Private Equity
International
International
Operating Partners Forum Virtual Experience 2020
14 - 16 October 2020,
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) - Available Anywhere
The Virtual Forum is now LIVE!
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The largest global event for private equity value creation
Now in its tenth year, Private Equity International’s Operating Partners Forum: Virtual Experience is the world’s largest event dedicated to industry professionals focused on best practices in private equity portfolio operations and value creation.
The operating partner community will come together at a crucial time in history to discuss and debate plans and actions in dealing with this year’s downturn and reset strategies for growth post-crisis. Join the largest community of operating partners to discuss key initiatives and ideas at a critical time for portfolio valuations in impacting fund returns.
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.
Explore all the benefits of a virtual pass
Watch our guided video for a preview of what you can expect at this year’s virtual conference.
Features include:
» Watch anytime, anywhere
» Schedule 1-to-1 or private group meetings
» On-Demand access for 6 months
» Live Q&A, polling and surveys
» And so much more!
Keynote Panel: Top trends that will shape private equity in the coming years
Rich Lawson
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer
& Co-Founder
HGGC
T.J. Maloney
Chairman and CEO
Lincolnshire Management
Mark Sotir
President
Equity Group Investments
Agenda at a glance
Our 2020 agenda is being carefully curated to feature the most prominent functional areas in value creation for your portfolio companies. Click the headings below for a snapshot of some of the top features you’ll find in the agenda:
Value Creation
- 5 invitation-only think tank selections for operating partners: 1) advanced/seasoned operating partners, 2) emerging operating partners, 3) human capital operating partners, 4) digital operating partners, 5) finance operating partners
- How operating teams work best with investment teams
- Operating partner models post COVID-19: how will your team adapt to the changes in the environment?
- Assessing risks and actions portfolio companies have taken in response to the coronavirus crisis
- Interactive discussions to select in key value creation areas: Digitalization, Human capital, Salesforce effectiveness, Supply chain & procurement, Finance, Data analytics, Digital marketing & e-commerce, Cost improvement
- How operating partners and PE firms are working with their portfolio companies in the midst of this year’s crisis
- How to drive value creation initiatives in the aftermath of the downturn
- CEO perspectives in looking at turnarounds, distressed situations, and driving transformations
Technology
- Digital transformations in the time of COVID-19: how things will change and what does the future hold
- Dissecting cost structures and customer interaction via technology to get revenues back to where they were
- Advanced data science to govern the business throughout the investment life-cycle
- Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning for value creation
Human Capital
- Operating Partners Human Capital Forum: A half day dedicated to human capital portfolio operations best practices
- Big data & workforce analytics: looking at the future of human capital
- What will the future role of the human capital operating partner look like?
- Utilizing technology & best resources for talent acquisition
- Integrating culture for success
- Transitioning to a virtual workforce
- Human capital best practices adopted during this year’s crisis
Supply Chain & Procurement
- Navigating supply chain disruptions and post-COVID best practices
- Impact of technologies and today’s fast paced e-commerce on your supply chain
- Supply chain cost optimization: individual company vs. cross-portfolio programs
- Procurement transformations in the first 100 days
Finance
- Building a financial survival kit for your portfolio companies
- Outsourced finance as a service (FaaS) vs. in-house model
- How can PE best support portco CFOs?
- Transforming finance from a cost-center into a value-creation engine
- CFO reporting and resourcing best practices
450+
attendees
200+
companies
160+
speakers
3
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 450+ top value creators
Meet with the largest community of operational experts in one place over 3 days.
Learn key strategies for cross-portfolio initiatives
Find the right tools and knowledge to create value.
2020 Speakers include:
Confirmed attendees include
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.
Operating Partners Americas – Event Series Pass
Take PE and VC value creation in North America by storm with our combo pricing which includes 1 pass to the Operating Partners Virtual Forum on October 14-16, 2020 (along with its sub event: Operating Partners Human Capital Forum) and the Operating Partners Technology Forum on December 1-2, 2020.
Meet the advisory board members
Cory Eaves
Operating Partner
General Atlantic
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
Steven Siwinski
Operating Partner
High Road Capital Partners
This event includes the Operating Partners Human Capital Forum
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum on October 14th brings together an elite crowd of top human capital value creators and operating partner specialists to help drive human capital as a key value creation lever.
For speaking opportunities, contact Marc Mele at marc.m@peimedia.com or call +1 646 581 9295.
*Please Note: All session times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
View agenda page
Agenda
Day 1 - Wednesday 14th
Invitation-only think tank
09:30 - 10:25
Human capital operating partners think tank (invitation-only)
Kelly Carlson,
Dayton Ogden,
Alice Mann,
Steven Maxwell
Invitation-only think tank for full-time PE and VC operating partners and talent partners. This closed-door virtual room will allow you to learn and share best practices in human capital, talent management and recruiting operations. It will uncover this year’s new challenges in human capital. The think tank will allow you to submit topics to be introduced by the facilitators and discussed in the room.
Room 1
Facilitators:
Kelly Carlson, Managing Director, Head of Talent, STG Partners
Dayton Ogden, Head of Talent and Recruiting, Summit Partners
Room 2
Facilitators:
Alice Mann, Operating Partner, Blue Wolf Capital Partners
Steven Maxwell, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Human Capital, Audax Group
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum: Plenary sessions
10:25 - 10:30
PEI’s welcome and opening remarks
10:30 - 11:10
Talent recruitment best practices in the post COVID-19 world and beyond
Charles Egoville,
Sean Dougherty,
Ben Holzemer,
Melissa Mounce,
Glenn Stevens
- Recruiting talent during and after COVID-19: how companies will recruit talent differently from different parts of the world
- Transitioning to virtual workforce recruitment: utilizing the hottest technology & state of the art resources for talent acquisition, assessment & development
- How AI and big data can help you win the talent war
- Profit through people: what recruiting processes are generating returns
- What is the biggest hinderance to recruiting top tier talent in your portfolio companies nowadays?
- Evaluating and selecting search firms
- What levels in the organization does your PE firm get involved in talent and leadership selection?
Moderator:
Charles Egoville, Partner, JM Search
Panelists:
Sean Dougherty, Vice President, Talent and Operations, Inverness Graham Investments
Ben Holzemer, Partner, Global Head of Human Capital, TPG Global
Melissa Mounce, Managing Director, Leadership Talent, GTCR
Glenn Stevens, Partner, Talent Management, Apollo Global Management
11:10 - 11:50
A spotlight on culture — critical steps for PE firms and their portcos to successfully execute strategy
Ted Bililies,
Doron Grosman,
Kathy Krone,
Ann McCloskey
- Getting smart about cultural assessments: using today’s tools during the due diligence and post deal periods
- Grasping the complex interplay between leadership, talent, corporate culture, and investment strategy
- What beliefs, values, and behaviors should senior leaders embody to transform cultures
- Assessing leaders’ speed and ability in executing strategy defined by the PE sponsor
- Understanding which elements of a company’s culture should be sustained and which must change to support the investment thesis
- Understanding forces and trends that are transforming businesses in a digital and virtual world
Moderator:
Ted Bililies, Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer, AlixPartners
Panelists:
Doron Grosman, President and CEO, Global Container Terminals
Kathy Krone, Managing Partner, Paradox Venture Partners
Ann McCloskey, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Functional breakouts I
11:50 - 12:20
Track 1: Transitioning to a virtual workforce: leveraging unified communications
Steve Rawson,
John Broderick,
Karim Fattal,
Natalie Ings
- What is unified communications and why it is important
- The future of work: understanding how to take an onsite workforce and put them in ideal conditions to work remotely via virtual platforms
- How portfolio company executives are working/communicating in the current environment and what works best
- Operating partner stories: how to help manage your portfolio via cloud communications
- Cloud communications in a global, mobile workplace: integration with core cloud business systems
- How can your PE firm and portfolio companies best leverage these technologies to improve communications and operations while also cutting costs?
Moderator:
Steve Rawson, Industry Principal – Private Equity, Venture Capital and High-Tech, RingCentral
Panelists:
John Broderick, Operating Partner, Argosy Private Equity
Karim Fattal, Chief Operating Officer, HOF Capital
Natalie Ings, Managing Director, Portfolio Solutions, Lightyear Capital
Steve Rawson
Industry Principal - Private Equity, Venture Capital and High-Tech, RingCentral
Read bio
11:50 - 12:20
Track 2: Workforce analytics: uncovering initiatives in people data science
Guy Barnes,
Merche del Valle,
Elizabeth Wallace
- Key perspectives in understanding the role of data in a post pandemic world
- Utilizing workforce analytics to quantify performance improvement across the portfolio: what tools have you used to effectively analyse 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, incentivize, and engage your employees
- People assessment best practices during the due diligence phase
- Leadership assessments: getting leadership right and understanding governance as a key value creation lever
Moderator:
Guy Barnes, Managing Partner, Acertitude
Panelists:
Merche del Valle, Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer, Grain Management
Elizabeth Wallace, Head of Portfolio Talent, Hg
Functional breakouts II
12:20 - 12:50
Track 3: Tackling diversity and inclusion at your portfolio companies
Kerensa Butler,
Kara Helander
- What is holding PE back from achieving diversity?
- What are you doing at your companies to tackle diversity and open dialogue? What specific initiatives/programs have you taken that were successful?
- How are companies leveraging data to augment their efforts with portfolio companies?
- KPIs for diversity: measuring effectiveness
- Diversity and leadership: what can be done better? How are you thinking about diversity of boards?
Presenters:
Kerensa Butler, National Pride Employee Network Group (ENG) Leader, Partner, RSM
Kara Helander, Managing Director, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, The Carlyle Group
12:20 - 12:50
Track 4: Exploring talent growth opportunities within carve-out deals internationally
Todd Goffman,
Christopher Kim
- Uncovering the top challenges associated with carve-outs in onboarding and keeping talent on an international scale
- Looking at roadblocks when onboarding new employees in countries where their company does not have an established entity and isn’t registered to run payroll
- How to cut down complexity and notorious lag time while staying compliant
Presenters:
Todd Goffman, General Counsel, Globalization Partners
Christopher Kim, Senior Vice President, Platinum Equity
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum: Plenary session
12:50 - 13:20
How to recruit brilliant CFOs, and unleash the CFO-CEO-OP partnership
Kevin O'Neill,
Chris Kitching,
Kristin Brown Patrick,
Achi Yaffe,
Arthur Zuckerman
- What makes an ideal private equity CFO?
- How has the portfolio company CFO role evolved?
- Identifying and attracting in-demand CFOs
- Setting CFOs up for success
- Succeeding in the matrix: the CFO-CEO-OP partnership
Moderator:
Kevin O’Neill, Managing Partner and Co-Lead, Private Equity Practice, Acertitude
Panelists:
Chris Kitching, Operating Partner, HighBar Partners
Kristin Brown Patrick, Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital, New State Capital Partners
Achi Yaffe, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, GI Partners
Arthur Zuckerman, Partner, CFO, CCO and Head of Portfolio Operations, Soundcore Capital Partners
Arthur Zuckerman
Partner, CFO, CCO and Head of Portfolio Operations, Soundcore Capital Partners
Read bio
Invitation-only women’s lunch
12:50 - 13:50
Women in PE & VC portfolio operations lunch (invitation-only)
Tracey Abbott,
Melissa Dickerson,
Leslie Nielson
This closed-door discussion 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
- Is your firm focused on women’s leadership at portfolio companies?
- Does your company have any specific programs, leadership coaching and assessments geared towards promoting women’s leadership?
- Are there any changes in recruiting that will create a more equal playing field?
- Looking at trends and stats in gender in PE & VC
Facilitators:
Tracey Abbott, Industry Value Creation, Portfolio Operations, Partners Group
Melissa Dickerson, Chief Financial Officer & Managing Director, Operations, Genstar Capital
Leslie Nielson, Managing Director, Alvarez and Marsal
Sponsored by:
Virtual networking and extended interactive live Q&A
13:20 - 13:50
Virtual networking lunch and extended interactive live Q&A
(Please use this time as an opportunity to connect with conference attendees and sponsors via the video chat function one-on-one or as a small group.)
Please join one of these sessions if interested in a follow-up interactive discussion with extended live Q&A:
Roundtable 1: Talent recruitment best practices in the post COVID-19 world and beyond
Roundtable 2: A spotlight on culture — critical steps for PE firms and their portcos to successfully execute strategy
Roundtable 3: Transitioning to a virtual workforce: leveraging unified communications
Roundtable 4: Tackling diversity and inclusion at your portfolio companies
Roundtable 5: Exploring talent growth opportunities within carve-out deals internationally
Roundtable 6: How to recruit brilliant CFOs, and unleash the CFO-CEO-OP partnership
Operating Partners Forum: Plenary sessions
13:50 - 14:30
The unique challenges of managing revenue growth during the COVID-19 era
Jim Corey,
Geoffrey Baird,
Jim Howland,
Jerry Hughes,
Kate Rubenstein
- Understanding shifts in customer demand caused by COVID-19
- Focusing on customers that will be “winners” since they are most likely to drive volume growth
- Managing and supporting virtual sales organizations
- Rethinking the structure and economics of your go-to-market model
- Retaining and attracting the best talent
- Dissecting the economics and ROI of selling
Moderator:
Jim Corey, Managing Partner, Blue Ridge Partners
Panelists:
Geoffrey Baird, Senior Managing Director of Value Creation, LLR Partners
Jim Howland, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Operations, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
Jerry Hughes, Director, Commercial Excellence, American Securities
Kate Rubenstein, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Blackstone
Jim Howland
Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Operations, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
Read bio
14:30 - 15:00
Due diligence done right: uncovering opportunities in a challenging year
John Iwanski,
Andrew Dunn,
Ignacio Giraldo,
Trent Hickman,
Michael Lyons
- New challenges: assessing management teams/opportunities without face to face
- Understanding where the opportunities lie in looking at distressed investments and the future of economic growth
- How are operating teams working effectively with investment teams?
- Cost savings identification practices in due diligence
- Understanding what to expect for valuations and the unique advantages to go after
- Coming out of the crisis, how do you think PE’s behavior will change across strategy/deal making, portfolio diversification, extent of due diligence?
Moderator:
John Iwanski, Executive Managing Director, Riveron
Panelists:
Andrew Dunn, Managing Director, One Equity Partners
Ignacio Giraldo, Partner, TPG Growth
Trent Hickman, Managing Director, Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS)
Michael Lyons, President, Lincolnshire Management
Functional breakouts III
15:00 - 15:30
Track 5: Navigating the supply chain in today’s waters
Wendy Buxton,
Scot Duncan,
Stephen Parks
- Sharing supply chain disruption stories and post-COVID best practices
- How will the global supply chains of your portfolio companies change? What are the business implications?
- Supply chain cost optimization: individual company vs. cross-portfolio programs
- What has been the main focus of your companies’ supply chain programs? How have your companies used supply chain cost savings to drive growth?
- Leveraging technology & data to enhance your global supply chain process in today’s fast paced e-commerce world
- Strategic sourcing strategies to be most effective in your sector
Moderator:
Wendy Buxton, President, LynnCo Supply Chain Solutions
Panelists:
Scot Duncan, Partner and Co-Founder, MiddleGround Capital
Stephen Parks, Partner, Topspin Consumer Partners
15:00 - 15:30
Track 6: The family investor’s view: hands-on operators with a long-term horizon
Paul Carbone,
David Gau
- Lessons learned from Pritzker Private Capital’s experience building an operations team for long-duration investing and a family platform
- How family direct investing’s unique approach to flexible capital, hands-on operations expertise and sector-specific focus can deliver long-term value to companies, particularly during times of market volatility
- Honoring the family’s legacy and reputation is critical to success when partnering with family-owned or founder-led businesses
- How do I evaluate if this is the right team for the next 15 years? Strategies for identifying and cultivating operations talent for the long-term
Presenters:
Paul Carbone, President and Managing Partner, Pritzker Private Capital
David Gau, Partner, Head of Operations, Pritzker Private Capital
Operating Partners Forum: Plenary session
15:30 - 16:10
Keynote Panel: Top trends that will shape private equity in the coming years
Andrew Wilson,
Rich Lawson,
T.J. Maloney,
Mark Sotir
- Identifying and discussing the emerging trends and disruptive factors that will have the largest impact on private equity in the coming years
- Estimating when these changes may really begin to take effect and the severity of their impact across various industries
- Providing guidance on how private equity companies can adapt to these imminent changes and utilize unconventional strategies to stay ahead
Moderator:
Andrew Wilson, Vice President, Private Equity and M&A, Global Upside
Panelists:
Rich Lawson, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder, HGGC
T.J. Maloney, Chairman and CEO, Lincolnshire Management
Mark Sotir, President, Equity Group Investments
Deep dive invitation-only discussion
16:10 - 16:50
Deep dive discussion: Pricing strategy (invitation-only)
Brad Soper
Facilitator:
Brad Soper, Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Hosted by:
Virtual networking and extended interactive live Q&A
16:10 - 17:10
Virtual networking reception and extended interactive live Q&A
(Please use this time as an opportunity to connect with conference attendees and sponsors via the video chat function one-on-one or as a small group.)
Please join one of these sessions if interested in a follow-up interactive discussion with extended live Q&A:
Roundtable 1: The unique challenges of managing revenue growth during the COVID-19 era
Roundtable 2: Due diligence done right: uncovering opportunities in a challenging year
Roundtable 3: Navigating the supply chain in today’s waters
Roundtable 4: Top trends that will shape private equity in the coming years
17:15 - 18:45
Live Concert
Coming to you from Austin, Texas: The Live Music Capital of the World. At the end of day 1, take in some live entertainment. During this unique event, you will experience three talented artists from Austin. Bring your family, listen while cooking dinner, or just kick up your feet and take in some new tunes. Tune in and tune out!
Hosted by:
Agenda
Day 2 - Thursday 15th
Invitation-only think tanks
10:00 - 11:00
Think tanks for full-time operating partners: value creation war room (invitation-only)
Cory Eaves,
Paul Ilse,
Anthony Ecock,
Steve Larned
This closed-door virtual room 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 in looking at best value creation practices and the toughest challenges operating partners face daily. It will allow you to select one of the rooms based on how long you have been a PE/VC operating partner:
Room 1: Advanced/Seasoned Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Cory Eaves, Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Paul Ilse, Senior Operating Partner, Francisco Partners Consulting
Room 2: Emerging Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Anthony Ecock, Senior Operating Advisor, SVPGlobal
Steve Larned, Senior Principal, New State Capital Partners
Operating Partners Forum: Plenary sessions
11:00 - 11:40
Navigating the crisis and its long-term effects: how PE operating groups are taking on the challenge
Markus Lahrkamp,
Les Brown,
Lily Chang,
Mark Sotir,
Nick Winter
- How are PE firms helping their portfolio companies? How operating partners/PE firms are working with their portfolio companies in the midst of this year’s crisis
- Crisis response strategies — tackling the challenge: global recession, severe liquidity impact, vendor management, and effects on workforce and customers
- What is essential? What is non-essential? What cash levels are needed to run the business?
- New strategies for cost reduction in a post covid-19 world to bolster cash positions
- Understanding how to position your companies for growth taking advantage of the current environment
- What key factors across your portfolio have lessened the damage caused by COVID 19? Has government support been an eligible resource?
- How long do future growth plans need to be put on hold? How can you leverage speed to more effectively make-up for lost time?
- Driving value creation initiatives in the aftermath of the downturn: blueprints/playbooks for downturns and the years following it: comparing this year to 2008
- What sectors will be the winners and losers over the next five years? What is the impact to investments in different industries? How should long-term owners position themselves?
Moderator:
Markus Lahrkamp, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Panelists:
Les Brown, Managing Partner, Operational Resource Group, HGGC
Lily Chang, Chief Portfolio Services Officer, Leonard Green & Partners
Mark Sotir, President, Equity Group Investments
Nick Winter, Managing Director, Head of North America Portfolio Operations, Värde Partners
11:40 - 12:20
The future of value creation and the operating partner model
Gary Hoover,
Marco Mendes,
Michael Song,
Paul Swaney,
Jon Weber
- Analyzing the operating partner model post-COVID: how will the value creation recipe change? Will the operating partner role in PE grow in numbers/importance? Will operating partners with distressed/turnaround experience become more relevant?
- With the re-set of the current market’s growth curve, how do you generate more benefit from operational capability going forward? Does the focus shift while the market recovers?
- Discussing firms’ different approaches in looking at the movement from generalist to specialists and the growing relevance of technology, digital marketing and ecommerce
- How will the operating partner role evolve as more opportunities exist on both diligence and value creation with regard to turnaround/distressed business
- Looking at where growth is to be achieved and how we better link operational capability and growth
Moderator:
Bob Brennan, Managing Director, US Private Equity Practice, TBM Consulting Group
Panelists:
Marco Mendes, Head of Portfolio Support Group, North America, Advent International
Michael Song, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity
Paul Swaney, Head of Industrials Americas, Industry Value Creation, Partners Group
Jon Weber, Head of Global Portfolio Operations Group, Elliott Management Corporation
12:20 - 12:50
What makes an effective portfolio company CEO?
Dan Hawkins,
Michael Foisy,
Curtis Glovier,
Laura Ipsen,
Greg Pappas
- CEOs: what to look for, how much control is given to them, what are the qualities and characteristics needed from them
- Elevating successful CEOs and their management teams who lead businesses
- How are CEOs dealing with this year’s crisis? What will be needed from CEOs in the aftermath of COVID 19 and the years to come?
- Leading organizations and people through significant change
- Operating partner-CEO alignment best practices
Moderator:
Dan Hawkins, CEO, Summit Leadership Partners
Panelists:
Michael Foisy, Lead Operations Partner, Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company
Curtis Glovier, Senior Advisor, Star Mountain Capital
Laura Ipsen, President and CEO, Ellucian
Greg Pappas, Managing Director, Portfolio Support, Berkshire Partners
Deep dive invitation-only discussion
12:20 - 13:00
Deep dive discussion: Climbing back up the revenue ladder — structuring a more effective revenue recovery plan (invitation-only)
Hank Boye,
Jim Corey
Virtual networking and extended interactive live Q&A
12:50 - 13:30
Virtual networking lunch and extended interactive live Q&A
(Please use this time as an opportunity to connect with conference attendees and sponsors via the video chat function one-on-one or as a small group.)
Please join one of these sessions if interested in a follow-up interactive discussion with extended live Q&A:
Roundtable 1: Navigating the crisis and its long-term effects: how PE operating groups are taking on the challenge
Roundtable 2: The future of value creation and the operating partner model
Roundtable 3: What makes an effective portfolio company CEO?
Functional breakouts IV
13:30 - 14:00
Track 7: Developing a successful ecommerce and digital marketing strategy in an increasingly digital world
Syed Hoda,
Kingchih Fan,
Keith Jensen,
Rachel Spasser,
Jay Sung
- Focusing on digital sales transformations and profit driven digital marketing channels to drive topline growth and scale your business
- Data-driven digital marketing strategies to maximize brand growth
- Key insights in demand generation, voice of customer, messaging, and content creation
- Understanding your digital marketing effectiveness in looking at the consumer and customer interaction via technology
- Pivoting your strategy with ecommerce: shifting product lines, achieving direct profitability across digital channels
- Driving value through digital B2B and B2C
Moderator:
Syed Hoda, Principal, Digital Innovation, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Panelists:
Kingchih Fan, Operating Partner, The Riverside Company
Keith Jensen, Chief Marketing Officer – WCP Healthcare, Waud Capital Partners
Rachel Spasser, Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer, Accel-KKR Consulting Group
Jay Sung, Operating Partner and Chief Marketing Officer, Brentwood Associates
13:30 - 14:00
Track 8: Key success factors in turnarounds to go from distressed to transformation
Ben YoKell,
Brian Cohen,
Jesse Hermann,
Stephen Noe,
Marc Stoneham
- Understanding warning signs and weaknesses early on to develop your strategy
- 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:
Ben YoKell, Managing Director, Transformation, Grant Thornton
Panelists:
Brian Cohen, Operating Partner, Altamont Capital Partners
Jesse Hermann, Operating Partner, Court Square Capital Partners
Stephen Noe, Operating Partner, Validor Capital
Marc Stoneham, Portfolio Manager, Development Partners International (DPI)
Functional breakouts V
14:00 - 14:30
Track 9: Advanced data science and analytics: turning data into revenue & EBITDA
Connor McGauley,
Brian Sharp
- Portfolio management new tools: best methodologies for portfolio company reporting
- How do you help a company become more data-oriented?
- Using predictive analytics, data integration, and supplemental data lakes to augment decision making
- Applying growth KPIs and ongoing metrics in different stages
- What has been the biggest challenge in collecting the “right” data? How are you dealing with it?
- How is the data team set up and how closely does it work with the management team and investment team?
- Monetizing data: how best to impact the performance management & operational improvement processes
Presenters:
Connor McGauley, Vice President, Portfolio Operations, GI Partners
Brian Sharp, Chief Revenue Officer, Profit Velocity
14:00 - 14:30
Track 10: Fast start: coming out strong from day one in onboarding new portfolio companies (even in the face of recent COVID-induced uncertainty)
Don Miller,
Preston McKenzie,
Jud Morrison,
Colin Smith
- Scoping diligence for both risk mitigation and value creation in a world where historical performance may not be the best predictor of future direction
- Day 1-100: structured approaches, pragmatic actions, and tools to bring about rapid alignment and focus
- Transparent portco monitoring: constructive techniques to monitor value creation progress in the current dynamic environment, and allow for informed course-correction as necessary
- Building for lasting success: engaging the myriad of PE ecosystem resources in a way that complements management and reinforces their role as value creation leaders
Moderator:
Don Miller, Senior Managing Director, Private Equity Value Creation, PwC
Panelists:
Preston McKenzie, Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Jud Morrison, Operating Partner, The Sterling Group
Colin Smith, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Transformation Team, Oaktree Capital
Functional breakouts VI
14:30 - 15:00
Track 11: Digital value creation: getting back to the basics
Aswatha Amarnath ,
Sean Epstein,
Andrew Hampshire,
Paul Zuber
- Buying stuff: In what ways can technology improve a company or entire portfolio’s way of procuring what it needs to operate their business
- Making stuff: The combination of the pandemic and the maturing of next generation technology creates an opportunity to reimagine how things are built. Where should PE executives place their bets given the climate of uncertainty and the need to mitigate risk?
- Selling stuff: Combining operational and experiential data and insights is helping companies maximize their share of wallet, improve overall performance, increase brand sentiment, and deliver a world class experience to their customers and partners
Moderator:
Aswatha Amarnath (Amar), Senior Vice President, Strategic Engagements and Sales Strategy, Wipro
Panelists:
Sean Epstein, Global Head of Private Equity, SAP
Andrew Hampshire, Chief Technology Officer, Gresham House
Paul Zuber, Operating Partner, Thoma Bravo
14:30 - 15:00
Track 12: Building a financial survival kit for your portfolio companies
Scott Tynes,
Steven Cumbow,
Ben Humphreys,
Todd Phillips
In these unprecedented times, no CFO or institutional investor could have had the forethought to build COVID-19 into their financial model. Join a peer discussion with a group of operating partners with extensive value creation experience at portfolio companies and domain knowledge building out finance and accounting as to position a company for scale and growth. Our agenda will include a discussion around tools and tactics currently being employed in the market by finance executives and their PE partners to navigate their biggest challenges. Observations will also be shared around what a fully optimized F&A function might look like for companies at various inflection points in their growth. Operating partners will come away with concrete ways to mitigate risk and plan for best and worst-case recovery scenarios across their portfolio.
Moderator:
Scott Tynes, CEO, Consero
Panelists:
Steven Cumbow, Operating Partner, Sentinel Capital Partners
Benjamin Humphreys, Senior Operating Executive, Monomoy Capital Partners
Todd Phillips, Operating Partner, Beckway Group
Functional breakouts VII
15:00 - 15:30
Track 13 : GTM strategies to drive revenue resiliency across your portfolio
Mark Petruzzi,
Kevin Kerby,
Alex Lizcano,
Paul Melchiorre,
Michael Monagle
- Shift from legacy, high-cost field sales, to more efficient and reliable inside sales teams
- Growth of web/digital for customer engagement
- Leveraging customer success initiatives for growth
- The importance of building high-value alliances, channels and corporate partnerships
- The power of effective segmentation
- Digital sales and marketing transformation opportunities that are being accelerated by COVID-19
- COVID-driven acceleration and shift to virtual sales and marketing
- Significance of recurring revenue/subscription models
Moderator:
Mark Petruzzi, Vice President PE/VC Go-To-Market and Corporate Partnerships, N3
Panelists:
Kevin Kerby, Operating Partner, Bain Capital
Alex Lizcano, Senior Lead Operator (Senior Vice President), Industry Value Creation, Partners Group
Paul Melchiorre, Operating Partner, Stripes
Michael Monagle, Vice President, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity
Alex Lizcano
Senior Lead Operator (Senior Vice President), Industry Value Creation, Partners Group
Read bio
15:00 - 15:30
Track 14: Uncovering hidden value of digital: developing a more rigorous value creation hypothesis in due diligence
Sugath Warnakulasuriya,
Randy Randleman,
Kiran Rao
- How typical due diligence exercises fall short in identifying digital value creation opportunities
- How new tech (e.g., IoT/advanced data analytics) create novel opportunities, especially in more traditional industries
- How various target business/market configurations give rise to a multitude of digital value options
- How to quickly recognize common patterns of value creation opportunities across businesses, industries
- Typical underappreciated sources of digital value
- How to quickly stress test assumptions and validate
Moderator:
Sugath Warnakulasuriya, Managing Director, Thalamus Labs
Panelists:
Randy Randleman, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Sumeru Equity Partners
Kiran Rao, Operating Partner, TPG Capital
Operating Partners Forum: Plenary session
15:30 - 16:10
Moving business from transaction to recurring revenue models
Adam Echter,
Marc Herdegen,
Prital Kadakia,
Jeff Nathan
COVID-19 is accelerating recurring models as the multiples on businesses with recurring revenue are becoming more attractive to private equity. Here we will uncover:
- Best practices in moving businesses from transactional to recurring models
- Keeping your recurring revenue stream: understanding what your future product will look like and how to price it
- Building recurring relationships: key strategies for pricing, getting the sales organization involved, utilizing software, cross-selling and up-selling
Moderator:
Adam Echter, Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Panelists:
Marc Herdegen, Senior Operating Partner, Strategy, New State Capital Partners
Prital Kadakia, General Partner, Serent Capital
Jeff Nathan, Principal, Portfolio Operations, L Catterton
Deep dive invitation-only discussion
15:30 - 16:10
Deep dive discussion: Core operations are still the foundation for rapidly improving businesses (invitation-only)
Foster Finley,
Steven Hilgendorf
No business stands still and survives – rather there are: new product/service introductions or discontinuations, acquisitions and divestitures, geographic expansion, and ever-escalating customer expectations. What your customers and prospects expect (read: demand) is reliable and competitive operations to meet their evolving needs amid and in spite of times of disruption.
Facilitators:
Foster Finley, Managing Director, AlixPartners
Steve Hilgendorf, Managing Director, AlixPartners
Hosted by:
Virtual networking and extended interactive live Q&A
16:10 - 17:10
Virtual networking reception and extended interactive live Q&A
(Please use this time as an opportunity to connect with conference attendees and sponsors via the video chat function one-on-one or as a small group.)
Please join one of these sessions if interested in a follow-up interactive discussion with extended live Q&A:
Roundtable 1: Key success factors in turnarounds to go from distressed to transformation
Roundtable 2: Advanced data science and analytics: turning data into revenue & EBITDA
Roundtable 3: Fast start: coming out strong from day one in onboarding new portfolio companies (even in the face of recent COVID-induced uncertainty)
Roundtable 4: Digital value creation: getting back to the basics
Roundtable 5: Building a financial survival kit for your portfolio companies
Roundtable 6: GTM strategies to drive revenue resiliency across your portfolio
Roundtable 7: Uncovering hidden value of digital: developing a more rigorous value creation hypothesis in due diligence
Roundtable 8: Moving business from transaction to recurring revenue models
Agenda
Day 3 - Friday 16th
Invitation-only think tanks
10:00 - 11:00
Think tanks for full-time operating partners: value creation war room (invitation-only)
Thomas Fountain,
Kiran Rao,
Andrew Bronstein,
Steven Siwinski
This closed-door virtual room will allow you to learn and share best practices of successful operating partners. The think tank will allow you to submit topics to be introduced by the facilitators and discussed in the room. It will allow you to select one of the two rooms:
Room 1 Digital & Technology Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Thomas Fountain, Operating Partner, One Rock Capital Partners
Kiran Rao, Operating Partner, TPG Capital
Room 2 Finance Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Andrew Bronstein, Operating Partner, Vector Capital
Steven Siwinski, Operating Partner, High Road Capital Partners
Operating partners portfolio operations breakfast deep dive discussion: PE in a downturn (invitation-only)
10:00 - 11:00
Operating partners portfolio operations breakfast deep dive discussion: PE in a downturn — Successfully restructuring a distressed asset (invitation-only)
Graham Bippart,
William Bundy,
Aaron Miller
The number of asset sales and acquisitions related to distress in the economy is on the rise. Through rigorous preparation, including building an early understanding of a target’s operations, PE firms interested in seizing distressed-investment opportunities can best manage the risks inherent in such deals, but that’s just the beginning. Investors need to execute an operational restructuring to boost their value-creation odds. To craft the right restructuring strategy, AlixPartners’ Private Equity & Investors experts recommend paying close attention to:
- Working capital: What will you require in the way of working capital to secure the asset’s future, and how might these requirements vary over time? How can you ensure you have adequate liquidity?
- Talent: What must you do to ensure that you have enough people, with the right skills, to rebuild and stabilize the asset?
- Technology: How can you best correct shortfalls and modernize the asset’s IT systems? What systems are required for a stand-alone entity?
- Brand strength: If the asset’s brand strength eroded during the period of stress or distress, what options (repositioning, relaunching, rebranding) would best help you restore brand strength and rebuild customer loyalty?
- Impaired revenue: Are there operational options or reorganization strategies that enable acquisition of the asset with a scalable, but low-cost structure until anticipated revenue growth or recovery?
- TSAs and 3rd Party contracts: Who’s responsible for providing which services? For how long? How should TSAs be viewed if the parent company is stressed and could enter the zone of insolvency?
Moderator:
Graham Bippart, Editor, Private Funds CFO, Private Equity International
Panelists:
William Bundy, Director, AlixPartners
Aaron Miller, Partner, Head of Portfolio Performance Solutions, Apollo Global Management
Hosted by:
Functional breakouts VIII
11:00 - 11:40
Track 15: Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning for value creation
Allie Nava,
Loren Larsen,
Andy Pickens
- Highlights of value creation journeys leveraging analytics and AI/ML to drive business outcomes
- Best practices for identifying opportunities inside the private equity portfolio to leverage AI/ML
- Examining opportunities to adopt AI/ML to support value creation
Moderator:
Allie Nava, Advisor, Amazon AWS Private Equity
Panelists:
Loren Larsen, CTO, Hirevue
Andy Pickens, Principal, Apollo Portfolio Performance Solutions, Apollo Global Management
11:00 - 11:40
Track 16: How to build value through finance
Jesse Weber,
Scott Tynes,
Andrew Walshe
- Outsourced finance as a service (FaaS) vs. in-house model
- Compressing time to value when upgrading ERP systems and common mistakes
- Playbook approach to value creation in finance vs. more flexible/collaborative approaches
Moderator:
Jesse Weber, Private Equity Lead, Sage Intacct
Panelists:
Scott Tynes, CEO, Consero
Andrew Walshe, Head of Portfolio Operations, Sightway Capital
Functional breakouts IX
11:40 - 12:20
Track 17: Accelerating digital transformations to drive investment value
Richard Davis,
Cory Eaves,
Neil Kimber,
Raj Kushwaha
- Digital transformations in the time of COVID-19: how transformations have accelerated and what does the future hold
- Digital transformation: what to do in the first 60-100 days
- Digital workplace transformation and product transformation stories in the time of corona
- Leveraging intelligent automation to optimize process efficiency and improve operating margins
- Building new digital and technology solutions to drive out costs, improve performance and drive EBITDA growth
- How can PE firms utilize innovative technologies that return near-term, sustainable investment value without getting stuck in a never-ending cycle of transformation projects?
Moderator:
Richard Davis, Partner, RSM
Panelists:
Cory Eaves, Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Neil Kimber, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Raj Kushwaha, Managing Director, Operating Partner and Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
11:40 - 12:20
Track 18: Case Study — EBITDA growth through healthcare cost reduction
Todd Grove,
Roanne Daniels,
Judd Nystrom
The next few years will provide significant challenges for companies to manage medical costs while supporting employee health. Learn how the leading PE firms in the country provide solutions to questions such as:
- Can your portcos improve employee engagement while simultaneously eliminating wasted spend?
- How can your HR/CFO execs break the cycle of medical spend creep?
- Can portcos change the model of health insurance to improve outcomes, employee satisfaction and drive EBITDA?
Moderator:
Todd Grove, Vice President, Private Equity, Quantum Health
Panelists:
Roanne Daniels, Partner, Hellman & Friedman
Judd Nystrom, Chief Financial Officer, Caliber
Operating Partners Forum: Plenary session
12:20 - 13:00
Optimizing private equity carve-outs: key steps to achieve full potential
Nate Medoff,
Emily Golenberg,
Tyrone Johnson,
David Muhlenkamp,
Matt Thompson
Carve-out transactions can be very rewarding for private equity firms, but they require special skillsets and key steps to execute efficiently in minimizing risk. The panel will discuss key practices and pitfalls to avoid when doing carveouts:
- Negotiating and structuring faster transitional services agreements (TSA)
- Determining the back-office requirements for the business: hiring key IT and finance back office services
- Performing a gap analysis of what is included/excluded from the transaction
- Developing 100-day plans outlining detailed steps to execute the transaction
- Leveraging internal resources and third-party advisors for smooth and profitable execution
- Finalizing the stabilization of the business to operate as a standalone and generate returns
Moderator:
Nate Medoff, Managing Director, ContinuServe
Panelists:
Emily Golenberg, Vice President, M&A Operations, Platinum Equity
Tyrone Johnson, Operating Partner, Trive Capital
David Muhlenkamp, Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Operations, Lindsay Goldberg
Matt Thompson, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Operations, Skyview Capital
Deep dive invitation-only discussion
12:20 - 13:00
Deep dive discussion: Conducting diligence in a stressed/distressed environment (invitation-only)
Jeffrey Klein
Facilitator:
Jeffrey Klein, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Hosted by:
Virtual networking lunch and extended interactive live Q&A
13:00 - 14:00
Virtual networking lunch and extended interactive live Q&A
(Please use this time as an opportunity to connect with conference attendees and sponsors via the video chat function one-on-one or as a small group.)
Please join one of these sessions if interested in a follow-up interactive discussion with extended live Q&A:
Roundtable 1: Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning for value creation
Roundtable 2: How to build value through finance
Roundtable 3: Accelerating digital transformations to drive investment value
Roundtable 4: EBITDA growth through healthcare cost reduction
Roundtable 5: Optimizing private equity carve-outs: key steps to achieve full potential
End of Conference
14:00 - 14:00
End of Conference
Speakers
Tracey Abbott
Industry Value Creation, Portfolio Operations, Partners Group
Tracey Abbott leads the Americas Industry Value Creation (portfolio operations) Consumer Goods and Retail team at Partners Group, an $92 B Assets under management private equity firm. She sits on three boards, ranging from food co- manufacturing to r… Read full bio
Aswatha Amarnath
Senior Vice President, Strategic Engagements and Sales Strategy, Wipro
Aswatha Amarnath (Amar) is a Senior Vice President at Wipro. He is head of Global Sales Operations. He has three other global responsibilities: 1) he leads Wipro’s efforts in helping pre-IPO companies and Unicorns scale; 2) he leads Wipro’s business… Read full bio
Geoffrey Baird
Senior Managing Director of Value Creation, 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
Guy Barnes
Managing Partner, Acertitude
Guy brings over 20 years of executive search and assessment experience to his role as managing partner, co-leader of the Private Equity practice, and leader of the global Business & Professional Services practice at Acertitude. He has extensive e… Read full bio
Ted Bililies
Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer, AlixPartners
• Internationally recognized expert on leadership and organization development • Founded AlixPartners’ transformative leadership practice in 2014, advising global CEOs, their boards, and private equity investors • Serving nearly three decades as a bu… Read full bio
Graham Bippart
Editor, Private Funds CFO, Private Equity International
Graham Bippart is editor of Private Funds CFO, an online and monthly print intelligence source focusing on best practices for private funds finance and accounting professionals. Graham has covered a broad range of financial markets in the US and Euro… Read full bio
Hank Boye
Managing Director, Thomas H. Lee Partners
Henry J. Boye is a managing director at Thomas H. Lee Partners in the firm's Strategic Resource Group. Prior to joining Thomas H. Lee Partners, he was a managing director in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Practice at Blue Ridge Partners… 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. Architect and author of Argosy’s VAM™ (Valu… Read full bio
Andrew Bronstein
Operating Partner, Vector Capital
Andrew is an Operating Partner on Vector's Value Creation Team and joined the firm in 2017. With more than 30 years of senior financial operations experience, Andrew works closely with the finance and operations teams at Vector's portfolio companies… Read full bio
Les Brown
Managing Partner, Operational Resource Group, HGGC
Les serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for HGGC’s Fund III investment in Nutraceutical International Corporation. Les previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for HGGC’s Fund II investment in SSI, which merged with Research N… Read full bio
William Bundy
Director, AlixPartners
William adopts a hands-on management approach to lead organizations through large scale M&A transactions, including carve-outs and separations. William is an expert in leading complex operations and strategic revitalization programs which emphasi… Read full bio
Kerensa Butler
National Pride Employee Network Group (ENG) Leader, RSM
As a member of RSM’s national private equity leadership team since 2006, Kerensa guides our strategic efforts across the Southeast region to serve private equity groups and their portfolio companies within a holistic client experience model. She is t… 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
Paul Carbone
President and Managing Partner, Pritzker Private Capital
Paul Carbone has been the President and Managing Partner of Pritzker Private Capital and its predecessor, Pritzker Group Private Capital, since 2012. Pritzker Private Capital partners with entrepreneur‐ and family‐owned middle‐market companies with l… 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
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
Brian Cohen
Operating Partner, Altamont Capital Partners
Brian Cohen currently serves as an Operating Partner at Altamont Capital Partners where he focuses on the insurance and financial services industries. Brian formerly served as the President and CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Pacific Sp… Read full bio
Jim Corey
Managing Partner, Blue Ridge Partners
Jim is co-founder of Blue Ridge Partners and serves as the firm’s managing partner. For 35 years he has assisted companies in North America, Europe and Asia accelerate profitable revenue growth. Jim has advised over 250 companies on revenue-related i… Read full bio
Steven 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
Roanne Daniels
Partner, Hellman and Friedman
Roanne joined H&F in 2017 and is focused on helping the Firm drive value by improving the operational effectiveness of H&F’s portfolio companies. Prior to H&F, Roanne worked as an Operating Partner at Bain Capital in Boston and London, wh… Read full bio
Richard Davis
Partner, RSM
Richard is a trusted business partner to today’s C-Suite teams and proven leader in the digital transformation space and how it impacts his clients. During the last 20 years Richard has been the principal architect for executive teams as they moderni… Read full bio
Merche del Valle
Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer, Grain Management
Merche del Valle is a Managing Director and the Chief Talent Officer at Grain Management. She is responsible for developing a robust and diverse pipeline of leadership talent, working across Grain and portfolio companies to identify, assess, recruit,… Read full bio
Melissa Dickerson
Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, Operations, Genstar Capital
Melissa Dickerson is the Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, Operations of Genstar Capital, responsible for finance & accounting, regulatory compliance, risk management, technology and administration. She joined Genstar in 2004. During… Read full bio
Sean Dougherty
Vice President, Talent and Operations, Inverness Graham Investments
Sean joined Inverness Graham in 2014. His responsibilities include sourcing new investment opportunities and providing transaction and post investment support of growth initiatives and talent optimization at Inverness Graham’s portfolio companies. At… Read full bio
Scot Duncan
Partner and Co-Founder, MiddleGround Capital
Scot is a Partner at MiddleGround where he is responsible for overseeing the Operation Team and serves as the Chief Compliance Officer for the firm. Scot started his career at Toyota Motor Corporation and spent 13 years in assembly engineering, maint… Read full bio
Andrew Dunn
Managing Director, One Equity Partners
Andrew Dunn joined OEP in 2008 and is a Managing Director based in New York. During his tenure at OEP, Mr. Dunn has worked on a range of investments in the business services, technology, media and telecommunications industries. Mr. Dunn is currently… Read full bio
Cory Eaves
Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Cory A. Eaves is an Operating Partner and part of General Atlantic’s 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. B… Read full bio
Adam Echter
Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Adam Echter is a Partner based in Simon-Kucher’s Silicon Valley office. He brings two decades of B2B sales & pricing experience across manufactured goods, industrial equipment and technology industries. Adam has built pricing & sales organiza… Read full bio
Anthony Ecock
Senior Operating Advisor, SVPGlobal
Tony Ecock is the CEO of Wild Harbor Advisory, a firm he founded to help PE funds add value to their portfolio companies. He is currently Chairman of US Community Behavioral Health, a Bregal Partners portfolio company, and board member of two Carlyle… Read full bio
Charles Egoville
Partner, JM Search
Chuck Egoville is a founding member of the Technology Practice at JM Search and co-leads the Growth Technology Practice. He has conducted more than 250 searches over two decades and works with leading private equity firms, including Battery Ventures,… Read full bio
Sean Epstein
Global Head of Private Equity, SAP
Sean Epstein is SVP and Global Head of the SAP Private Equity. His team handles all sales, strategic partnerships, and co-innovation/GTM initiatives with Private Equity funds, Institutional Investors, & Family Offices and helps drive portfolio co… 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
Karim Fattal
Chief Operating Officer, HOF Capital
Karim Fattal is Chief Operating Officer at HOF Capital, leading all non-investment activities which include overseeing the firm’s day-to-day processes and managing its legal and finance teams. He also works with the investment team, supporting portfo… Read full bio
Foster Finley
Managing Director, AlixPartners
Foster co-leads AlixPartners’ Operations Practice as well as the Transportation & Infrastructure Practice and has over 34 years of industry and consulting experience. His area of focus is in the resolution of operationally complex situations. Pri… Read full bio
Michael Foisy
Lead Operations Partner, Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company
Mike’s primary responsibility as partner leading the firm’s Operations Team is collaborating with deal selection, transaction due diligence, and portfolio company management including Exits. His greatest satisfaction comes from partnering with great… 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
David Gau
Partner, Head of Operations, Pritzker Private Capital
David is a Partner and Head of Operations at Pritzker Private Capital. David has a history of building and operating multi-national organizations, most recently as chief executive officer of Intersystems, a manufacturer of material handling equipment… Read full bio
Ignacio Giraldo
Partner, TPG Growth
Mr. Giraldo is a Partner with TPG Growth and TPG Rise in San Francisco. As a member of the Business Building team, he focuses his time on consumer goods, retail, the circular economy and ed-tech. Prior to joining TPG, Ignacio worked in management con… Read full bio
Curtis Glovier
Senior Advisor, Star Mountain Capital
Curtis A. Glovier is currently a Senior Advisor at Star Mountain Capital, an Investment Committee Member of Nassau Street Ventures, and recently concluded his term as a Board Member of the Retirement Industry Trust Association. From 2016 through the… Read full bio
Todd Goffman
General Counsel, Globalization Partners
Todd Goffman joined Globalization Partners in January 2020. He has more than 24 years of legal experience, including nearly 20 years as General Counsel of innovative, growth private and public companies, in addition to expertise in human resources, f… Read full bio
Emily Golenberg
Vice President, M&A Operations, Platinum Equity
Emily Golenberg is a VP of M&A Operations at Platinum Equity where she leads carve-out diligence for divestiture investment opportunities globally across all sectors, and supports the divestment of carved out portfolio assets. Prior to joining Pl… Read full bio
Doron Grosman
President and 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
Todd Grove
Vice President, Private Equity, Quantum Health
As Vice President of Private Equity, Todd serves as the liaison between Private Equity firms, their portfolio companies, and Quantum Health. He works to educate the senior leadership teams on independent navigation and identifies opportunities for pa… Read full bio
Andrew Hampshire
Chief Technology Officer , Gresham House
Andrew Hampshire is Chief Technology Officer at specialist asset management firm, Gresham House Plc. Previously, Andrew worked in a senior role within a major UK bank to lead several major integration programmes, each with a technology or operational… Read full bio
Dan Hawkins
CEO, Summit Leadership Partners
Dan advises boards, CEO's, investors and business leaders on strategy execution and value creation through leadership and organization performance. After a successful corporate career, Dan founded Summit Leadership Partners to help growth-oriented co… Read full bio
Kara Helander
Managing Director, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, The Carlyle Group
Kara Helander is a Managing Director and Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer. She is based in Washington, DC. Prior to joining Carlyle, Ms. Helander was a Managing Director at BlackRock where she led the firm’s global inclusion and diversity, and p… 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
Jesse Hermann
Operating Partner, Court Square Capital Partners
Mr. Hermann joined Court Square in June 2013 as a Resource Partner. His expertise spans manufacturing, distribution, software, and business services industries. His specific company experience includes Founder and CEO of icarz, a SaaS distribution ma… Read full bio
Trent Hickman
Managing Director, Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS)
Mr. Hickman is a Managing Director of VSS and serves on the firm’s investment committee. He is responsible for developing investment opportunities, conducting due diligence, arranging debt financing for portfolio investments, structuring investments… Read full bio
Steven Hilgendorf
Managing Director, AlixPartners
Steve has more than 25 years of industry and advisory experience, driving breakthrough results in cost, quality, and delivery. He is a seasoned executive with a successful record of running global operations and is particularly recognized for his lea… Read full bio
Syed Hoda
Principal, Digital Innovation, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Syed Hoda is a Principal on the AWS Digital Innovation Team, where he works with customers to help drive digital transformation and innovation across their organizations. He joined AWS from Crate.io, an IoT analytics/database start-up where he served… Read full bio
Ben Holzemer
Partner, Global Head of Human Capital, TPG Global
Ben Holzemer is a Partner at TPG and the Head of Global Human Capital, based in San Francisco. Under his leadership the firm’s human capital team partners with TPG’s investment professionals and portfolio company leaders around the world to build gre… Read full bio
Gary Hoover
Vice President, Global Private Equity Practice, TBM Consulting Group
Gary has over 30 years of experience working as a senior operations executive, a management consultant and military officer. He currently leads TBM’s Global Private Equity practice and works closely with over 25 private equity clients and their portf… 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, co-leads MSCP’s Business Services and Education verticals, and serves as Chair… Read full bio
Ben Humphreys
Senior Operating Executive, Monomoy Capital Partners
Ben is a Senior Operating Executive at Monomoy and works with our portfolio companies on revenue growth and profit improvement. Prior to joining Monomoy, Ben held several operating and CFO roles with Cerberus, Blackrock and Staple Street Capital. Ben… Read full bio
Jerry Hughes
Director, Commercial Excellence, American Securities
Jerry Hughes joined American Securities, where he helps portfolio companies increase revenue growth by strengthening sales and marketing capabilities, in 2018. Prior to joining American Securities, Jerry spent nine years at Blue Ridge Partners, a bou… Read full bio
Paul Ilse
Senior Operating Partner, Francisco Partners Consulting
Paul Ilse joined Francisco Partners Consulting in 2015 as an Operating Partner with a focus on Software and Services. Prior to joining Francisco Partners Consulting, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Aptean, a leading provider of enterprise appli… 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
Laura Ipsen
President and CEO, Ellucian
Laura K. Ipsen is president and chief executive officer of Ellucian. Laura has more than 25 years of experience as a technology executive, working to drive transformation in the public and private sectors and spur adoption of comprehensive solutions… Read full bio
John Iwanski
Executive Managing Director, Riveron
John brings more than 25 years of diverse experience in auditing, consulting, advisory, and executive positions, specializing in transaction advisory services. He has served companies in a variety of industries, including financial services, healthca… 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
Tyrone Johnson
Operating Partner, Trive Capital
Ty is an Operating Partner at Trive Capital with expertise in corporate strategy, business leadership, M&A execution, and operational excellence initiatives. Before joining Trive in 2020, Ty served as Chief Executive Officer of Select Interior Co… Read full bio
Prital Kadakia
General Partner, 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
Kevin Kerby
Operating Partner, Bain Capital
Mr. Kerby joined Bain Capital Private Equity in 2018. He is an Operating Partner and a member of the North American Private Equity team. Mr. Kerby focuses on sales force effectiveness and go-to-market strategies for our portfolio companies. Prior to… Read full bio
Christopher Kim
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 responsibil… Read full bio
Neil Kimber
Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Neil Kimber is a Principal and Consulting CTO at Accel¬-KKR Consulting Group. Within Accel-KKR, his responsibilities include working with deal teams during technical due diligence, aiding portfolio companies with specific technology initiatives and m… Read full bio
Chris Kitching
Operating Partner, HighBar Partners
Chris Kitching joined HighBar Partners as an Operating Partner in 2015 from Sound United and its holding company DEI Holdings, where he served as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to DEI, Mr. Kitching was Chief Financial Officer and VP of Operations at… Read full bio
Jeffrey Klein
Managing Director, Alvarez and Marsal
Jeffrey Klein is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Private Equity Performance Improvement in New York. He specializes in interim management for information technology (IT) initiatives, and is frequently engaged for IT pre-acquisition di… Read full bio
Kathy Krone
Managing Partner, Paradox Venture Partners
Kathy helps leaders & organizations turn change & disruption into opportunity - and a source of real competitive advantage - again and again. She brings a very pragmatic and on-the-ground understanding of how organizations operate, people and… Read full bio
Raj Kushwaha
Managing Director, Operating Partner and 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, distribut… Read full bio
Steve Larned
Senior Principal, New State Capital Partners
Steve joined New State Capital Partners in 2016 with more than 30 years of experience in executive management, strategy consulting and private equity operations. Steve has led operating teams, developed strategies and advised executives across a rang… Read full bio
Loren Larsen
CTO, Hirevue
As Chief Technology Officer, Loren Larsen is responsible for guiding HireVue’s product direction through the product management, user experience, and engineering teams. Larsen is an award-winning technology veteran with more than 20 years of engineer… Read full bio
Rich Lawson
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder, HGGC
Rich Lawson is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of HGGC. Based in Palo Alto, California, HGGC is a leading private equity firm with over $4.3 billion in cumulative capital commitments and oversees portfolio companies that employ m… Read full bio
Alex Lizcano
Senior Lead Operator (Senior Vice President), Industry Value Creation, Partners Group
Alex Lizcano is a Senior Lead Operator (Senior 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… Read full bio
Michael Lyons
President, Lincolnshire Management
Mike Lyons is the President of Lincolnshire Management with 35 years of experience in operations, finance and senior management. Mike is a member of the Investment Committee and has been involved in the successful acquisition and realization of over… Read full bio
T.J. Maloney
Chairman and CEO, Lincolnshire Management
T. J. Maloney is the Chairman and CEO of Lincolnshire Management, which he joined in 1993. T.J. is on the Investment Committee and is actively involved with the portfolio companies. Prior to joining Lincolnshire, T.J. practiced merger, acquisition an… 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
Steven Maxwell
Senior Vice President, Portfolio Human Capital, Audax Group
Steve is a Senior Vice President for Audax Private Equity where he leads Portfolio Human Capital. Previously, he was the Talent Partner at Kodiak Venture Partners. Steve also worked in the executive search industry at Korn Ferry and Russell Reynolds,… 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
Connor McGauley
Vice President, Portfolio Operations, GI Partners
Connor McGauley is a Vice President, Portfolio Operations at GI Partners. He works with portfolio companies to accelerate growth and drives market diligence for potential investment. Prior to joining GI Partners, he was the Vice President of Analytic… Read full bio
Preston McKenzie
Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Preston McKenzie is an Operating Partner at General Atlantic, providing strategic support and advice to the firm’s investment teams and portfolio companies in the Technology, Financial Services and Healthcare sectors. Preston focuses on building oper… Read full bio
Nate Medoff
Managing Director, 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
Paul Melchiorre
Operating Partner, Stripes
Paul is an Operating Partner at Stripes focusing on SaaS portfolio companies, specifically assessing and advising on go-to-market strategies. Currently, Mr. Melchiorre is an independent director at both R3, an enterprise blockchain technology company… 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
Aaron Miller
Partner, Head of Portfolio Performance Solutions, Apollo Global Management
Coming soon..
Don Miller
Senior Managing Director, Private Equity Value Creation, PwC
awareness of operating priorities and their financial consequence. He has an energetic and engaged style, with a strong focus on using transparent communications, clear objectives, and common purpose to foster alignment and collaboration. Since 2001,… Read full bio
Michael Monagle
Vice President, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity
Mike Monagle is a vice president at Providence Equity Partners focused on portfolio operations. Before joining Providence, Mr. Monagle was vice president of operations at Catalant Technologies, where he started and ran the solutions business includin… 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
Nate Medoff
Managing Director, 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
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, Head of Portfolio Operations, 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
Jeff Nathan
Principal, Portfolio Operations, L Catterton
Mr. Nathan is a Principal with Vault, the Portfolio Operations Group at L Catterton. Mr. Nathan leads the value creation and growth agendas for L Catterton portfolio companies with a focus on sales growth, margin enhancement, and operational efficien… Read full bio
Allie Nava
Advisor, Amazon AWS Private Equity
Allie is a senior strategic business development leader with Amazon AWS Private Equity, working with investors and their portfolio companies on portfolio value creation, digital modernization, and innovation leveraging AWS and Amazon. Prior to joinin… Read full bio
Leslie Nielson
Managing Director, Alvarez and Marsal
Leslie Nielson is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal in New York, leading our dedicated Human Capital M&A transaction advisory practice. Leslie has over 20 years of consulting experience dedicated to supporting pre-acquisition due dili… Read full bio
Stephen Noe
Operating Partner, Validor Capital
Mr. Noe is a senior operating executive with nearly 20 years of private equity experience in both operating and investor roles. Steve is responsible for working with portfolio management teams to formulate and implement value creation initiatives, ac… Read full bio
Judd Nystrom
Chief Financial Officer, Caliber
Judd Nystrom joined Caliber Collision as Chief Financial Officer in July 2019. Judd is a results-driven, values-based executive, offering a distinguished career in leading growth companies to optimal performance. Judd has proven success partnering wi… Read full bio
Kevin O'Neill
Managing Partner and Co-Lead, Private Equity Practice, 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
Dayton Ogden
Head of Talent and Recruiting, Summit Partners
Dayton works with Summit’s portfolio companies and investment teams to identify and recruit high-impact senior executives and board members. Prior to Summit, Dayton ran the CTPartners practice serving venture capital and growth equity clients and the… Read full bio
Greg Pappas
Managing Director, Portfolio Support, Berkshire Partners
Greg Pappas joined Berkshire Partners in 2010 as an Operating Partner and became a Managing Director in 2013. Greg is primarily responsible for overseeing the firm’s portfolio support activities. Greg’s primary Berkshire portfolio company involvement… Read full bio
Stephen Parks
Partner, Topspin Consumer Partners
Stephen is a Partner and member of the Investment Committee at Topspin Consumer Partners. Stephen joined Topspin in 2008 and has over 15 years of private equity and transactional experience, with extensive experience in consumer products and services… 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
Mark Petruzzi
Vice President PE/VC Go-To-Market and Corporate Partnerships, N3
Mark leads the Private Equity and Venture Capital Go-To-Market team at N3. As a 25+ year veteran of complex services business development and business strategy, Mark has a demonstrated record of business success in technology and diversified business… Read full bio
Todd Phillips
Operating Partner, Beckway Group
Todd Phillips is an Operating Partner with Beckway Group, where he primarily serves as an Operating Partner for Beckway’s clients. Todd has over two decades of experience as CEO, COO and CFO of private-equity backed businesses, including both high-gr… Read full bio
Andy Pickens
Principal, Apollo Portfolio Performance Solutions, Apollo Global Management
Andy Pickens leads the Data & Advanced Analytics team within the private equity portfolio operations group at Apollo Global Management, partnering with investment professionals and management teams to identify and capitalize on opportunities to g… Read full bio
Randy Randleman
Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Sumeru Equity Partners
Randy Randleman is a co-founder, general partner and managing director of Sumeru Equity Partners. He leads the Portfolio Operations team that drives value creation activity in the firm’s portfolio of lower middle market software companies, focusing o… Read full bio
Kiran Rao
Operating Partner, TPG Capital
Kiran Rao is an Operating Partner with TPG Capital and is based in San Francisco, where he is a leader on the Technology Sector team. Since 2010, Kiran has been involved in numerous investments and successful transformations including Digital.ai (for… Read full bio
Steve Rawson
Industry Principal - Private Equity, Venture Capital and High-Tech, RingCentral
Steve Rawson is an Industry Principal Executive at RingCentral who manages the Global Private Equity Partner Program. The program partner’s with firms on a strategic level to enable portfolios to have access to dedicated resources whose focus is assi… Read full bio
Kate Rubenstein
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Blackstone
Kate Rubenstein is a Managing Director with the Portfolio Operations group. She leads the Blackstone Advantage program, focusing on building networks and expanding access to resources for portfolio companies across Blackstone business units. Before j… Read full bio
Brian Sharp
Chief Revenue Officer, Profit Velocity
Brian Sharp has a track record of driving profit and revenue growth at global manufacturing firms and is a sought-after speaker on price and profit improvement, complex negotiations and business transformation. At Sonoco Products and Sealed Air Corpo… Read full bio
Steven Siwinski
Operating Partner, High Road Capital Partners
Steven Siwinski is the Finance Operating 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 formulat… 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
Brad Soper
Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Brad Soper is a Partner and Member of the Global Board of Directors of Simon-Kucher & Partners, the global market leader in consulting on pricing for organic growth. Brad co-leads the firm’s global PE practice, leads the firm’s North American Ind… 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
Rachel Spasser
Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer, Accel-KKR Consulting Group
Rachel Spasser is a Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer for the Accel-KKR Consulting Group. In this role, Rachel provides leadership across commercial functions including strategy, sales, marketing, customer success and business development… Read full bio
Glenn Stevens
Partner, Talent Management, Apollo Global Management
Glenn Stevens is a Partner, Talent Management at Apollo Global Management focused on management team and board construction for Apollo's portfolio companies. Previously he was the Head of Talent Management at L Catterton, the largest consumer-focused… Read full bio
Marc Stoneham
Portfolio Manager, Development Partners International (DPI)
Marc leads the portfolio management team at DPI, a leading African private equity firm, serving 17 portfolio companies across North, West, and Southern Africa. He is a member and observer of multiple portfolio company Boards across the portfolio. Pri… Read full bio
Jay Sung
Operating Partner and Chief Marketing Officer, Brentwood Associates
Jay Sung joined Brentwood Associates in 2017. A veteran executive with 25 years of experience in consumer products and services, he has extensive expertise in direct marketing, e-commerce, and multi-channel customer acquisition and retention, having… Read full bio
Paul Swaney
Head of Industrials Americas, Industry Value Creation, Partners Group
Paul W. Swaney III leads the Industrials Industry Value Creation Business Unit for the Americas. He is a member of the Global Investment Committee, the Private Equity Directs Investment Committee and the Global Direct Debt Investment Committee. He is… Read full bio
Matt Thompson
Senior Vice President, Portfolio Operations, Skyview Capital
Matt Thompson is SVP Portfolio Operations with Skyview Capital. Matt works on private equity and venture capital investments globally, where he focuses on carveouts and distressed special situations. Prior to Skyview Capital, Matt was a VP at the Gor… 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 130+ companies nationwide and has assessed over 1,000 finance departments over the last 12 years. Scott has a pa… 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
Head of Portfolio Operations, Sightway Capital
Andrew Walshe joined Sightway Capital, a Two Sigma affiliate, 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 oversee the development, g… Read full bio
Sugath Warnakulasuriya
Managing Director, Thalamus Labs
Sugath is a highly-regarded, hands-on strategist and business builder focused on digitally-enabled value creation for industrial and services companies. He is a former McKinsey & Co consultant and Entrepreneur with a 25+ track record of identifyi… Read full bio
Jesse Weber
Private Equity Lead, Sage Intacct
Jesse Weber runs Sage Intacct’s Private Equity Practice. He advises hundreds of leading firms and their portfolio companies to build more profitable businesses through world class financial management, subscription automation, and service. As part of… Read full bio
Jon Weber
Head of Global Portfolio Operations Group, Elliott Management Corporation
Jon is Head of the Global Portfolio Operations Group at Elliott Management Corp, where he works with management and boards of companies in which Elliott funds are an influential investor. Prior to joining Elliott, Jon headed teams responsible for ope… Read full bio
Andrew Wilson
Vice President, Private Equity and M&A, Global Upside
Andrew has extensive experience in mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs. He spent 10 years with PwC, working primarily in their M&A practice for the consumer goods, heavy engineering, and steel making industries. He worked on the client-side as a… 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
Achi Yaffe
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, GI Partners
Achi Yaffe is Managing Director, Portfolio Operations at GI Partners. Mr. Yaffe currently serves on the boards of Flexential and Consilio. Prior to joining GI Partners, he served as Principal for Lee Equity Partners helping portfolio companies develo… Read full bio
Ben YoKell
Managing Director, Transformation, Grant Thornton
Ben is a Managing Director in Grant Thornton’s Transformation practice, with a focus on Supply Chain Strategy, Advanced Analytics and Organizational & Operational Transformation. Named as a “Provider Pro to Know” in 2015 by Supply & Demand Ch… 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, MeridianLink, and Syntellis… Read full bio
Arthur Zuckerman
Partner, CFO, CCO and Head of Portfolio Operations, Soundcore Capital Partners
At Soundcore Art is responsible for the financial operations of the firm and its investment partnerships as well as overseeing the firm’s compliance functions and the integration of our portfolio company acquisitions to improve efficiencies and profi… Read full bio
Partner with the Forum
PEI’s 10th Annual Operating Partners Forum unites private equity operating partners and value creation experts. This intersection of individuals provides service providers with unique and customized programs to engage in thought provoking content discussions and provides numerous opportunities to connect in one-on-one discussions, roundtable events, and various other networking activities.
To explore how your firm can take a prominent leadership position, contact Lawrence Dvorchik at lawrence.d@peimedia.com or call +1 646 545 4429.
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Location
Convene
117 W 46th St,
New York, NY 10036
Hotel accommodations will be available through the Kimpton: Muse Hotel, 130 W. 46th Street, New York, New York 10036 at a special conference rate. Rooms are available on first-come-first-serve basis. Last day to book at the special rate ends on September 11, 2020.
Pre-Event Resources
Value creation in 5 charts
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.
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
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
Steven Siwinski
Operating Partner
High Road Capital Partners
‘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.
Our 2020 agenda is being carefully curated to feature the hottest topics in the industry today from digitization and AI to supply chain disruptions and procurement transformations. Click the headings below for a snapshot of some of the top features you’ll find on the agenda:
Value Creation
- 4 invitation-only think tanks exclusively for operating partners: 1) advanced/seasoned operating partners, 2) emerging operating partners, 3) human capital operating partners, 4) digital operating partners
- How operating teams work best with investment teams
- Operating partner models post COVID-19: how will your team adapt to the changes in the environment?
- Assessing risks and actions portfolio companies have taken in response to the coronavirus crisis
- Interactive value creation roundtables to select in key value creation areas: Digitalization, Human capital, Salesforce effectiveness, Supply chain & procurement, Finance, Data analytics, Digital marketing & e-commerce, Cost improvement
- How operating partners and PE firms are working with their portfolio companies in the midst of this year’s crisis
- How to drive value creation initiatives in the aftermath of the downturn
- CEO perspectives in looking at turnarounds, distressed situations, and driving transformations
Technology
- Digital transformations in the time of COVID-19: how things will change and what does the future hold
- AI and robotic automation for value creation
- Dissecting cost structures and customer interaction via technology to get revenues back to where they were
- Advanced data science to govern the business throughout the investment life-cycle
- Cybersecurity and resiliency
- Transforming your business with cloud economics
Human Capital
- A full day dedicated to best practices in human capital portfolio operations
- Finding brilliant digital/technology talent
- Big data & workforce analytics: looking at the future of human capital
- What will the future role of the human capital operating partner look like?
- Utilizing technology & best resources for talent acquisition
- Integrating culture for success
- Transitioning to a virtual workforce
- Human capital best practices adopted during this year’s crisis
Supply Chain & Procurement
- Navigating supply chain disruptions and post-COVID best practices
- Impact of technologies and today’s fast paced e-commerce on your supply chain
- Supply chain cost optimization: individual company vs. cross-portfolio programs
- Procurement transformations in the first 100 days
Finance
- How software and AI are changing the future of finance
- How can PE best support portco CFOs?
- Transforming finance from a cost-center into a value-creation engine
- CFO reporting and resourcing best practices
Our 2020 agenda is being carefully curated to feature the hottest topics in the industry today from digitization and AI to supply chain disruptions and procurement transformations. Click the headings below for a snapshot of some of the top features you’ll find on the agenda:
Value Creation
- 4 invitation-only think tanks exclusively for operating partners: 1) advanced/seasoned operating partners, 2) emerging operating partners, 3) human capital operating partners, 4) digital operating partners
- How operating teams work best with investment teams
- Operating partner models post COVID-19: how will your team adapt to the changes in the environment?
- Assessing risks and actions portfolio companies have taken in response to the coronavirus crisis
- Interactive value creation roundtables to select in key value creation areas: Digitalization, Human capital, Salesforce effectiveness, Supply chain & procurement, Finance, Data analytics, Digital marketing & e-commerce, Cost improvement
- How operating partners and PE firms are working with their portfolio companies in the midst of this year’s crisis
- How to drive value creation initiatives in the aftermath of the downturn
- CEO perspectives in looking at turnarounds, distressed situations, and driving transformations
Technology
- Digital transformations in the time of COVID-19: how things will change and what does the future hold
- AI and robotic automation for value creation
- Dissecting cost structures and customer interaction via technology to get revenues back to where they were
- Advanced data science to govern the business throughout the investment life-cycle
- Cybersecurity and resiliency
- Transforming your business with cloud economics
Human Capital
- A full day dedicated to best practices in human capital portfolio operations
- Finding brilliant digital/technology talent
- Big data & workforce analytics: looking at the future of human capital
- What will the future role of the human capital operating partner look like?
- Utilizing technology & best resources for talent acquisition
- Integrating culture for success
- Transitioning to a virtual workforce
- Human capital best practices adopted during this year’s crisis
Supply Chain & Procurement
- Navigating supply chain disruptions and post-COVID best practices
- Impact of technologies and today’s fast paced e-commerce on your supply chain
- Supply chain cost optimization: individual company vs. cross-portfolio programs
- Procurement transformations in the first 100 days
Finance
- How software and AI are changing the future of finance
- How can PE best support portco CFOs?
- Transforming finance from a cost-center into a value-creation engine
- CFO reporting and resourcing best practices
Our 2020 agenda is being carefully curated to feature the hottest topics in the industry today from digitization and AI to supply chain disruptions and procurement transformations. Click the headings below for a snapshot of some of the top features you’ll find on the agenda:
Value Creation
- 4 invitation-only think tanks exclusively for operating partners: 1) advanced/seasoned operating partners, 2) emerging operating partners, 3) human capital operating partners, 4) digital operating partners
- How operating teams work best with investment teams
- Operating partner models post COVID-19: how will your team adapt to the changes in the environment?
- Assessing risks and actions portfolio companies have taken in response to the coronavirus crisis
- Interactive value creation roundtables to select in key value creation areas: Digitalization, Human capital, Salesforce effectiveness, Supply chain & procurement, Finance, Data analytics, Digital marketing & e-commerce, Cost improvement
- How operating partners and PE firms are working with their portfolio companies in the midst of this year’s crisis
- How to drive value creation initiatives in the aftermath of the downturn
- CEO perspectives in looking at turnarounds, distressed situations, and driving transformations
Technology
- Digital transformations in the time of COVID-19: how things will change and what does the future hold
- AI and robotic automation for value creation
- Dissecting cost structures and customer interaction via technology to get revenues back to where they were
- Advanced data science to govern the business throughout the investment life-cycle
- Cybersecurity and resiliency
- Transforming your business with cloud economics
Human Capital
- A full day dedicated to best practices in human capital portfolio operations
- Finding brilliant digital/technology talent
- Big data & workforce analytics: looking at the future of human capital
- What will the future role of the human capital operating partner look like?
- Utilizing technology & best resources for talent acquisition
- Integrating culture for success
- Transitioning to a virtual workforce
- Human capital best practices adopted during this year’s crisis
Supply Chain & Procurement
- Navigating supply chain disruptions and post-COVID best practices
- Impact of technologies and today’s fast paced e-commerce on your supply chain
- Supply chain cost optimization: individual company vs. cross-portfolio programs
- Procurement transformations in the first 100 days
Finance
- How software and AI are changing the future of finance
- How can PE best support portco CFOs?
- Transforming finance from a cost-center into a value-creation engine
- CFO reporting and resourcing best practices
Our 2020 agenda is being carefully curated to feature the hottest topics in the industry today from digitization and AI to supply chain disruptions and procurement transformations. Click the headings below for a snapshot of some of the top features you’ll find on the agenda:
Value Creation
- 4 invitation-only think tanks exclusively for operating partners: 1) advanced/seasoned operating partners, 2) emerging operating partners, 3) human capital operating partners, 4) digital operating partners
- How operating teams work best with investment teams
- Operating partner models post COVID-19: how will your team adapt to the changes in the environment?
- Assessing risks and actions portfolio companies have taken in response to the coronavirus crisis
- Interactive value creation roundtables to select in key value creation areas: Digitalization, Human capital, Salesforce effectiveness, Supply chain & procurement, Finance, Data analytics, Digital marketing & e-commerce, Cost improvement
- How operating partners and PE firms are working with their portfolio companies in the midst of this year’s crisis
- How to drive value creation initiatives in the aftermath of the downturn
- CEO perspectives in looking at turnarounds, distressed situations, and driving transformations
Technology
- Digital transformations in the time of COVID-19: how things will change and what does the future hold
- AI and robotic automation for value creation
- Dissecting cost structures and customer interaction via technology to get revenues back to where they were
- Advanced data science to govern the business throughout the investment life-cycle
- Cybersecurity and resiliency
- Transforming your business with cloud economics
Human Capital
- A full day dedicated to best practices in human capital portfolio operations
- Finding brilliant digital/technology talent
- Big data & workforce analytics: looking at the future of human capital
- What will the future role of the human capital operating partner look like?
- Utilizing technology & best resources for talent acquisition
- Integrating culture for success
- Transitioning to a virtual workforce
- Human capital best practices adopted during this year’s crisis
Supply Chain & Procurement
- Navigating supply chain disruptions and post-COVID best practices
- Impact of technologies and today’s fast paced e-commerce on your supply chain
- Supply chain cost optimization: individual company vs. cross-portfolio programs
- Procurement transformations in the first 100 days
Finance
- How software and AI are changing the future of finance
- How can PE best support portco CFOs?
- Transforming finance from a cost-center into a value-creation engine
- CFO reporting and resourcing best practices
Our 2020 agenda is being carefully curated to feature the hottest topics in the industry today from digitization and AI to supply chain disruptions and procurement transformations. Click the headings below for a snapshot of some of the top features you’ll find on the agenda:
Value Creation
- 4 invitation-only think tanks exclusively for operating partners: 1) advanced/seasoned operating partners, 2) emerging operating partners, 3) human capital operating partners, 4) digital operating partners
- How operating teams work best with investment teams
- Operating partner models post COVID-19: how will your team adapt to the changes in the environment?
- Assessing risks and actions portfolio companies have taken in response to the coronavirus crisis
- Interactive value creation roundtables to select in key value creation areas: Digitalization, Human capital, Salesforce effectiveness, Supply chain & procurement, Finance, Data analytics, Digital marketing & e-commerce, Cost improvement
- How operating partners and PE firms are working with their portfolio companies in the midst of this year’s crisis
- How to drive value creation initiatives in the aftermath of the downturn
- CEO perspectives in looking at turnarounds, distressed situations, and driving transformations
Technology
- Digital transformations in the time of COVID-19: how things will change and what does the future hold
- AI and robotic automation for value creation
- Dissecting cost structures and customer interaction via technology to get revenues back to where they were
- Advanced data science to govern the business throughout the investment life-cycle
- Cybersecurity and resiliency
- Transforming your business with cloud economics
Human Capital
- A full day dedicated to best practices in human capital portfolio operations
- Finding brilliant digital/technology talent
- Big data & workforce analytics: looking at the future of human capital
- What will the future role of the human capital operating partner look like?
- Utilizing technology & best resources for talent acquisition
- Integrating culture for success
- Transitioning to a virtual workforce
- Human capital best practices adopted during this year’s crisis
Supply Chain & Procurement
- Navigating supply chain disruptions and post-COVID best practices
- Impact of technologies and today’s fast paced e-commerce on your supply chain
- Supply chain cost optimization: individual company vs. cross-portfolio programs
- Procurement transformations in the first 100 days
Finance
- How software and AI are changing the future of finance
- How can PE best support portco CFOs?
- Transforming finance from a cost-center into a value-creation engine
- CFO reporting and resourcing best practices
Discover best practices and ideas at a critical time for portfolio valuations at the industry’s first virtual event for private equity value creators
All sessions, idea forums and interactive meetings are uniquely designed to solve your toughest challenges during the covid-19 crisis & beyond.
See for yourself how the Operating Partners Virtual Forum will work with your host.
Available from anywhere & on-demand for up 6 months.
Leading thought-provoking operating partner experts — all NEWLY updated!
Without ever leaving the comfort and security of your home, you can enjoy ALL the 100 + value creation experts sharing their practical guidance. Plus, you can participate in audience Q&A, polls, and download content and papers with just a few clicks
You also get:
- Built-in calendar to create your own daily schedule so you don’t miss your favorite sessions
- Automated reminders
- Polling and surveys
- On-demand playback gives you access to select sessions for up to 6 months
Network & build key relationships
Online networking can never replace face-to-face interaction, but done right, it can provide a very effective way for people to build their professional relationships and knowledge. At an in-person event, you get 2 days of engagement. With the Operating Partners Virtual Forum, you get an active virtual community.
Take advantage of these benefits:
- Attendee and Operating Partner directories: Use our searchable directory of our delegates, solution providers and speakers, so you can quickly find the right people and companies to connect with.
- Private messaging: Reach out privately and directly online (without having to expose email and phone number to “the world”)
- Virtual Meet-ups: Pre-schedule multi-person video conferences or one on one type meetups, allowing you to connect and talk about topics of interest.