sienna IM in November 2020, he was Chief Financial Officer and member of the executive committee of Groupe Louis Delh… Read full bio
Raffael Rupprechter
Principal & CFO, CONSTELLATION CAPITAL AG
Raffael Rupprechter is a Principal and the CFO at CONSTELLATION. Has more than 12 years experience in private equity and was involved in several transactions such as the investments in KEBOS, WDM, Deutenberg, punker and Rademacher as well as the dive… Read full bio
Karen Sands
Chief Operating Officer, Federated Hermes
Karen is the COO of Federated Hermes Global Private Equity business. She has overall responsibility for ensuring a best-in-class organisational infrastructure for clients, investment teams and business development activities. Her role also involves g… Read full bio
Robert Shaw
Partner & CFO, Apera Asset Management
Rob is a Partner & CFO of Apera and is responsible for finance, operations and investor relations. His experience spans capital raising, financing, structuring, reporting and compliance. Prior to Apera, Rob held various roles finance roles across… Read full bio
Simon Shipgood
Regional Director, EWM Global
Simon Shipgood is responsible for sourcing and developing client relationships for EWM Global’s UK and European markets. In this role, he has worked with some of the world’s largest financial institutions including global banks, asset managers, and p… Read full bio
Jesper Söderberg
Chief Financial Officer, Nordic Capital
Jesper is the Chief Financial Officer of Nordic Capital with EUR 30bn of AUM across seven active funds/vehicles and two product lines. Joining Nordic Capital back in 2010 he has been part of building up and professionalising the Mid- and Back-office… Read full bio
Connect with a community of CFOs, COOs and senior finance executives
The Private Funds CFO Europe Forum offers a unique opportunity for providers to engage and connect with senior compliance professionals in the private equity sector through thought leadership, networking, and more.
For exclusive sponsorship packages for 2023, contact Josh Stoller at joshua.s@pei.group or call +1 646 970 3923.
2023 Sponsors
Where successful CFOs and COOs connect
Better connections at the Europe Forum
As a member of the Private Funds CFO Network, your networking experience will not stop after the Europe Forum.
Members can connect with peers throughout the year, set up pre-meetings with those attending the Europe Forum, meet in-person on the day, or pick up a conversation after the conference.
Knowledge
Stay ahead of industry-wide issues with monthly webinars and virtual think tanks covering the most pressing subjects that CFOs, COOs and their teams face today.
Connection
Find and connect with like-minded professionals facing similar challenges at our events and through our private network platform only available to members.
Events
Join us in person and listen to the industry’s best keynote speakers, engage in working groups, think tanks, and much more. Members receive reduced price offers to our in person events.
Advisory Board
Steve Darrington
CFO, Phoenix Equity Partners
Steve has been a Partner at Phoenix since 2001, Steve is Chief Financial & Risk Officer and sits on Phoenix’s Board & Management Committee. Steve is also a director of the Phoenix Boards in Guernsey. Before Phoenix, Steve held senior finance… Read full bio
Parag Gandesha
General Partner & COO, Kreos Capital
Parag joined Kreos in 2019, and manages Kreos’s operations, finance, and compliance teams, providing deal-level support to Kreos’s portfolio companies, and participating in the management and execution of overall Kreos strategy. Prior to joining Kreo… Read full bio
Lindsey Ord
Chief Financial & Risk Officer, Climate Fund Managers
Lindsey Ord is the Chief Financial and Risk Officer of Climate Fund Managers (CFM). CFM is a climate investment fund manager with a footprint in emerging markets, namely Asia, Africa and Latin America. Lindsey has 20+ years of experience in structuri… Read full bio
Raffael Rupprechter
Principal & CFO, Constellation Capital AG
Raffael Rupprechter is a Principal and the CFO at CONSTELLATION. Has more than 12 years experience in private equity and was involved in several transactions such as the investments in KEBOS, WDM, Deutenberg, punker and Rademacher as well as the dive… Read full bio
Christian Schnabel
Managing Director, Golding Capital Partners
Christian Schnabel joined Golding Capital Partners in 2008. As Managing Director and Head of Product Finance he is responsible for Fund Accounting, Controlling and (Regulatory) Reporting across all asset classes. Prior to joining Golding Capital Part… Read full bio
Adam Smallman
Director of Membership Programs, PEI
Adam joined PEI in December 2018 in a new role as Head of Content Strategy. Previously he spent three years with investment bank Liberum and held leading editorial and content roles at Dow Jones and Informa PLC. His responsibility is to ensure PEI’s… Read full bio
Paul Vrancken
CFO, Rivean Capital
Experienced CFO / COO in investment management & private markets at Rivean Capital, BlackRock, Robeco and Andersen.