Private Equity
International
International
Operating Partners Forum New York 2022
19 - 20 October 2022,
Convene, 117 W 46th St, New York
The largest global event for private equity value creation
Private Equity International’s Operating Partners Forum New York is the world’s largest event dedicated to operating partners. The 12th annual event is focused on best practices in private equity portfolio operations and value creation across all functional business areas.
Join the PE operating partner community to discuss and debate the best strategies to deliver maximum portfolio growth this October in-person in New York City.
Extensive opportunities to network, compare best practices, build new relationships, and influence the future of value creation models make this an event not to be missed.
“You have to keep yourself current and our firms are not academies for becoming better operating partners…The PEI International Operating Partners Forum is the only academy that exists for Operating Partners.”
Aaron Miller
Head of Apollo Portfolio Performance Solutions
Apollo Global Management
Create the most operationally efficient portfolio companies
Hear first-hand perspectives on how to further develop your operational efficiencies by looking at successful models.
Network with top value creators
Meet with the largest community of operational experts in one place over 2 days.
Learn key strategies for cross-portfolio initiatives
Find the right tools and knowledge to create value.
2022 agenda
The 2022 agenda will feature the most prominent functional areas in value creation for your portfolio companies. Our unique agenda offers interactive working group discussions, think tanks, panels, plus our women in PE lunch. Click the headings below for a snapshot of some of the top features:
Value Creation
- One hour invitation-only think tanks each day for operating partners to select:
- advanced/seasoned operating partners
- emerging operating partners
- human capital operating partners
- digital operating partners
- How operating teams work best with investment teams
- Operating partner engagement models: what will the future of value creation look like?
- How 100-day plans are changing in the current environment and years to come
- Governance – selecting and managing boards as a value creation lever
- Effective value creation strategies for carveouts and M&As
- The archetype of a world class operating team
Sales & Revenue Growth
- The future of sales: virtual sales best practices and the impact of virtual workforces
- Improving pricing strategy during inflationary times
- Uncovering the most important GTM levers
- Leveraging customer success initiatives for growth
- Uncovering revenue growth stories and early warning signs with operating partners
- Developing a successful ecommerce strategy in an increasingly digital world
Human Capital
- Human capital operating partners think tank: a one hour value creation war room led by and exclusively for operating partners
- Working with CEOs: dos and don’ts
- Big data & workforce analytics
- What will the future role of the human capital operating partner look like?
- Talent acquisition, development, and assessment best practices during challenging times
- Integrating culture for success
- Accelerating management team performance post transaction
- The future of human capital and virtual workforces: what lies ahead
Technology
- Digital and technology operating partners think tank: a one hour value creation war room led by and exclusively for operating partners
- Digital transformations: how things will change
- Working with CIOs/CTOs: dos and don’ts
- Digitizing the customer journey: keys to success
- Unlocking the cloud revolution for portfolio value creation
- Advanced data science to govern the business throughout the investment life-cycle
- Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning for value creation
- Cybersecurity in the modern age: dos and don’ts
ESG
- Leveraging your portfolio’s supply chain to maximize ESG impact
- How to execute a decarbonization and energy efficiency/renewable strategy across your portfolio, including funding solutions that eliminate capital constraints to scale savings
- ESG due diligence best practices
- What is the role of the operating partner in driving ESG initiatives?
- How are ESG based KPIs and metrics being used?
- How does your firm think about ESG, and what specific areas within E, S, and G are covered?
Supply Chain & Procurement
- Navigating supply chain disruptions and post-COVID best practices
- Impact of technologies and today’s fast paced e-commerce on your supply chain
- Supply chain cost optimization: individual company vs. cross-portfolio programs
- Procurement transformations in the first 100 days
Finance
- Add-on acquisition readiness: adding value through the finance function
- How can PE best support portco CFOs?
- Transforming finance from a cost-center into a value-creation engine
- Identifying, attracting, and recruiting top CFO talent
- Enabling a data-driven CFO
Marketing
- What it really means to have a shared methodology and common language across Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success
- Marketing as a growth lever in the first 100 days
- How are you tracking your marketing performance and the effectiveness of marketing spend, what channels do you use?
- Digital marketing best practices: operating partners share their thoughts
- How does marketing support sales: what works and what doesn’t?
- Marketing due diligence: understanding what needs to be done pre-acquisition
2022 Speakers
2022 confirmed attendees include:
Meet the largest operating partner network
What our attendees say
Dana Allen
Gauge Capital
Was great to trade ideas with peers across other firms to see how they are tackling similar challenges & to learn areas they are able to drive more value.
Kush Tulsidas
One Rock Capital Partners
It is a fantastic place to network with top talent in PE and learn the cutting edge work that their firms are doing to create value. I highly recommend.
Greg J Pappas
Berkshire Partners
The Operating Partners Forum is the foremost event where the largest ecosystem of operating partners, suppliers and resources gather annually.
2022 Agenda
Download the agenda covering value creation challenges and opportunities for PE and portfolio companies across all functional areas: Human Capital, Finance, Technology/Digital, Sales, Marketing, Revenue Growth, Supply Chain, ESG, and more.
If you are interested in a speaking role please contact Marc Mele at marc.m@peimedia.com.
All times are listed in Eastern Time (ET)
View agenda page
Agenda
Day 1 - Wednesday 19th
07:40 - 08:30
Registration and breakfast
07:40 - 08:30
Think tanks for full-time operating partners: value creation war room (invitation-only)
Martin Mumford,
Jon Weber
This closed-door room discussion will allow you to learn and share best practices of successful operating partners. The think tank will also allow you to submit topics to be covered in looking at best value creation practices and the toughest challenges operating partners face daily.
Room 1 Emerging Operating Partners (1-2 years in PE)
Facilitators:
Matt Hively, Operating Partner, Angeles Equity Partners
Martin Mumford, Operating Partner, Angeles Equity Partners
Room 2 Advanced Operating Partners
Facilitator:
Jon Weber, Global Head of Portfolio Operations, Elliott Management Corporation
08:30 - 08:50
PEI’s welcome and chairman’s opening remarks
Tim Sanders
Seth Kerker, Director of Events, Americas, PEI
Chairman:
Tim Sanders, Vice President, Client Strategy, Upwork
Plenary sessions
08:50 - 09:30
Building agility in the current economy: the next chapter of the value creation playbook
Markus Lahrkamp
- Value creation playbooks in a recessionary/inflationary environment: how is the recipe changing? How are operating teams addressing this unprecedented turbulent market?
- Developing an agility playbook to navigate through this period of instability and build sustainable EBITDA
- Essential steps/countermeasures for your portfolio companies: how is PE “future-proofing” and building resilience into its portfolios? What levers should be triggered to weather whatever comes next? How important will liquidity become during this downturn/recession?
- Discussing the trends/factors that will have the largest impact on PE — lessons learned from other downturns: what has PE done historically to deal with recessions? What works and what doesn’t?
- How is PE investing its time and resources during these difficult times: what are the real challenges and opportunities? How are portcos taking action to protect EBITDA and liquidity?
- Uncovering longer term investments and operational approaches in looking at valuations as interest rates are rising — estimating the severity of its impact across various industries
- How can PE sponsors help portfolio management navigate issues and disruptions? With hold periods decreasing every year, how do you manage and improve the relationship with your portfolio companies and work together effectively?
- Strengthening operational alignment: improving the linkage between sales, operations, and finance to survive
- Investment and exit strategies in a recession: what are you doing differently to acquire companies and prepare companies for sale?
Moderator:
Markus Lahrkamp, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
09:30 - 10:10
PE operating partners: what do your CEOs need from you?
Dan Hawkins
PE investors are placing big bets on CEOs and their management teams. The partnership between the investment team and CEO is one of the most critical levers to get right early in the hold period. When it is off track, the investment is at risk. While much attention is placed on how operating partners drive growth and returns; has anyone ever asked the portfolio CEOs what do they really need? CEOs will make or break your value creation plan and operating partners can benefit from hearing directly on how they can collectively drive returns for all key stakeholders.
This very insightful panel of portfolio company CEOs will share their experiences on ways to best leverage the operating partner alliance in looking at:
- How can your Operating Partners quickly earn your trust and management team’s support?
- What aspects of the 100-day plan work well?
- What does a productive CEO/OP relationship look like?
- How should tough topics and issues be addressed?
- What level of communications and transparency are important?
- As CEOs, where do you need the most help?
- Where can Operating Partners continue to develop their skills and capabilities to be seen as value partners?
- Other advice and tips for Operating Partners to help CEOs drive value creation (in the eyes of the CEO)
Moderator:
Dan Hawkins, Founder and CEO, Summit Leadership Partners
10:10 - 10:50
Accelerating the pivot to growth with rapid, tactical commercial effectiveness levers
Joanne Taylor,
Kevin Kerby,
Beth Neumann,
Jorge Rosales,
Kush Tulsidas
- Focusing on tactical, quick-hit revenue growth that’s tangible and measurable
- Sustaining a growth trajectory: aligning the organization for longer-term revenue levers across the investment lifecycle
- Maximizing effective use of marketing and trade spend
- Utilizing digital capabilities to automate, improve targeting, and identify and focus on profitable growth
- Re-investing cost savings to fuel growth
- Driving performance visibility, accountability and P&L impact through margin and revenue wins
Moderator:
Joanne Taylor, Director, AlixPartners
Panelists:
Kevin Kerby, Operating Partner, Bain Capital
Beth Neumann, Partner Head of Portfolio Operatons, Kelso & Company
Jorge Rosales, Senior Vice President, Growth Team, Serent Capital
Kush Tulsidas, Operating Partner, One Rock Capital Partners
10:50 - 11:30
Tech value creation roadmaps: digitizing across the entire investment lifecycle
Thomas Fountain
- Tech strategy roadmaps across the lifecycle: pre-acquisition, 100 days, hold, and exit
- In what ways are investors identifying opportunities to leverage technology to unlock operational value creation during due diligence given limited time/information/resources?
- Achieving alignment through leadership, strategy, IT teams, and tech capabilities
- Finding gaps in the first 100 days
- Which areas are most often misaligned and how do you address the issues created by these misalignments?
- Tech playbooks and strategic roadmap execution – typical challenges, best practices for execution, and related mitigation strategies? What works and what doesn’t?
- In what ways does your technology/digital value creation change, shift, or evolve over the course of the hold period?
- Sharing best practices in digitizing before the exit
Panelists:
Thomas Fountain, Operating Partner, One Rock Capital Partners
11:30 - 12:00
Unlocking the due diligence imperative to rapidly achieve the value creation plan
Sean Mooney,
Cici Zheng
- How is your due diligence playbook changing in the current economic environment?
- Conducting diligence in a stressed/distressed environment
- Operating partner-deal partner dynamics in understanding a company’s potential pre-acquisition
- Partnering with deal teams for success: how to manage the collaboration between the deal side and value side and integrate both sides effectively
- Where are PE Firms investing time and resources across functional areas in due diligence?
- Refining your due diligence playbook in identifying risks and value creation opportunities: how operating partners are involved in the process to accelerate and determine the value creation levers
- Pre-deal assessments of the leadership team – how to know if/when to switch out members to rapidly achieve the value creation plan
- Understanding how due diligence impacts the holistic cycle and your value creation journey
Moderator:
Sean Mooney, Founder and CEO, BluWave
Panelists:
Mara Edgar, Managing Director, Human Capital, The Riverside Company
Cici Zheng, Partner, ParkerGale Capital
12:00 - 12:30
Networking break
Interactive Working Groups Series I
12:30 - 13:10
Interactive Working Group 1 (for operating partners only) | Operating Partner-Chief Information/Chief Technology Officer dynamics: dos and don’ts
Lisa Baldwin
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- Understanding how the office of the CIO/CTO is becoming more strategic and what to look for in a CIO/CTO?
- What are the challenges? How are operating partners influencing portco CIO/CTO decision making? How is the engagement approach changing in the modern workforce setup?
- Cooperation and collaboration tech value creation partnerships: comparing dynamics
- Looking at best practices in working with different types of companies to deliver value
- What will the future role of the Chief Information/Technology Officer look like?
Facilitators:
Lisa Baldwin, Operating Executive, Evergreen Coast Capital
12:30 - 13:10
Interactive Working Group 2 (for operating partners only) | Modernizing your finance function: uncovering the most important elements to drive value for organizations
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- Financial transformations to support modern organizations: operating partners share their thoughts
- Modern approaches to finance to ensure the organization’s people, processes, data, and technology work in concert
- Uncover stories of how modern CFOs and finance teams are embracing automation and tech integrations as a value-add service: what areas of automation in finance and accounting have been the most successful?
- Drive forward-looking insights and improved performance management with advanced data and analytics
- Data uses to enable predictive financial planning and analysis (FP&A)
- Upskill and evolve people capabilities to be successful in a modern finance environment
12:30 - 13:10
Interactive Working Group 3 (for operating partners only) | The future 100-day plan recipe: operating partners share viewpoints
Neal Cao,
Lane McDonald
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- 100-day plans in a recessionary environment: how does your recipe change at this inflection point and what will the future look like?
- Fast start: coming out strong from day one in onboarding new portfolio companies even in the face of recent uncertainty
- Exposing the challenges of getting management to maintain focus in the first 100 days: what does your engagement model look like and how do you go about achieving alignment?
- How to prioritize and identify the most important value creation areas to focus on: what’s key for your first 100 days to convert to execution?
- Best practices for the first 30–100 days vs. 365+
- Day 1-100: structured approaches, pragmatic actions, tools, and resources to bring about rapid alignment and focus
Facilitators:
Neal Cao, Principal, Transaction Advisory Services, RSM US
Lane McDonald, Managing Director, Strategy and Operations, OMERS Private Equity
12:30 - 13:10
Interactive Working Group 4 (for operating partners only) | Creating carveouts and greenfields – the new reality to put capital to productive use
Paul Lennick
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- PE dry powder needs to be put to good use, but, with limited assets to buy or invest in, PE firms must be creative
- Deal teams and operating teams are confronted with the new challenge of formulating new businesses in the form of creative carveouts and greenfield startups
- Proactivity in identifying sectors, unmet needs, and building a business case and investment thesis will become more critical in the future
- Establishing a playbook to address these new challenges will differentiate one firm over another in the competitive PE space
Facilitator:
Paul Lennick, Senior Vice President M&A Services, ContinuServe
13:10 - 14:10
Networking Lunch
13:10 - 14:10
Women in PE and VC portfolio operations lunch (invitation-only for operating partners)
Melissa Mounce
This closed-door lunch discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE and VC portfolio operations:
- Uncovering what being a woman operating partner means and how to be successful in your role
- 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 company 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:
Melissa Mounce, Managing Director, Leadership Talent and Diversity, GTCR
Sponsored by:
Breakout Series I
14:10 - 14:50
Track 1 | Operationalizing data analytics playbooks and reporting to augment your decision making
- Using predictive analytics, and data integration for smarter decision making
- Advanced data science and predictive analytics to open up new revenue streams
- Looking at high value use cases per sector
- Managing cross functional data/KPIs and tying it to the company’s strategy
- PE portfolio management new tools: best methodologies for portfolio company reporting and benchmarking
- How do you help a company become more data-oriented? How do you avoid the pitfalls of sitting on data without operationalizing it?
- What has been the biggest challenge in collecting the “right” data? How are you dealing with it?
- Applying growth KPIs and ongoing metrics in different stages to track portco performance
14:10 - 14:50
Track 2 | Practical approaches for operating partners to improve the linkage between ESG and value creation
Amisha Parekh
The pandemic, climate change, and both regulatory and LP pressure have combined to make ESG an inescapable item on the agenda of every PE fund. Here we will look at how your ESG efforts can, in this new environment, evolve from a risk mitigation and compliance exercise towards identifying and driving long-term value creation:
- ESG due diligence best practices: How are GPs viewing ESG through the lens of value creation? How is ESG influencing the investment thesis?
- Driving ESG performance across the portfolio: What are common areas of misunderstanding about the purpose of ESG? How are operating partners prioritizing ESG? Where are they finding value creation opportunities in climate, DEI, and talent management?
- Enabling resilience: How does ESG enhance a company’s relevance in turbulent markets and over the long-term?
- Role of ESG data: How are GPs standing up efficient and insightful ESG tracking across the portfolio? How are GPs balancing the needs of portfolio companies and LPs? How is ESG resulting in better decisions?
- ESG considerations for exit: How can ESG enhance a portfolio company’s equity story? Where are GPs focusing ESG efforts ahead of exit?
Moderator:
Tania Carnegie, Global and US Lead for ESG, Private Equity and Asset Management, KPMG
Panelists:
Donna Bebb, Head of ESG, Thoma Bravo
Amisha Parekh, Managing Director, Global Head of ESG for Private Equity, Blackstone
14:10 - 14:50
Track 3 | Better leadership: accelerate time to value across the deal cycle
Kevin O'Neill,
Jamie Jacobs,
Geoffrey Lurie,
Melissa Mounce
- Custom fit your human capital playbook to optimize each stage of the investment – pre-deal, closing, 100 days, mid-deal, pre-exit, exit
- Practices for bettering executive team due diligence, pre-deal to post-close
- Even more ways to achieve max momentum in the first 100 days
- Drive exceptional outcomes on executive searches in the current business climate
- Using executive assessment as a strategic weapon
Moderator:
Kevin O’Neill, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Acertitude
Panelists:
Jamie Jacobs, Chief Talent Officer, Oak Hill Capital
Geoffrey Lurie, Managing Partner, Traub Capital Partners
Melissa Mounce, Managing Director, Leadership Talent and Diversity, GTCR
14:10 - 14:50
Track 4 | The changing lens of the CFO: building a financial survival kit for your portfolio companies
Nick Leopard
- Recession-proof your portfolio companies: understanding how a recession will impact the role of the CFO and what must be done
- Transforming finance from a cost-center into a value-creation engine
- Operating partners share extensive value creation experiences at portfolio companies in building out finance and accounting to position a company for scale and growth (especially over the last four months)
- Uncovering tools and tactics currently being employed in the market by finance executives and their PE partners to navigate their biggest challenges
- Understanding what a fully optimized F&A function might look like for companies at key inflection points in this environment and why this is critical to prioritizing the value creation plan
- Looking at concrete ways to mitigate risk and plan for best and worst-case recovery scenarios
Moderator:
Nick Leopard, CEO and Founder, Accordion
Breakout Series II
14:50 - 15:30
Track 5 | Delivering faster time to value through service transformation
This session will allow you to learn from companies that implemented service transformation with quick time-to-value and hear insights from key players responsible for sales and service excellence. Key points to be covered include:
- Planning, and project preparation recommended to deliver value quickly
- Service strategies with fast time-to-value
- Case example(s) of project end-to-end and financial impact
14:50 - 15:30
Track 6 | Building a culture of innovation: key success factors to transform your companies
- Best practices in driving innovation through people: how do you equip your people to deliver innovation and create an environment that nurtures their efforts?
- Understanding how sustainable innovation requires the right: leadership, processes, capabilities, resourcing, and culture
- Unlocking the right new technologies and tools to deliver value and drive revenue
- Understanding how to improve enterprise planning and automate processes
- Driving continuous innovation and augmented intelligence across the different functions
14:50 - 15:30
Track 7 | Critical dimensions in talent due diligence
Shannon Gabriel,
Drew Scielzo
- Explaining the dynamics of human capital diligence across all talent levels
- How best to partner with investment teams to fully understand human capital risks: how do you identify red flags during diligence?
- What role does human capital assessment/evaluation play in your firms overall due diligence process?
- In our current environment, what particular people dynamics do you pay attention to and track pre-transaction? What are the analytics you are using?
- Refining the toolkit: specifically addressing the broad range of deal dynamics which may dictate your approach in developing a human capital plan
- Can you share any “horror” stories of an investment thesis that went askew due to people issues?
- Can you share how the current environment has re-shaped the way you approach due diligence?
- Understanding turnover costs and right sizing it during diligence
Moderator:
Shannon Gabriel, Managing Director, Leadership Solutions, TBM Consulting Group
Panelists:
Drew Scielzo, Operating Partner, ACON Investments
14:50 - 15:30
Track 8 | Winning after the deal: the key to smooth post-acquisition integrations
Scott McGurl,
Jessica Castillo ,
Daniel Goetz
- Achieving cohesion between the diligence phase and integration planning process to move toward long-term performance
- Effective synergy modelling, value capture and governance throughout the transaction lifecycle
- Effective talent management, communications, and culture alignment through the transaction lifecycle
- Getting the synergies right post acquisition and ensuring day 1 readiness through effective assessments, engagement, and strategy
- Developing 90–100 day integration playbooks: identifying the value drivers
- Mitigating risks through successful integration planning and execution support at the overall transaction level and at the functional levels
Moderator:
Scott McGurl, Principal, Strategy and Transactions, Grant Thornton
Panelists:
Jessica Castillo, Operating Partner, Sovereign’s Capital
Daniel Goetz, Managing Director – Value Creation, Siris Capital
Breakout Series III
15:30 - 16:10
Track 9 | Effectively managing healthcare across the portfolio: a Blackstone story
Andreas Mang
Healthcare is one of the largest challenges in the US; it’s typically the second biggest expense for companies behind only salaries. Here we will explore components of Blackstone’s platform and lay out six initiatives which do not rely on significant scale or healthcare expertise to drive exceptional outcomes to make healthcare healthier for the portfolio. PE and operating executives have a huge opportunity to make healthcare better when it comes to managing spending and keeping costs flat. Giving the HR leaders what they need for it and tracing the roadmap of what you can do will help you to think about enacting this change through:
- C-suite engagement
- Broker RFP/evaluations
- Carrier (insurer) RFP
- Leveraging pharmacy collectives and stoploss collectives
- Dependent eligibility audit
Presenter:
Andreas Mang, Senior Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Blackstone
15:30 - 16:10
Track 10 | Leveraging technology and data to unlock value
Andy Johnson,
Raj Kushwaha,
Michael Song
- Identifying, quantifying, and enhancing conviction of digital opportunities during diligence
- Unlocking the value of existing data to drive behaviors and improve performance
- Enhancing the moments that matter in the value chain through digital enhancements to capture value across all stakeholder groups including customers, vendor partners, and talent and labor
Moderator:
Andy Johnson, Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions, West Monroe
Panelists:
Raj Kushwaha, Managing Director, Co-Head Value Creation and Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
Michael Song, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity Partners
15:30 - 16:10
Track 11 | CFO-PE operating partner dynamics: critical factors in creating a value generating finance function
Evan Lorch
- Understanding how investor-backed CFOs are optimizing for growth
- Accelerating your finance value creation function through people, processes, and technology
- Sharing how CFOs of investor-backed businesses must adapt their finance and accounting functions to drive operational gains faster
- Creating an impactful portfolio company CFO: how can PE best support portco CFOs?
- Establishing roadmaps for CFOs: expectations vs. reality
- Finance and accounting reporting and assessment best practices
Panelists:
Evan Lorch, Operating Partner, Francisco Partners Consulting
15:30 - 16:10
Track 12
Breakout Series IV
16:10 - 16:50
Track 13 | Riding the talent wave into 2023 and beyond: an inside look at challenges and opportunities for PE
Tony Buffum
During economically challenging times, companies find themselves whipsawed from feast to famine when it comes to resourcing their work. In the short term, hiring freezes and layoffs create delivery problems. This leads to more emphasis on operating expense budgeting until the next wave of adding back employees commences.
This panel will discuss how leaders ride this wave, create value through it all and emerge stronger on the other side. Key points to be covered include:
- Hiring freezes, spending limitations, and layoffs: operating partners share lessons learned from previous downturns
- How to deliver speed during times of constraint: how can companies stay fast while operating under constraints?
- Sharing innovative ways companies are solving talent challenges in the current environment: what leadership skills are necessary in this operating context?
Moderator:
Tony Buffum, Vice President of HR Client Strategy, Upwork
16:10 - 16:50
Track 14 | Operating partners: what does your tech scorecard look like in a downturn?
Aswatha "Amar" Amarnath
- Operating partners share key tech portfolio initiatives being delivered in a downturn
- What can tech and tech operations do to protect EBITDA?
- How the profile of tech-spending changes during a downturn?
- Looking at steps to remedy: how to transform from problem solving to maximizing value in the years to come
Moderator:
Aswatha “Amar” Amarnath, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales Operations, Wipro
16:10 - 16:50
Track 15 | Optimizing revenue across the full bowtie: driving sustainable growth during a downturn
Lauren Goldstein
In order to maximize recurring revenue and increase efficiency and productivity, the most successful companies are employing a full funnel strategy, using a ‘bowtie’ rather than ‘funnel’ and applying a common operating system across Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success.
The panel will cover the current market, and the strategies PE operating partners are applying to drive sustainable growth during turbulence such as:
- How to achieve sustainable growth, rather than growth at all costs
- How to improve revenue productivity per rep, rather than hiring more reps
- What it really means to have a shared methodology and common language across Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success
- How to optimize recurring revenue from existing customers
- Developing an action plan by company stage to drive sustainable growth
Moderator:
Lauren Goldstein, Private Equity Practice Lead, Winning by Design
16:10 - 16:50
Track 16 | Navigating supply chain disruptions: a first-hand look at PE responses and initiatives
Jake Wojcik,
Rami Cassis,
Gabriel Mesanza,
Jud Morrison,
Zaid Nesheiwat
- Uncovering severe supply chain disruptions that have had significant impacts on timely delivery and product costs
- How is inflation/price inflation affecting distribution costs and your supply chain strategy overall?
- What new/recent strategies have you adopted to enhance resiliency and meet customer demand?
- Are you looking at more solutions in region for your region?
- How have constraints affected your ability to grow and drive innovation in companies?
- What are some innovative examples of supply chain management that worked through the pandemic?
- Supply chain cost optimization in this environment: individual company vs. cross-portfolio programs
Moderator:
Jake Wojcik, Executive Vice President, Insight Sourcing Group and SpendHQ
Panelists:
Rami Cassis, Founder and CEO, Parabellum Investments
Gabriel Mesanza, Partner, Resource Group, Huron Capital
Jud Morrison, Operating Partner, The Sterling Group
Zaid Nesheiwat, Vice President, Portfolio Operations, ORIX Capital Partners
16:50 - 17:00
Networking coffee break
Interactive Working Groups Series II
17:00 - 17:40
Interactive Working Group 5 (for operating partners only) | Uncovering the keys to operational improvement success factors
Alex Olano,
Kyle Sarausky
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
ERP implementation alone does not equate to operational improvement. Operational improvement is far more nuanced and involves the effective balancing of technology, management, and human capital elements. Achieving true operational improvement requires the implementation of a robust ERP ecosystem that serves as a technology backbone to support optimized business processes that are supported by an effective change management strategy, an accountable management team and capable and well-trained users.
This interactive roundtable will explore the keys to operational improvement success in terms of both technology and general operational improvement transformations by looking at:
- Realistic expectation setting and effective change management strategy
- Sound implementation partner and methodology advice
- The importance of data migration strategy and timing
- Successful blueprinting, testing, and training planning approaches
- Cutover planning tips
- Maintenance and support planning best practices
Facilitators:
Alex Olano, CEO and Managing Partner, Trajectory
Kyle Sarausky, Former Operating Partner
17:00 - 17:40
Interactive Working Group 6 (for operating partners only) | An inside look at the metaverse and what the future holds for PE operating partners
Sebastian de Meel ,
Karl Meyer
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- Understanding what the metaverse means to you in your value creation journey as an operating partner
- Uncovering key elements in looking at the enterprise, consumer, and infrastructure side
- How the metaverse ties in with ongoing IT trends like IoT, AR/VR, and gaming
- Sharing what will be needed from a data and network functionality perspective to meet the consumer side
- Understanding different use cases for the metaverse by industry and customer segment
- Grasping the importance of having the right infrastructure in place to meet the required level of interaction and experience within the metaverse
- In what ways will it impact and influence PE and your future tech roadmap
Facilitators:
Sebastian de Meel, Partner, PwC
Karl Meyer, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Operations, Digital Alpha
17:00 - 17:40
Interactive Working Group 7 (for operating partners only) | Human capital strategies for mitigating risk and driving growth throughout the investment lifecycle
Matt Brubaker
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- Underwriting and assessing human capital impact during diligence – how to measure the people side of the deal
- Reducing new portfolio company onboarding times – and gaining faster traction towards delivering on the investment thesis
- Preventing costly organizational derailments during the hold period – and how to identify development opportunities that will have outsized impact on performance
- Leveraging outcomes and human capital excellence to achieve exit premiums – maximizing the return on your development investment
Facilitator:
Matt Brubaker, CEO, FMG Leading
17:00 - 17:40
Interactive Working Group 8 (for operating partners only) | When supply chains fail: how to fix them and make them more resilient for the future
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
17:40 - 18:40
Operating Partners Forum Grand Reception
Hosted by:
Agenda
Day 2 - Thursday 20th
07:45 - 08:30
Registration and breakfast
07:45 - 08:30
Breakfast deep dive discussion (invitation-only for operating partners) | Working with CEOs: dos and don’ts
Ted Bililies,
Clark Perry
- Setting up productive relationships with CEOs across the deal lifecycle: managing tension and helping to bridge alignment
- How to best partner with CEOs in creating value in a recessionary environment
- If you had to hire a new CEO today what profile and characteristics would you prefer?
- Supporting new CEOs as well as CEOs new to PE to help them operate at full power
- How do you do good CEO performance reviews: what is the right process for it
- What does the next generation CEO look like? What can be done to identify that next generation and coach them?
- Sharing of lessons learned and do overs: what works and what doesn’t?
Facilitators:
Ted Bililies, Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer, AlixPartners
Clark Perry, Director, AlixPartners
Hosted by:
08:30 - 09:25
Think tanks for full-time operating partners: value creation war room (invitation-only)
Lee McCabe ,
Christopher Kim,
Carsten Weber
This closed-door discussion will allow you to learn and share best practices of successful operating partners. The think tank will allow you to submit topics to be introduced by the facilitators and discussed in the room. It will allow you to select one of the rooms:
Room 1: Digital and Technology Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Lee McCabe, Operating Partner, AEA Investors
Carsten Weber, Technology Director, The Sterling Group
Room 2: Human Capital/Talent Operating Partners
Facilitator:
Christopher Kim, Principal, Head of Human Capital, Platinum Equity
Room 3: Sales and Revenue Growth Operating Partners
09:25 - 09:30
Chairman’s welcome
Tim Sanders
Chairman:
Tim Sanders, Vice President, Client Strategy, Upwork
Plenary Sessions
09:30 - 10:10
The modern use of data analytics in accelerating revenue growth
Jim Corey
- Looking at breakthrough use cases such as predictive targeting to more optimally allocate sales time
- Using data to plan cross selling initiatives and to detect behaviors that suggest coming customer attrition
- Building the necessary skill sets and tools to support data analytics and insights
Moderator:
Jim Corey, Managing Partner, Blue Ridge Partners
10:10 - 10:50
The evolution of value creation: PE operating partners compare models
- Comparing operating partner models: how are operating partner models evolving in PE and at your firm? How is the operating model different/unique at your firm?
- Comparing team designs/structures from generalists to functional specialists
- How to deploy an operating team throughout the phases of the investment lifecycle
- What types of companies/industries does your model work well in and not work well in?
- Embedding your deal teams in your operating model: bridging the gap between the investment teams’ model and what happens in reality
- Making the “magic quadrant” work: how the deal partner, operating partner, CEO, and board can work together to deliver value creation
- Uncovering where successful operating partner teams focus their attention: value creation team processes, resources, and playbooks
- What does your engagement approach with portfolio companies look like? How is the engagement approach changing? How do you build trust?
10:50 - 11:30
Fireside chat: Underwriting for growth in times of economic uncertainty
Martin Taylor,
Paul Zimmerman
- How will changes in valuations impact the hurdle for investing in capital projects?
- If hold periods become extended, what opportunities and challenges does this represent?
- With thinner margins for error, what controls can be put in place to monitor costs and transformation outcomes?
- The ability for a portfolio company to react quickly to market conditions is more important than ever but agility is not easily quantified. Discuss successful ways to value and enable business agility.
- Despite the economic slowdown, there is still expected to be a talent gap for the foreseeable future in areas like digital transformation and machine learning. What are some effective strategies that help mitigate this risk? What role does automation play?
- How does the role of partners change in this new climate?
Presenters:
Martin Taylor, Managing Director and President of OneVista, Vista Equity Partners
Paul Zimmerman, Managing Director, Global Private Equity, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
11:30 - 12:00
Strategically managing pricing in an inflationary and recessionary environment
- Uncovering how pricing is a key element of organic growth in a recessionary/inflationary environment in looking at market, market share, consolidation
- Implementing urgent and opportunistic pricing changes in current times
- Looking at inflation and current opportunity for different industries
- Engaging with companies to successfully execute pricing projects
- Aligning value delivered with willingness-to-pay by using strategic pricing and packaging for longer-term pricing change
- Leveraging segmentation, value positioning, and value communication to improve and sustain price realization in the medium-term
- Using data and other tools for better pricing and adjustments
12:00 - 12:20
Networking break
Interactive Working Group Series III
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive Working Group 9 (for operating partners only) | Value creation for employee benefits and risk programs: strategies to create sustainable value inside your portfolios across the entire lifecycle
Todd Miller,
John Weaver
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- Remove excess costs and waste from employee benefits programs without cost-shifting, plan degradation, or member disruption
- Learn how to take back and maintain control of your benefits program with a best-in-class governance framework
- Discover ways to evaluate commercial insurance programs for coverage enhancements, savings opportunities, and market checks
- See what an optimal sourcing process entails for both risk management and benefits programs
Facilitators:
Todd Miller, CEO, Risk International
John Weaver, Senior Director, Risk International
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive Working Group 10 (for operating partners only) | Cybersecurity: operating partners share war stories
Chris Hueneke
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- How to raise your standards in the current cyber epidemic in working with your portfolio companies and their functional areas of business?
- How do you define good cybersecurity? What is enough security? How prescriptive are you on cybersecurity?
- Cyber assessments and resource allocation: how is security diligence changing?
- How do you engage with portfolio company teams about cyber?
- First-hand stories in dealing with cybersecurity breaches: what to do and what not to do
- What are current implications for PE when it comes to cyber in the changing geopolitical and financial world? How are these challenges being met?
- Cost effective portfolio security measures and risk management
- Addressing cyber liability insurance carrier requirements
Facilitators:
Chris Hueneke, Chief Information Security Officer, RKON
Marcos Marrero, Chief Information Security Officer, H.I.G. Capital
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive Working Group 11 (for operating partners only) | Digital transformation dos and don’ts across different industries: operating partners share specific elements
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- What are the boundaries of Digital, and what does it mean to Digitally transform?
- What are the 2 – 3 plays that drive the most value with regard to Digital in your Industry/Sector?
- How do you approach Digital transformation in the transaction lifecycle…when do you asses, design, implement and how do you sequence this relative to other activities?
- What are the biggest challenges and opportunities in driving Digital (people, process, technology, adoption)
- Where’s the tipping point with regard to value creation vs not worth the effort (i.e. are you up for the tough Tech projects and multi-year efforts)
- What are the examples or stories that really showcase success?
Facilitators:
Ryan Jones, Principal and Private Equity Leader, Deloitte Consulting
Kevin Newman, Principal – Private Equity, Deloitte Consulting
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive Working Group 12 (for operating partners only)
This session will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
13:00 - 13:50
Networking Lunch
Breakout Series V
13:50 - 14:30
Track 17 | Improving lives and the bottom line: EBITDA growth through healthcare navigation
Todd Grove
The next few years will provide significant challenges for companies to manage medical costs while supporting employee health. Learn how a leading technology company provides solutions to questions such as:
- How can CFOs break the cycle of medical spend creep?
- Can your portfolio executives improve employee engagement while simultaneously eliminating wasted spend?
- Healthcare navigation: balancing employee needs with financial realities
- Can CHROs/CFOs change the model of health insurance to improve outcomes & employee satisfaction – while driving EBITDA?
Moderator:
Todd Grove, Vice President, Private Equity, Quantum Health
13:50 - 14:30
Track 18 | Maximizing ESG impact across your portfolio’s supply chain
- Procurement’s role in achieving sustainability goals, while reducing costs, managing risk and improving your competitive position
- How to execute a decarbonization and energy efficiency/renewable strategy across your portfolio, including funding solutions that eliminate capital constraints to scale savings
- Exploring solutions for managing emissions throughout the supply chain across portfolio companies
- Delivering on supplier diversity and inclusive procurement practices with an ESG framework
- Uncovering data and key metrics in supplier diversity and ESG for the supply chain
13:50 - 14:30
Track 19
Breakout Series VI
14:30 - 15:10
Track 20 | Leveraging strategic providers and partnerships in driving value creation across the portfolio
- Understanding why partnerships for value creation should not be limited to only procurement/preferred pricing/savings although this is an important benefit of establishing these partnerships
- Vetting vendor partners to identify leaders in what they do as part of the initial alignment before deploying them into the portfolio community
- Creating a framework for how you engage/work with your partner network in identifying opportunities for optimization and value creation
- Setting expectations and communicating effectively to keep your partner network working within the framework and guidelines of your operating strategies
- Monitoring and tracking your successes and impacts to the business
14:30 - 15:10
Track 21 | Key considerations in commercial due diligence: operating partners share their thoughts
Christopher Young
- Understanding how to make your companies more successful early on in looking at how customers think
- Sharing thoughts on how effective design of commercial due diligence makes you a better PE owner
- Unlocking capabilities in commercial diligence to enable key growth decisions post acquisition
- Uncovering key commercial diligence considerations in looking at your: market, customers, competitors, the resiliency of your target companies, key value generation and integration initiatives
Panelist:
Christopher Young, Managing Director, Operations and Strategy, OMERS Private Equity
14:30 - 15:10
Track 22
Breakout Series VII
15:10 - 15:50
Track 23 | Building an effective talent function for your PE firms and portfolio companies
Christopher Grillo,
Jimmy Holloran
- How operating teams are using talent to drive value creation plans: what does your model look like?
- What makes a great PE talent partner/human capital operating partner team? What will the future role of the human capital operating partner look like?
- What does transforming your talent function look like?
- Best practices in finding transformational talent across key functional areas (not just the CEO and CFO)
- Rapid acceleration of the talent value creation plan: sharing what must be done
- Sharing creative practices that talent functions are embarking on with the competitiveness and challenges there are now in looking at talent
Moderator:
Shannon Carlson, Principal, Private Equity, Beecher Reagan
Panelists:
Christopher Grillo, Private Equity Vice President, Partners Group
Jimmy Holloran, Partner, ParkerGale Capital
15:10 - 15:50
Track 24 | Unlocking cloud transformations for value creation
Rohini Williams
- Cloud transformation external and internal business aspects: how to handle it with your portcos
- Leveraging the cloud for security, scalability, and reliability
- Create value through cost optimization and product modernization using Cloud
- Multi-cloud vs. single cloud vs. hybrid cloud
- Understanding the financial aspects of strategic cloud partnerships on revenue and costs
- Looking at the challenges of building and hiring cloud expertise in your companies: how are you dealing with it?
Moderator:
Rohini Williams, Global Head – Private Equity Relations, Infosys
Plenary Session
15:50 - 16:30
Operating partner-leadership team alignment to rapidly accelerate the value creation plan
Kenneth Horne
- Understanding why it is now essential to rapidly accelerate value creation and transform companies faster
- Fast start: coming out strong from day one in onboarding new portfolio companies (even in the face of recent uncertainty)
- Accelerating management team performance post transaction: how to do it quickly and robustly for it to have an ongoing impact in the lifecycle sooner and sooner
- Aligning value initiatives with management: how do you influence CEOs/management teams? How do you get management teams aligned when shifting management teams?
- Engaging with your portfolio companies throughout the investment lifecycle: how do you get them to let go of the reigns? How do you build trust to be able to scale faster?
- Looking at executing in the four phases: the legacy team, the middle management team to get where needed, the more specialized team, and the exit phase
Panelists:
Kenneth Horne, Director of Portfolio Operations, Spring Lane Capital
Roya Rashtchi, Vice President, Portfolio Operations, Arcline Investment Management
16:30 - 16:35
Closing remarks and end of conference
Pre-Event Resources
2022 Speakers
For speaking opportunities, contact Marc Mele at marc.m@peimedia.com or call +1 646 581 9295.
Aswatha "Amar" Amarnath
Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales Operations, Wipro
Aswatha Amarnath (Amar) is a Senior Vice President at Wipro. He has global responsibilities for sales and go-to-market functions. This includes leadership for large & complex deals globally, Wipro’s sales operations, responsible for Private Equit… Read full bio
Lisa Baldwin
Operating Executive, Evergreen Coast Capital
Lisa Baldwin is an Operating Executive at Evergreen Coast Capital, the private equity affiliate of Elliott Investment Management L.P. Ms. Baldwin assists the Evergreen investment team in the areas of IT systems, services, and cloud operations in dili… Read full bio
Ted Bililies
Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer, AlixPartners
Ted is an internationally-recognized expert on leadership and organization development. He advises investors, CEOs, and boards globally to help them position the right leaders for key roles and to support those leaders and teams for maximal value cre… Read full bio
Prashanth (PV) Bóccasam
Partner, Cota Capital
PV Boccasam joined Cota in 2021 as a Partner on the investment team. Prior to Cota, PV was a General Partner in a $600M Mid-Atlantic early-stage fund investing in industry shaping companies focused on enterprise software. He started his career at Mic… Read full bio
Matt Brubaker
CEO, FMG Leading
Throughout his career, Dr. Matt Brubaker has advised executive leaders and teams in a variety of areas, including senior leadership development, conflict resolution, and large-scale organizational assessment and change. An expert in sustainable trans… Read full bio
Tony Buffum
Vice President of HR Client Strategy, Upwork
Tony Buffum is VP of HR Client Strategy at Upwork. As a key member of the senior-level executive client strategy team, Buffum is responsible for accelerating growth of current and prospective Upwork enterprise clients, helping them solve HR challenge… Read full bio
Neal Cao
Principal, Transaction Advisory Services, RSM US
Neal has over 25 years of technical and executive experience (CIO & CTO) in software product development and delivery, global IT operations, IT strategy, and enterprise transformation. Throughout his career, he has focused on delivery of commerci… Read full bio
Rami Cassis
Founder and CEO, Parabellum Investments
Rami Cassis has proven success growing companies ranging in size from $5m to $150m in revenue, leading transactions including reverse takeovers / IPO’s, and take-privates. Rami is an international operational investor specialising in lower mid-market… Read full bio
Jessica Castillo
Operating Partner, Sovereign's Capital
Jessica Castillo is the Operating Partner at Sovereign’s Capital focused on growth investments across their Lower Middle Market Private Equity Funds. In her role, Jessica partners with investment and executive teams on their comprehensive value creat… Read full bio
Jim Corey
Managing Partner, Blue Ridge Partners
Jim is a co-founder of Blue Ridge Partners and serves as the firm’s Managing Partner. For 35 years he has assisted companies in North America, Europe and Asia accelerate profitable revenue growth. Jim has advised over 300 companies on revenue-related… Read full bio
Sebastian de Meel
Partner, PwC
Sebastian is a partner within PwC's Deals practice focusing on Private Equity Value creation. Previously, he served as an operating partner with Arcline Investment Management. He is focused on operations value identification and capture support for b… Read full bio
David Feierstein
Managing Partner, Ronin Equity Partners
David is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ronin Equity Partners. Before he formed Ronin, David was the Head of the Transformation Office at Diversey, the second largest industrial cleaning business in the world, joining the team as part of its pu… Read full bio
Thomas Fountain
Operating Partner, One Rock Capital Partners
Thomas C. Fountain is an Operating Partner focused on driving value creating through the deployment of technology-based solutions and IT excellence for One Rock and its portfolio companies. Mr. Fountain brings over 30 years of technology and leadersh… Read full bio
Shannon Gabriel
Managing Director, Leadership Solutions, TBM Consulting Group
Shannon Gabriel is Managing Director of TBM’s Leadership Solutions practice where she partners with clients to identify and resolve weaknesses within their organizational structure and hiring process, build bench strength and engage our interim consu… Read full bio
Daniel Goetz
Managing Director – Value Creation, Siris Capital
Mr. Goetz joined Siris Capital in 2013 and is a Managing Director, leading the firm’s Operational Excellence practice. Mr. Goetz works with management teams and operating advisors to identify, drive, and manage value creation initiatives at Siris por… Read full bio
Lauren Goldstein
Private Equity Practice Lead, Winning by Design
Lauren helps transform high growth organizations through go-to-market strategies focused on revenue optimization and delivering excellent customer experiences. She brings incomparable energy, vision, and intelligence across her 25 years of leadership… Read full bio
Christopher Grillo
Private Equity Vice President, Partners Group
Christopher Grillo is a Vice President at Partners Group focused on working with company boards and management teams to build better businesses for investors. He has historically worked with industrial services and consumer products businesses. His l… Read full bio
Dan Hawkins
Founder and CEO, Summit Leadership Partners
Dan is the CEO and Founder of Summit Leadership Partners. He advises boards, CEO's, investors and business leaders on strategy execution and value creation through leadership and organization performance. After a successful corporate career, Dan foun… Read full bio
Jimmy Holloran
Operating Partner, ParkerGale Capital
Jimmy is responsible for working with portfolio companies on talent strategy focusing on organizational design and development as well as communication both within each company and across the portfolio. Prior to joining ParkerGale, Jimmy worked on ta… Read full bio
Kenneth Horne
Director of Portfolio Operations, Spring Lane Capital
Ken Horne, P.E., PMP is the Director of Portfolio Operations with Spring Lane Capital where he leads technical diligence, asset monitoring, and value creation across all portfolio assets. Prior to joining Spring Lane, Ken served as a Director at Guid… Read full bio
Chris Hueneke
Chief Information Security Officer, RKON
Chris Hueneke leads the Security Practice at RKON responsible for Security Advisory and Security Operations services. He is currently the virtual Chief Information Security Officer for several Private Equity portfolio companies adding value by protec… Read full bio
Jamie Jacobs
Chief Talent Officer, Oak Hill Capital
Jamie Jacobs serves as the Chief Talent Officer of Oak Hill Capital. Working across the entire portfolio of Oak Hill funds focusing on all aspects of Human Capital with specialties in Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Organization design and ass… Read full bio
Andy Johnson
Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions, West Monroe
Andy guides private equity clients through all stages of the M&A lifecycle, assessing potential acquisition targets, leading cross-functional separation and integration management offices, and leading initiatives to identify and deliver value wit… Read full bio
Kevin Kerby
Operating Partner, Bain Capital
Mr. Kerby joined Bain Capital Private Equity in 2018. He is an Operating Partner and a member of the North American Private Equity team. Mr. Kerby focuses on sales force effectiveness and go-to-market strategies for our portfolio companies. Prior to… Read full bio
Christopher Kim
Principal, Head of Human Capital, Platinum Equity
Chris Kim is a Principal and leads the Human Capital Management team, which is responsible for performing diligence on all Human Capital aspects of prospective additions to the Platinum Equity portfolio. Chris also has responsibilities in ensuring a… Read full bio
Bobbi Kommineni
Operating Partner, Terminus Capital Partners
Bobbi Kommineni is the Operating Partner at Terminus Capital Partners (TCP), a growth-oriented private equity firm focused exclusively on majority investments in B2B software companies. At TCP, she leads a team of experts in sales, marketing, enginee… Read full bio
Sachin Korantak
Partner, Conditor Capital
Sachin brings a wealth of senior level experience in PE as an investing and operating partner and a board member, with a strong bias toward growth investing. Previously he has been a CEO, led performance transformations in Europe and US, and was a st… Read full bio
Raj Kushwaha
Managing Director, Co-Head Value Creation and Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
Raj Kushwaha joined Warburg Pincus in 2012 and serves as Co-Head of the Value Creation function. In addition to providing oversight for the Value Creation function, as the firm’s Chief Digital Officer, Raj is also responsible for product and technolo… Read full bio
Markus Lahrkamp
Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Markus Lahrkamp is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Private Equity Performance Improvement in New York. He is one of the head developers of A&M’s proprietary Rapid Results Program™, which he continues to lead. Mr. Lahrkamp is also ex… Read full bio
Paul Lennick
Senior Vice President, M&A Services, ContinuServe
Leader of ContinuServe's M&A practice, focused on serving Private Equity firms in delivering back office outsource solutions and consulting services to drive deal value. Prior to ContinuServe, Paul served in leadership positions at Apollo Global… Read full bio
Nick Leopard
CEO and Founder, Accordion
Nick Leopard is the CEO and Founder of Accordion, the private equity-focused financial and technology consulting firm. Under Nick’s leadership, Accordion has grown significantly since its founding in 2009. The firm now boasts more than 200 of the wor… Read full bio
Geoffrey Lurie
Managing Partner, Traub Capital Partners
Geoffrey D. Lurie is Managing Partner of Traub Capital Partners, a consumer oriented Private Equity Firm in New York. Traub Capital Partners' portfolio includes Signature Brands, distributor of Betty Crocker cake decoration products, Mana Products, a… Read full bio
Andreas Mang
Senior Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Blackstone
Andreas Mang is a Senior Managing Director on Blackstone’s Portfolio Operations team where he is involved in managing medical benefits spend across the Blackstone portfolio. Mr. Mang brings twenty years of healthcare experience to Blackstone, having… Read full bio
Lee McCabe
Operating Partner, AEA Investors
Lee joined AEA Investors in 2019 and serves as an Operating Partner. In addition to providing oversight for the digital value creation function, Lee is also responsible for digital diligence with prospective investments as well as ongoing work with t… Read full bio
Lane McDonald
Managing Director, OMERS Private Equity
As Managing Director, Operations, Lane works with investment and management teams to assess new investments and define and execute value-creation priorities. Lane is based in New York and joined the OMERS Private Equity team in 2022. Prior to joining… Read full bio
Scott McGurl
Principal, Strategy and Transactions, Grant Thornton
Scott has worked in industry and management consulting environments for over 25 years supporting clients define and achieve their business transformation objectives. He is an accomplished customer centric leader with a reputation for delivering a ste… Read full bio
Gabriel Mesanza
Partner, Resource Group
Gabe has extensive experience across various industries and facets of company operations. Prior to Huron Capital, Gabe held multiple senior operating roles in Private Equity portfolio companies, including VP of Quality, VP of Operations, COO, and CEO… Read full bio
Karl Meyer
Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Operations, Digital Alpha
Mr. Meyer has been a business development and operational leader in Silicon Valley at both growth stage and large companies for over two decades, during which he and Mr. Shrotri have worked together twice before. At Incorta, Mr. Meyer started the bus… Read full bio
Todd Miller
CEO, Risk International
Todd joined Risk International in 2015 as Chief Growth Officer. By 2016 he was promoted to President and in July 2017 named CEO. As CEO, Todd is a key member of Risk International’s development team and Board, taking primary responsibility for leadin… Read full bio
Sean Mooney
Founder and CEO, BluWave
Sean is a former NY-based private equity partner turned entrepreneur, founder and CEO. While in private equity, Sean and his peers in the industry experienced significant and growing pressures to devise new ways to more effectively assess opportuniti… Read full bio
Jud Morrison
Operating Partner, The Sterling Group
In the role of Operating Partner, Jud works closely with Sterling’s investment professionals and portfolio management teams to drive growth and build capabilities for Sterling portfolio companies. Jud brings over 20 years of operations experience gai… Read full bio
Melissa Mounce
Managing Director, Leadership Talent and Diversity, GTCR
Melissa joined GTCR in 2019 as a Managing Director, Leadership Talent & Diversity and manages the identification and recruitment of Leaders StrategyTM CEOs and management teams. Prior to joining GTCR, Melissa was the Principal of Human Capital at… Read full bio
Martin Mumford
Operating Partner, Angeles Equity Partners
Martin is an Operating Partner at Angeles Equity Partners. He is responsible for the evaluation and due diligence of new investment opportunities, driving post-close transformation and providing oversight across portfolio investments. Prior to joinin… Read full bio
Zaid Nesheiwat
Vice President, Portfolio Operations, ORIX Capital Partners
Zaid Nesheiwat is a Vice President at ORIX Capital Partners (“OCP”). In this role, he is responsible for operational improvement initiatives at portfolio companies and operations due diligence for new investment opportunities. Prior to joining OCP, M… Read full bio
Beth Neumann
Partner, Head of Portfolio Operations, Kelso & Company
As the Partner at Kelso responsible for Portfolio Operations, Beth leads a team of operations experts who support portfolio company CEOs and management teams, when and where needed, in building capabilities required to deliver the value creation plan… Read full bio
Alex Olano
CEO and Managing Partner, Trajectory
Alex Olano is President of Trajectory Group, a firm focused on operational improvement and technology implementations. Throughout his 15-year career at Trajectory, Alex's role has ranged from managing teams and projects to running the professional se… Read full bio
Kevin O’Neill
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Acertitude
Kevin is a mold-breaking entrepreneur, executive search leader, Forbes contributor, and co-founder and managing partner of Acertitude, the executive search firm unleashing human potential for global investment firms and their portfolio companies. Kev… Read full bio
Amisha Parekh
Managing Director, Global Head of ESG for Private Equity, Blackstone
Amisha Parekh leads ESG diligence, policy development and strategy and reporting for Blackstone’s Private Equity Group. Ms. Parekh joined Blackstone from Bloomberg LP, where she worked for four and a half years, most recently serving as product manag… Read full bio
Clark Perry
Director, AlixPartners
Clark is an internationally recognized specialist in leadership assessment and execution, team development, cultural change, and exceptional performance. He has 30 years of experience with elite sporting teams in Australia and the United States by se… Read full bio
Jessica Pizzo
Resource Partner, Court Square Capital Partners
Jessica joined Court Square Capital Partners in 2015 as a Technology Resource Partner. She works with Court Square deal teams and portfolio company executives on technology strategy, digital transformation, technology buy and sell-side due diligence,… Read full bio
Jorge Rosales
Senior Vice President, Growth Team, Serent Capital
As a member of Serent’s Growth Team and leader of the firm’s Pricing Center of Excellence, Jorge works closely with the management teams at Serent portfolio companies to drive value creation and accelerate top-line growth by identifying and executing… Read full bio
Tim Sanders
Vice President, Client Strategy, Upwork
Tim leads client strategy at Upwork where he helps leaders transform their businesses through the adoption of on demand talent solutions. He began his career as an early stage member of Mark Cuban's broadcast.com and, once acquired, he became the chi… Read full bio
Kyle Sarausky
Former Operating Partner , Parthenon Capital
Kyle is a former operating partner of private equity, specializing in technology at Parthenon Capital in Boston. In this role, Kyle supported deal team investment activities by advising on the technology health of each company, evaluating incoming le… Read full bio
Drew Scielzo
Operating Partner, ACON Investments
Drew Scielzo leads the Operating Group at ACON Investments, which he joined 9 years ago. He is responsible for overseeing ACON’s portfolio in Europe, North America, and South America. In addition, he works directly with a multitude of portfolio compa… Read full bio
Steven Siwinski
Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Steve Siwinski is an Operating Principal at Accel-KKR, where he focuses on driving finance, operational and strategic initiatives across the investment cycle and AKKR portfolio. Steve brings a unique combination of private equity, corporate finance,… Read full bio
Michael Song
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity Partners
Michael Song is a managing director focused on portfolio operations and is based in our Providence office. Prior to joining Providence in 2010, Mr. Song worked at RSA, the security division of Dell EMC. Prior to joining Dell EMC, Mr. Song was a consu… Read full bio
Joanne Taylor
Director, AlixPartners
Joanne offers a unique combination of hands-on strategic, operational, and sales and marketing skills to the businesses and clients she has worked with during her career. She specializes in overall strategic direction for businesses, focusing specifi… Read full bio
Martin Taylor
Managing Director and President of OneVista, Vista Equity Partners
Martin Taylor joined Vista Equity Partners in 2006 and was the initial President of Vista Consulting Group. He sits on the Vista Flagship Funds' Investment Committee and is responsible for driving the transformation and operational improvements of th… Read full bio
Kush Tulsidas
Operating Partner, One Rock Capital Partners
H. Kush Tulsidas is an Operating Partner focused on sales and marketing strategy and execution at One Rock’s portfolio companies. He is responsible for assessing the growth potential of companies in the investment stage and improving profitable reven… Read full bio
John Weaver
Senior Director, Risk International
John joined Risk International in 2019 and is the Senior Director of Private Equity. John works with Risk International teams in both the Risk Management and Benefits Advisory Practices to drive value creation for Private Equity clients and their por… Read full bio
Ken Weaver
Managing Director, TVV Capital
Mr. Weaver is responsible for operations growth and value creation in portfolio companies. Prior to joining TVV, Ken spent over 30 years in a series of increasingly responsible leadership positions with Bridgestone Corporation. His last three assignm… Read full bio
Carsten Weber
Technology Director, The Sterling Group
Carsten joined Sterling in 2021, bringing over 20 years of technology experience in various leadership roles in both industry and consulting. In his role as Technology Director, he is leading Sterling’s Technology Lever and value creation across the… Read full bio
Jon Weber
Global Head of Portfolio Operations, Elliott Management Corporation
Jon is Head of the Global Portfolio Operations Group at Elliott Management Corp, where he works with management and boards of companies in which Elliott funds are an influential investor. Prior to joining Elliott, Jon headed teams responsible for ope… Read full bio
Rohini Williams
Global Head - Private Equity Relations, Infosys
Rohini has a Global responsibility to manage partnerships and relationships with key influencers – Private Equity Firms and Top Consulting firms for Infosys to enable best in class consulting and execution at scale for clients across all Infosys Indu… Read full bio
Jake Wojcik
Executive Vice President, Insight Sourcing Group and SpendHQ
Jake is Executive Vice President at Insight Sourcing Group and it’s spend visibility company, SpendHQ. He has over 20 years of experience in management consulting with a focus on procurement, spend analytics, sourcing, and supply chain management. As… Read full bio
Christopher Young
Managing Director, Operations and Strategy, OMERS Private Equity
Christopher is a Managing Director, Operations & Strategy, in the Toronto office of OMERS Private Equity, having joined the team in 2012. In this role, he works with investment and management teams to assess new investments, and define and execut… Read full bio
Cici Zheng
Partner, ParkerGale Capital
Cici Zheng is Principal at ParkerGale Capital where she is responsible for working with portfolio companies on their growth strategies by developing and implementing programs that amplify go-to-market approaches, product positioning and financial res… Read full bio
Paul Zimmerman
Managing Director, Global Private Equity, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Paul Zimmerman is Managing Director, Private Equity (PE) at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Paul leads a global team focused on the needs of PE firms and their portfolio companies. They offer expertise and programs designed to help PE firms accelerate val… Read full bio
2022 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.
Venue and hotel
Convene
117 West 46th Street
New York, 10036
Kimpton Muse Hotel
130 West 46th Street
New York, 10036
We have reserved a room block at the hotel for all attendees with a discounted rate. To reserve your room at the hotel please use the link above before September 27.
Explore our exclusive operating partner only networking
Operating Partner exclusive networking events are taking place throughout the Forum. The Forum provides operating partners with opportunities each day to network and share thoughts with peers. Explore the various types of activities and sessions provided to discuss value creation and network with your peers:
Pre-event Operating Partners Networking Welcome Reception on October 18
5:30 – 8:00 pm: Operating Partners welcome cocktail reception (invitation-only)
Venue: TBA
Join the PE operating partners attending the Operating Partners Forum New York in a casual gathering to see old friends and meet new operating partners.
Women in PE and VC Portfolio Operations Dinner on October 18
8:00-9:30 pm: Women in PE and VC Portfolio Operations Dinner (invitation-only)
Venue: TBA
Join PEI and RSM as we welcome the women in PE and VC portfolio operations attending the Operating Partners Forum New York for a private sit-down dinner to facilitate networking before the conference.
Operating Partners Forum Grand Reception on October 19
5:40-6:40 pm: Operating Partners Forum Grand Reception
Venue: Convene, 117 W 46th St.
A casual cocktail reception to chat with your operating partner peers. Enjoy the signature cocktails after long discussions on day one.
Featured networking opportunities
Think Tank sessions
The closed-door rooms will allow you to learn and share
best practices of successful operating partners. The
thinks tanks will allow you to submit topics to be covered in looking at best value creation practices and the toughest challenges operating partners face daily.
Women’s networking lunch
This closed-door lunch discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE and VC portfolio operations.
Interactive Working Groups
These exclusive deep dive discussions only available to operating partners allow you to participate in interactive roundtable discussions with designated facilitators.
Breakfast Deep Dive discussion
Join fellow operating partners for a portfolio operations breakfast deep dive discussion (invitation-only).