Private Equity
International
International
Operating Partners Forum New York
October 29-30, 2025
Convene Brookfield Place, 225 Liberty, Downtown, New York
The largest global event for private equity value creation
Join the world’s leading PE firms to uncover the best methods to deliver cross-functional portfolio optimization at a critical time.
Connect with 500+ operating partners in exclusive networking opportunities and collaborative sessions to uncover the future of PE value creation.
Optimize your portfolio companies
Hear first-hand perspectives on how to further develop your operational efficiencies.
Network with top value creators
Connect with the largest global community of private equity operating partners.
Empower your operating team
Find the right tools and knowledge to create cross-functional value.
2024 agenda highlights
Our unique agenda offers interactive working groups, think tanks, panels, breakfast and lunch discussions. The 2024 expanded agenda was carefully curated to feature the most prominent functional areas in value creation. Highlights included:
- Heads of value creation viewpoints: uncover team leaders’ value creation insights
- The AI boom in PE: practical and functional use cases
- Accelerate value creation through transformation: navigating the new normal
- The growing importance of operating partners: showcasing value to the PE industry
- Discover future functional levers across the entire investment lifecycle
- And much more!
“You have to keep yourself current and our firms are not academies for becoming better operating partners…The PEI Operating Partners Forum is the only academy that exists for Operating Partners.”
Aaron Miller
Head of Apollo Portfolio Performance Solutions
Apollo Global Management
Connect with a global community of functional specialists
How does your compensation compare?
The 2024 Operating Partners Compensation Survey provides a temperature check of the market and aggregates the responses of 300+ operating partners across:
- Team make-up
- Compensation
- Incentive packages
- Portfolio company engagement
- And more…
2024 speakers
Kush Tulsidas
One Rock Capital Partners
It is a fantastic place to network with top operating talent in PE and learn the cutting edge work that their firms are doing to create value. I highly recommen…
Greg J. Pappas
Berkshire Partners
The Operating Partners Forum is the foremost event where the largest ecosystem of operating partners, suppliers and resources gather annually.
Nicole Weil
Kelso & Company
“The content is relevant for my role and I get to meet the smartest people in the industry.”
2024 agenda
Our unique agenda offers interactive working groups, think tanks, panels, breakfast and lunch discussions. The 2024 agenda was carefully curated to feature the most prominent functional areas of value creation.
If you are interested in a speaking role please contact Marc Mele at marc.m@pei.group.
View agenda page
Agenda
Day 1 - Monday 21st
Pre-conference events - October 21, 2024 Manhatta, 28 Liberty St, 60th floor, New York
17:30 - 19:30
Operating Partners Forum NY Pre-Event Welcome Reception (invitation-only for operating partners)
Join the operating partners attending the New York Forum at our opening grand reception. Exchange
valuable insights with your peers in a relaxed setting and build your connections before the
conference kicks off.
19:30 - 21:00
Pre-Event Dinner: Heads of Value Creation – Team Leaders Dinner (invitation-only)
Join us for a VIP private networking-style dinner designed exclusively for the leaders of the value
creation teams attending the NY Forum.
19:30 - 21:00
Pre-Event Dinner: GTM, Sales and Revenue Growth Operating Partners Dinner (invitation-only)
Join us as we welcome the sales, revenue growth, marketing, and GTM operating partners attending
the Forum for a private networking-style dinner to facilitate networking before the conference starts.
19:30 - 21:00
Pre-Event Dinner: Technology and Digital Operating Partners Dinner (invitation-only)
Join us as we welcome the digital and tech operating partners attending the Forum for a private
networking-style dinner to facilitate networking before the conference starts.
19:30 - 21:00
Pre-Event Dinner: Finance Operating Partners Dinner (invitation-only)
Join us as we welcome the finance operating partners attending the New York Forum for a private
networking-style dinner to facilitate networking before the conference.
19:30 - 21:00
Pre-Event Dinner: Human Capital Operating Partners Dinner (invitation-only)
Join us as we welcome the talent partners attending the New York Forum for a private networking-style dinner to facilitate networking before the conference.
Agenda
Day 2 - Tuesday 22nd
Registration
07:30 - 08:40
Registration and breakfast
Think Tank Series 1
07:45 - 08:40
Think tanks for full-time operating partners: value creation war rooms (invitation-only for operating partners)
Sajjad Jaffer,
Craig Vosburgh,
Kristin Brown Patrick,
Chris Trendler,
Tanoya Chatterjee,
Jonathan Konkoly,
Spencer Khoury,
Angelo Perez
These closed-door discussions will allow you to learn and share best practices of successful operating partners with your peers. Please select one of the rooms:
Think Tank 1: Digital and Technology Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Sajjad Jaffer, Head of Data, Analytics and Machine Learning, GrowthCurve Capital
Craig Vosburgh, Chief Technology Officer, Strattam Capital
Think Tank 2: Human Capital/Talent Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Kristin Patrick, Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital, New State Capital Partners
Chris Trendler, Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Talent, Madison Dearborn Partners
Think Tank 3: GTM, Sales and Revenue Growth Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Tanoya Chatterjee, Senior Principal, Mubadala Performance Partners, Mubadala
Jonathan Konkoly, Vice President of Portfolio Operations, HCI Equity Partners
Think Tank 4: Finance Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Spencer Khoury, Director, Value Creation Team, Shamrock Capital
Angelo Perez, Managing Director, Operations, Pacific Avenue Capital Partners
Plenary
08:40 - 09:00
PEI’s welcome and chairmen’s opening remarks
Tony Buffum,
Tim Sanders
Panel Series 1
09:00 - 09:40
Panel 1 Assessing and showcasing your value as an operating partner
Jim Corey,
Doron Grosman,
Raj Kushwaha,
Ken Schwartz,
Marissa Tarleton
- Who cares about measuring operating partner impact and why do they care?
- What are the biggest issues and challenges for operating partners when it comes to impact assessment?
- How can you measure/assess your impact without taking credit that belongs with the management team?
- How do you effectively showcase the value you provide as an operating partner/operating partner team?
Moderator:
Jim Corey, Managing Partner, Blue Ridge Partners
Panelists:
Doron Grosman, CEO and President, Smart Start, Inc.
Raj Kushwaha, Co-Head of Value Creation and Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
Ken Schwartz, Director, KKR Capstone
Marissa Tarleton, Senior Managing Director, Haveli Investments
Raj Kushwaha
Managing Director ＆ Partner, Co-Head Value Creation and Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
Read bio
09:00 - 09:40
Panel 2 Heads of value creation insights: comparing models across the lifecycle
Paul Pan,
Richard Elder,
Robin Goodman,
Aaron Miller
- How large is your team and how is your team structured?
- Did you build out your operating team in recent years and is your team still growing?
- How are operating teams organized these days across the lifecycle?
- How do you best support your operating team members?
- What do you value most in an operating partner? What does great look like?
- What will the structure and model of operating partner teams look like in future?
Moderator:
Paul Pan, Private Equity Lead Partner, KPMG Strategy
Panelists:
Richard Elder, Managing Director and Head of Global Portfolio Solutions, The Carlyle Group
Robin Goodman, Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Portfolio Operations, Blackstone
Aaron Miller, Head of Apollo Portfolio Performance Solutions, Apollo Global Management
Panel Series 2
09:45 - 10:25
Panel 3 The future of value creation at the intersection of talent, tech, and AI
Jason McDannold,
Cory A. Eaves,
Angela Geffre,
Neil Kimber,
Paul Zuber
- Relying on cutting-edge technology and talent to bolster long-term growth and returns
- Looking beyond AI’s promise and failings: how the intersection of talent and technological possibility is the greatest lever
- What is it that operating partners need to understand about technology and AI?
- How can AI add value for PE firms that are investing across multiple industries and across the deal cycle?
- How best to staff-up for AI-driven growth
- How can AI help to recruit and retain talent?
Moderator:
Jason McDannold, Americas Co-Lead, Private Equity, Partner & Managing Director, AlixPartners
Panelists:
Cory Eaves, Partner and Head of Portfolio Operations, BayPine
Angela Geffre, Head of Human Capital, GrowthCurve Capital
Neil Kimber, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Paul Zuber, Operating Partner, North American Lead, Hg
Jason McDannold
Partner & Managing Director, Americas Co-Lead of Private Equity, AlixPartners
Read bio
09:45 - 10:25
Panel 4 A forward-looking perspective on growth in the current landscape
Mike Hoffman,
Craig Greenseid,
Seth Brody,
Raj Kushwaha,
Prerak Vohra
- What are the most effective levers to scale up post a period of depressed growth?
- What forward-looking metrics and indicators are you using to refine and deliver your growth strategy?
- How is the environment rebounding and where do the biggest growth opportunities lie?
- How do you think about return on GTM, and the return on each marginal dollar of spend?
- How are you thinking about growth with your CEOs? How do you work effectively with your CEOs and the C-suite to deliver growth?
Moderator:
Mike Hoffman, CEO, SBI
Panelists:
Seth Brody, Partner, Global Head of Operational Excellence, Apax Partners
Craig Greenseid, Managing Director and Portfolio Chief Commercial Officer, The Carlyle Group
Raj Kushwaha, Co-Head of Value Creation and Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
Prerak Vohra, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
Raj Kushwaha
Managing Director ＆ Partner, Co-Head Value Creation and Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
Read bio
Break
10:25 - 10:50
Networking Break
Panel Series 3
10:50 - 11:30
Panel 5 State of the industry: the key drivers for value creation that will matter from a macro and practitioner’s perspective
Allison Earnest,
Markus Lahrkamp,
Josh Damon,
Richard Elder,
Graham Sayers,
Tricia Witty
- The impact of current macro environment shifts on the investment and value creation playbooks
- Functional drivers of large-scale transformations
- How to implement AI driven analytics and tools for better decision making
- The difference between current state and future state in PE – and why it should matter to you
- What to do now that will matter most
Moderators:
Allison Earnest, Senior Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Markus Lahrkamp, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Panelists:
Josh Damon, Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Resources, Madison Dearborn Partners
Richard Elder, Managing Director and Head of Global Portfolio Solutions, The Carlyle Group
Graham Sayers, Operating Partner, AEA Investors
Tricia Witty, Managing Director, Private Capital Value Creation, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Richard Elder
Managing Director-Partner, Head of Global Portfolio Solutions, The Carlyle Group
Read bio
10:50 - 11:30
Panel 6 Progressive approaches to CEO assessment, onboarding, and succession planning
Dan Hawkins,
Hilda Lui,
Lane McDonald,
Brian Slobodow,
Maggie van de Griend
- Onboarding the CEO – post close and post hire
- CEO assessments – how has the criteria evolved? What is new?
- Performance evaluation – how and when do investors review CEO performance?
- Board composition and support of the CEO
- When to replace or develop the CEO
- Approaches when the hold period has extended – does the CEO profile change?
- The rise of CEO succession in PE backed companies – best new practices
- Founder vs Professional CEOs – lessons learned. Can they co-exist?
- Other recommendations to optimize the CEO and ensure success for all?
Moderator:
Dan Hawkins, Founder and CEO, Summit Leadership Partners
Panelists:
Hilda Lui, Head of Portfolio Human Capital, Advent International
Lane McDonald, Managing Director, Strategy and Operations, OMERS Private Equity
Brian Slobodow, CEO of Better Being and Operating Partner, HGGC
Maggie van de Griend, Managing Director, Portfolio Talent, Warburg Pincus
Panel Series 4
11:35 - 12:15
Panel 7 GTM tech real world use cases and implementations
Meredith Flynn-Ripley,
Sajjad Jaffer,
Ajaykumar Kutty,
Vikram Mahidhar
- How to align with your functional leaders on implementing technology including AI successfully
- How to set-up product strategies with business complexity levels to unlock growth
- How is AI enhancing cross functional value creation synergies
- How does technology and AI help your businesses to deliver at scale
- How will AI impact your function in the future
Moderator:
Meredith Flynn-Ripley, SVP and GM, Global PE and VC Practice, Salesforce
Panelists:
Sajjad Jaffer, Head of Data, Analytics and Machine Learning, GrowthCurve Capital
Ajaykumar Kutty, Technology Operating Principal, KKR
Vikram Mahidhar, Operating Partner, Apollo Global Management
11:35 - 12:15
Panel 8 Operating partner-deal partner alignment: working together as “one team”
Tom Kolaja,
Amanda Good,
Zorian Rotenberg ,
Jessie Wechsler,
Jennifer Lee
- Insights into the growing role of operating partners in due diligence
- Best practices in working together as a team from due diligence to year one
- How can operating partners give deal teams the edge in the bidding process?
- How can operating partners help investment teams maximize returns for LPs
- Sharing how operating partners can unlock valuable upside potential and value
- How do you achieve alignment and overcome frictions internally?
Moderator:
Thomas Kolaja, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
Panelists:
Amanda Good, Partner, Head of Global Value Creation, Searchlight Capital Partners
Zorian Rotenberg, GTM, Sales and Revenue Growth Operating Partner, Charlesbank Capital Partners
Jessie Wechsler, Prinicpal, BayPine
Jennifer Lee, Partner, Edison Partners
Interactive Working Group Series 1
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive Working Group 1 (for operating partners only) | Optimizing your boards: key considerations for effectiveness and governance
Mark Fortin,
Brenda Morris
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators:
- Establishing an advisory board for portfolio companies – tools and strategies to add value with independent perspectives
- Setting up effective governance systems – road map to good governance, policy management, and leadership
- What are the skills and expertise most needed on boards? What expertise is often lacking?
- Are operating partners on your boards? Should operating partners be on boards?
- How do you measure board effectiveness?
Facilitators:
Mark Fortin, Managing Director, Portfolio Dynamics Group, Grain Management
Brenda Morris, Partner, CSuite Financial Partner
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive Working Group 2 (for operating partners only) | Cybersecurity operating partner workshop: practitioner perspectives
Sean Curran,
Michael Picton
This deep dive discussion designed solely for tech operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive and dynamic discussion with designated facilitators.
- Sharing key steps to prevent breaches before they happen
- Talking through a live ransomware incident – where to start? Who do you bring in?
- How do you pivot during the inevitable twists & turns? How do you turn chaos and crisis into an opportunity?
- Real outcomes and lessons learned: how can you safeguard and elevate your cyber resilience strategy?
Facilitators:
Sean Curran, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Enduir Cyber
Michael Picton, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Enduir Cyber
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive Working Group 3 (for operating partners only) | Product roadmaps: commercial strategies for launch, market entry, and growth
Sam Little,
David Reid
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators:
- Bringing new products to market: what are the most effective growth plays?
- Monetizing AI features: What’s the right commercial strategy?
- Organizing, enabling and incentivizing your sales teams around new features/products
- Unlocking product GTM velocity and acceleration: how do you shorten the cycle to see growth?
- Integrating AI and tech to further boost your commercial strategy and gain market share
Facilitators:
Sam Little, Senior Vice President, Teneo
David Reid, Senior Managing Director, Private Equity Growth Practice Lead, Teneo
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive Working Group 4 (for operating partners only) | An inside look into employee benefits program optimization and cost savings: market dynamics
Todd Miller,
John Weaver
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Sharing examples of how to reduce cost without reducing benefits in a rising healthcare cost marketplace
- How can human resources establish a strategic role in driving measurable cost savings aligned with the value-creation strategy goals of the PE firm?
- What creative solutions can be identified within employee benefit programs to ensure cost savings while maintaining fiduciary responsibility?
- How to run the right procurement for your benefits: transparency, inclusion of vendors, and objectivity in your implementation process
- What strategies can be employed to develop metrics that effectively measure material returns resulting from HR led cost-saving initiatives, and how can HR stay adaptable to market dynamics during this process?
Facilitators:
Todd Miller, CEO, Risk International
John Weaver, Senior Director, Risk International
12:20 - 13:00
Interactive Working Group 5 (for operating partners only) | Realizing untapped enterprise value from operations beyond cost
Ash Padmanabhan,
Subhi Sherwell
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Learn from case studies, how process and digital enablers contribute to Enterprise Value (EV) through process effectiveness, not just efficiency; impacting working capital, third-party spend reduction and growth. Including a discussion on why Operating Partners might be leaving money on the table and how might we change that?
- Hear how process effectiveness improvements can be worth several times the impact of cost savings, and how they can be achieved without necessitating implementation of a new ERP
- Dive into examples of optimizing your working capital and FP&A to reinvest in the business; understand where the scale of the impact can meaningfully fuel growth
Facilitators:
Ashwin Padmanabhan, Private Equity Practice Leader, Genpact
Subhi Sherwell, Operations Director, TPG
Lunch
13:00 - 14:00
Networking Lunch
13:00 - 14:00
Women in PE portfolio operations lunch (invitation-only for operating partners)
Jana Gold,
Marni Payne
This closed-door lunch discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE portfolio operations.
- Sharing challenges, tips, and strategies for your career paths as women operating partners
- Building credibility and trust with the deal teams, management teams, and your value creation teams – what are some ways you’ve found success in doing that?
- What are some of the strengths women have that make you uniquely positioned to excel in this space? What are some of the challenges we should be mindful of and how have you tackled these obstacles?
- What are key initiatives you have seen tied to women’s leadership at your portfolio companies?
Facilitators:
Jana Gold, Managing Director, Private Equity Performance Improvement, Alvarez & Marsal
Marni Payne, Managing Director, Berkshire Partners
13:00 - 14:00
Functional lunch discussion 1 (invitation-only for operating partners) | Unlocking advanced pricing strategies: how are you thinking about it?
Dave Clement,
Adam Echter
This closed-door deep dive lunch discussion designed solely for operating partners will focus on strategic areas in pricing to enhance value.
- How are you engaging with your companies to successfully execute pricing projects?
- How does the current inflationary environment affect how you think about and execute pricing and how will it play out in future?
- Sharing insights with a focus on return to value-based pricing; understanding the value proposition to your customer and pricing accordingly
- Pricing in due diligence and how do you incorporate that in your VCP
- Cohesive pricing strategies as a key growth lever for expansions and renewals
- Using data and KPIs to achieve out-performing net retention
- Aligning sales teams and your GTM strategy with pricing to strengthen your execution
- Looking at how different companies/sectors require different pricing models
- Internal vs. external support and resources for pricing assessments
- What are companies doing in terms of pricing looking forward?
Facilitators:
Dave Clement, Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Adam Echter, Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Functional Breakout Series 1
14:00 - 14:40
Track 1 Driving higher EBITDA in a prolonged high interest rate environment
Gary Hoover,
Ariel Garcia,
Drew Scielzo,
Jonathan Waggoner,
Cici Zheng
- How has the prolonged period of high interest rates significantly impacted portfolio companies?
- What are the most effective solutions to mitigate debt burdens?
- How are you enhancing EBITDA through strategic measures?
- Uncovering priorities to stabilize operations, improve financial health, and navigate the challenging financial landscape
Moderator:
Gary Hoover, Vice President, Global Private Equity Practice, TBM Consulting Group
Panelists:
Ariel Garcia, Partner, OceanSound Partners
Drew Scielzo, Operating Partner, ACON Investments
Jonathan Waggoner, Managing Director, Co-Head of North American Operating Team, Strategic Value Partners
Cici Zheng, Managing Director, Corridor Capital
14:00 - 14:40
Track 2 Enabling secure digital transformation with Zero Trust for your companies
Akshay Grover,
Josefin Frick,
Puroo Maheshwari,
David Mamikonyan,
Joe Rubino,
Chris Satchell
- Why digital transformation (security, network, application & business transformation) is essential for value creation in PE portfolio companies?
- How does zero trust framework impact PE portfolio companies digital transformation?
- How do portfolio companies think about security during transformation?
- Where should one start and how to enable the zero trust journey?
- How to measure ROI from digital transformation efforts & align to value creation goals?
Moderator:
Akshay Grover, Global Private Equity Practice Lead, Zscaler
Panelists:
Josefin Frick, Associate Director, Digital, EQT Group
Puroo Maheshwari, Managing Director, Cybersecurity, Portfolio Value Creation, CPP Investments
David Mamikonyan,Director, Operating Partner and CISO, MGX
Joe Rubino, Managing Director and CISO, Co-Head of Portfolio Resources Group, GTCR
Chris Satchell, Managing Director Technology and Digital, Clayton Dubilier & Rice
Puroo Maheshwari
Managing Director, Cybersecurity, Portfolio Value Creation, CPP Investments
Read bio
14:00 - 14:40
Track 3 Building and developing high performing teams at your companies
Rory Gaston,
Steven Berman,
Brent Lanier,
Miten Marvania,
Kate Migliaro
- How to build a high-performance team looking at complementary skills, experiences, technical aspects, and personality traits
- Understanding the importance of diversity of thought to spark creative and nonhomogeneous ways of thinking
- How do you measure the right skillsets and metrics to create impact, drive cohesion, and avoid discrepancies?
- How are you filling specific roles or delivering projects based on less tangible skills?
- Comparing and contrasting team structures at your portcos: operating partners share what works and what doesn’t to drive the value creation plan
- Dissecting the psychology of effective teams in looking at journey, purpose, positions, communication, and leadership
- Developing and improving future workforces in looking at tomorrow’s new talent
- What do future stars want?
Moderator:
Rory Gaston, Group Managing Director, Saragossa
Panelists:
Steven Berman, Operating Vice President, Accel-KKR
Brent Lanier, Former Managing Director and Global Chief Information Officer
Miten Marvania, Managing Director, Business Services Platform, Blue Owl Capital
Kate Migliaro, Managing Director, Blackstone
Kate Migliaro
Managing Director, Talent and Organization Performance, Portfolio Operations, Blackstone
Read bio
14:00 - 14:40
Track 4 Leaders in value creation: turning the talent function into an indispensable asset
Kevin O'Neill,
Kim D'Aversa,
Cory A. Eaves,
Jimmy Holloran,
Bob Isaman
- Roles and responsibilities of human capital operating partners at different firms
- Key characteristics of exceptional talent partners
- How to empower talent partners to drive real change
- What makes your talent value creation playbook effective and unique, and how is it essential to the overall VCP?
- Aligning talent partners cross functionally on the team
- Views on expanding and shaping the human capital function of the future
Moderator:
Kevin O’Neill, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Acertitude
Panelists:
Kim D’Aversa, Operating Partner and Head of Talent, Growth Factors, Bregal Sagemount
Cory Eaves, Partner and Head of Portfolio Operations, BayPine
Jimmy Holloran, Partner and Head of Talent, American Industrial Partners
Bob Isaman, Head of Operations, Dunes Point Capital
14:00 - 14:40
Track 5 Operating partner-CFO alignment: strategies for success
Nick Leopard,
Bob Gold,
Travis Krueger,
Andrew Walshe
- As operating partners, how do you drive engagement, support, and initiatives with your CFOs throughout the deal cycle?
- How do you assess and track your finance function’s performance?
- As CFOs, how do you ensure alignment with operating partners and the value creation plan?
- What makes a great CFO? What is top of mind for CFOs nowadays? As CFOs, where do you need the most support?
- What does a successful CFO-operating partner partnership look like?
Moderator:
Nick Leopard, CEO and Founder, Accordion
Panelists:
Bob Gold, Former EVP and CFO, EyeCare Partners
Travis Krueger, Managing Director, Co-Head of Portfolio Resources Group, GTCR
Andrew Walshe, Director, North American Operating Team, Strategic Value Partners
Functional Breakout Series 2
14:40 - 15:20
Track 6 Overcoming underperformance: transformation and turnaround success stories
Kristin Murphy,
Bruce Chesebrough,
Bala Ganesan,
Amanda Good
- How do operating partners work with underperforming companies to get them back to a higher performance?
- What are the key factors leading to underperformance? How do you work with leadership teams to get your companies back up to speed?
- How do you establish realistic goals to achieve transformation?
- How do you overcome roadblocks? How do you know when you are on the right track in moving towards progress?
Moderator:
Kristin Murphy, Vice President, Private Equity and Partnerships, Entromy
Panelists:
Bruce Chesebrough, Operating Partner, New Mountain Capital
Bala Ganesan, Managing Director, Special Situations Group, Oaktree Capital Management
Amanda Good, Partner, Head of Global Value Creation, Searchlight Capital Partners
14:40 - 15:20
Track 7 Comparing tech and digital operating partner models and ecosystems
Bala Narayanaswamy,
Annie Asrari,
Ali Heron,
Steve Mayotte,
Lee McCabe
- How is your tech operating team structured and how do you best leverage support within your ecosystem?
- What does your tech playbook look like and how do you implement it effectively?
- How do you best work across functions as a technologist to drive the value creation plan?
- How do you work with your commercial teams to enhance revenue growth with tech?
Moderator:
Bala Narayanaswamy, Global Head of Private Equity, Infosys
Panelists:
Annie Asrari, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Ali Heron, Managing Director, Digital Transformation, GrowthCurve Capital
Steve Mayotte, Operating Partner, Technology Enablement, New State Capital Partners
Lee McCabe, Operating Partner, AEA Investors
14:40 - 15:20
Track 8 The role of commercial excellence and tech enablement to drive top-line growth
Jawad Hussain,
Mark Abatto,
Eric Gordon,
Samiksha Gupta,
Kush Tulsidas
As 2024 continues to represent a slow exit environment, PE firms and portfolio companies are more focused than ever on identifying ways to drive top-line growth. Many portfolio companies underinvested in commercial excellence, key processes (e.g., O2C) and technologies (ERPs, CRMs and AI/ML) as they acquired add-ons over the past few years, creating complexity to scale for growth in today’s business environment. In this discussion, we explore ways to enable PE firms and portcos to achieve greater agility, competitiveness, and profitability to drive recurring top-line growth.
Moderator:
Jawad Hussain, Partner, PE Services Leader, MorganFranklin Consulting
Panelists:
Mark Abatto, Managing Director, Gryphon Investors
Eric Gordon, Operating Partner, MidOcean Partners
Samiksha Gupta, Commercial and GTM Lead, Mubadala Performance Partners, Mubadala
Kush Tulsidas, Operating Partner, One Rock Capital Partners
14:40 - 15:20
Track 9 Generating outsized returns from procurement
Steven Browning,
Adam Cummins,
Michael Frain,
Thorsten Schäfer,
Jana Wayne
- Delivering up to 3x typical value from advanced techniques
- Ensuring savings reach the bottom line
- Solving the procurement talent shortage
- Leveraging Gen AI to accelerate value capture
Moderator:
Steven Browning, Senior Vice President, Private Equity Practice Lead, Insight Sourcing, part of Accenture
Panelists:
Adam Cummins, Principal, Director of Portfolio Procurement, The Carlyle Group
Michael Frain, Managing Director, Shared Services, Warburg Pincus
Thorsten Schäfer, Managing Director, Head of Procurement, EQT
Jana Wayne, Managing Director, Head of Procurement, Hunter Point Capital
14:40 - 15:20
Track 10 Operating partner-CHRO dynamics and strategic partnerships for transformation
Chris Boulet,
David Cohen,
Wes Cole,
JoAnne Kruse
- Understanding the new capabilities of the modern CHRO in portfolio companies: what operating partners need to think about
- How do you work with CHROs to enable a data-driven foundation of metrics that help drive strategic decisions? How are CHROs planning for AI?
- In what ways can operating partners/talent partners have the greatest impact in providing strategic alignment, engagement, and support to deliver the value creation plan?
- What are the most important levers to focus on to drive EBITDA and exit valuations? How do you coach CHROs to become strategic partners in this area?
- What are the biggest challenges CHROs face? What are the challenges in working with CHROs? How do you overcome roadblocks?
- How is the role of the CHRO evolving in ever-changing work models? What makes a CHRO successful in working with PE as well as internally?
Moderator:
Chris Boulet, Vice President Solution Consulting, Workday
Panelists:
David Cohen, Partner, Human Capital, Kelso & Company
Wes Cole, Portfolio Talent Lead – GS Value Accelerator, Goldman Sachs
Jo-Anne Kruse, Partner, Talent, TZP Group
Break
15:20 - 15:30
Coffee Break
Functional Breakout Series 3
15:30 - 16:10
Track 11 Creating value through high impact functional leadership
Chris Smith,
Tracey Abbott,
Andrew Lim,
Avra Schaaf,
Juliane Stephan
- What determines the pivotal functional roles across different deal contexts or industry sectors? How has this been influenced by recent market conditions?
- What essential attributes define high-performing functional leaders in portfolio companies, and what metrics are used to measure and track their impact and performance?
- How can effective cross-functional collaboration be leveraged to unlock synergies and drive growth?
- How and when can interim or fractional leaders be deployed for maximum impact?
- In what ways can operating partners manage and maximize functional cohorts across a portfolio?
Moderator:
Chris Smith, Partner, Global Head of Private Equity, Leathwaite
Panelists:
Tracey Abbott, Senior Operating Partner, Mubadala Performance Partners, Mubadala
Andrew Lim, Managing Director, Blackstone
Avra Schaaf, Principal, Head of Value Creation, Lead Edge Capital
Juliane Stephan, Principal, BayPine
15:30 - 16:10
Track 12 Operating partner-CTO synergies for transformation
Jeff Laurinaitis,
Alex Bello,
Ajaykumar Kutty,
Robert Sheesley
- How is the CIO/CTO role evolving? How are skills and responsibilities changing?
- Sharing PE operating partner-CIO/CTO successful dynamics and engagement models
- How are operating partners influencing tech playbooks in tandem with CTOs?
- How are you working together in terms of innovative technologies and automating human workflow?
- How can CIO/CTOs add value and work with internal teams to drive change
Moderator:
Jeff Laurinaitis, Managing Director, RKON
Panelists:
Alex Bello, Director, Product and Technology Strategy, EQT Group
Brian Heery, Chief Information Officer, Voyant Beauty
Ajaykumar Kutty, Technology Operating Principal, KKR
Robert Sheesley, Board of Directors, Chief Information Officer, BUMP Search
15:30 - 16:10
Track 13 Case Study: Partnerships that define success in CFO recruitment
Jamie Carter,
Marie Deller,
John Knapp,
Nic Volpi,
Rob Waldron
This live case study will shed light on why so many CFO searches don’t meet initial expectations in the shifted CFO market. Avoid mistakes and hear firsthand expertise as we share:
- An inside look into hiring the right CFO through the lens of the CEO, Deal Partner, Talent Partner, and Search Partner
- What does a great search partnership look like?
- The three most important steps to set the search up for success
- What are CFO search landmines?
- How to best balance the voice of the Board with the CEO throughout the entire process
Moderator:
Jamie Carter, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Lancor
Panelists:
Marie Deller, Partner, Lancor
John Knapp, Operating Director, Portfolio Support, Berkshire Partners
Nic Volpi, Partner, Permira
Rob Waldron, Chairman, Curriculum Associates
15:30 - 16:10
Track 14 Taking the risk out of innovation and transformation
Tony Buffum,
Pat Petitti,
Peter Andrada,
Sebastien Katch,
Andrew Seay
Inherent in the private equity thesis is change to a portfolio company can lead to significant value creation. Yet the more change and potential value, the more risk you’re potentially taking on. Join us for a session to discuss how leaders are managing and reducing that risk while accelerating their ability to deliver results and innovate.
Facilitators:
Tony Buffum, Vice President of HR Client Strategy, Upwork
Patrick Petitti, Co-Founder and CEO, Catalant Technologies
Panelists:
Peter Andrada, Vice President, Information Technology, Jumio Corporation
Sebastien Katch, Managing Director, Operations, Verlinvest
Andrew Seay, Managing Partner, Arcos Group
15:30 - 16:10
Track 15 Procurement and supply chain in due diligence – when does it move the needle
Fabian Bodoky,
Susan Scutt,
Raz Khan,
Daniel Soroka
- Where are the big potential impacts
- How to screen early on depth required
- Tips and tricks to ensure a high impact for effort level
Moderator:
Fabian Bodoky, Vice President, Efficio
Panelists:
Susan Scutt, Managing Director, Operating Directors and Entrepreneurial Governance, Partners Group
Raz Khan, Principal, Permira
Daniel Soroka, Senior Operating Partner, Graham Partners
Functional Breakout Series 4
16:10 - 16:50
Track 16 Industrial goods and services: rapid EBITDA levers
Apurva Nair,
Santiago Delgado,
Jasmine Khambatta,
Curt Miller,
Scott Phillips
- Analyzing Product Cost Down (PCD) – unpredictable market swings have driven significant product proliferation and complexity during the last few years
- How are companies using techniques such as VA/VE to optimize product costs?
- What are the typical challenges faced by companies to implement PCD levers?
Moderator:
Apurva Nair, Partner, Oliver Wyman
Panelists:
Santiago Delgado, Operating Partner, ACON Investments
Jasmine Khambatta, Managing Director, Private Equity Group, Blackstone
Curt Miller, Senior Operating Partner, Procurement, Littlejohn & Co.
Scott Phillips, Managing Director, ORIX Capital Partners
16:10 - 16:50
Track 17 Digital disruption and transformation: accelerating seamless post close transitions
Doug Schrock,
Gerard Ashmore,
Tye Howell,
Greg Kegeles,
Ercan Ucak
- Accelerate digital transformation for your finance and tech functions from post close/due diligence to the first 100 days
- How are you getting the right people, processes, and tech in place?
- What does great look like in moving from building a foundation to accelerating growth?
- How do you obtain alignment with your tech and finance leaders when it comes to tech roadmaps and action items? What innovative initiatives are you advancing?
Moderator:
Doug Schrock, Managing Principal, Artificial Intelligence, Crowe
Panelists:
Gerard Ashmore, Senior Vice President, Reporting and Insights, Grain Management
Tye Howell, Principal, Rubicon Technology Partners
Greg Kegeles, Operating Partner, Digital Transformation, Newlight Partners
Ercan Ucak, Director, Cerberus Capital Management
16:10 - 16:50
Track 18 Integrating commercial due diligence in your operational playbooks
Tim Foster,
Josh Gold,
Manish Goyal,
Daniel Perry
- Understanding pricing, GTM, and market research as an opportunity in diligence
- How do you go about scrutinizing commercial data in the due diligence phase?
- How do you uncover what works and what doesn’t commercially for the business? How do you go about choosing and prioritizing your initial commercial projects/tasks?
- How do you build success in selecting the right sales talent and understanding which gaps need to be filled?
- How do you achieve alignment with the management team to deliver the commercial value creation plan?
Moderator:
Tim Foster, Managing Director, Investor Group Services (IGS)
Panelists:
Josh Gold, Senior Operating Executive, Hellman & Friedman
Manish Goyal, Operating Partner, Portfolio Support, Berkshire Partners
Daniel Perry, Resource Partner, Court Square Capital Partners
Caroline Ritter, Senior Advisor, Go-To-Market and Commercial Excellence, TPG
16:10 - 16:50
Track 19 CFO and CHRO perspectives: creating change in C-suite thinking when addressing healthcare spend
Todd Grove,
Alfred Lumsdaine,
Malcolm O'Neal
- How can Operating Partners support CFOs/CHROs to reduce costs and make better decisions?
- “Land mines” waiting for you and your board when challenging status quo outcomes
- Pharmacy costs: how to help executives agree on proven solutions/ways to reduce spend
Moderator:
Todd Grove, Vice President, Private Equity, Quantum Health
Panelists:
Alfred Lumsdaine, CFO, Ardent Health
Malcolm O’Neal, CHRO, Renovo Home Partners
16:10 - 16:50
Track 20 Is sell side prep for technology and operations necessary?
Peter Kahn,
Geoffrey Baird,
Abigail Chan,
Amar Ghai,
Shivani Tejuja
- How much preparation is necessary? Come see the debate on whether preparation and sell-side readiness efforts pay off
- Compare and contrasting viewpoints on the topic in the context of real engagements
- Timing: when is the right time to start? How necessary is early prep?
- What is the right level of depth: check the box activity versus forward looking value creation?
- Sharing data driven preparation examples
- What actions are necessary to take in getting ready to exit? What levers did you pull for exit?
Moderator:
Peter Kahn, Senior Partner, West Monroe
Panelists:
Geoffrey Baird, Independent Operating Executive, Palladium Equity Partners
Abigail Chan, Senior Operations Executive, ABRY Partners
Amar Ghai, Head of Digital Value Creation, KKR
Shivani Tejuja, Advisory Director, Charlesbank Capital Partners
Break
16:50 - 17:00
Break
Interactive Working Group Series 2
17:00 - 17:40
Interactive Working Group 6 (for operating partners only) | Optimizing the order-to-cash process at every growth stage
Sean Ellis,
Brad Mortimore
This interactive session designed solely for operating partners offers actionable strategies to streamline the OTC process, enhance customer satisfaction, boost profitability, and enable comprehensive KPI reporting.
- Optimize OTC processes: learn how to streamline your order-to-cash process to enhance efficiency, reduce errors, and measure key KPIs like ARR, MRR, customer retention, churn, etc.
- Improve customer experience: discover strategies to improve customer satisfaction and retention through a smooth OTC process
- Strategic role of CFOs: understand the pivotal role CFOs play in driving OTC optimizations and strategic technology investments
- Maturity model guidance: get insights into a maturity model that helps finance teams transition from reactive to proactive OTC processes
- Real-world examples: hear success stories and best practices from industry leaders on implementing effective OTC solutions
Facilitators:
Sean Ellis, Operating Advisor, ORIX Capital Partners
Brad Mortimore, Vice President of Strategic Accounts and Billing, Zone & Co
17:00 - 17:40
Interactive Working Group 7 (for operating partners only) | Mastering the data side of AI to optimize implementations
Darren Peirce,
Chris Steiner
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Data before AI: understanding how AI enablement goes hand in hand with getting your data right
- How are you leveraging your data to amplify your AI initiatives? What are the most important focal points when it comes to scrutinizing data for AI?
- Sharing real world implementations: what are the biggest challenges and opportunities at your companies
Facilitators:
Darren Peirce, Partner, Cuesta Partners
Chris Steiner, Partner, Cuesta Partners
17:00 - 17:40
Interactive Working Group 8 (for operating partners only) | Unlocking revenue growth’s potential to maximize exit value
Andy Fauver,
Jeffrey Nagel
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Sharing lessons learned in getting ready from a revenue growth perspective for the exit
- How does revenue growth have a direct impact on exits? How do you leverage commercial data for the exit?
- What are the most important commercial functional areas to focus on in the 18 months prior to exit?
- How are you leveraging commercial teams effectively throughout this key phase?
Facilitators:
Andy Fauver, SVP of Transaction Services, INSIGHT2PROFIT
Jeffrey Nagel, Operating Partner, AEA Investors
17:00 - 17:40
Interactive Working Group 9 (for operating partners only) | Uncovering key trends in PE carveouts to maximize value
Scott T. Brady,
Steve Siwinski
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Understand how carveouts have become a significant source of deal making in the current market
- How are you handling carveout due diligence as a key part of the process?
- How do you approach a carveout transaction in terms of minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities?
- How would you define key success factors in a carveout transaction?
Facilitators:
Scott Brady, Managing Director, M&A Practice, Marsh McLennan
Steve Siwinski, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
17:00 - 17:40
Interactive Working Group 10 (for operating partners only) | Driving long-term incentives and broad-based employee ownership across the organization
Marc Jourlait,
Dan Kapinos
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Understanding the lay of the land: how you should be thinking about offering and rolling out shared ownership to employees
- Comparing shared ownership programs that have helped companies improve employee engagement, attract and retain talent, and drive operational improvements
- Showcasing how shared equity participation and building a culture of ownership can align the interests of investors and workers to drive better outcomes for all
- Aligning the executives and the board on LTI program implementations
- Measuring its impact with an eye to the future and what comes next in PE
Facilitators:
Marc Jourlait, Senior Operating Partner, The Riverside Company
Dan Kapinos, Partner and Global Practice Leader, Equity Services, Aon
End of day one
17:40 - 18:40
End of day one grand reception
Agenda
Day 3 - Wednesday 23rd
Registration
07:45 - 08:30
Registration and breakfast
Think Tank Series 2
07:45 - 08:30
Think tanks for full-time operating partners: value creation war rooms (invitation-only for operating partners)
Neil Bansal,
Ori Ben-Moshe ,
Matt Ibbetson,
John Sander,
Bob Isaman,
Sebastien Bilodeau
These closed-door discussions will allow you to learn and share best practices of successful operating partners. It will allow you to select one of the rooms:
Think Tank 1: Emerging Operating Partners (1-2 years in PE)
Facilitators:
Neil Bansal, Managing Director, Strategy and Operations, OMERS Private Equity
Ori Ben-Moshe, Director of Portfolio Operations, ORIX Capital Partners
Think Tank 2: Advanced Operating Partners
Facilitators:
Matt Ibbetson, Partner, Ridgemont Equity Partners
John Sander, Principal, Portfolio Solutions, Lightyear Capital
Think Tank 3: Heads of Value Creation: Team Leaders Think Tank
Facilitators:
Bob Isaman, Head of Operations, Dunes Point Capital
Sebastien Bilodeau, President, Cerberus Technology Solutions, Cerberus Capital Management
Breakfast Deep-Dive Series
08:30 - 09:15
Breakfast deep dive discussion 1 (invitation-only for operating partners) — Value creation as a macro imperative: key insights for operating partner groups
William Bundy,
Jason Phillips
This breakfast deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow you to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Operating teams in an evolving macro landscape
- Economic imperative for value creation in PE
- Key macro trends to consider while monitoring your portcos
- PE operating group evolution to support the new reality of deal economics
Facilitators:
William Bundy, Partner, McKinsey & Company
Jason Phillips, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
08:30 - 09:15
Breakfast deep dive discussion 2 (invitation-only for operating partners) | The keys to achieving outsized value creation through revenue growth
Drew Conrad,
Patrick Donegan,
Chris Madaus
This breakfast deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow you to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Operating partners share growth war stories at their portfolio companies
- Avoiding the “lost years” caused by waiting too long to address revenue growth
- Fast starts drive higher IRR and earlier successful exits
- Launching and maintaining a growth focus in diligence and the first 100 days
- 16 analyses that quickly highlight the growth opportunity in a business
Facilitators:
Drew Conrad, Field Operations Advisor, TPG Capital
Patrick Donegan, Senior Managing Director, Blue Ridge Partners
Chris Madaus, Senior Managing Director, Blue Ridge Partners
08:30 - 09:15
Breakfast deep dive discussion 3 (invitation-only for operating partners) — Leadership matters: unique guidelines for transformation and impact
Ted Bililies,
Saurabh Singh
This breakfast deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow you to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- How would you define successful leadership? What are key qualities of the most impactful leaders at your companies?
- What can operating partners do to improve their influence when it comes to coaching?
- Leadership during times of disruption: sharing challenges and successful approaches
- What are key differences and similarities in working with different leaders across sectors?
- What does the next generation of leaders look like? How are you approaching their development?
Facilitator:
Ted Bililies, Partner and Managing Director, AlixPartners
Saurabh Singh, Partner, AlixPartners
08:30 - 09:15
Breakfast deep dive discussion 4 (invitation-only for operating partners) — Preparing for techxit: ensuring your tech is ready to maximize the multiple
Barr Blanton,
Kenneth Wang
This breakfast deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow you to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Getting ahead of the tech narrative for your business
- Establishing a “mock buy-side” baseline
- Defining the timeline and technology playbook for exit
- Identifying the most (and least) important digital and tech initiatives for the 12-18 months prior to exit
- Ensuring the tech team is ready for the diligence process
- Aligning market/commercial work with tech/product readiness
Facilitators:
Barr Blanton, CEO, Crosslake Technologies
Kenneth Wang, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
08:30 - 09:15
Breakfast deep dive discussion 5 (invitation-only for operating partners) | How operating partners and CFOs collaborate effectively to maximize value creation
Michelle Keller-Hobson,
Steve Siwinski
This breakfast deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow you to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Sharing war stories: challenges and benefits of collaborative decision-making and strategic alignment between operating partners and CFOs
- Operating partners expose the dos and don’ts to ensure their unique partnership works smoothly and effectively
- As operating partners, how do you best leverage your CFOs to drive the value creation plan?
- Exploring frameworks for aligning the operating partner’s expertise with the CFO’s vision and the portfolio company corporate strategy
Facilitator:
Michelle Keller-Hobson, Director, Private Equity Business Development, Vertice
Steve Siwinski, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Plenary
09:15 - 09:20
Chairman’s welcome
Tony Buffum
Chairman: Tony Buffum, Vice President of HR Client Strategy, Upwork
09:20 - 10:00
The C-suite of the future: what are the skills and traits needed to harness digital value creation?
Justin Cottrell,
Chris Satchell ,
Teresa Sweeney,
Ken Yagen ,
Scott Wong
- What does a digital and data driven CEO/C-suite look like and how do you identify what skills are needed in the early stages?
- Sharing insights about the competencies and qualities that C-suite executives need to drive technology-led value creation in portfolio companies
- How do leaders cultivate a forward-thinking mindset/culture to unlock innovation? What are the challenges and barriers in establishing digital cultures and how do you overcome them?
- How can operating partners best support the C-suite to establish alignment and drive tech initiatives?
- How do you measure the effectiveness of senior team digital optimization?
- How has the C-suite evolved over the last few years? What does the next generation C-suite look like? What comes next?
Moderator:
Justin Cottrell, Partner, Riviera Partners
Panelists:
Chris Satchell, Managing Director Technology and Digital, Clayton Dubilier & Rice
Teresa Sweeney, Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Data Science, Blackstone
Ken Yagen, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy and Innovation, Warburg Pincus
Scott Wong, Managing Director, AI and Data Science, GrowthCurve Capital
10:00 - 10:40
The portco CEO perspective: leveraging operating partners to drive value creation
Kevin Desai,
Chris Chandler,
Doron Grosman,
Mark Herrington
- What are CEO expectations for a productive value driven relationship?
- What can the operating partner do to help build trust with the CEO and what is the most effective engagement model with the CEO?
- Through the lens of the CEO, what are some common operating partner dos and don’ts?
- How might the operating partner align their experience/expertise with the CEO’s vision across all stages of the deal lifecycle?
- Where do CEOs need the most help? Least help?
- How has the CEO’s mindset shifted with respect to leveraging operating partners, consultants, and other specialists for value creation?
- What considerations should an operating partner keep in mind when working with a seasoned PE CEO versus a new PE CEO?
Moderator:
Kevin Desai, Deals Deputy Platform Leader and Private Equity Sector Leader, PwC US
Panelists:
Chris Chandler, Former President and CEO, Perativ
Doron Grosman, CEO and President, Smart Start, Inc.
Mark Herrington, Operating Partner, Portfolio Operations, Resurgens Technology Partners
Break
10:40 - 11:00
Networking break
Plenary
11:00 - 11:40
Value creation for the exit: operating partner perspectives
Ryan Jones,
Asheesh Gupta,
Dave Richards,
Nick Winter,
Curt Witte
- What is your approach to preparing a portfolio company for exit, and how do you execute the plan?
- How are current market conditions impacting exit plans and strategies?
- How do you work with your functional leadership team to support the execution of your exit strategy?
- What is the role of data in driving higher exit valuations?
- Showcasing dos and don’ts and what a successful exit looks like; how do you measure the success of an exit?
- How closely did the post close experience match the pre-close promises? What worked and what didn’t?
Moderator:
Ryan Jones, Global and US Private Equity Consulting Leader, Deloitte Consulting
Panelists:
Asheesh Gupta, Managing Director, Portfolio Support, Audax Private Equity
Dave Richards, Managing Director, Co-Head of North American Operating Team, Strategic Value Partners
Nick Winter, Managing Director and North American Head of Portfolio Operations, Värde Partners
Curt Witte, Partner, Head of Growth Factors, Bregal Sagemount
11:40 - 12:20
Innovation in value creation: showcasing cutting-edge initiatives
Sean Mooney,
Mara Edgar,
Misha Logvinov,
Jonathan Metrick,
Alessandro Moretti
- What are the most innovative and unique initiatives you have implemented within your functional domain?
- Can you share examples of how you worked cross functionally on real innovative projects?
- How do you establish a culture of innovation and break down walls at your companies?
- How did your initiatives really make a difference and create value? What were the biggest challenges you had to overcome?
- Showcasing value creation innovation beyond AI: what are the game changers?
Moderator:
Sean Mooney, Founder and CEO, BluWave
Panelists:
Mara Edgar, Managing Director, Human Capital, The Riverside Company
Misha Logvinov, Managing Director, MGX
Jonathan Metrick, Partner, Chief Growth Officer, Sagard
Alessandro Moretti, Head of Operational Value Creation, Public Investment Fund
Break
12:20 - 12:30
Break
Interactive Working Groups Series 3
12:30 - 13:10
Interactive Working Group 11 (for operating partners only) | Go-to-Market strategy and execution: what does great look like?
AJ Gandhi,
Darlene Kober
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Creating a winning go-to-market strategy: aligning competencies with opportunities
- Getting your messaging right with your customers
- Accelerating your GTM execution: improving processes and increasing lead conversion
- How are you effectively communicating with and training the sales team?
Facilitators:
AJ Gandhi, Chief Growth Officer, Marlin Equity Partners
Darlene Kober, Principal, NEXT LEVEL Partners
12:30 - 13:10
Interactive Working Group 12 (for operating partners only) | Technology value creation workshop: sharing firsthand playbooks and projects
Nadeem Ahmed,
Sajjad Jaffer,
Kate Ju,
Chris Kalna
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators:
- How do you define effective tech and digital value creation?
- How do you go about identifying, evaluating, prioritizing, and executing technology initiatives that improve enterprise value?
- How do you showcase value when it comes to data points on tech spend and tech value creation?
- How do you establish and execute tech roadmaps across the investment lifecycle? How do you overcome roadblocks?
Facilitators:
Nadeem Ahmed, Partner, CrossCountry Consulting
Sajjad Jaffer, Head of Data, Analytics and Machine Learning, GrowthCurve Capital
Kate Ju, Vice President, Value Accelerator, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Chris Kalna, Vice President Information Technology, OceanSound Partners
12:30 - 13:10
Interactive Working Group 13 (for operating partners only) | Operating partner-COO dynamics: driving better business processes
Seavron Banus,
David Venker
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Collaboration dynamics to scale and grow your operations as a business
- Key insights into org design, process improvement, integrations, change management and transformation work focused on the office of the COO
- Setting up program management to drive accountability and execution of value creation efforts
Facilitators:
Seavron Banus, Operating Vice President, Portfolio Support Group, Berkshire Partners
David Venker, Principal, Portfolio Operations, HCI Equity Partners
12:30 - 13:10
Interactive Working Group 14 (for operating partners only) | Refining your ESG and impact strategy within the value creation agenda
Evan Greenfield
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- Moving beyond data collection – how to integrate and improve upon impact outcomes across the portfolio
- Creating impact value and considering materiality in an impact strategy
- Scaling impact – creating a portfolio-wide playbook to enhance adoptions, learnings and impact outcomes
Facilitator:
Evan Greenfield, Managing Director, ESG, BCI
12:30 - 13:10
Interactive Working Group 15 (for operating partners only) | The operating partner’s essential finance and accounting game plan
Jon Marston
This session designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators.
- The first 100 days – identifying red flags and potential pitfalls: how to stabilize finance and accounting functions in a highly acquisitive environment
- Moving from stabilization to growth: essential strategies to create highly effective partnerships with financial leaders to support value creation
- Pragmatic steps to prepare for 2025 – winning with growth investments even at a time of constrained capital
Facilitator:
Jon Marston, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner, WilliamsMarston
Lunch
13:10 - 14:00
Networking Lunch
13:10 - 14:00
Functional lunch discussion 2 (invitation-only for operating partners) | Rate optimization: the no regrets cloud cost management tactic for your portcos
Joe Benincasa
This closed-door deep dive lunch discussion designed solely for tech and digital operating partners will explore key strategies for cloud to enhance value. One of the highest impact tactics to optimize a cloud environment with cloud providers that is often underemployed by CTOs and VPs of Engineering is pricing or rate optimization through discount instruments. If cloud costs are a top P&L line item in your portfolio, missing out on rate optimization is gross margin dollars left on the table. Learn how rate optimization can be tracked, and with the right automation, employed in your organization to incrementally add margin to the business.
- What is rate optimization?
- How is it different from usage/workload optimization?
- What are the use cases that are candidates for rate optimization?
- Why is rate optimization often overlooked by CTOs/VP Engs?
- Why is rate optimization an obvious KPI for an operating partner?
- Why is automation critical for expert rate optimization?
- How the different optimization metrics for both rate and usage optimization align
Facilitator:
Joe Benincasa, Product Leader, Cloud Optimization, ProsperOps
13:10 - 14:00
Functional lunch discussion 3 (invitation-only for operating partners) The GenAI & customer analytics journey to total monetization
Michael Belkin,
David Warren
This closed-door deep dive lunch discussion designed solely for operating partners will explore key commercial and monetization strategies.
- How are you deciding how to monetize the combination of GenAI technology and proprietary data? Operating partners share war stories across customer journeys at software/tech companies
- How are you working with your management teams on the business requirements, process design, implementation, and execution?
- What does a successful customer journey look like in terms of time to market, growth, and margin for AI-enhanced products and services?
- How do you see the role GenAI plays in revenue models changing in the next 18 months – three years and how will that impact the tools, information, resources you will need to be successful?
Facilitators:
Michael Belkin, Head of Global PE Practice, Zuora
David Warren, Senior Director, Zuora
Functional Breakout Series 5
14:00 - 14:40
Track 21 Harnessing data to increase enterprise value across all stages of the deal cycle
Christian Davis,
Dominic Gallello,
Ishan Gammampila,
Subhi Sherwell,
Roxi Wen
- How do investors and management teams increasingly achieve higher returns by harnessing data?
- Gaining a competitive advantage with command of commercial data and the capabilities to take action from it
- Sharing differentiated and more sophisticated views of a target’s commercial performance in diligence
- Improving clarity and confidence in underlying performance drivers during the first 100 days
- Accelerating opportunity identification and capture during value creation or control and articulation of the equity story at exit
Moderator:
Christian Davis, Associate Partner, JMAN Group
Panelists:
Dominic Gallello, Managing Director, Head of Digital & AI, Bridgepoint
Ishan Gammampila, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Apax Partners
Subhi Sherwell, Operations Director, TPG
Roxi Wen, Operating Partner, Insight Partners
14:00 - 14:40
Track 22 Pricing’s effect on value creation for industrials: sharing lessons learned to drive returns
Jared Wiesel,
Jonathan Konkoly,
James Silberstein,
Alexis Underwood
- Understanding trends in the space and why focusing on price improvements is imperative for value creation
- Unlocking customer segmentation and analytics to optimize your pricing strategy within the sector
- Sharing success stories and lessons learned
Moderator:
Jared Wiesel, Senior Vice President, Revenue Analytics
Panelists:
Jonathan Konkoly, Vice President of Portfolio Operations, HCI Equity Partners
Janshaaz Khan, Vice President, Wellspring Capital Management
James Silberstein, Director, Commercial Excellence and Revenue Optimization, Trivest Partners
Alexis Underwood, Managing Director, Commercial Excellence and Pricing, Wynnchurch Capital
14:00 - 14:40
Track 23 Portfolio perspectives: leveraging supply chain to empower speed-to-value from operational analytics
Tony Totta,
Stephanie Bixler,
Ryan Wesselschmidt,
Jason White
- Savings: 8.6% cost capture through informed pricing and usage strategies
- Profitability: 1%-5% more sales returned to the bottom line
- Efficiency: 10%-16% distribution network savings
Moderator:
Tony Totta, Executive Vice President, eShipping
Panelists:
Stephanie Bixler, Chief Product Officer and Head of Synapsum, eShipping
Ryan Wesselschmidt, Senior Vice President and General Manager North America, Husqvarna Group
Jason White, Chief Transformation and Development Officer, HGS BioScience
Ryan Wesselschmidt
SVP Sales and Service and GM North America, Husqvarna Construction Division, North America
Read bio
14:00 - 14:40
Track 24 Cost optimization to unlock and accelerate VCP initiatives
Kevin Flounders,
David Bonasia,
Ken Esterow,
Mujteba Haidri
- Sharing examples of how cash constrained businesses have flourished with cost optimization and transformational growth
- Operating partner-CFO dynamics to leverage cost optimization and profitability
- Fixing cost management in the first 100 days to set the tone in looking at EBITDA margin
- Reducing costs in areas of indirect spend to substantially impact EBITDA margin in a short period of time
- Putting cost savings to work to deliver and further enhance value creation plan initiatives
Moderator:
Kevin Flounders, CEO, SIB
Panelists:
David Bonasia, Managing Director, Private Equity, Brookfield Asset Management
Kenneth Esterow, Partner, TZP Group
Mujteba Haidri, Operating Partner, Blue Point Capital Partners
Functional Breakout Series 6
14:40 - 15:20
Track 25 Demystifying R&D across your portfolio to drive better business outcomes
Ryan Kuchova,
Neil Kimber,
Patrick Mizer,
Mark Uhrmacher,
Ken Yagen
- Uncover how PE operators can gain visibility into R&D organizations, understand their effectiveness, and ensure they are aligned to business priorities.
Moderator:
Ryan Kuchova, Head of Strategy and Operations, Jellyfish
Panelists:
Neil Kimber, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Patrick Mizer, Portfolio CTO, Blue Star Innovation Partners
Mark Uhrmacher, Head of Digital Transformation and Chief Technology Officer, GrowthCurve Capital
Ken Yagen, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy and Innovation, Warburg Pincus
Mark Uhrmacher
Head of Digital Transformation and Chief Technology Officer, GrowthCurve Capital
Read bio
14:40 - 15:20
Track 26 Marketing as a key lever beyond due diligence: unlocking 180-day success
Pierre Le Veaux II,
Beth Dresdale,
Andy Pickens,
Shivani Tejuja
- Assess potential acquisitions and investments more effectively by building a better due diligence process that incorporates deep marketing data and analysis
- Add quantitative value to targets faster by de-risking investment choices and unlocking efficiencies that accelerate performance and profitability
- Minimize friction and ease the transition to the 180-day plan by inserting operating partners earlier in the diligence process to work directly with deal teams
- Leverage short-term “test and learn” project engagements to set up data systems and determine channel prioritization, effectiveness, and/or elimination
Moderator:
Pierre Le Veaux II, SVP, Head of Private Equity Partnerships, Wpromote
Panelists:
Beth Dresdale, Principal, Head of Value Creation, Martis Capital
Andy Pickens, Managing Director, Apollo Global Management
Shivani Tejuja, Advisory Director, Charlesbank Capital Partners
Pierre Le Veaux II
Senior Vice President, Private Equity & Venture Capital Partnerships, Wpromote
Read bio
14:40 - 15:20
Track 27 New value creation playbooks for the first 100 days and into year one
Stephan Keese,
Rupert Brenninkmeijer,
Jay Epstein,
Mohamed Mirza,
Chris Westington
- Accelerating first year transformations through the lens of different functional specialists
- How have 100-day plans changed in recent years? What does the future playbook look like?
- What key principles remain intact? What are your main priorities for the first 100 days into year one?
- How are you working across various functions/teams in year one?
- How are you engaging and working with leadership teams to ensure alignment and effectively implement the plan?
- What are the biggest challenges and roadblocks you have encountered? How did you overcome them?
Moderator:
Stephan Keese, Managing Partner North America, Roland Berger
Panelists:
Rupert Brenninkmeijer, Operating Principal, Growth Factors, Bregal Sagemount
Jay Epstein, Managing Director, CFO Advisor, Warburg Pincus
Mohamed Mirza, Director, Mubadala Performance Partners, Mubadala
Chris Westington, Director of Portfolio Management and Value Creation, BCI
Plenary
15:20 - 15:30
Becoming a risk traverse leader™
Tracey Abbott
Leaders are asked every day to make decisions and each of them contains some level of risk. How can risk be seen as a growth driver, and where can it show up as an asset? Old growth playbooks are out, and leaders must be able to smartly traverse increasing complexity. My high stakes risk adventure stories include from business school in a language I barely spoke, living abroad for a decade, retiring from corporate to operate a Chick-fil-A franchise, to joining Private Equity as an operating partner to work with CEOs. Learn the four critical questions I use to assess risk and harness it to help support management teams.
Presented by:
Tracey Abbott, Senior Operating Partner, Mubadala Performance Partners, Mubadala
15:30 - 15:45
PEI presents the 1st annual operating partners compensation survey results
Bill O'Conor
Discover the latest figures in operating partner compensation for 2024 across functional areas, models, AUM, seniority levels, and more.
Presented by:
Bill O’Conor, Managing Director – Americas, PEI Group
End of conference
15:45 - 15:50
Closing remarks and end of conference
Build your operating partner community
Expand your relationships and build a lasting network with our operating partner exclusive networking events.
Connect with leaders in value creation to share ideas, solve challenges, and benchmark strategies that will level up your day-to-day operations.
Operating Partners Forum New York Welcome Reception (invitation-only)
Monday, October 21, 2024
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Manhatta, 28 Liberty St, 60th floor
Join other event attendees at our opening reception. Exchange valuable insights with your peers in a relaxed setting and build your connections before the conference kicks off.
Operating Partners Forum New York Networking Dinners (invitation-only)
Monday, October 21, 2024
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Manhatta, 28 Liberty St, 60th floor
Join us for one of five private sit-down dinners, split by functional area, designed exclusively for operating partners attending the Forum.
Operating Partners Lunch Discussions (operating partners only)
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
1:00 – 2:00 pm
These closed-door conversations will explore how to best position yourself in PE portfolio operations:
- Women in PE portfolio operations lunch
- Unlocking advanced pricing strategies: how are you thinking about it?
Operating Partners Forum New York Day 1 Grand Reception
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
5:40 – 6:40 pm
Our grand reception will allow you to chat and get to know your operating partner peers at the end of the first day of the Forum. Hear what is on everyone’s mind after a full day of valuable insights.
Breakfast Discussions (operating partners only)
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
8:30 – 9:15 am
Share your views and learn from peers about specific value creation levers.
Lunch Discussions (operating partners only)
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
1:10 – 2:00 pm
These closed-door conversations will explore key strategies for your portcos and PE firms to enhance value.
Sessions designed for collaboration
Think Tanks
Put your heads together with other operating partners to examine niche areas of value creation. With crowd-sourced discussion topics, these peer-led sessions will provide personalized takeaways.
Interactive Working Groups
Hear how your peers are navigating specific value creation levers. These interactive discussions, facilitated by our expert speaking faculty, will provide a closer look at specific cross-functional topics.
Pre-Event Resources
2024 speakers
For speaking opportunities, contact Marc Mele at marc.m@pei.group or call +1 646 581 9295.
Robin Goodman
Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Portfolio Operations, Blackstone
Raj Kushwaha
Managing Director ＆ Partner, Co-Head Value Creation and Chief Digital Officer, Warburg Pincus
Kate Migliaro
Managing Director, Talent and Organization Performance, Portfolio Operations, Blackstone
Jonathan Waggoner
Managing Director and Co-Head of the North American Operating Team, Strategic Value Partners, LLC
Ryan Wesselschmidt
SVP Sales and Service and GM North America, Husqvarna Construction Division, North America
Engage with the largest operating partner community
Private Equity International’s Operating Partners Forums are a unique blend of networking, collaboration, and thought leadership between private equity operating partners, portfolio operations teams, and sponsors.
Each event is custom designed to encourage conversation about value creation best practices, relationship building, and knowledge sharing across functional areas on the most pressing issues facing investment and portfolio companies. Access to the Forum is limited to value creation experts from private equity firms and sponsors.
For more information on ways to engage with PEI’s Operating Partners community, please contact Lawrence Dvorchik at lawrence.d@pei.group or call on +1 (646) 545-4429
