Private Equity
International
International
Operating Partners Forum New York 2019
16 - 17 October 2019,
Convene, 117 West 46th Street New York
The largest global event for private equity value creators
Now in its ninth year, Private Equity International’s Operating Partners Forum: New York is the single largest event in the world specifically dedicated to anyone concerned about private equity portfolio operational assessment and value creation.
The Forum continues to draw the most established operating partners on stage as well as in the audience, giving delegates a chance to discuss effective, practical strategies that they can implement right away.
Attendees will have extensive opportunities to network, build relationships and compare best practices with their peers and leaders who helped define the role, grow the field and influence its future direction.
Forum highlights this year include:
- Pre-event operating partners only reception – October 15, 2019, 6:00 – 7:00 pm
- Three think tank group sessions for operating partners only: emerging operating partners, seasoned operating partners, and human capital operating partners
- Interactive roundtables focused on key value creation areas: digitalization & technology, human capital, leadership, sales & go-to-market strategy, pricing, cost reduction, procurement and more
- The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum: A half day dedicated to operating partner specialists in human capital
- What makes a great operating partner?
- Operating partner perspectives and insights on digital transformation and its impact
- Data analytics to monitor and improve portfolio performance
- Best practices for talent acquisition and development
- Relationships between the investment team and the operating team
- Operating partner-CEO alignment and how to get leadership right
- CEO perspectives in looking at accelerating growth and driving transformations
- How to deal with turnarounds and distressed situations
- How to drive top line value creation initiatives and engage with portfolio companies
- Cybersecurity and resiliency: what to do if it happens to your business?
- Women in private equity portfolio operations breakfast
- AI and robotic automation for value creation
- How software and AI are changing the future of finance
Keynote interview | Increasing asset value and managing risk in long term investments
Mark Sotir
Co-President
Equity Group Investments
As Co-President, Mark oversees all aspects of EGI. He focuses on maximizing and sustaining the value of the firm’s investment portfolio, and on optimizing Sam’s vast network. With nearly 20 years of board and CEO experience, Mark employs his leadership inside and outside our firm. He manages and develops our corporate investment team and deploys Sam’s active-ownership approach by engaging with portfolio company management to improve business strategies and operating structures, aligning all toward achieving optimum shareholder value.
Paul Carbone
President and Managing Partner
Pritzker Private Capital
Paul Carbone has been the Managing Partner of Pritzker Private Capital and its predecessor, Pritzker Group Private Capital, since 2012. Pritzker Private Capital acquires and operates entrepreneur and family-owned middle-market companies with leading positions in the manufactured products, services and healthcare sectors. For the prior 13 years, Paul was the Director and Managing Partner of the Private Equity Group of Robert W. Baird & Co., which makes venture capital, growth equity and buyout investments in smaller, high-potential companies in the US, Europe and Asia.
Download the 2019 brochure
What’s inside?
» Featured speakers including: Accel-KKR, Apollo Global Management, The Blackstone Group, General Atlantic, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, Riverside Partners, TPG Capital, Warburg Pincus, and many more
» View the agenda highlights for a complete overview of the discussion topics
» Sample the attendee list. Preview the preliminary attendee list for a look of who you could meet
Do you have the right value creation resources in place to make the case when investors come calling?
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 300+ 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.
2019 Speakers include:
Past attendees have said
David Dougherty, Synergy
It was exceptional for me. I am working to become an operating partner and I got more done to that end through the panels and networking than I have on my own i…
Greg J Pappas, Berkshire Partners
In my view, this is the foremost event where the largest ecosystem of partners, suppliers and resources gather annually.
Mark Hannigan, CEO, Fortior Ventures Inc.
Wonderful event that delivered on my objectives and was good value for money.
David Dougherty, Synergy
It was exceptional for me. I am working to become an operating partner and I got more done to that end through the panels and networking than I have on my own in 6 months.
Attendees Include:
Meet the Advisory Board
Cory Eaves
Operating Partner
General Atlantic
Hami Ebrahimi
Managing Director, Operations & Strategy
OMERS Private Equity
Jim Howland
Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Operations
Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
Michael Kohlsdorf
President
Francisco Partners Consulting
Lane McDonald
Industry Value Creation
Partners Group
Michael Song
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations
Providence Equity
(OPEN ACCESS FOR ALL ATTENDEES WHO ATTEND THE MAIN OPERATING PARTNERS FORUM NEW YORK)
Visit our co-located Operating Partners Human Capital Forum New York 2019
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum will bring together an elite crowd of top human capital value creators and operating partner specialists.
2019 agenda
View each tab below to explore 2019’s agenda, packed full with insightful roundtables, panel discussions and powerful networking breaks for the leaders in value creation.
For speaking opportunities for 2019, contact Marc Mele at marc.m@peimedia.com or call +1 646 581 9295.
View agenda page
Agenda
Day 1 - Wednesday 16th
Plenary sessions
07:30 - 08:30
Women in PE & VC portfolio operations breakfast (invitation-only)
This closed-door session will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE & VC portfolio operations:
• What are the issues causing a disparity in genders?
• Exploring career paths, development, and how to position yourself as female leaders
• What are you doing at your companies to tackle diversity and open dialogue?
• Is your firm focused on women’s leadership and diversity at portfolio companies?
• Are there any changes in recruiting that will create a more equal playing field?
• Looking at trends and stats in gender & diversity in PE & VC
Facilitators:
Lily Chang, Chief Portfolio Services Officer, Leonard Green & Partners
Susan Stautberg, Governance Advisor, Atlantic Street Capital
Tricia Witty, Senior Principal, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Hosted by:
07:45 - 18:00
Registration
Sponsored by:
07:45 - 08:30
Continental breakfast
08:30 - 08:40
Chairman's welcome
08:40 - 09:20
Uncovering key success factors in turnarounds
• Understanding warning signs and weaknesses early on to develop your strategy
• Defining key success factors to go from distressed to transformation
• Sharing successful turnaround war stories: dos and don’ts in troubled situations
• How can operating partners work with management teams to enact an effective turnaround plan?
• Focusing on a viable business with growth potential and the workforce of the future
• Utilizing data-driven analysis in your turnaround strategy
Moderator:
Ray Anderson, Principal, Transaction Advisory Services, EY
Panelists:
Kiran Rao, Director of Portfolio Operations, TPG Capital
Craig Unis, Operating Director, Portfolio Operations, Apollo Global Management
09:20 - 10:00
Proactive management of the PE-CEO-CFO relationship
• Grasping misalignments in the PE firms’ investment theses
• Achieving senior team alignment in the first 100 days
• How do you create buy-in for your value creation plan with management?
• How can PE best support portco CEOs and CFOs?
• Risk, governance, leadership: what are the pain points?
• Helping management teams that are great at running a business think about growing a business
• Board dynamics: how CFOs work with the board and with CEOs as strategic partners
Moderator:
Ted Bililies, Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer, AlixPartners
Panelists:
Michael Kohlsdorf, President, Francisco Partners Consulting
Mike Pulli, CEO, Verifone
Paul Wheeler, CFO, Operative
10:00 - 10:30
Keynote interview | Increasing asset value and managing risk in long term investments
Interviewer:
Paul Carbone, President and Managing Partner, Pritzker Private Capital
Interviewee:
Mark Sotir, Co-President, Equity Group Investments
10:30 - 10:50
Networking break
10:50 - 11:20
Strategic implementation of digital transformations throughout the lifecycle
• Looking at specific ways operating partners are harnessing better digital strategies for returns based on where they are in their lifecycle
• Covering the four phases: due diligence, 100 days, hold, exit
• Understanding how operating partner teams get started when it comes to thinking more digitally
• How do you diagnose digital opportunities & analytic capabilities and catalyze change across your portfolio?
• What are the implications for each stage of the investment? What are important differences by industry?
Moderator:
Brad Haller, Director, Mergers & Acquisitions, West Monroe Partners
11:20 - 11:50
The art of the operating deal: operational best practices in the deal evaluation phase
• Operating synergies: how the deal was done and what role did the operating partner have in it in terms of due diligence and then post-close
• Achieving an operating partner mentality at your firm: integrating operating partners in the investment lifecycle
• Operating partner success factors when partnering with deal teams
• How does your team define a successful deal? Are there standard growth, EBITDA, cost, or ROI metrics that are utilized?
• How do you really get at what the opportunities are to understand what the value creation plan should be?
Panelists:
Jim Howland, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Operations, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
11:50 - 12:20
CEO perspectives: accelerating growth and transforming models
• Inside the mind of a CEO – what they think about and what keeps them up at night
• Understanding playbooks for growth by industry sector and how value creation is different in every sector
• Moving quickly on top line growth
• Dissecting operational models and executional capabilities that work for the CEO
Moderator:
Jim Corey, Managing Partner, Blue Ridge Partners
Panelists:
Doron Grosman, President & CEO, Global Container Terminals
Andrea Van Dam, CEO, Stella Rising
Richard Wyckoff, President & CEO, Arctic Glacier
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive value creation working groups
This session will allow the audience to break into interactive roundtable discussions with designated facilitators at each table. The following key value creations areas will be covered per table:
• Table 1: Digitalization & technology
Facilitators:
Felipe Brito, Vice President, CI&T
Richard Spencer, Chief Operating Officer & Operating Partner, Kamylon Holdings
• Table 2: Human capital
Facilitators:
Hami Ebrahimi, Managing Director, Operations & Strategy, OMERS Private Equity
Hayden Tewell, Partner, JM Search
• Table 3: Sales & go-to-market strategy
• Table 4: Pricing
• Table 5: Cost reduction/optimization
• Table 6: Digital Marketing
Facilitators:
Creed Huckaby, Vice President of Marketing and Operating Partner, Greater Sum Ventures
Keith Jensen, Chief Marketing Officer – WCP Healthcare, Waud Capital Partners
• Table 7: Supply chain & procurement
Facilitator:
Wendy Buxton, President, LynnCo Supply Chain Solutions
• Table 8: Finance
• Table 9: Automation
• Table 10: Governance
13:00 - 14:00
Networking luncheon
Functional Business Series 1
14:00 - 14:40
Track 1 | Panel | Cultural integration ingredients for success
Whether a merger equals or add-ons to a platform, when it comes to successful integration, leaders are often missing (or worse, ignoring) a critical element necessary for short and long-term value creation: organizational culture. Lack of successful cultural integration impacts the number one value driver in the combined firm—the people getting the job done. This session will explore key considerations for driving a cohesive cultural vision, integration, and ongoing execution in the midst of a complex transaction to achieve synergy targets.
Moderator:
Beth Chase, Senior Managing Director, Ankura
14:00 - 14:40
Track 2 | Panel | Advanced analytics – turning data into revenue & EBITDA
• Reliance on conventional KPIs actually blocks revenue & EBITDA gains
• Integrated analytics pinpoint previously invisible revenue & EBITDA upsides
• Real-time profit impact visualizations sharpen planning & tighten control
• Ongoing analytics link revenue & EBITDA impacts to specific operating decisions
• Advanced analytics enables an entirely new level of operating control & financial results
Moderator:
Michael Rothschild, CEO, Profit Velocity
14:00 - 14:40
Track 3 | Roundtable | Operating partner perspectives: managing relationships with third party advisors
• When to use consultants vs build capability in-house
• Which specialized third-party support is most valuable for opcos?
• How to identify and select third-party providers
• How to scope projects and manage third parties during the course of a project
• How do you view third party advisors in the value creation process?
• How to hold third parties accountable and how to hold portfolio companies accountable
Moderator:
Sean Mooney, CEO, BluWave
Participants:
Luis Sosa, Operating Director, Private Equity, Apollo Global Management
Andrew Walshe, Director of Portfolio Operations, Sightway Capital
14:00 - 14:40
Track 4 | Roundtable | Driving better identification and capture of cost-savings opportunities
• Sharing success stories of partnerships with deal teams, management, and external resources
• Impact of recent trends on due diligence & valuations
• Commonly overlooked sources of value
Moderator:
Curt Gendron, Senior Manager, M&A Advisory, Crowe
Participants:
Tom Nolan, Operating Director, Berkshire Partners
Functional Business Series 2
14:40 - 15:20
Track 5 | Panel | Operational due diligence: pre-deal assessments of the leadership team – how to know if and when to switch out members to rapidly achieve the value creation plan
• Framing the thought process around organizational leadership changes
• Criteria for evaluating leaders in portfolio companies with PE owners
• Assessing the cultural impact of making early and significant changes in leadership
• How to manage through the change and motivate the team/organization to support the changes
• Lessons learned – where leadership changes went well and hindsight from changes that went wrong
Moderator:
Shannon Gabriel, Managing Director, Leadership Solutions, TBM Consulting Group
Panelists:
Anish Batlaw, Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Michael Magliochetti, Operating Partner, Riverside Partners
14:10 - 15:20
Track 6 | Panel | How software and AI are changing the future of finance
Learn about how the modern finance function is being transformed by software, AI and new approaches in the back-office. This panel of experts will dive into how AI and other technology is altering the jobs of CFOs. Throughout the conversation, we will share insights on the impact technology has on finance.
Moderator:
Scott Tynes, CEO, Consero Global
14:40 - 15:20
Track 7 | Roundtable | The most important sales effectiveness questions
• Key questions and benchmarks during diligence
• Ongoing metrics to track during the hold period
• When to invest in additional sales headcount
• When to invest in overlay headcount (e.g. lead gen, channel, specialists)
• When to invest in enablement, technology and tools
Moderator:
Chris Semain, Principal, Alexander Group
Participants:
Marc Herdegen, Senior Operating Partner, Strategy, New State Capital Partners
John LaMancuso, Senior Operating Executive, Cerberus Capital Management
Alex Lizcano, Vice President, Industry Value Creation, Partners Group
14:40 - 15:20
Track 8 | Roundtable | Cybersecurity and resiliency: what to do if it happens to your business?
• Vetting cyber security when acquiring companies in deals
• Discussing standards for cyber security across portfolio
• Information security assessments: how to keep your guard up
• First-hand portfolio examples covering what to do if it happens to your business
Participants:
Mike Barry, Operating Partner, Francisco Partners Consulting
Functional Business Series 3
15:20 - 16:00
Track 9 | Panel | Leveraging the procurement transformation angle for EBITDA improvement & valuation enhancement
• Individual company cost optimization vs. cross-portfolio programs
• Looking at cost savings/procurement optimization in the diligence phase
• Procurement transformations in the first 100 days
• Building cross-portfolio strategic roadmaps and the importance of spend visibility
Moderator:
Jake Wojcik, Senior Vice President, Insight Sourcing Group & SpendHQ
Panelists:
Virgil Colby, Vice President, Group Procurement, Onex Corporation
15:20 - 16:00
Track 10 | Panel | Developing a successful multichannel sales strategy in an increasingly digital world
• Focusing on digital sales transformations and profit driven digital marketing channels to drive topline growth and scale your business
• Optimizing the digital sales organization: what strategies and playbooks are you using?
• Understanding your digital marketing effectiveness in looking at the consumer
• Utilizing strategic marketing efforts and growth strategies based on market dynamics
• Key insights in demand generation, voice of customer, messaging, and content creation
Panelists:
Marek Olszewski, Managing Partner, Catalus Capital
15:20 - 16:00
Track 11 | Roundtable | PE sponsor-CFO relationship dynamics
• Discussing the good, the bad, and the confusing aspects of the PE firm-finance dynamic
• Uncovering the misalignment between the value that sponsors feel they provide their portfolio companies, and how that value is (or is not) received by CFOs
• Looking at helpful insights to improve CFO-PE sponsor communication, collaboration, and ultimately, investment success
• Examining five critical dimensions: the focus – PE-backed CFO objectives, the model – PE firm organizational & operational paradigms, the value – PE firm contributions & guidance, the work – CFO reporting & resourcing, the fault lines – big picture problems
Moderator:
Nick Leopard, CEO, Accordion
Participants:
Kerem Bolukbasi, Operations Executive, TPG Capital
Tony Pucillo, Senior Managing Director & Operating Partner, Corinthian Capital
Howard Reba, Head of Portfolio Finance, CI Capital Partners
Michael Song, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity
15:20 - 16:00
Track 12 | Roundtable | Getting tech right in first 100 days to be prepared for the next 3 years
• Vetting your tech infrastructure to identify limitations and IT cost reduction
• Managing transitions smoothly from a tech and digital point of view
• What does your 100-day tech plan look like and what can be modified in the process?
• Fast start accelerators – adding value through tech enablement early on
• What tech tools are you using to drive more efficiency, improve performance, and scale your business?
• What outcomes were realized from technology to drive value creation for revenue & operations
Moderator:
A.Amarnath, Senior Vice President & Global Head – Strategic Engagements, Wipro
Participants:
Bob Barthelmes, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, The Blackstone Group
Thomas Fountain, Operating Partner, One Rock Capital Partners
Plenary sessions
16:00 - 16:15
Networking break
16:15 - 16:45
The future of work: automation to accelerate value creation
• How are you thinking about opportunities around automation?
• Doing automation right: utilizing automation technologies to accelerate value creation
• How to prioritize and align business and technology priorities
• Enabling scale & improving profitability
• Transforming the cost base and accelerating margin expansion
16:45 - 17:15
Building out pricing capabilities in your portfolio
• Identifying pricing value in your portfolio early on
• Capturing pricing upside and other profitable growth opportunities within portfolio companies
• How pricing compares to other value creation strategies across PE deals
• Case studies in strategic pricing projects and other topline initiatives
• Integrating data to inform pricing decisions
Panelists:
David Dvorin, Senior Advisor, Field Operations, TPG Capital
17:15 - 17:45
What makes a great PE operations team in the modern-day tech boom?
• What roles exist on your operations team? What are the specialist skill sets & traits of successful operating partners? What makes a great digital operating partner?
• What will the future of the role look like in an increasingly digital world?
• What are current best practices in building out an operating team: structures, staffing, & value creation programs
• In-house operating capacity vs. outsourced services/advisors
• How to quantify operating partner performance: KPIs and metrics used by firms
• What are the primary goals for your team and how are you positioned with your portfolio?
• Engaging with portfolio companies to drive initiatives: is your approach autocratic or laissez faire?
Panelists:
Mathew Guliner, Operating Partner – Technology & Innovation, Apollo Global Management
Raj Kushwaha, Managing Director, Operating Partner & Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
Marco Mendes, Head of Portfolio Support Group, North America, Advent International
Usman Rabbani, Managing Director, Global Head of Innovation and Technology, KKR
17:45 - 18:45
End of day one chairman's remarks & cocktail reception
Agenda
Day 2 - Thursday 17th
Plenary sessions
07:30 - 08:45
Invitation-only think tank for full-time operating partners: value creation war room
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 covered to include trends in PE/VC impacting the role, compensation, third-party providers, best value creation practices and the toughest challenges operating partners face daily. It will allow you to select one of the three groups divided by experience levels and your role in portfolio operations.
Group A: Advanced/Seasoned Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Cory Eaves, Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Gregg Kaplan, Operating Partner, Pritzker Private Capital
Group B: Emerging Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Group C: Human Capital Operating Partners
Facilitators:
07:45 - 16:30
Registration
Sponsored by:
07:45 - 08:45
Continental breakfast
08:45 - 08:50
Chairman’s welcome
08:50 - 09:20
Human capital as a key value creation lever
• Utilizing the hottest technology & best resources for talent acquisition, assessment & development
• How do you evaluate and select a search firm?
• What level in the organization does your PE firm get involved in talent selection? Do you get involved in talent issues at lower levels?
• What do you see as the chief challenge in recruiting/retaining talent in your portfolio companies?
• Quantifying the impact/ROI of human capital – what processes are generating returns?
• Performance improvement through people: goals, incentives, and compensation
Moderator:
Andrew Pressman, Partner, JM Search
Panelists:
Patrick Allen, Head of Executive Talent Acquisition, Cerberus Operations & Advisory Company, Cerberus Capital Management
Brian Kasser, Talent Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Alice Mann, Operating Partner, Blue Wolf Capital Partners
09:20 - 09:50
Breaking down cloud impact from diligence to optimization
• How portfolio companies leverage cloud to increase value
• Reducing risk and accelerating value by considering cloud maturity
• Best practices to create repeatable results
• Developing a cloud first culture
• Overcoming challenges and roadblocks
• Thinking beyond cost to business value
• What tools were used to accelerate engagement
Moderator:
Tara Jones, Private Equity Partner Manager, Amazon Web Services
09:50 - 10:20
Accelerating value and reducing risk in carve-outs and divestitures
The objective is to discuss where value exists in the planning and execution phases of carve-outs, and understand the respective roles of PE investors, management and partners in positioning for and driving value. What is the impact of time to market to get to stand-alone entity vs. spend? Are there trade-offs and what does exceptional look like?
• What are key value levers driving successful carve-outs and getting to a stand-alone entity? How do PE investors, management and partners view these levers? Is there transparency and alignment on value?
• What are the risks, cost, time and value trade-offs that need to be considered?
• What strategies are required to reduce complexities, risks and improve the value equation? Are there areas in pre-close, quiet period and post close where slack time can be used to drive value?
• Where can tools and technology make a difference? What should partners be considering as we go forward?
• Discuss the most common pitfalls and pain points for PE investors, management and partners
• What does success look like? What are the right metrics and internal controls to avoid misalignment?
Moderator:
Martin Glenn, Principal, RSM US
Panelists:
Lane Wiggers, Operating Partner, Argosy Private Equity
10:20 - 10:45
The cognitive enterprise: reinventing your company with AI
• Redesigning company workflows around AI
• Going beyond AI
• How are you thinking about opportunities around IoT and blockchain?
• What IoT means for your industry and how it can make companies more efficient, flexible and productive
• The cognitive reinvention: understanding where and how to apply modernization and repeatable innovation
10:45 - 11:00
Networking break
Functional Business Series 4
11:00 - 11:40
Track 13 | Panel | Add-on acquisitions: best PE practices in adopting the buy and build philosophy
• Cost synergies and revenue synergies: best practices for automating synergy tracking
• Cash flow analysis in a high velocity “buy and build” environment
• How to think about a company’s cash flow when they’ve had multiple mid-year acquisitions
• Creating a playbook to prepare a company’s process, technology, and people for a merger
• How to execute a strategy successfully to avoid a clash in systems/culture
Moderator:
Marc Craver, Director of Strategic Alliances, FloQast
Panelists:
Jacques Antebi, Operating Executive, Tailwind Capital
Simon Jones, Operating Partner, Turnspire Capital Partners
11:00 - 11:40
Track 14 | Panel | Transportation, mobility, delivery & distribution innovation for your portco businesses
• Looking at spend and capitalization of your equipment to help manage transportation
• Understanding the future of mobility with innovation: autonomous vehicles
• Best practices in managing distribution and delivery for your portfolio companies
11:00 - 11:40
Track 15 | Roundtable | Monitoring & quantifying portfolio performance with data science & technologies
• What new tools are you adopting for portfolio management?
• Looking at best methodologies for portfolio company reporting
• Applying growth KPIs and metrics for operational improvement in different stages
• Using data science to measure the success of a company and drive value creation
• Approaches in utilizing data lakes and big data to drive results
• Should value creation teams include heads of data science?
Participants:
Dale Chang, Operating Partner, Scale Venture Partners
Richard Spencer, Chief Operating Officer & Operating Partner, Kamylon Holdings
11:00 - 11:40
Track 16 | Roundtable
Functional Business Series 5
11:40 - 12:20
Track 17 | Panel | Modernizing back office operations: the power and value of a true shared services model
• Rationalizing back-office overhead costs through an outsourced shared services model
• Converging technological trends to remake the back-office: SAAS, outsourcing, and robotic process automation
Moderator:
Nate Medoff, Partner, ContinuServe
11:40 - 12:20
Track 18 | Panel | Leveraging cloud communications in a global, mobile workplace
Changes in how people choose to communicate today, dispersed mobile workforces, increasingly global interactions, and demand for integration with core cloud business systems are driving rapid change in the communications space. How can your PE firm and portfolio companies best leverage these technologies to improve communications and operations while also cutting costs?
11:40 - 12:20
Track 19 | Roundtable | Three strategies to grow EBITDA through finance
• Aligning people/process/technology for fast wins
• Architecting change: business models, M&A, talent
• Scaling up with technology: best practices
Moderator:
David Appel, Head of Software & SaaS, Sage Intacct
Participants:
Prital Kadakia, Principal, Growth Team, Serent Capital
Michael Monagle, Vice President, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity
11:40 - 12:20
Track 20 | Roundtable | Leveraging the supply chain for growth
• Leveraging technology & data to enhance your global supply chain process
• Strategic sourcing to be most effective in your sector
• Effective planning to simplify complexities and reduce costs
• Executing with precision in today’s fast pace world of e-commerce
Plenary sessions
12:20 - 12:50
Tricks of the trade: driving top line value creation initiatives in addressing key elements of a business
• What areas/levers drive the most value creation in focusing on operating partner operations in different stages?
• What holds you back from driving the most value fast?
• Tracking value creation performance: do you track? How do you track?
• What approach do you use to ensure that your strategy is aligned to execution and that you have clear visibility to the progress of activities towards EBITDA goal achievement?
• Building and incorporating playbooks for growth: what is being done that is new and improved to help companies?
• Looking at cross-portfolio programs vs. individual portfolio company initiatives
• How are you thinking about exit? Is there anything that you doing specifically in relation to exit?
12:50 - 13:15
LP views of the operating partner role and its significance in the industry
• LP views and demands in looking at differences in operating partners models and how they are applied
• What could the industry do better and what do LPs want to see?
• How do LPs diligence operating partners and value creation during their fund diligence?
• How do LPs evaluate operating partners in steering their investments?
• Are LP views of operating partners and value creation influencing how PE firms utilize operating partners?
Panelists:
Mark Cormier, Director, Private Equity, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)
13:15 - 13:20
Closing remarks
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum NY 2019
13:15 - 14:00
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum networking luncheon
14:00 - 14:05
Chairman’s welcome
14:05 - 14:45
Big data & workforce analytics: looking at the future of human capital with AI on the horizon
• How is AI affecting and going to affect recruiting and developing talent?
• Utilizing workforce analytics to quantifying performance improvement across the portfolio
• What tools have you effectively used to analyze team dynamics and make comparisons of management capability across your assets
• Innovations in “people data science” to uncover hidden patterns in data to make you reconsider how you pay, retain and engage your employees
• Utilizing big data to help you win the war for talent
Panelists:
Amin Venjara, Vice President & Chief Product Owner, DataCloud, ADP
14:45 - 15:20
Digital operating partner-CEO alignment
15:20 - 15:30
Networking break
15:30 - 16:10
Global human capital operations: best strategies for taking your portfolio operations global
• Portfolio company expansion: support low head count in multiple countries
• Risk-management strategy: employment contracts designed to mitigate exposure to risk
• Cross-border benefits: offering locally appropriate benefits packages to maximize employee retention post deal close
• Help your portfolio companies negotiate with candidates in any country where they find employees
• Engage a team in any country where your portfolio company wants to hire employees
• Cross-border M&A best practices from a human capital perspective
Moderator:
Bob Cahill, Chief Financial Officer, Globalization Partners
16:10 - 16:45
What makes a great human capital operating partner?
• What will the future role of the human capital operating partner look like – looking at the emerging role of the chief talent officer
• How do you provide the most value in your HR operating partner role? When does your firm engage the human capital operating partner and for what?
• Looking at prerequisites, backgrounds, and skill sets that enable success in the role
• Are you involved in strategy around succession planning, compensation, and management incentives?
• How are you thinking about diversity and diversity of boards?
• How do you use external consultants?
Panelists:
Saydeah Howard, Chief Talent Officer, IVP
Ann McCloskey, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Kristin Brown Patrick, Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital, New State Capital Partners
16:45 - 16:50
End of conference
Speakers
Jacques Antebi
Operating Executive, Tailwind Capital
Jacques Antebi is an Operating Executive at Tailwind Capital, where he leads the firm’s efforts to accelerate value across all companies in the portfolio. He also assists in sourcing and evaluating opportunities in the business services sector, and p… Read full bio
David Appel
Head of Software & SaaS, Sage Intacct
David Appel is the Head of Software & SaaS at Sage Intacct, and is passionate about creating great subscription companies. Over time he has developed a series of SMB, Mid-Market, and Enterprise customer-lifecycle playbooks that focus on creating valu… Read full bio
Mike Barry
Operating Partner, Francisco Partners Consulting
Senior executive with proven track record of identifying, developing and bringing innovative and complex products to market with high quality in a timely manner. Combination of strong technical leadership abilities and experience in small, medium and… Read full bio
Anish Batlaw
Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Anish Batlaw is an Operating Partner at General Atlantic and leads the firm’s human capital effort as part of the firm’s Operations Group. Anish and his team help the firm’s portfolio companies develop best-in-class management teams and provide suppo… Read full bio
Ted Bililies
Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer, AlixPartners
Ted is an expert on leadership and organization who helps CEOs and investors solve their toughest people and organizational problems. He consults with senior leaders worldwide to help them answer challenging questions such as, Who should run my compa… Read full bio
Kerem Bolukbasi
Operations Executive, TPG Capital
Kerem is an Operations Executive for TPG Capital where he provides interim executive leadership and operational support to the management teams and board of directors of TPG portfolio companies. Responsibilities include acting as the interim CFO, VP… Read full bio
Felipe Brito
Vice President, CI&T
Felipe Brito’s passion is to fuse speed, lean thinking and digital excellence, ensuring that blazing the trail one step at a time is a feature, not a bug. He helps Fortune 500 companies such as AB-InBev, Coca-Cola, iHeartMedia, Johnson & Johnson, and… Read full bio
Wendy Buxton
President, LynnCo Supply Chain Solutions
Wendy Buxton, President, has an established reputation in diverse industries for excelling growth of organizations through corporate vision, strategic planning, and the power of effective leadership. Ms. Buxton's career as an executive level strategi… Read full bio
Bob Cahill
Chief Financial Officer, Globalization Partners
Bob Cahill joined Globalization Partners in March 2018. He has 20 years of C-level experience and has a proven track record of executing global strategies. Prior to Globalization Partners, Bob served as CFO, COO, and CEO at a variety of companies suc… Read full bio
Paul Carbone
President and Managing Partner, Pritzker Private Capital
Paul Carbone has been the Managing Partner of Pritzker Private Capital and its predecessor, Pritzker Group Private Capital, since 2012. Pritzker Private Capital acquires and operates entrepreneur‐ and family‐owned middle‐market companies with leading… Read full bio
Dale Chang
Operating Partner, Scale Venture Partners
Dale is the Operating Partner at Scale Venture Partners. In his role, Dale is a resource for guidance on evolving go-to-market strategies as well as providing best practices and benchmarks across the portfolio. Previously, Dale was a Director at the… Read full bio
Lily Chang
Chief Portfolio Services Officer, Leonard Green & Partners
Lily joined LGP in 2004. As Chief Portfolio Services Officer, Lily leads LGP’s collaborative efforts with portfolio company management teams. Lily currently serves on the Board of Directors of JOANN Stores. Prior to LGP, she worked at Nissan North Am… Read full bio
Virgil Colby
Vice President, Group Procurement, Onex Corporation
Virgil leads Onex’ group purchasing program with the goal of increasing shareholder value by driving procurement best practices and group contracts across portfolio companies. Prior to joining Onex, Virgil was Senior Director of Indirect Procurement… Read full bio
Jim Corey
Managing Partner, Blue Ridge Partners
Jim is a co-founder of Blue Ridge Partners and now serves as the firm’s managing partner. For 30 years he has assisted companies in North America, Europe and Asia accelerate profitable revenue growth. Jim has advised over 250 companies on revenue-rel… Read full bio
Mark Cormier
Director, Private Equity, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)
Coming soon..
David Dvorin
Senior Advisor, Field Operations, TPG Capital
David is a Field Operations Advisor for TPG Capital where he specializes in improving pricing strategies and pricing execution for the portfolio companies. David joined TPG in 2014 from Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), where he worked as Senio… Read full bio
Cory Eaves
Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Cory Eaves leads General Atlantic's Resources Group, providing expertise and strategic counsel to GA's investment teams. He brings to this role more than 20 years of operational experience, including previously serving as Chief Technology Officer of… Read full bio
Thomas Fountain
Operating Partner, One Rock Capital Partners
Thomas C. Fountain is an Operating Partner focused on driving value in technology for One Rock Capital Partners, LLC. Mr. Fountain brings over 30 years of technology and leadership experience having served in CIO roles in GE, Honeywell, and Bunge Ltd… 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
Curt Gendron
Senior Manager, M&A Advisory, Crowe
Mr. Gendron is focused on leadership of Operational Transaction Advisory (“OTA”) services at Crowe, which helps strategic & sponsor acquirers identify & subsequently capture value. Professional and Industry Experience Curt has touched hundreds of tra… Read full bio
Doron Grosman
President & CEO, Global Container Terminals
Doron Grosman is the President and Chief Executive Officer of GCT Global Container Terminals Inc., with operations in Vancouver BC, Bayonne NJ and Staten Island NY. Doron is a seasoned multi industry executive with experience in a variety of C-suite… Read full bio
Mathew Guliner
Operating Partner- Technology & Innovation, Apollo Global Management
Mr. Guliner joined Apollo’s private equity team in 2017 as an Operating Partner and leads the Technology Transformation Group (“TTG”). TTG was created to improve the performance of Apollo's portfolio companies and the quality of new deal underwriting… Read full bio
Brad Haller
Director, Mergers & Acquisitions, West Monroe Partners
Throughout his career, Brad Haller has managed diverse management consulting and technology projects, advising C-level executives and private equity investors with a variety of needs that include due diligence, post-merger integration, divesture anal… Read full bio
Marc Herdegen
Senior Operating Partner, Strategy, New State Capital Partners
Marc Herdegen joined New State Capital Partners in 2018 with more than 20 years of experience in leadership and management, product development, investment, and strategy consulting. Marc has led global organizations, launched new products, developed… Read full bio
Jim Howland
Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Operations, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
Jim Howland is Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Operations for Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (MSCP), based in New York. Mr. Howland joined Morgan Stanley in 2008 and serves as Chairman of the Board of Clarity Software, Project Management Aca… Read full bio
Tara Jones
Private Equity Partner Manager, Amazon Web Services
Tara Jones is the Global Manager of Partnerships and Alliances with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Private Equity Business Development team, where she works with Advisory deal teams, System Integrators and Technology Providers to help private equity s… Read full bio
Gregg Kaplan
Operating Partner, Pritzker Private Capital
Gregg Kaplan was the Founder and Former CEO of Redbox DVD Rental, bringing it from scratch in 2002 to over $2 billion in revenue in 11 years. Currently, Mr. Kaplan is an Operating Partner at Pritzker Private Capital leading the firm’s activities in t… Read full bio
Brian Kasser
Talent Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Mr. Kasser is the Talent Partner for the WCAS technology team. Focusing on executive talent strategy and management, he is responsible for helping WCAS’s technology companies to build outstanding leadership teams. He brings to WCAS more than a decade… Read full bio
Michael Kohlsdorf
President, Francisco Partners Consulting
Mike Kohlsdorf is President of Francisco Partners Consulting (FPC) and is Co-Chairman of the Portfolio Committee. He joined Francisco Partners (FP) as an Operating Partner in March of 2011. FP has raised in excess of $14 billion to date with investme… Read full bio
Michael Magliochetti
Operating Partner, Riverside Partners
Dr. Magliochetti has served since 2012 as Operating Partner at Riverside Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in middle market healthcare and technology companies. He is a fully integrated partner focused on healthcare pre-investment… Read full bio
Alice Mann
Operating Partner, Blue Wolf Capital Partners
Dr. Alice Mann is an Operating Partner at Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC. The Blue Wolf Capital Funds are a family of private funds which focus on transformational investments in middle market companies. For over 20 years, Dr. Mann has advised senior… Read full bio
Nate Medoff
Partner, ContinuServe
Nate Medoff is a founder and Managing Director of ContinuServe, LLC, a global provider of back-office systems and services specializing in carve-outs. Nate has a distinguished career in starting and leading professional and technology-enabled service… Read full bio
Sean Mooney
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
Tom Nolan
Operating Director, Berkshire Partners
Tom Nolan joined Berkshire Partners in 2008 with a primary focus of providing support to Berkshire’s portfolio companies. Tom’s primary Berkshire portfolio company involvement includes: Catalina, a provider of personalized media for consumer promotio… Read full bio
Andrew Pressman
Partner, JM Search
Drew Pressman has been recruiting top talent for more than two decades. Focused on partnering with private equity investors since 2000, Drew is an expert at recruiting their portfolio company leadership, no matter the size of the private equity firm,… Read full bio
Tony Pucillo
Senior Managing Director & Operating Partner, Corinthian Capital
Mr. Pucillo is focused on supporting the Corinthian Capital portfolio companies with his extensive general management and operations expertise. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Metaltec, and previously served as Chairman of the Board o… Read full bio
Mike Pulli
CEO, Verifone
Mike Pulli joins Verifone from Francisco Partners Consulting where he provided operational consulting services to Francisco Partners and its portfolio companies. He previously served as CEO of UK-based Pace plc from 2011 to 2016. At Pace, which was p… Read full bio
Kiran Rao
Director of Portfolio Operations, TPG Capital
Kiran Rao is a Director of Portfolio Operations at TPG Capital and is based in San Francisco, where he is a leader on the Tech Operations team. Since 2010, Kiran has been involved in numerous investments including Anastasia Beverly Hills, WellSky (fo… Read full bio
Howard Reba
Head of Portfolio Finance, CI Capital Partners
Howard Reba is the Head of Portfolio Finance and joined CI Capital Partners in 2019. Previously, Howard served as a Finance Operating Partner at Marlin Equity Partners, a global private equity firm. Prior to joining Marlin, Howard served as the CFO o… Read full bio
Michael Rothschild
CEO, Profit Velocity
Michael Rothschild founded Profit Velocity over a decade ago to create the next generation of business analytics and enable complex manufacturers to dramatically improve shareholder returns. Earlier, Michael authored Bionomics: Economy as Ecosystem,… Read full bio
Chris Semain
Principal, Alexander Group
Chris Semain is a Principal in the Alexander Group’s San Francisco office. He is a co-leader of the Firm’s Private Equity practice, where he manages relationships with multiple firms and advises managing partners & portfolio company leaders on sales… Read full bio
Michael Song
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity
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
Luis Sosa
Operating Director, Private Equity, Apollo Global Management
Luis Sosa is an Operating Director in Private Equity Portfolio Operations at Apollo Global Management. Since joining Apollo in 2013 he has worked alongside portfolio company management to address opportunities and challenges aimed at driving sustaina… Read full bio
Mark Sotir
Co-President, Equity Group Investments
As Co-President, Mark oversees all aspects of EGI. He focuses on maximizing and sustaining the value of the firm’s investment portfolio, and on optimizing Sam’s vast network. With nearly 20 years of board and CEO experience, Mark employs his leadersh… Read full bio
Susan Stautberg
Governance Advisor, Atlantic Street Capital
As Governance Advisor to Atlantic Street Capital, Susan launched the first private equity firm effort to recruit women for portfolio executive positions, company boards, and customer advisory boards. Susan recently retired as Chair and Co-Founder of… Read full bio
Hayden Tewell
Partner, JM Search
Hayden Tewell joined JM Search in 1997 and has become one of the leading executive search professionals in the fields of Plastics, Packaging and Specialty Materials. Hayden also leads search engagements across multiple areas of specialty manufacturin… Read full bio
Scott Tynes
CEO, Consero Global
Scott is the CEO and co-founder of Consero Global which is a Finance as a Service (FaaS) firm. Consero runs the finance function for over 250 companies nationwide and has assessed over 1,000 finance departments over the last 12 years. Scott has a pas… Read full bio
Craig Unis
Operating Director, Portfolio Operations, Apollo Global Management
Mr. Craig Unis joined Apollo in 2014 in the Apollo Portfolio Operations group and is responsible for operational improvement efforts for a subset of Apollo’s private equity portfolio companies from a broad range of industries including manufacturing,… Read full bio
Andrew Walshe
Director of Portfolio Operations, Sightway Capital
Andrew Walshe joined Sightway Capital, formerly known as Two Sigma Private Investments, in 2016 to lead the group’s Portfolio Operations efforts. He serves as a key partner to Sightway’s platform companies by working closely with management teams to… Read full bio
Paul Wheeler
CFO, Operative
Paul Wheeler joined Francisco Partners in May 2016 as a Senior Executive and Operating Partner. He has over 30 years’ experience leading private equity backed global software technology organizations in COO, CFO and MD roles. Sustained track record o… Read full bio
Lane Wiggers
Operating Partner, Argosy Private Equity
Lane joined Argosy in 2015 and is responsible for evaluating potential investments, performing due diligence, and working with portfolio companies to grow shareholder value. He has significant experience in the middle market, concluding over 30 acqui… Read full bio
Tricia Witty
Senior Principal, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
Tricia Witty joined Ontario Teachers' Portfolio Management team in 2016. She supports our portfolio companies in identifying and capturing value creation opportunities, particularly in the area of Operations. Prior to joining Ontario Teachers', Trici… Read full bio
Jake Wojcik
Senior Vice President, Insight Sourcing Group & SpendHQ
Jake Wojcik is Senior Vice President at Insight Sourcing Group as well as their spend visibility company, SpendHQ. He has over 20 years of experience in management consulting with a focus on procurement, sourcing, and supply chain management. Jake ha… Read full bio
Partner with the Forum
The Operating Partners Forum 2019 will offer a unique opportunity for organizations to raise their profile by meeting with the largest gathering of private equity value creators across two days of sessions.
For exclusive sponsorship packages for 2019, contact Lawrence Dvorchik at lawrence.d@peimedia.com or call +1 646 545 4429.
PLATINUM
Leadership
Operational Improvement
Intelligent Automation
Pricing and Monetization
Knowledge Partner
LEAD
Management Advisory
Finance as a Service
Human Capital
Organic Revenue Growth
Positive Equity
Digital Transformation
Supply Chain
Emerging Technologies
SPONSORS
Pre-Event Resources
Poll: transforming portfolio companies
No one said that creating lasting value was easy – especially in a struggling company. PEI’s Operating Partner Forums discuss all aspects of value creation, from what it takes to transform a troubled business to how to harness technology to boost the bottom line. More than 200 operating partners attended last year’s edition, and as these polls of delegates show, successful transformations have to overcome some significant roadblocks.
Location
Convene
117 W 46th St,
New York, NY 10036
Hotel accommodations are available at the Kimpton Muse Hotel, 130 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036. Use booking code AA5 upon checkout. Click here to book your place.
