Private Equity
International
International
Operating Partners Forum New York 2020
14 - 15 October 2020,
Convene, 117 West 46th Street New York
The largest global event for private equity value creators
Now in its tenth year, Private Equity International’s Operating Partners Forum: New York is the world’s largest event dedicated to anyone concerned with private equity portfolio operational assessment and value creation.
Join established operating partners to discuss practical strategies that can be implemented straight away. Extensive opportunities to network, compare best practices, build new relationships and influence the future of the field make this an event not to be missed.
Primary pricing ends Friday May 29 – book now to save $700:
450+
attendees
200+
companies
160+
speakers
2
full days of content
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 400+ 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 Keynote Speakers
Mark Sotir
President
Equity Group Investments
With 20 years’ of board and CEO experience, Mark focuses on maximizing and sustaining the value of EGI’s investment portfolio. By managing the corporate investment team and engaging with portfolio company management, he enables optimal shareholder value.
Paul Carbone
President and Managing Partner
Pritzker Private Capital
Pritzker Private Capital acquires and operates entrepreneur and family-owned middle-market companies in manufactured products, services and healthcare. Prior to 2012, Paul was Director and Managing partner of the Private Equity Group of Robert W. Baird for 13 years.
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 at who you could meet
2019 Speakers include:
Attendees in 2019 included:
Past Attendee Testimonials
The Operating Partners Forum is a fantastic 2 days where thought leaders share best practices and key learnings in a collaborative and transparent fashion. I al…
I find this conference the best way to network with my peers in the operating partner community. The quality of attendees and dialog is outstanding and always h…
For a new Operating Partner in PE the conference was an invaluable accelerator in my learning process of the key challenges and opportunities in the space.
The Operating Partners Forum is a fantastic 2 days where thought leaders share best practices and key learnings in a collaborative and transparent fashion. I always come away from the event with new Ideas that I can put into action to deliver value back to my firm.
I find this conference the best way to network with my peers in the operating partner community. The quality of attendees and dialog is outstanding and always helps me do my job better.
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 2020, 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
Chairman:
Doron Grosman, President & CEO, Global Container Terminals
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:
Bob Barthelmes, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, The Blackstone Group
David Dvorin, Senior Advisor, Field Operations, TPG Capital
Bala Ganesan, Managing Director, Special Situations, Oaktree Capital 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, President, Equity Group Investments
10:30 - 10:50
Networking break
10:50 - 11:20
Identifying, implementing, and capturing digital value creation throughout the portfolio investment lifecycle
• In what ways are investors identifying opportunities to leverage technology to unlock operational value creation during due diligence given limited time/information/resources?
• What are some of the best practices for working with portfolio company executives to ensure digital strategies identified are being implemented efficiently and effectively?
• How do you balance evaluating digitalization that improves operations vs evolves a business model?
• In what ways does your evaluation of technology/digital value creation change or shift or evolve over the course of the hold period?
• Where do you see the most cross-portfolio portable digital strategies and how do you proliferate them for maximum impact?
Moderator:
Brad Haller, Director, Mergers & Acquisitions, West Monroe Partners
Panelists:
Georgette Kiser, Operating Executive, The Carlyle Group
Srinivas Rapthadu, Managing Partner, Private Equity North America, SAP
Paul Zuber, Operating Partner, Thoma Bravo
11:20 - 11:50
Preparing for an economic downturn – what to do from a PE operations improvement standpoint
• How should PE backed businesses and their private equity owners be preparing for a downturn?
• How to gear up: getting operations ready and finding cash ahead of 2020
• A hands-on approach to cost optimization now, approaching capital intensive projects, escaping the “fixed costs trap”, blueprints for SAAS/tech businesses to get through the downturn formed after the 2008 downturn
• Which sectors do you see as particularly susceptible to a change in economic environment?
• What should management teams and sponsors of businesses be prioritizing when it comes to readying themselves for tough times?
• What advice would you offer management and private equity owners with regards to managing sales teams through a downturn?
• Tips for companies re-evaluating their business models/shutting down certain activities: minimizing risk and maximizing the opportunity that the downturn could bring
Moderator:
Markus Lahrkamp, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Panelists:
Jim Howland, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Operations, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
Peter O’Connell, President, Champlain Management
Jill Wight, Principal, The Carlyle Group
Nick Winter, Managing Director, Head of North America Portfolio Operations, Värde 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
Facilitator:
Kingchih Fan, Operating Partner, The Riverside Company
• Table 4: Cost reduction/optimization for technology enabled companies
Facilitators:
Brad Buxton, CEO, AuctionIQ (AIQ)
Paul Zuber, Operating Partner, Thoma Bravo
Participant:
Robert Goates, CFO, Solutionreach
• Table 5: Digital Marketing
Facilitators:
Julian Chu, Former Operating Partner, Digital Marketing and eCommerce, Castanea Partners
Keith Jensen, Chief Marketing Officer – WCP Healthcare, Waud Capital Partners
• Table 6: Supply chain & procurement
Facilitator:
Wendy Buxton, President, LynnCo Supply Chain Solutions
• Table 7: Finance
Facilitator:
Steve Cumbow, Operating Partner, Sentinel Capital Partners
• Table 8: Automation – Build a bot
Facilitators:
Joseph Mohacsi, Sales Engineer, Automation Anywhere
Jon Stueve, Manager, Product Training, Americas, Automation Anywhere
• Table 9: Governance
Facilitator:
Nicholas Martino, Operating Partner, High Road Capital Partners
13:00 - 14:00
Networking luncheon
Sponsored by:
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
Panelists:
Rob Jay, Executive Vice President – Integrated Operations, LifePoint Health (an Apollo Company)
Linda Whitley-Taylor, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Change Healthcare (a Blackstone company)
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
Panelists:
David Cheney, CEO, Stelco
Jaimee Michaud, Vice President, Portfolio Support Group, Advent International
David Muhlenkamp, Managing Director, Lindsay Goldberg
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, Senior Vice President of Portfolio Operations, Platinum Equity
Ray Villareal, Partner, Strattam Capital
Andrew Walshe, Director of Portfolio Operations, Sightway Capital
Cici Zheng, Principal, ParkerGale 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:
Thad Longson, Operating Principal, HGGC
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
Natalie Ings, Managing Director, Portfolio Solutions, Lightyear Capital
Michael Magliochetti, Operating Partner, Riverside Partners
Sean Mooney, CEO, BluWave
14:40 - 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
Panelists:
Mike Devine, Vice President, Wavecrest Growth Partners
Arthur Zuckerman, Partner, CFO, CCO & Head of Portfolio Operations, Soundcore Capital Partners
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:
Pablo Dominguez, Operating Partner, Insight Partners
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
Moderator:
Nathan Beu, Senior Manager, Technology Practice, West Monroe Partners
Participants:
Geoffrey Baird, Senior Managing Director, Value Creation, LLR Partners
Mike Barry, Senior Operating Partner, Francisco Partners Consulting
Bill Brown, Chief Security Officer, ClickSoftware
Michael Iwanoff, Chief Information Security Officer, iconectiv
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
Gabriel Mesanza, Partner, Performance Enhancement, Huron Capital
John Wang, Director, Portfolio Operations, Centerbridge Partners
15:20 - 16:00
Track 10 | Panel | 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?
Moderator:
Jeremy Swan, Managing Principal – Financial Sponsors & Financial Services Industry, CohnReznick
Panelists:
Steven Morgenthal, Managing Director, Argosy Private Equity
Marek Olszewski, Managing Partner, Catalus Capital
Renny Smith, Managing Partner, Staley Capital
Adrian Whipple, Vice President of Operations, TZP Group
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
Georgette Kiser, Operating Executive, The Carlyle Group
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
Presenters:
Peter Munzig, Managing Director, General Atlantic
Anubhav Saxena, Executive Vice President & Chief of Global Alliances, Automation Anywhere
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
Moderator:
Adam Echter, Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Panelists:
David Dvorin, Senior Advisor, Field Operations, TPG Capital
Marc Herdegen, Senior Operating Partner, Strategy, New State Capital Partners
Jud Morrison, Operating Partner, The Sterling Group
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?
Moderator:
Cheryl Vijjeswarapu, Head of Private Equity & Venture Capital – East Coast US, NetSuite (Oracle)
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
Chairman:
Jeffrey Klein, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
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
Facilitator:
Jon Weber, Head of Portfolio Company Management, BlueMountain Capital
Group C: Human Capital Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Sandy Fiaschetti, Human Capital Managing Director, Gryphon Investors
Brian Kasser, Talent Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
07:45 - 16:30
Registration
Sponsored by:
07:45 - 08:45
Continental breakfast
08:45 - 08:50
Chairman’s welcome
Chairman:
Jim Corey, Managing Partner, Blue Ridge Partners
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:
Drew Pressman, Partner, JM Search
Panelists:
Patrick Allen, Recruiting Practice Leader, Cerberus Operations & Advisory Company
Brian Kasser, Talent Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Alice Mann, Operating Partner, Blue Wolf Capital Partners
09:20 - 09:50
The journey to the cloud – driving business agility and unlocking innovation
• Technical diligence, business drivers, and value creation
• Roadmap, migration strategy, and managing risks
• Leveraging AWS for modernization
• Additional opportunities
• Challenges and lessons learned
Moderator:
Tara Jones, Private Equity Partner Manager, Amazon Web Services
Panelists:
Russ Albright, CEO, Crosslake Technologies
Rob Bruno, Chief Technology Officer, Achieve3000
Allyson White, Principal, Insight Partners
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:
Stephanie Barter, Partner, Platinum Equity
Steven Siwinski, Partner, High Road Capital Partners
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
Moderator:
Gene Chao, Chairman and Executive Sponsor, IBM Automation Innovation Unit
Panelists:
Geoffrey Baird, Senior Managing Director, Value Creation, LLR Partners
Thomas Young, Managing Partner, Rumjog Enterprises
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:
Simon Jones, Operating Partner, Turnspire Capital Partners
Steven Siwinski, Partner, High Road Capital Partners
Lior Yahalomi, Former Managing Director, Operations, Versa Capital Management
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
Moderator:
Chris Haffenreffer, Director of Corporate Development, Enterprise Holdings
Panelists:
Virgil Colby, Vice President, Group Procurement, Onex Corporation
Adam Cummins, PMO Lead, The Carlyle Group
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?
Moderator:
Rob Biederman, Co-Founder and CEO, Catalant Technologies
Participants:
Dale Chang, Operating Partner, Scale Venture Partners
Casey Rovinelli, Growth Director, Portfolio Companies, OMERS Ventures
Richard Spencer, Chief Operating Officer & Operating Partner, Kamylon Holdings
11:00 - 11:40
Track 16 | Roundtable | Digital labor: a new catalyst for private equity success
• What is digital labor and how does it apply to private equity?
• What does transformation look like at the PE company level, across the portfolio companies, and in the way advisory firms support PE
• Charting the path forward to digital labor
Facilitators:
Charlie Cannell, Digital Director, Inflexion Private Equity
Michael Marchuk, Vice President, Global Head of Advisory Programs, Blue Prism
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
Panelists:
Tom Cahill, Chief Financial Officer, The Sak Brand Group
Steve Lee, Managing Director, Layer 7 Capital
Richard Spencer, Chief Operating Officer & Operating Partner, Kamylon Holdings
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?
Moderator:
Steve Rawson, Head of Strategic Industry Alliances, RingCentral
Panelists:
Stephen Murray, CEO, DataTel1
Doug Sammak, President and CEO, Vatic Outsourcing
Curt Witte, Partner, Bregal Sagemount
11:40 - 12:20
Track 19 | Roundtable | Three lessons learned on transforming finance from a cost-center into a value-creation engine
• 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:
David Averett, Managing Director, Peak Performance Group, Summit Partners
Dan Fletcher, Vice President, Value Creation, Vector Capital
Prital Kadakia, Principal, Growth Team, Serent Capital
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
Moderator:
William Ramsey, Operating Partner, Wellspring Capital
Participants:
Gabriel Mesanza, Partner, Performance Enhancement, Huron Capital
David Muhlenkamp, Managing Director, Lindsay Goldberg
Sponsored by:
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?
• Advanced analytics and AI for value creation
• 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?
Moderator:
Prashant Agrawal, CEO, Impact Analytics
Panelists:
Tracey Abbott, Industry Value Creation, Portfolio Operations, Partners Group
Anne Arlinghaus, Director, KKR Capstone
Blake Austin, Principal, Irving Place Capital
Cory Eaves, Operating Partner, General Atlantic
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?
Moderator:
Ross Koenig, Vice President, RCP Advisors
Panelists:
Paris Fronimos, Senior Principal, Infrastructure & Renewable Resources, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)
Ilene Levinson, Senior Investment Professional, Hamilton Lane
Kate Malcolm, Portfolio Manager, Private Equity, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum NY 2019
13:15 - 14:00
Networking luncheon
14:00 - 14:05
Chairman’s welcome
Chairman:
Rick DeRose, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Acertitude
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 quantify 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
Moderator:
Ann McCloskey, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Panelists:
John Broderick, Operating Partner, Argosy Private Equity
John Ouren, Operating Partner, STG Partners
Amin Venjara, Vice President & Chief Product Owner, DataCloud, ADP
Elizabeth Wallace, Head of Portfolio Talent, Hg
14:45 - 15:20
Key players in leading the digital revolution in private equity
• Finding brilliant digital leaders fast
• Key players: leveling up tech know-how across the operating team and portco leadership team
• Operating model – executing digital initiatives and successfully incorporating digital into your playbook by relying on multiple vendors, technologies, solutions, and partners
• Best practices for activating a pool of experts to support your operating partners to shape the portco journey and unlock EBITDA opportunities
• How to leverage your pool of experts to shape the engagement/operating model and create the right incentive scheme to avoid conflicts with the teams
• Digital diagnostic – merging the power of an assessment with the effectiveness of a SWAT team able to quickly link problems & opportunities with new digital capabilities
Moderator:
Kevin O’Neill, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Acertitude
Panelists:
Fred Bentley, President & CEO, DexKo Global
Kelly Carlson, Managing Director, Head of Talent, STG Partners
Suraj Ramdas, Director, Portfolio Company Management, BlueMountain Capital
Casey Rovinelli, Growth Director, Portfolio Companies, OMERS Ventures
15:20 - 15:30
Networking break
15:30 - 16:05
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
Panelists:
Brittany Blumenthal, Vice President of People Operations, Reorg
Christopher Kim, Senior Vice President, Platinum Equity
Leslie Nielson, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Ken Rodi, Operating Partner, Wincove Private Holdings
16:05 - 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?
Moderator:
Melissa Mounce, Managing Director – Leadership Talent, GTCR
Panelists:
David Cohen, Managing Director, Human Capital, Kelso & Company
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
Closing remarks and end of conference
2019 Keynote Speakers
Mark Sotir
President
Equity Group Investments
Paul Carbone
President and Managing Partner
Pritzker Private Capital
2019 Speakers
Tracey Abbott
Industry Value Creation, Portfolio Operations, Partners Group
Tracey Abbott is part of the Americas Industry Value Creation (portfolio operations) Consumer Goods and Retail team at Partners Group, an $85 B Assets under management private equity firm. She is a Member of the Board of a Brazilian fresh grocer. Tra… Read full bio
Prashant Agrawal
CEO, Impact Analytics
Prashant Agrawal is the Founder & CEO of Impact Analytics. Prior to Impact, he was a Management Consultant at McKinsey (1999-2005),at a hedge fund (2005-2008), office of Tony Blair (2010) and BCG (2011-2014). In 2009, he also started his own internet… Read full bio
Russ Albright
CEO, Crosslake
Russ Albright is the Founder and CEO of Crosslake Technologies, a software consulting firm founded on the principal of helping companies buy, build, and run better software from technical due diligence to value creation. Russ has over 25 years of exp… Read full bio
Patrick Allen
Recruiting Practice Leader, Cerberus Operations & Advisory Company
Patrick is the Recruiting Practice Leader for Cerberus Operations, the firm’s industry-leading operations platform. He joined Cerberus in 2017 and is responsible for leading all aspects of executive talent acquisition for Cerberus Operations as well… Read full bio
A. Amarnath
Senior Vice President & Global Head- Strategic Engagements, Wipro
Aswatha Amarnath (Amar) is a Senior Vice President at Wipro and is the leader of Wipro’s U.S. Operations. He has three other global responsibilities: 1) he leads Wipro’s firm-wide efforts in helping growth-stage companies in the pre- or post-IPO stag… Read full bio
Ray Anderson
Principal, Transaction Advisory Services, EY
Ray is the TMT sector lead for EY’s Reshaping Results solution. He maintains over 20 years of experience specializing in increasing company’s enterprise value through implementation of growth, financial, and operating strategies working with boards a… 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
Anne Arlinghaus
Director, KKR Capstone
Anne Arlinghaus joined KKR Capstone in 2008 and worked in the Menlo Park and London offices before joining the New York office in 2016. Ms. Arlinghaus works with the Financial Services industry team to drive value creation efforts, and has been invol… Read full bio
Blake Austin
Principal, Irving Place Capital
Blake Austin is a Principal of Irving Place Capital and a member of the Strategic Services team. Prior to joining Irving Place Capital in 2007, Mr. Austin worked as a Director at Alaris Consulting, where he focused on strategic sourcing, organization… Read full bio
David Averett
Managing Director, Peak Performance Group, Summit Partners
Dave joined Summit Partners in 2010. As the head of Summit’s Peak Performance Group (PPG), Dave works with management teams to identify and execute growth strategies that build long-term value. He oversees day-to-day management of PPG engagements acr… Read full bio
Geoffrey Baird
Senior Managing Director, LLR Partners
Geoff Baird is the Senior Managing Director of Value Creation at LLR Partners. He leverages extensive experience leading and driving all aspects of growth for technology and services businesses to support LLR’s portfolio companies and manage the LLR… Read full bio
Mike Barry
Senior 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
Stephanie Barter
Partner, Platinum Equity
Stephanie Barter oversees Platinum Equity’s in-house M&A Operations group, a team comprising functional experts across a wide range of operational disciplines that conducts due diligence on prospective acquisitions. She works closely with Platinum Eq… Read full bio
Bob Barthelmes
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, The Blackstone Group
Bob Barthelmes is an Managing Director in the Portfolio Operations group, providing strategic support and advice to the firm’s investment teams and portfolio companies with a focus on technology, operations, and digital transformation. Before joining… 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
Fred Bentley
President & CEO, DexKo Global
Fred Bentley has held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of DexKo Global since January 2016. He oversees the Dexter and AL-KO global operations. Additionally, he has served on Dexter’s Board of Directors since 2014. Mr. Bentley has… Read full bio
Nathan Beu
Senior Manager, Technology Practice, West Monroe Partners
Nathan Beu is a Senior Manager in West Monroe Partners’ Technology Practice with a focus on Cloud & Infrastructure and Cybersecurity in M&A environments. He’s been with the firm since 2012 and currently leads the Infrastructure and Cybersecurity pre-… Read full bio
Rob Biederman
Co-Founder and CEO, Catalant Technologies
Rob Biederman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Catalant Technologies, the market leader enabling companies to get mission critical work done faster. Forward-looking executives partner with Catalant to transition to an agile operating model and access the… 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
Brittany Blumenthal
Vice President of People Operations, Reorg
Brittany Blumenthal is currently the Vice President of People Operations at Reorg, a financial technology focused on distressed debt investing and other niche financial markets, headquartered in Manhattan. She has been with the company for four years… 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
John Broderick
Operating Partner, Argosy Private Equity
John J. Broderick, Operating Partner, joined Argosy in 2016 and is responsible for evaluating potential investments, performing due diligence, and working with portfolio companies to grow shareholder value. John has over 25 years of experience as an… Read full bio
Bill Brown
Chief Security Officer, ClickSoftware
Bill currently serves as Chief Security Officer at ClickSoftware and was formerly CISO at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Prior to that Bill was the CIO & CISO at Veracode and previously held CIO roles at Avid Technology and Iron Mountain. Bill was recogn… Read full bio
Rob Bruno
Chief Technology Officer, Achieve3000
Rob Bruno is the Chief Technology Officer of Achieve3000. Rob joined Achieve3000 with more than 20 years of experience managing technology in the education sector, with expertise in strategic roadmap execution and change management. He served as CTO… Read full bio
Brad Buxton
CEO, AuctionIQ (AIQ)
Brad Buxton is a passionate client advocate who has advised hundreds of PE and enterprise C-level executives for more than 30 years on business process improvement, global sourcing, and metrics, with a focus on cost reduction, risk mitigation, procur… 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
Tom Cahill
Chief Financial Officer, The Sak Brand Group
Tom started his career at Arthur Andersen in New York City. Tom then helped lead The Sak Brand Group from almost zero to over $100M in retail sales in four years. Combining his background in operations, finance, and fashion-oriented startups he then… Read full bio
Charlie Cannell
Digital Director, Inflexion Private Equity
Charlie joined Inflexion to provide leadership in digital technology to our portfolio businesses and investment team. He offers support and guidance to investee companies looking to improve or change their digital strategies. He is also fully involve… 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
Kelly Carlson
Managing Director, Head of Talent, STG Partners
Kelly Carlson is Managing Director, Head of Talent with STG, where she is leading the firm’s talent efforts, working across the portfolio to attract CEOs and executive leadership teams to drive results. Kelly’s mandate includes the curation of a CEO… 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
Gene Chao
Chairman and Executive Sponsor, IBM Automation Innovation Unit
Gene leads global sales and go-to-market models for our Cloud & Applications Services unit. He has responsibilities for sales strategy & execution, market/client advocacy, marketing, thought leadership, and developing our Cloud Services ecosystem and… Read full bio
Beth Chase
Senior Managing Director, Ankura
Beth R. Chase is a Senior Managing Director and Partner at Ankura with more than 25 years of experience helping private equity backed and Fortune 500 organizations navigate strategic change. A trusted advisor recognized for her influence and strategi… Read full bio
David Cheney
CEO, Stelco
David Cheney has been our Chief Executive Officer since February 20, 2019. He has previously served as Stelco’s Executive Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer. Mr. Cheney has extensive advisory, capital markets and restructuring expe… Read full bio
Julian Chu
Former Operating Partner, Digital Marketing and eCommerce, Castanea Partners
Julian Chu is a former Operating Partner at Castanea Partners, a private equity firm that works with founders and management teams of innovative consumer brands to grow their businesses through a combination of capital and operating expertise. During… Read full bio
David Cohen
Managing Director, Human Capital, Kelso & Company
David joined Kelso in 2019. He is focused on applying talent and human capital best practices to enhancing the firm’s investment process, portfolio companies and Kelso Specialist Network. He spent the preceding nine years with American Securities in… 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
Marc Craver
Director of Strategic Alliances, FloQast
Marc Craver is the Director of Strategic Alliances at FloQast, responsible for the company’s relationships with the Private Equity and Financial Consulting community. FloQast, based in Los Angeles, provides software to help corporate accounting teams… Read full bio
Steve Cumbow
Operating Partner, Sentinel Capital Partners
Steve Cumbow joined Sentinel Capital Partners as an operating partner in 2015. He has worked closely with Sentinel since 2010, when he joined one of the firm's portfolio companies as CFO. Before joining Sentinel, he was a member of the operations tea… Read full bio
Adam Cummins
PMO Lead, The Carlyle Group
Adam Cummins is a Director with Pace Harmon, a Management Consulting firm that specializes in IT, Business Process and Strategic Sourcing Optimization services. For the past several years Adam has served as the PMO lead for The Carlyle Group’s levera… Read full bio
Rick DeRose
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Acertitude
Rick is a purpose-driven entrepreneur and executive search leader on a mission to unleash human potential globally. As co-founder and managing partner of executive search firm Acertitude, he is charting a new course to take businesses to the next lev… Read full bio
Mike Devine
Vice President, Wavecrest Growth Partners
Mike Devine is a Vice President at Wavecrest Growth Partners and joined the firm in September 2016. Prior to joining Wavecrest, Mike was part of the investment banking team at PJT Partners (formerly Blackstone), where he focused on supporting the fir… Read full bio
Pablo Dominguez
Operating Partner, Insight Partners
Pablo Dominguez joined Insight in 2018 as a Operating Partner. Pablo focuses on partnering with Insight’s portfolio companies to build and scale effective commercial teams through the application of proven and repeatable go-to-market and operational… Read full bio
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
Hami Ebrahimi
Managing Director, Operations & Strategy, OMERS Private Equity
Hami is currently Managing Director, Operations & Strategy, and works with investment and management teams at OMERS Private Equity to assess new investments, and define and execute value-creation priorities. Having joined the Operations and Strategy… Read full bio
Adam Echter
Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Adam is a Partner at Simon-Kucher & Partners and member of their Industrials practice. Operating out of Silicon Valley with additional experience from 50+ software companies, he regularly assists non-software businesses with the transition from trans… Read full bio
Kingchih Fan
Operating Partner, The Riverside Company
Kingchih Fan is currently an Operating Partner with The Riverside Company. He is a serial entrepreneur, operator and investor who has owned 4 companies in the past ten years (LiftDNA, OpenX, iGOTHAM, SIB). Prior to Riverside, he was most recently the… Read full bio
Sandy Fiaschetti
Human Capital Managing Director, Gryphon Investors
Sandy focuses on organizational development within Gryphon’s Human Capital Group. She leads initiatives with senior executives and working teams within all industry groups across the Gryphon portfolio, leveraging her expertise in people-related syste… Read full bio
Dan Fletcher
Vice President, Value Creation, Vector Capital
Dan joined Vector in 2018 as a Vice President on the Value Creation Team. With over 11 years of private equity and financial operations experience, Dan specializes in post-acquisition performance improvement, financial and operational diligence, inte… 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
Paris Fronimos
Senior Principal, Infrastructure & Renewable Resources, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)
Paris is a Senior Principal on the Infrastructure and Renewable Resource Investments team of the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“BCI”) in Canada. Paris joined BCI in 2017 where he works with the management teams of portfolio comp… 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
Bala Ganesan
Managing Director, Special Situations, Oaktree Capital Management
Mr. Ganesan is a Managing Director and Operating Partner within Oaktree Capital's Special Situation/Private Equity group. He specializes in driving commercial and operational performance improvement initiatives, including turnarounds, collaboratively… 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
Martin Glenn
Principal, RSM US
Martin is a Principal at RSMs’ Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures practice, out of the New York office. He has 20 years of extensive experience in working with both Private Equity and Corporate Strategics in the acquisition, integration and divesti… Read full bio
Robert Goates
CFO, Solutionreach
Rob Goates, CPA, is Chief Financial Officer of Solutionreach, Inc (a Summit Partners portfolio company). Rob has more than 30 years of experience in business leadership and finance. Prior to Solutionreach, Rob has been a senior leader in several ente… 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
Chris Haffenreffer
Director of Corporate Development, Enterprise Holdings
As a Director on the Corporate Development team at Enterprise Holdings, Chris is responsible for the execution of corporate acquisitions, including analysis of acquisition opportunities and management of the due diligence process. Chris is also respo… 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
Saydeah Howard
Chief Talent Officer, IVP
Saydeah Howard is the Chief Talent Officer at IVP, a premier late stage venture capital firm. In this role, she is responsible for advising the firm’s portfolio companies on human capital issues including executive search strategy, leadership, talent… 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
Natalie Ings
Managing Director, Portfolio Solutions, Lightyear Capital
Natalie Ings is a Managing Director in Portfolio Solutions at Lightyear Capital. Ms. Ings focuses on supporting Lightyear's senior management in enhancing value and driving growth at Lightyear's portfolio companies. Prior to joining Lightyear in 2016… Read full bio
Michael Iwanoff
Chief Information Security Officer, iconectiv
Michael Iwanoff, Chief Information Security Officer at iconectiv, leads the Global Information Security organization and is responsible for building and implementing enhanced security policies, standards, and technology controls and establishing secu… Read full bio
Rob Jay
Executive Vice President - Integrated Operations, LifePoint Health (an Apollo Company)
Rob Jay is executive vice president of integrated operations for LifePoint Health. In this role, he oversees integration, physician services, growth and outreach, business development, information technology, medical informatics, revenue cycle manage… Read full bio
Keith Jensen
Chief Marketing Officer - WCP Healthcare, Waud Capital Partners
Keith Jensen is the Chief Marketing Officer at Waud Capital Partners, a leading growth-oriented middle-market private equity firm. In this role, he advises multiple healthcare companies within the private equity firm’s portfolio. Keith has 15+ years… Read full bio
Simon Jones
Operating Partner, Turnspire Capital Partners
Simon Jones is an Operating Partner with Turnspire Capital Partners, a special situations private equity firm in New York. Simon is also Chairman of a legal technology firm, One Discovery, backed by Conversion Venture Capital in New York, and works w… 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
Prital Kadakia
Principal, Growth Team, Serent Capital
Prital leads the portfolio operations team for Serent Capital, working closely with the management teams at Serent portfolio companies on value-creation initiatives to drive measurable and sustained revenue and earnings impact. Prital's work with por… 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
Christopher Kim
Senior Vice President, Platinum Equity
Chris Kim is a Senior Vice President within Platinum Equity’s Mergers & Acquisitions Operations practice. He is responsible for evaluating Human Capital aspects of prospective additions to the Platinum Equity portfolio. Chris also has responsibilitie… Read full bio
Georgette Kiser
Operating Executive, The Carlyle Group
Georgette Kiser is an Operating Executive at The Carlyle Group where she is advising across the firm and in particular, the firm’s Global Technology and Solutions (GTS) organization, by developing and driving IT strategies across the global enterpris… Read full bio
Ross Koenig
Principal, Head of Research, RCP Advisors
Ross is responsible for leading the RCP Advisors’ data analytics efforts to assist in the evaluation of all private equity investments as well as overseeing the Firm’s database and related technologies. Prior to this role, Ross worked as an Investmen… 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
Raj Kushwaha
Managing Director, Operating Partner & Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
Raj Kushwaha is based in New York, joined the firm in 2012 and serves as Managing Director, Operating Partner and Chief Digital Officer responsible for operations and technology diligence with prospective investments, as well as ongoing work with the… Read full bio
Markus Lahrkamp
Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Markus Lahrkamp is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal. With more than 15 years of consulting experience in North America and abroad, he brings a wealth of experience n top-line growth and operational improvement of manufacturing, distribution… Read full bio
John LaMancuso
Senior Operating Executive, Cerberus Capital Management
Mr. LaMancuso joined Cerberus in 2015. Mr. LaMancuso is the COAC Commercial Practice Leader and is leading multiple initiatives to drive growth and accelerate competitiveness within the Cerberus portfolio. Prior to joining Cerberus, Mr. LaMancuso was… Read full bio
Steve Lee
Managing Director, Layer 7 Capital
Prior to forming Layer 7 Capital, Steve was a Managing Director for Bank Street, a boutique investment bank covering the TMT sector. Steve also worked as a leveraged finance professional at Carlyle, BofA, Merrill Lynch and US Bancorp Libra. Steve beg… Read full bio
Nick Leopard
CEO
Nick Leopard is the CEO & Founder of Accordion, the go-to partner to the private equity community. Founded in 2009, Accordion has grown to serve nearly 200 of the world's premier private equity firms and their portfolio companies – driving value crea… Read full bio
Ilene Levinson
Senior Investment Professional, Hamilton Lane
Ilene is a Senior Investment Professional on Hamilton Lane’s Fund Investment Team, where she is responsible for all aspects of fund due diligence in North America. Previously, Ilene was a Principal in the Product Management Group, where she served as… Read full bio
Alex Lizcano
Vice President, Industry Value Creation, Partners Group
Alex Lizcano is a Vice President, Industry Value Creation, at Partners Group since 2017. Alex partners with management teams to develop and implement value creation strategies with industry focus in Technology Media and Telecommunications and functio… Read full bio
Thad Longson
Operating Principal, HGGC
Broad experience in financial services, corporate development, M&A, strategy, project management, process improvement, strategic change, data management, integrations, carve outs and financial cost management. Guided and influenced the strategy and e… 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
Kate Malcolm
Portfolio Manager, Private Equity, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)
Kate Malcolm is an investment professional with nearly over a decade of experience in strategy, operations and private equity. Ms. Malcolm is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Equity Group at Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), one of… 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
Michael Marchuk
Vice President, Global Head of Advisory Programs, Blue Prism
Author, speaker, and business leader Michael Marchuk has been working with organizations for over 35 years to provide a positive impact using technology to advance business objectives. Using innovation to transform the way business works, he has lead… Read full bio
Nicholas Martino
Operating Partner, High Road Capital Partners
Nicholas W. Martino joined High Road in 2017 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Banner Solutions, John Henry Foster Minnesota, SMB Machinery Systems, and Storage Battery Systems. Nick is focused on assisting portfolio management teams… Read full bio
Ann McCloskey
Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Ann McCloskey is Operating Principal with Accel-KKR. Accel-KKR is a private equity firm with $9BN in assets focused on high growth software and technology enabled businesses. Ann’s primary focus areas are executive team effectiveness, executive searc… 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
Marco Mendes
Head of Portfolio Support Group, North America, Advent International
Marco Mendes joined Advent in 2013. He has worked with more than 40 private equity portfolio companies during his career, 25 while at Advent. Previously, he spent seven years with Doughty Hanson, based in London, as an investment committee partner. B… Read full bio
Gabriel Mesanza
Partner, Performance Enhancement, Huron Capital
Partner, Performance Enhancement: Gabe plays a critical role in driving operational and financial improvement, and leveraging resources across all of Huron’s portfolio companies. He works closely with existing portfolio company management teams to de… Read full bio
Jaimee Michaud
Vice President, Portfolio Support Group, Advent International
Jaimee Michaud joined Advent in 2019 and supports management teams to drive growth leveraging data assets and adopt innovative technologies. Previously, she worked at Apax Partners supporting portfolio companies’ efforts around digital transformation… Read full bio
Joseph Mohacsi
Sales Engineer, Automation Anywhere
Joe Mohacsi, sales engineer at Automation Anywhere, is responsible for providing automation technology in customer environments and demonstrating their benefits to support customer needs. Most recently he joined Automation Anywhere. from IRPA, where… 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
Steven Morgenthal
Managing Director, Argosy Private Equity
Mr. Morgenthal is the Managing Director of the Private Equity team since 2018, and leads a multi-functional group investing in Operating Companies in the lower middle market. He joined Argosy in 2007 and has been responsible for evaluating potential… 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, GTCR
Melissa joined GTCR in 2019 as a Managing Director—Leadership Talent 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 Baird Capital. S… Read full bio
David Muhlenkamp
Managing Director, Lindsay Goldberg
David Muhlenkamp is a Managing Director and heads Lindsay Goldberg’s portfolio operations efforts, where he assists families, founders, and management teams to achieve their growth and value creation objectives. David brings nearly two decades of exp… Read full bio
Peter Munzig
Managing Director, General Atlantic
Peter Munzig is a Managing Director and head of the firm's Palo Alto office focusing on investments in the firm's Technology group. Peter has spent time across the firm's Business Services and Healthcare groups as well since joining the firm. Prior t… Read full bio
Stephen Murray
CEO, DataTel1
Stephen Murray began his career in telecommunications in the early 1990s, and since he's become a trusted advisor and highly-regarded customer advocate in the industry. He started his company DataTel1 with the single mission to put an end to the conf… Read full bio
Leslie Nielson
Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Ms. Nielson has more than 17 years of M&A tax experience across various facets of human capital, including employee benefits and remuneration plans such as: pensions, pre and post-retirement healthcare, insured benefits and equity incentives, talent… 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
Peter O’Connell
President, Champlain Management
Peter is an independent Operating Partner and CEO for Middle-Market Private Equity Investors. Peter has 25 years’ international operating experience in Private Equity and founded Champlain Management in 2010. Since then he has held portco leadership… Read full bio
Marek Olszewski
Managing Partner, Catalus Capital
Marek manages Catalus Capital Management, a multi-strategy private equity firm which he co-founded in early 2011. He is responsible for overseeing all of the fund’s activities including strategy, execution, and portfolio management. It is composed of… Read full bio
Kevin O’Neill
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Acertitude
Kevin is a mold-breaking entrepreneur, executive search leader, Forbes contributor, and managing partner of Acertitude, the executive search firm unleashing human potential for private equity firms globally. Kevin’s 25-year career in search has earne… Read full bio
John Ouren
Operating Partner, STG Partners
John Ouren joined STG in 2016 as Operating Partner and is responsible for driving business transformation within STG’s portfolio companies. John is on the board of STG companies including Fishbowl, MRI-Simmons and MSI/Morpace. Prior to STG Partners,… Read full bio
Kristin Brown Patrick
Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital, New State Capital Partners
Kristin joined New State Capital Partners in 2019 as Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital with more than 25 years of hands-on growth strategy, executive search, talent acquisition and talent development experience. The bulk of Kristin’s career has… Read full bio
Drew 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
Suraj Ramdas
Director, Portfolio Company Management, BlueMountain Capital
Suraj Ramdas is a Director at BlueMountain Capital and focuses on value enhancement initiatives across multiple healthcare and industrial-related investments. Mr. Ramdas also heads the Digital and Talent strategies across BlueMountain’s portfolio com… Read full bio
William Ramsey
Operating Partner, Wellspring Capital
William L. Ramsey joined Wellspring in 2007. Bill previously spent 9 years at Honeywell / Allied Signal where he was most recently the global leader of its operations and Lean/Six Sigma activities. He led efforts to improve Honeywell / Allied Signals… Read full bio
Srinivas Rapthadu
Managing Partner, Private Equity North America, SAP
Srinivas Rapthadu is Managing Partner at SAP Private Equity where he handles strategic partnerships and initiatives with Private Equity funds and helps drive portfolio companies’ success throughout the investment lifecycle. He is also driving roll-ou… Read full bio
Steve Rawson
Head of Strategic Industry Alliances, RingCentral
Steve Rawson manages the Global Private Equity Partnership Program for RingCentral with his group focused on partnering and supporting firms and their portfolio companies participating in the program. His team enables firms to leverage aggressive ter… 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
Ken Rodi
Operating Partner, Wincove Private Holdings
Ken Rodi, Operating Partner, Wincove Private Holdings – In his capacity as Operating Partner, Ken works on strategic and tactical initiatives within several Wincove investments, and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of one of its platform c… 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
Casey Rovinelli
Growth Director, Portfolio Companies, OMERS Ventures
Casey Rovinelli is the Growth Director of OMERS Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pensions with net assets approaching $100 billion. As Growth Director, Casey works closely with the senior… Read full bio
Doug Sammak
President and CEO, Vatic Outsourcing
As President of Vatic Outsourcing, Doug Sammak heads up executive account sales and support services. He is responsible for all aspects of administration and finance for the company, leads the company’s strategic initiatives, and is the executive in… Read full bio
Anubhav Saxena
Executive Vice President & Chief of Global Alliances, Automation Anywhere
Anubhav leads the company’s partnership programs for advisories, technology and service providers, including value added reseller alliances worldwide. He brings more than 20 years of experience to this role being responsible for strategy, enablement… 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
Steven Siwinski
Partner, High Road Capital Partners
Steven Siwinski is a Partner at High Road Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on buying and building leading middle market companies. Steve is responsible for working with portfolio company management teams to formulate and implement fina… Read full bio
Renny Smith
Managing Partner, Staley Capital
Renny Smith is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Staley Capital and has over 25 years of private equity investing experience. Prior to Staley Capital, he co-founded T.H. Lee Putnam Ventures in 2000, where he led growth equity investments across di… 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
SVP of Portfolio Operations, Platinum Equity
Luis Sosa is Senior Vice President of Portfolio Operations at Platinum Equity where he is responsible for partnering with portfolio management teams to drive enhanced operating and financial performance within and across portfolio companies. He lever… Read full bio
Mark Sotir
President, Equity Group Investments
As 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 network. With nearly 20 years of board and CEO experience, Mark employs his leadership insid… Read full bio
Richard Spencer
Chief Operating Officer & Operating Partner, Kamylon Holdings
Richard is the architect of the Kamylon Management System and has led portfolio management for the Firm for 13 years. Richard has over thirty years of experience as a private equity investor, serial board member, general manager and consultant. He ha… 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
Jon Stueve
Manager, Product Training, Americas, Automation Anywhere
Jon leads the product training group for Automation Anywhere in the Americas. He has a proven track record of leveraging proven and effective learning methodologies in the development and implementation of technical training solutions. Jon is an exce… Read full bio
Jeremy Swan
Managing Principal - Financial Sponsors & Financial Services Industry, CohnReznick
Jeremy Swan is the National Director of CohnReznick's Financial Sponsors & Financial Services Industry practice and also leads the efforts of the Firm's M&A Consulting Services practice. Jeremy is responsible for management of CohnReznick's Financial… 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
Andrea Van Dam
CEO, Stella Rising
Andrea Van Dam is the CEO of Stella Rising, a leading strategic marketing and digital media firm for high-growth brands. Andrea is responsible for strategic growth including a recent rebrand, digital transformation, sales, revenue and M&A. Since taki… Read full bio
Amin Venjara
Vice President & Chief Product Owner, DataCloud, ADP
Amin Venjara is VP and Chief Product Owner for DataCloud, ADP’s Big Data and Analytics platform. He is responsible for driving growth and product innovation in ADP's people analytics and data-as-a-service portfolio built on top of the 30M+ US workers… Read full bio
Cheryl Vijjeswarapu
Head of Private Equity & Venture Capital - East Coast US, NetSuite (Oracle)
Cheryl has spent the last 5 years leading the Private Equity & VC Practice along the east coast US for NetSuite Oracle. Prior to this, she was an investment professional investing out of Perella Weinberg’s distressed investment fund ($2.1 bn AUM), an… Read full bio
Ray Villareal
Partner, Strattam Capital
Ray Villareal joined Strattam Capital as a Partner in 2016 after serving as an Executive Advisor in 2015. Mr. Villareal leads the overall operational engagement with Strattam portfolio companies with personal emphasis on go-to-market strategy and rel… Read full bio
Elizabeth Wallace
Head of Portfolio Talent, Hg
Elizabeth Wallace is the Head of Portfolio Talent at Hg and is responsible for ensuring outstanding talent continues to be hired and supported in our portfolio companies. Before joining Hg in 2019, Elizabeth worked at BlackRock, the world’s largest a… 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
John Wang
Director, Portfolio Operations, Centerbridge Partners
John joined Centerbridge in 2012 where he drives Value Creation across investments in Consumer, Industrial and Healthcare Industries. In addition he manages several cross portfolio programs including Leveraged Procurement. Prior to joining Centerbrid… Read full bio
Jon Weber
Head of Portfolio Company Management, BlueMountain Capital
Jon is Head of Portfolio Company Management at BlueMountain Capital Management, where he works with management and boards of companies where the firm is an influential investor. Prior to joining BlueMountain, Jon headed groups at Anchorage Capital Gr… 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
Adrian Whipple
Vice President of Operations, TZP Group
Adrian Whipple joined TZP Group in March 2017 to lead portfolio operations efforts focused on portfolio company value creation. He serves as a hands on partner to deal teams and management teams in developing growth and improved performance across th… Read full bio
Allyson White
Principal, Insight Partners
Allyson White is a Principal at Insight Partners. She is a leader in the firms Onsite group where she manages due diligence on growth-stage investments as well as strategic engagements with portfolio executives. Specifically Allyson focus on partneri… Read full bio
Linda Whitley-Taylor
Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Change Healthcare (a Blackstone company)
Ms. Whitley-Taylor was appointed Executive Vice President - Chief People Officer of Change Healthcare in December 2013. Formerly, Ms. Whitley-Taylor was Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer for Amerigroup Corporation, where she s… 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
Jill Wight
Principal, The Carlyle Group
Jill Wight is a Principal with the Carlyle Equity Opportunity fund. She focuses on portfolio company management and operational improvement initiatives. She is based in New York. Prior to joining Carlyle, Ms. Wight was with Goldman Sachs where she le… Read full bio
Nick Winter
Managing Director, Head of North America Portfolio Operations, Värde Partners
Nick Winter is a Managing Director and North American Head of Portfolio Operations focused on value creation in Värde private equity investments. Based in New York, he joined the firm in 2018. Prior to Värde, Nick spent seven years at JPMorgan Chase… Read full bio
Curt Witte
Partner, Bregal Sagemount
Curt Witte is the Head of Portfolio Operations for Bregal Sagemount with a focus on partnering with portfolio company management to drive high yield operations enhancement. Prior to joining Bregal Sagemount, he was an Operating Partner at Symphony Te… 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
Richard Wyckoff
President & CEO, Arctic Glacier
Richard graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Upon graduation, he joined the IBM Corporation in a sales position within the large systems data processing division and was quickly promoted into… Read full bio
Lior Yahalomi
Former Managing Director, Operations, Versa Capital Management
“C” level Executive, CEO, President, COO, CFO and Director with extensive global leadership and operations management experience. Broad board level experience with an exceptional track record in leadership, operations, P&L management, finance, emergi… Read full bio
Thomas Young
Managing Partner, Rumjog Enterprises
Thomas Young (Tom) has worked in the technology consulting market for 25+ years. In 2013, he founded Rumjog Enterprises to focus on enterprise deployments of emerging technologies that are disrupting business frameworks in every industry sector and f… Read full bio
Cici Zheng
Principal, ParkerGale Capital
Cici Zheng is a Principal at ParkerGale Capital. 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 result… Read full bio
Paul Zuber
Operating Partner, Thoma Bravo
Paul Zuber is an Operating Partner at Thoma Bravo. He brings 25 years of experience in founding and growing successful global technology companies. Paul currently serves as Chairman at Mailgun, Inc., Cority, ABC Financial, and MeridianLink, and holds… Read full bio
Arthur Zuckerman
Partner, CFO, CCO & Head of Portfolio Operations, Soundcore Capital Partners
Partner, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Portfolio Operations at Soundcore, Art is responsible for the financial operations of the firm and its investment partnerships as well as overseeing the firm’s compliance function… Read full bio
Partner with the Forum
The Operating Partners Forum 2020 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 2020, contact Lawrence Dvorchik at lawrence.d@peimedia.com or call +1 646 545 4429.
See below for the 2020 sponsors confirmed so far:
PLATINUM
2020 LEAD
Digital Transformation
2020 SPONSORS
SUPPORTING ASSOCIATIONS
Location
Convene
117 W 46th St,
New York, NY 10036
Pre-Event Resources
Forum Highlights
- 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
- Women in private equity portfolio operations breakfast
- 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
2019 Agenda
Topics discussed over the 2 day forum last year included…
- What makes a great operating partner?
- Best practices for talent acquisition and development
- Operating partner perspectives and insights on digital transformation and its impact
- Cybersecurity and resiliency: what to do if it happens to your business?
Our Expert Keynotes
Mark Sotir
President
Equity Group Investments
Paul Carbone
President and Managing Partner
Pritzker Private Capital
Leading private equity value creators attended, including:
What Our Attendees Had to Say
Kelly Carlson,
STG Partner
The Operating Partners Forum is a fantastic 2 days where thought leaders share best practices and key learnings in a collaborative and transparent fashion. I al…
Geoffrey Baird
LLR Partners
I find this conference the best way to network with my peers in the operating partner community. The quality of attendees and dialog is outstanding and always h…
For a new Operating Partner in PE the conference was an invaluable accelerator in my learning process of the key challenges and opportunities in the space.
Kelly Carlson,
STG Partner
The Operating Partners Forum is a fantastic 2 days where thought leaders share best practices and key learnings in a collaborative and transparent fashion. I always come away from the event with new Ideas that I can put into action to deliver value back to my firm.
Geoffrey Baird
LLR Partners
I find this conference the best way to network with my peers in the operating partner community. The quality of attendees and dialog is outstanding and always helps me do my job better.
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
Georgette Kiser
Operating Executive
The Carlyle Group
Michael Kohlsdorf
President
Francisco Partners Consulting
Michael Song
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations
Providence Equity
‘Record demand’ for operating partners: Survey
As GPs seek to boost portfolio company value, they are under pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiencies as operational issues become increasingly complex and LPs push for lower fees.
Operating partner roles are the fastest-growing positions in private equity this year, driven by a sharper focus on deploying capital raised in 2016 and 2017. Executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles is experiencing “record demand” for operating partners among private equity firms, according to its 2019 North American Private Equity Operating Professional Compensation Survey, which received responses from 217 private equity operating professionals.
Head of talent, chief financial officer for portfolio operations, and generalist operating partner roles were the top operating professional searches. Increasingly complex operational issues in portfolio companies coupled with LPs insisting on lower fees puts pressure on GPs to reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies.
Two evolutions have taken place in recent years, Jonathan Goldstein, regional managing partner, Americas for Heidrick & Struggles’ private equity practice and the report’s co-author, told Private Equity International. Private equity firms are hiring operating partners earlier in their careers, contrary to the previous trend of hiring semi-retired or retired professionals. What’s more, operating partners have proven their worth, driving private equity firms to build out their operating professionals’ ranks and add mid-level and junior operating professionals as well.
Base-level salaries and bonuses for operating roles more than doubled from 2016. Successful operating partners had a mix of consulting and operations experience and previous private equity exposure, according to the report.
Almost 87 percent of operations professionals had no prior relationship with the manager or with its portfolio companies, showing that “private equity firms were expanding their search beyond their network pools to seek talent”, Goldstein told PEI.
Compensation details
Base-level salaries and bonuses for operating professionals did not change significantly from 2017 to 2018; 68 percent of respondents received base-level salary increases of $50,000 or less in 2018. Likewise, 48 percent of respondents reported a higher bonus in 2018 than 2017.
“Change in compensation is not indicative of one thing or the other,” Goldstein said. “Bonuses are driven by increases in AUM, where the fund might be in its lifecycle and the individual’s own progression at the firm.”
Operating partners are eligible for carried interest, usually calculated on a whole-fund basis. Most respondents did not get warrants or options in the portfolio companies they oversaw. Only 43 percent of senior/executive advisors and 29 percent of general partners received warrants or options, and the average warrant participation for these two groups was $2.4 million and $2.6 million, respectively.
Most respondents were not eligible for direct equity participation except at the firm and general partner level. Almost all respondents said they had co-investment rights, according to the report.
Almost 41 percent of respondents said their cash compensation was funded by fund management fees, while 15 percent said their firms used only portfolio company oversight fees and 12 percent said their firms used time billed directly to portfolio companies. The remaining third of respondents said their firms used a mix of two or more funding methods.
Poll: the Operating Partner role in driving value creation
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 harnessing technology to leveraging human capital to boost operations. More than 200 operating partners attended the New York edition in October 2019, sharing their views on key aspects of value creation as highlighted in our most recent poll below.