International
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum Virtual Experience 2021
13 May 2021,
Eastern Time (ET) - Available Anywhere
This virtual event is now part of the Operating Partners All Access membership
An Operating Partners All Access membership is a new way to keep a global network of operating partners in the know with high-level content and networking across the year.
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum is now just one of the many essential updates we’ll give you throughout the year with your Operating Partners All Access membership.
Driving human capital as a key value creation lever
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum brings together an elite crowd of top human capital value creators and operating partner specialists. It is the place to meet key players in the PE community and get a firm grasp on initiatives designed to transform operations, deliver growth, and drive value creation strategies through talent.
Speakers provide insights into the evolving and rapidly changing talent market and share strategies and approaches that uncover why firms need a “human capital operating partner.” Join us to hear engaging and informative discussions to make your workforce planning a competitive advantage.
2021 Agenda Highlights
» One hour human capital think tanks led by operating partners and designed exclusively for operating partners
» Human capital best practices across the entire investment lifecycle
» Recruiting CEOs for a post-pandemic economy
» Training and working with the CFO
» Talent recruitment and assessment best practices
» A closed-door virtual lunch discussion for women in PE & VC portfolio operations
» Human capital due diligence – the missing ingredient in pre-transaction playbooks
» The long journey for diversity: an inside look at private equity initiatives and challenges
» Human capital M&A integration best practices
» Changes required to source, onboard and assess sales management in the changed environment
» The future of work: challenges and opportunities in switching to a remote-first work environment
» Evaluating and selecting search firms
» Board dynamics: looking at diversity of boards, board construction, and board development
» Private equity-CEO alignment best practices in the current environment
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Learn key strategies to accelerate growth through human capital
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Join discussions with the leading PE operating specialists in human capital
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Network with top value creators focused on talent and leadership
2021 Speakers include:
Firms participating include:
Download the 2021 Operating Partners Human Capital Digital Event Guide to view:
- Agenda highlights – view agenda topics, breakout sessions and think tanks
- Speakers – preview the value creation leaders speaking at this year’s Forum
- Networking opportunities – search attendees, send messages, and schedule meetings with your peers
- Operating Partners All Access – learn more about the membership
Your membership includes:
Operating Partners All Access is a service that connects you to the people and resources that can help guide you through today’s ever-changing nuances of doing your job, year-round.
This Forum is one of the many essential updates we’ll give you throughout the year with your Operating Partners All Access membership. All event attendees must be members.
Please note annual agenda is subject to change
Discover best practices and ideas at a critical time for portfolio valuations at the premier virtual event for private equity value creators
All sessions, idea forums and interactive meetings are uniquely designed to solve your toughest challenges during the covid-19 crisis & beyond.
Leading thought-provoking operating partner experts — all NEWLY updated!
Without ever leaving the comfort and security of your home, you can enjoy ALL the value creation experts sharing their practical guidance. Plus, you can participate in audience Q&A, polls, and download content and papers with just a few clicks,
You also get:
- Built-in calendar to create your own daily schedule so you don’t miss your favorite sessions
- Automated reminders
- Polling and surveys
- On-demand playback gives you access to select sessions for up to 12 months

Network & build key relationships

Online networking can never replace face-to-face interaction, but done right, it can provide a very effective way for people to build their professional relationships and knowledge. At an in-person event, you get 2 days of engagement. With the Operating Partners Human Capital Forum, you get an active virtual community.
Take advantage of these benefits:
- Attendee and Operating Partner directories: Use our searchable directory of our attendees, solution providers and speakers, so you can quickly find the right people and companies to connect with.
- Private messaging: Reach out privately and directly online (without having to expose email and phone number to “the world”)
- Virtual Meet-ups: Schedule multi-person video conferences or one-on-one meetups, allowing you to connect and talk about topics of interest.
Meet with the country’s leading solution providers in our virtual exhibit hall
Meet with exhibitors and sponsors, browse the virtual sponsor lounges, and chat with solution providers. A searchable keyword index helps attendees you find the exhibitors and sponsors who are most relevant.
Other features include:
- Virtual sponsor lounges: See what exhibitors and sponsors provide to help you better serve your employees and your members.
- Online meetings: meet with sponsors anytime throughout the Forum and send them a private message
- Download exhibitor content: learn more about sponsors and download whitepapers, conent and other exhibitor resources

2021 Agenda
For speaking opportunities, contact Marc Mele at marc.m@peimedia.com or call +1 646 581 9295.
Please note all sessions are listed in Eastern Time (ET)
Agenda
Day 1 - Thursday 13th
Human capital operating partners think tank (invitation-only)
Invitation-only think tank for full-time PE and VC operating partners and talent partners. This closed-door virtual room will allow you to learn and share best practices in human capital, talent management and recruiting operations. It will uncover this year’s new challenges and opportunities in human capital. The think tank will allow you to submit topics to be introduced by the facilitators and discussed in the room.
Think Tank 1
Facilitators:
Kelly Carlson, Managing Director, Head of Talent, STG Partners
Katie Solomon, Managing Director, Talent Management, Genstar Capital
Think Tank 2
Facilitators:
Kristen Chang, Managing Director, Human Capital, LLR Partners
Sean Dougherty, Vice President, Talent and Operations, Inverness Graham Investments
PEI’s welcome and opening remarks
Human capital best practices across the entire investment lifecycle
- How is human capital evolving and what are the implications for private equity?
- Human capital due diligence: operating partner lessons learned
- Senior team alignment on strategic direction to execute the investment thesis
- Playbooks in forming and developing human capital strategies throughout the various stages
- How to think about creating value through human capital in the first 100 days
- Working with the CHRO to elevate value creation initiatives
- Managing relationships with management teams virtually for them to own the value creation plan
- When, how, and why to deploy assessment during the investment cycle?
- Talent management best practices for the exit
Moderator:
Ted Bililies, Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer, Alix Partners
Panelists:
Abhishek Kapur, Managing Director, KKR Capstone
Christopher Kim, Senior Vice President, Platinum Equity
Alice Mann, Operating Partner, Human Capital, Blue Wolf Capital Partners
Melissa Mounce, Managing Director, Leadership Talent and Diversity, GTCR
Recruiting CEOs for a post pandemic economy
- How leading PE Firms are rethinking their CEO hiring
- Author of “Evidence-Based Recruiting” discusses what we can learn from 100 years of research on which types of CEOs will be successful in turbulent times
- Private equity-CEO alignment best practices in the current environment
- Join a discussion with panelists with experience recruiting successful executives
Moderator:
Atta Tarki, CEO and Managing Director, ECA Partners
Panelists:
Elizabeth Burgess, Partner, Bridges Fund Management
Ben Holzemer, Partner, Global Head of Human Capital, TPG Global
Steven Maxwell, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Human Capital, Audax Group
Ann Ruble, Operating Partner, Two Sigma Impact
Glenn Stevens, Partner, Talent Management, Apollo Global Management
Training and development for the modern CFO: setting CFOs up for success
- Identifying and attracting top CFO talent: what is your greatest challenge when it comes to recruiting brilliant portfolio CFOs?
- How has the portfolio company CFO role evolved and what makes an ideal private equity CFO?
- First-hand success stories in looking at the CFO-CEO-Operating Partner partnership
- Working with the CFO in today’s current environment: looking at challenges and opportunities
- CFO training and development for transformation
Moderator:
Richard Jenkins, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Panelists:
Cordelia Dolan, Talent Director, Inflexion Private Equity
Benjamin Humphreys, Senior Operating Executive, Monomoy Capital Partners
Nicki Lambropoulos, Finance Operating Partner, Cold Bore Capital Management
Howard Reba, Head of Portfolio Finance, CI Capital Partners
Networking lunch and extended live Q&A interactive discussions
Please use this time as an opportunity to join one of the interactive discussions, or connect with conference attendees and sponsors via the video chat function one-on-one or as a small group
Interactive Discussion 1: Human capital best practices across the entire investment lifecycle
Interactive Discussion 2: Recruiting CEOs for a post pandemic economy
Interactive Discussion 3: Training and development for the modern CFO: setting CFOs up for success
Women in PE & VC portfolio operations lunch (invitation-only)
This closed-door discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE and VC portfolio operations:
- What are the issues causing a disparity in genders?
- Exploring career paths, development, and how to position yourself as female leaders
- Is your firm focused on women’s leadership at portfolio companies?
- Does your firm have any specific programs, leadership coaching and assessments geared towards promoting women’s leadership?
- Are there any changes in recruiting that will create a more equal playing field?
- Looking at trends and stats in gender in PE and VC
Facilitators:
Samantha Adams, Managing Director, Talent, Berkshire Partners
Coley Florance, Head of Talent, Spectrum Equity
Debra Somers, Director, Portfolio Recruitment, Warburg Pincus
Track 1: Human capital due diligence – the missing ingredient in pre-transaction playbooks
- Understanding the COVID-accelerated trend of more rigorous human capital due diligence, and what the future holds
- Measuring the people impact in each deal – how human capital dynamics influence valuation
- How leadership/team quality can derail value creation efforts, and how to identify and mitigate those risks
- Drawbacks of traditional leadership assessments versus next generation approaches that support context-driven individual and team success
Moderator:
Matt Brubaker, CEO, FMG Leading
Panelists:
Andy Caine, Partner, Human Capital, Frazier Healthcare Partners
David Gibson, Operating Partner, WindRose Health Investors
Adam Stein, Founding Partner, LightBay Capital
Track 2: The next level of talent recruitment, retention, and assessment: best practices in 2021 and beyond
- With recruiting talent anywhere: what will the future recipe look like?
- What is the biggest hindrance to recruiting and retaining top tier talent in your portfolio companies in this environment?
- Regarding retention new research suggests the one in four knowledge workers will leave their jobs post pandemic due to burnout, largely driven by increased workload and job stress: what are you doing to get in front of this?
- What will the future role/structure of the human capital operating partner and talent partner look like?
- At what levels do you get involved with talent and leadership selection and assessment in the portfolio?
- Many VCPs look to improve portfolio company cost structures? How are you thinking about on demand talents as a way of growing back capacity and at the same time, variabilizing cost structure?
- Assessments: when do you do it? how do you do it? what do you use? how do you think about AI, data/big data, tools for it?
- Workforce analytics: uncovering initiatives in people data science
Moderator:
Tim Sanders, Vice President of Customer Insights, Upwork
Panelists:
Emily Azevedo, Operating Partner, Talent, Mainsail Partners
Kelly Carlson, Managing Director, Head of Talent, STG Partners
Jon Davies, Managing Director, Head of Talent, Lightyear Capital
Track 3: Human capital M&A integration: critical steps for PE firms and their portcos
- Employee retention during M&As: key takeaways
- Dissecting the most important human capital elements and challenges in carveouts and M&As
- Assessing leadership and cultures effectively in M&As
- Integration best practices: post-close, and in the first 100 days
- Working with the CHRO in M&As: best practices
Moderator:
Jennifer Busse, M&A Integration and Separation Leader, RSM
Panelists:
Ashley Day, Chief Talent Officer, CI Capital Partners
Merche del Valle, Managing Director, Chief Talent Officer and Chief HR Officer, Grain Management
Adam Miller, Consultant, Global Talent Management, The Riverside Company
Michelle Nasir, Chief Talent Officer, Arsenal Capital Partners
Track 4: Healthcare navigation: improving lives, creating value, driving EBITDA
Healthcare and benefits can become a source of holistic value creation rather than an enemy of EBITDA within portfolio companies. The key: employee and provider engagement strategies that drive outcomes while reducing costs.
Hear from HR leaders using healthcare navigation and care coordination to bend their company’s cost trend and boost employee satisfaction, all within a highly complex benefits environment. Learn from a PE executive why independent navigation is as beneficial to the bottom line as it is to the health of employee populations. Get thought-provoking insights on why this type of benefits innovation has never been more essential to portcos and P&Ls given competition for talent and an expected surge of postponed care caused by the pandemic.
- Proactively engaging employees and providers to drive cost avoidance
- Improving employees’ benefits experience within collective-bargaining constraints
- Exploring healthcare navigation as a value creation best practice across the portfolio
Moderator:
Todd Grove, Vice President, Private Equity, Quantum Health
Panelists:
Michael Frain, Senior Vice President, Shared Services, Warburg Pincus
Katie Gausepohl, Director, Benefits and Payroll, NetJets
Networking break and extended live Q&A interactive discussions
Please use this time as an opportunity to join one of the interactive discussions, or connect with conference attendees and sponsors via the video chat function one-on-one or as a small group
Interactive Discussion 1: Human capital due diligence – the missing ingredient in pre-transaction playbooks
Interactive Discussion 2: The next level of talent recruitment, retention, and assessment: best practices in 2021 and beyond
Interactive Discussion 3: Human capital M&A integration: critical steps for PE firms and their portcos
Interactive Discussion 4: Healthcare navigation: improving lives, creating value, driving EBITDA
Track 5: The long journey for diversity: an inside look at private equity initiatives and challenges
- Exploring the challenges of finding diverse talent and what must be done
- What are you doing at your companies to tackle diversity and open dialogue? What specific initiatives/programs have you taken that were successful?
- How can PE firms create cultures at their portfolio companies that will ensure diversity and inclusion initiatives have the desired impact?
- KPIs for diversity and measuring effectiveness: how are companies leveraging data to augment their efforts with portfolio companies?
- Diversity and leadership: how are you thinking about diversity of boards?
- Building diversity from within, not just at the top
Moderator:
Angela Nalwa, Managing Director, HR Transformation Solution Leader, Grant Thornton
Panelists:
Neel Bhatia, Operating Partner, Talent and ESG, Arcline Investment Management
Natalie Ings, Managing Director, Portfolio Solutions, Lightyear Capital
Kate Migliaro, Principal, Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness, Apollo Global Management
Track 6: Boards: navigating the next normal
- The evolving board: ESG and diversity imperatives
- The pragmatic board approach to cyber
- The secret to the best CEO- Board partnerships
- The role of the OP on the board: should they always have a seat?
- Influencing execution; are KPIs enough?
- Optimizing compensation for the board & management
Moderator:
Rick DeRose, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Acertitude
Panelists:
Susan Clark, General Partner, Portfolio Operations, TCV
Debra Somers, Director, Portfolio Recruitment, Warburg Pincus
Michael Song, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity
Next generation commercial leadership – how the game has changed
- Looking at the different role of senior sales executives in the near future
- New skills requirements for senior sales leaders – digital, analytics, team-based selling, etc.
- Changes required to source, onboard and assess sales management in the changed environment
- Measuring current senior sales leaders against these new capabilities
Moderator:
Brad Wilsted, Co-founder and Senior Managing Director, Blue Ridge Partners
Panelists:
Amy Kramer, Operating Partner, Level Equity
Agnes Krygier, Principal, Portfolio Operations, GI Partners
Michael Monagle, Principal, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity
The future of work: top challenges and opportunities for HR teams in switching to a remote-first work environment
Remote work is here to stay. According to a survey, 54 percent of professionals hope to continue working remotely after the pandemic. This means employees could potentially take their work wherever they want — and even adopt a nomadic lifestyle. Companies must be ready to fully embrace this reality and dedicate resources to create a productive remote work environment for their team. Here we will look at immediate challenges of supporting your existing workforce in a remote-first world and learn best practices to managing remote teams.
- Have your companies fully transformed themselves to thrive in a world where anyone can work from anywhere?
- Will your team members have the right to live and work where they have relocated?
- Do you have the infrastructure and policies in place to support employee involvement in a remote work environment?
- How are your HR teams looking to design a remote employee lifecycle that results in happy teams and productive companies? Are there gaps in your current approach?
- How can HR teams support professional growth in the company remotely?
- What compliance challenges do HR professionals need to deal with when employees relocate?
- How should HR teams work to maintain and grow a unique company culture within their distributed team?
Moderator:
Emily Boynton, Vice President Human Resources, Globalization Partners
Panelists:
Merche Del Valle, Managing Director, Chief Talent Officer and Chief HR Officer, Grain Management
Jamie Jacobs, Director, Human Capital, American Securities
Hannah Johnson, Head of Human Resources, Thoma Bravo
Extended live Q&A interactive discussions
Please use this time as an opportunity to join one of the interactive discussions
Interactive discussion 1: The long journey for diversity: an inside look at private equity initiatives and challenges
Interactive discussion 2: Boards: navigating the next normal
Interactive discussion 3: Next generation commercial leadership – how the game has changed
Interactive discussion 4: The future of work: top challenges and opportunities for HR teams in switching to a remote-first work environment
Conference ends
2021 Speakers
For speaking opportunities, contact Marc Mele at marc.m@peimedia.com or call +1 646 581 9295.
2021 Sponsors
PEI’s Annual Operating Partner Forums unite private equity operating partners and value creation experts. This intersection of individuals provides service providers with unique and customized programs to engage in thought provoking content discussions and provides numerous opportunities to connect in one-on-one discussions, roundtable events, and various other networking activities.
To explore how your firm can take a prominent leadership position, contact Lawrence Dvorchik at lawrence.d@peimedia.com or call +1 646 545 4429.























