Private Equity
International
International
Operating Partners Forum San Francisco 2023
7 - 8 June 2023,
Hotel Nikko San Francisco
The leading West Coast value creation event
Now in its third year in person, the Operating Partners Forum San Francisco brings together an elite crowd of value creators in North American PE and VC portfolio operations.
Join the two-day event to get a firm grasp on key initiatives to transform operations, deliver growth, and drive value for your portfolio companies in this crucial time in the economic cycle.
With dedicated sessions focused on digital transformation and using technology to create value, the Forum connects the West Coast’s leading community of operating partners, private equity leaders, C-level executives, suppliers & resources.
Secure your place by March 24, 2023, to save $600+ on your pass.
Create the most operationally efficient portfolio companies
Hear first-hand perspectives on how to further develop your operational skill set.
Network with top value creators
Meet with the largest community of operational experts in one place over 2 days.
Learn key strategies for cross-portfolio initiatives
Find the right tools and knowledge to create value.
“Operating talent everywhere to engage, benchmark and learn from!!”
Paul Demand
MD & Partner, ShawKwei & Partners
Paul Demand
MD & Partner, ShawKwei & Partners
“Operating talent everywhere to engage, benchmark and learn from!!”
2023 Two-day agenda
The 2023 agenda is carefully curated to feature the most prominent functional areas in value creation:
- Sales & Revenue Growth
- Human Capital
- Technology/Digital
- ESG
- Supply Chain & Procurement
- Finance
- Marketing
- And much more…
2023 Speakers
Meet the largest West Coast operating partner community:
Unlock new frontiers in digital value creation
The leading West Coast value creation event
Day 1
Unlocking the next frontier in digital value creation
Day 2
2023 Agenda
View agenda page
Agenda
Day 1 - Wednesday 7th
07:30 - 08:40
Registration and breakfast
07:45 - 08:40
Think tanks for full-time operating partners — career paths, compensation, carry, and incentives (for operating partners only)
Martin Mumford
Join our closed-door think tanks solely for PE and VC operating partners for an inside and exclusive look into career paths and the evolution of compensation plans for operating partners. Explore and engage in discussions with the best in the industry and find your answers to key questions such as:
- Do you get carry? What other incentive comp levers are operating partners seeing?
- How have comp plans changed throughout the years?
- How do you best position yourself internally in your career at your firms?
- How do you best position yourself in your career in working with portfolio companies?
Think Tank Room 1
Advanced Operating Partners — career paths, compensation, carry, and incentives
Think Tank Room 2
Emerging Operating Partners (1-2 years in PE/VC) — career paths, compensation, carry, and incentives
Facilitator:
Martin Mumford, Operating Partner, Angeles Equity Partners
08:40 - 09:00
PEI’s welcome and chairman’s opening remarks
Tim Sanders
Chairman:
Tim Sanders, Vice President, Client Strategy, Upwork
Plenary Sessions
09:00 - 09:40
Making the most of disruption in a downturn: operating partner and CEO value preservation playbooks
- Best practices for working with investors to effectively manage and perpetuate your business through the investment while strengthening your relationship with investors
- Innovative approaches for working with portco leadership to maximize value creation and returns
- Case examples when recently acquired, in mid-investment period, and during the exit
- Understanding how CEOs operate and address the rapidly changing world with agility
09:40 - 10:20
The evolution of value creation and the operating partner model
Ignacio Giraldo,
Prital Kadakia,
Colin Smith
- How are operating partner models evolving in PE and at your firm? How is the operating model different/unique at your firm?
- What does career progression look like for operating partners?
- Making the “magic quadrant” work: how the deal team, operating team, CEO, and board can work together to deliver value creation
- Comparing team structures from generalists to functional specialists and sector specialists
- What does your engagement approach with portfolio companies look like? How is the engagement approach changing? How do you build trust?
- Uncovering where your operating partner teams focus their attention: processes, resources, and playbooks
Panelists:
Ignacio Giraldo, Partner, TPG Rise
Prital Kadakia, Partner, Serent Capital
Colin Smith, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Transformation Team, Oaktree Capital
10:20 - 11:00
Market challenges in 2023: remedies for good tech companies getting into bad cash situations
Jeffrey Klein
- When variable loans come due, where can tech companies find cash that meets the need and safeguards EBITDA
- Top line growth strategies
- Cost mitigation strategies
- What we are seeing working with software, technology and high-tech enabled services companies facing these conditions
Moderator:
Jeffrey Klein, Managing Director, Private Equity Performance Improvement, Alvarez & Marsal
11:00 - 11:40
An inside look at key functional and cross-functional value creation initiatives across the investment lifecycle
- Looking at best practices in pre-deal, 100 days, hold and exit through the lens of different functional area specialists
- What matters most to operating partners in different functional areas in analyzing different types of funds and sectors
- Functional specialist operating partners will share cross-functional initiatives: challenges and opportunities
11:40 - 12:10
Networking break
Interactive Working Groups Series I
12:10 - 12:50
Interactive Working Group 1 (for operating partners only) — Operating partner-CFO dynamics: driving engagement, support, and value creation initiatives
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- Creating an impactful portfolio company CFO: how can PE best support portco CFOs to drive initiatives?
- How to best partner with CFOs during current challenging economic times
- Exchanging war stories of challenging relationships: dos and don’ts
- Accelerating your finance function through people, processes, and technologies
- Finance and accounting reporting and assessment best practices
12:10 - 12:50
Interactive Working Group 2 (for operating partners only) — Untapped leverage: how to combat supplier price inflation and reduce your IT costs before you start negotiating
Virginia Lantz
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators.
Virginia Lantz, Director of Insight Sourcing Group’s IT Sourcing Practice will facilitate a topical discussion on IT cost optimization, with an emphasis on managing renewal spends. In this session, we will:
- Address recent trends in technology providers’ cost structures amidst recessionary climate
- Provide practical guidance for combatting supplier gamesmanship and price increases guised as inflationary pressures
- Explore demand management principles and advanced planning measures that help reduce IT costs and maximize negotiations outcomes
- Review contracting and relationship management practices to proactively ensure a strong starting position for future renewals
Facilitator:
Virginia Lantz, Director, Insight Sourcing Group
12:10 - 12:50
Interactive Working Group 3 (for operating partners only) — What is happening in buying centers and how does that impact value creation in portfolio companies?
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- How are customer buying centers responding to the macro environment?
- How are providers responding to these challenges, and what has worked?
- What value creation strategies will drive top line growth over the next 12 months?
Facilitator:
David Reid, Senior Managing Director, Teneo
12:50 - 13:50
Networking lunch
12:50 - 13:50
Women in PE and VC portfolio operations lunch (invitation-only)
Martina Lauchengco
This closed-door lunch discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE and VC portfolio operations:
- Exploring career paths, development, and how to position yourselves as female leaders
- Is your firm focused on women’s leadership at portfolio companies?
- What initiatives are you driving for women on boards across portcos? What can be done?
- Does your firm have any specific programs, leadership coaching, or assessments geared towards promoting women’s leadership?
- Looking at trends and stats in gender in PE and VC
Facilitators:
Martina Lauchengco, Partner, Costanoa Ventures
Breakout Series I
13:50 - 14:30
Track 1 | Operating partner-deal team dynamics
Jason Friedrichs,
Achi Yaffe,
Gabriel Mesanza,
Gautam Nadella
- Discussing what your deal team wants and needs from you
- What do your investors value most in your role as an operating partner?
- How to build trust and grow your relationship with deal teams: what does a successful partnership look like?
- Showcasing best practices in the due diligence phase and across the investment cycle
- How does the current climate affect your partnership and what is most important when it comes to synergy in this environment?
Panelists:
Jason Friedrichs, Director, Portfolio Operations, Altamont Capital Partners
Gabe Mesanza, Partner, Resource Group Lead, Huron Capital
Gautam Nadella, Operating Partner, EQT Ventures
Achi Yaffe, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, GI Partners
13:50 - 14:30
Track 2 | Value accelerator: optimizing the PE operating team to accelerate time to value
Ankur Patel
- How 100-day plans are accelerating in the current environment and years to come
- What are the biggest mistakes to avoid in the first 100 days?
- What key roles and new roles are most important in rapidly accelerating the value creation plan?
- Uncovering holistic views across functions in looking at accelerating the value creation ecosystem overall
- Sharing operating partner initiatives in the fast lane: lessons learned to scale quickly and have an immediate impact
- Unlocking broad-based acceleration with tools, resources, and partners: how can value be achieved quickly and robustly for it to have an ongoing impact in the lifecycle sooner and sooner
Panelists:
Ankur Patel, Operating Vice President, Accel-KKR
13:50 - 14:30
Track 3 | Redefining your human capital playbooks in the current economy
Jan Jamrich,
Bryan West
- Uncovering challenges, opportunities, and the overall impact of a downturn on the human capital function
- How do you demonstrate and convince all stakeholders about the value of human capital best practices and the function in this economy
- How are you changing your playbook? How are you looking at the quality of the leadership team in this environment?
- How are you engaging with and helping your portcos to grow and optimize given the uncertainty of the current climate?
- What are the lessons learned in looking at previous downturns? What do you foresee for the remainder of 2023?
Moderator:
Jan Jamrich, CEO and Founder, Entromy
Panelists:
Bryan West, Managing Director, Talent, Resurgens Technology Partners
Breakout Series II
14:30 - 15:10
Track 4 | Financial innovation: how operating partners and CFOs can drive growth plans in today’s climate
Tim Sanders,
John Roselli
- Cutting costs, not capacity: looking at new and innovative approaches to budgeting when in headwinds
- Grasping game changing opportunities for companies in their ability to release new products and strategies for future growth
- Understanding how to gain financial and operational flexibility to bounce back faster
- Sharing examples and war stories of financial innovation during previous downturns
Moderator:
Tim Sanders, Vice President of Client Strategy, Upwork
Panelists:
John Roselli, Operating Partner, New Harbor Capital
14:30 - 15:10
Track 5 | Beating inflation with advanced pricing strategies
Adam Echter,
Eddie Hartman
- Looking at inflation’s challenges and current opportunities in different industries/sectors
- The critical levers already in your control: optimizing your customer base
- Implementing urgent and opportunistic pricing changes in current times
- Using data: tracking these KPIs to achieve out-performing net retention
- Digital strategies: the technology that will increase your reach
- Engaging with companies to successfully execute pricing projects
Presenters:
Adam Echter, Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Edward Hartman, Board Member, Simon-Kucher & Partners
14:30 - 15:10
Track 6 | Practical approaches for portfolio companies to drive ESG within value creation
Prachi Kanabar
- Uncovering practical steps in different phases of the investment lifecycle to embed ESG within value creation
- How should your portfolio companies think about ESG in looking at climate change and their carbon footprint? Any other specific areas within ESG?
- Mapping out and engaging with all key stakeholders on ESG
- What is the role of the operating partner in driving ESG initiatives?
- Sharing frameworks to evaluate ESG risks and opportunities
- ESG reporting: How are ESG based KPIs, and metrics being used effectively? What are LPs requesting?
Panelists:
Prachi Kanabar, Principal and Head of Portfolio Operations, Sunstone Partners
Breakout Series III
15:10 - 15:50
Track 7 | Keys of GTM, sales and marketing strategies from diligence to exit
Slade Kobran,
Elizabeth Dresdale,
Patricia Ludwig,
Prerak Vohra
- Improving your sales and marketing alignment and execution strategy in the different stages of the investment lifecycle
- Looking at GTM and marketing examples across different sectors
- What tech and resources are needed when it comes to GTM, Sales, and Marketing
- Understanding how to execute with longer hold periods and how to focus on organic growth in current times
Moderator:
Slade Kobran, Managing Partner, Private Equity, Chief Outsiders
Panelists:
Elizabeth Dresdale, Principal, The Catalyst Group, Incline Equity Partners
Patricia Ludwig, Director, KKR Capstone
Zorian Rotenberg, GTM, Sales & Revenue Growth Operating Partner, Charlesbank Capital Partners
Prerak Vohra, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
15:10 - 15:50
Track 8 | Talent acquisition, retention, and development: operating partners share human capital best practices
Dan Grosh,
Brian Kasser
- Sharing advanced strategies in talent acquisition in the current environment
- What are the biggest challenges when it comes to recruiting in this environment?
- What types of leaders are needed at companies in this economy? How do you hire versatile people in this economy?
- How are you dealing with layoffs in the current market?
- What retention strategies are you using? What works and what doesn’t?
- How has the remote mindset impacted your hiring and retention plans?
- How do you develop high-potential talent in this climate?
Panelists:
Dan Grosh, Operating Partner, Human Capital, Diversis Capital
Brian Kasser, Talent Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
15:10 - 15:50
Track 9 | The future of finance: enabling a digital and data-driven CFO
Sarah Spoja,
Anish Sharan
- Financial transformations: operating partners share war stories
- Establishing roadmaps for CFOs in digitizing your finance practice and reporting best practices
- How have you worked with CFOs to define their path to value via data and automation?
- What areas of automation in finance and accounting have been the most successful?
- Uncovering key skills needed in CFOs for portfolio company digitization: how the CFO must navigate the increasing IT complexity of today’s world
Moderator:
Sarah Spoja, Chief Financial Officer, Tipalti
Panelists:
Anish Sharan, Head of Digital Transformation, Pritzker Private Capital
Breakout Series IV
15:50 - 16:30
Track 10 | Customer analytics and growth of install base: turning data into a commercial driver
Austin Downing,
Mark Fiske,
Shivani Tejuja
- Discussing the “why and how” in looking at: granular subscriptions/contracts, customers, product, usage, and support data to drive increased retention and renewals, upsell, and cross-sell
- Uncovering real world results and KPIs that depict customer health/the customer journey
- Key sales KPIs and metrics: utilizing data to achieve market differentiation and a sustainable competitive advantage
Moderator:
Austin Downing, Senior Manager, Data Scientist and Technology, West Monroe
Panelists:
Mark Fiske, Operating Partner, Digital Strategies, H.I.G. Capital
Shivani Tejuja, Advisory Director, Charlesbank Capital Partners
15:50 - 16:30
Track 11 | Finance portfolio value creation case study
15:50 - 16:30
Track 12 | Human capital value creation
16:30 - 16:50
Networking coffee break
Interactive Working Groups Series II
16:50 - 17:30
Interactive Working Group 4 (for operating partners only) | What makes a great talent partner/human capital operating partner team?
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- Sharing how talent operating partners work best in the different phases of the lifecycle pre and post deal
- Comparing capabilities, models, and teams: how do you build teams to scale?
- Understanding the evolving role of the human capital function in PE: what is it today and what will it be in future? What does great look like and how do you drive faster execution?
- Working with management teams: dos and don’ts
- Looking at operating partner-CHRO dynamics
16:50 - 17:30
Interactive Working Group 5 (for operating partners only) — Product development, strategy, and launch: operating partners share key insights
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- Sharing lessons learned in the key phases of launching products across functions from the development side to execution
- Bringing new products to market in looking at the development side, the engineer side, user interface, branding, and GTM
- Understanding how product innovation and product velocity can turn into growth
- What role do Chief Product Officers play at your companies and what does your engagement model look like?
- How are things more challenging in the current market and what needs to be done differently?
Facilitator:
Ryan Polk, Operating Partner – Product & Technology, Insight Partners
16:50 - 17:30
Interactive Working Group 6 (for operating partners only) — Pricing workshop
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
17:30 - 18:30
End of day 1 and networking cocktail reception
Explore our exclusive operating partner only networking
Expand your relationships and build your network with our operating partner exclusive networking events taking place throughout the Forum. Join our community of the brightest leaders in value creation that will help you in your day-to-day operations.
Pre-conference reception
Tuesday, June 6
Operating Partners San Francisco and Technology Forum Welcome Reception (invitation-only)
5:30 – 8:00 pm
Venue: Hotel Nikko Main Lobby, 222 Mason Street
Join the operating partners attending the San Francisco and Technology Forum at our opening reception in the main lobby of Hotel Nikko. Exchange valuable insights with your peers in a relaxed setting and build your connections before the conference kicks off.
Pre-conference dinners
Tuesday, June 6
Women in PE and VC Portfolio Operations Dinner (invitation-only)
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Venue: KANPAI Lounge, Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street
Join us as we welcome the women in PE portfolio operations attending the San Francisco and Technology Forum for a private sit-down dinner to facilitate networking before the conference. Increase your connections and exchange ideas with women leaders in value creation.
Technology Operating Partners Dinner (invitation-only)
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Venue: Restaurant Anzu, Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street
Join us as we welcome the digital and tech operating partners attending the Forum for a private sit-down dinner to facilitate networking before the conference starts. Increase your connections and exchange ideas with tech leaders in value creation.
Day 1 lunch and reception
Wednesday, June 7
Women in PE and VC Portfolio Operations Lunch (invitation-only)
12:50 – 1:50 pm
Venue: Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street
This closed-door lunch discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE and VC portfolio operations.
Operating Partners San Francisco Forum Day 1 Networking Reception
5:30 – 6:30 pm
Venue: Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street
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.
Day 2 breakfast and lunch
Thursday, June 8
Technology Deep Dive Breakfast (operating partners only)
7:45 – 8:30 am
Venue: Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street
This breakfast deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will focus on key strategies in digitally enabled commercial effectiveness and transformations.
Women in Tech Portfolio Operations Lunch Discussion (invitation-only)
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Venue: Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street
Join our very first women in tech portfolio operations lunch to discuss and learn from the women leaders in tech value creation.
Featured interactive discussions & networking opportunities
Think Tanks
The closed-door session led by operating partners for operating partners only will allow you to engage in lively discussions with your peers. The thinks tanks will also allow you to submit topics to be covered in looking at the best value creation practices.
Interactive Working Groups
These exclusive deep dive discussions only available to operating partners allow you to participate in interactive roundtable discussions with designated facilitators to learn from experts in functional areas of value creation.
Pre-Event Resources
For speaking opportunities, contact Marc Mele at marc.m@pei.group or call +1 646 581 9295.
Richa Aggarwal
Partner, Private Equity Value Creation, PwC
As a Partner in PwC’s Private Equity Value Creation team, Richa focuses on building and retaining relationships with the PE deal team, operating advisors and leaders, and portfolio company senior executives. Richa has 15+ years of experience in leadi… Read full bio
Austin Downing
Senior Manager, Data Scientist and Technology, West Monroe
Austin leverages data to deliver insights in due diligence and drive actionability in value-add post investment. He executed a customer analytics initiative at a $4B retailer, driving double-digit growth in the partnering business unit via Customer L… Read full bio
Elizabeth Dresdale
Principal, The Catalyst Group, Incline Equity Partners
Elizabeth Dresdale is a Principal at Incline Equity Partners. She is responsible for identifying, assessing, and recommending sales and go to market strategies and improvements for portfolio companies. Elizabeth is based in the firm’s New York office… Read full bio
Adam Echter
Partner, Simon-Kucher and 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
Cory Eaves
Operating Partner, General Atlantic
Cory A. Eaves is an Operating Partner at General Atlantic, providing strategic support and advice to the firm’s investment teams and portfolio companies with a focus on technology, operations, and digital transformation. Before joining General Atlant… Read full bio
Mark Fiske
Operating Partner, Digital Strategies, H.I.G. Capital
Mark is an Operating Partner at H.I.G. Capital focused on marketing and digital strategies. Mark is based in the San Francisco office. In his role, he partners with portfolio organizations to develop and build comprehensive marketing and digital stra… Read full bio
Jason Friedrichs
Director, Portfolio Operations, Altamont Capital Partners
Jason Friedrichs is a Director for ACP. Jason partners with management teams to build great businesses in ACP’s portfolio. Prior to joining ACP, Jason worked with the portfolio companies of private equity firm Advent International. As a Vice Presiden… Read full bio
Ignacio Giraldo
Partner, TPG Rise
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
Dan Grosh
Operating Partner, Human Capital, Diversis Capital
Dan Grosh is an Operating Partner, Human Capital at Diversis. He focuses on talent strategy, enhancing leadership teams and special projects for Diversis and the firm’s portfolio. Dan has played a significant role at Calibre One. He served on the glo… Read full bio
Eddie Hartman
Board Member, Simon-Kucher and Partners
Eddie Hartman is a Board Member at Simon Kucher’s San Francisco office. He specializes in developing high-growth revenue strategies, conducting effective go-to-market planning, and achieving recurring revenue excellence. Eddie works with small “hyper… Read full bio
Tye Howell
Managing Director, Data and Digital, Blue Point Capital Partners
Tye Howell, Blue Point Capital Partners’ Managing Director of Data and Digital, is responsible for the development and execution of Data Analytics and Digital Transformation strategies for Blue Point’s portfolio companies alongside the rest of the te… Read full bio
Chris Hueneke
Chief Information Security Officer, RKON
Chris Hueneke leads the Security Practice at RKON responsible for Security Advisory and Security Operations services. He is currently the virtual Chief Information Security Officer for several Private Equity portfolio companies adding value by protec… Read full bio
Jan Jamrich
CEO and Founder, Entromy
Jan is CEO & Founder of Entromy, the leading organizational assessment platform that enables private equity firms to rapidly understand organizational network dynamics and critical business areas that affect portfolio company performance. As a ke… Read full bio
Prital Kadakia
Partner, Serent Capital
Prital is a Partner at Serent Capital. He 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 earn… Read full bio
Prachi Kanabar
Head of Portfolio Operations, Sunstone Partners
Prachi Kanabar is Head of Portfolio Operations at Sunstone Partners. Prachi leads the portfolio operations team and works closely with management teams of all portfolio companies on initiatives that drive sustained growth and operational excellence.… Read full bio
Brian Kasser
Talent Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe
Mr. Kasser is the Talent Partner for the WCAS technology team. Focusing on executive talent strategy and management, he is responsible for helping WCAS’s technology companies to build outstanding leadership teams. He brings to WCAS more than a decade… Read full bio
Jeffrey Klein
Managing Director, Alvarez & 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
Slade Kobran
Managing Partner, Private Equity, Chief Outsiders
Slade is Chief Outsiders’ Managing Partner focused exclusively on the Private Equity sector. Based in the Greater NYC area, he works closely with Private Equity Operating Partners and other value creators to quickly identify and engage the Chief Outs… Read full bio
Yale Kwon
Director, AlixPartners
Yale has almost 20 years of consulting and industry experience in the high-tech, telecommunications, automotive, and retail industries. He specializes in large-scale transformation programs, and clients benefit from his functional expertise in turnar… Read full bio
Virginia Lantz
Director, Insight Sourcing Group
Virginia Lantz is a Director at Insight Sourcing Group (ISG). She is dedicated to the Consulting Delivery Practice and leads ISG’s IT Center of Excellence. Virginia is also a member of ISG’s Private Equity Practice. Virginia has twelve years of exper… Read full bio
Martina Lauchengco
Partner, Costanoa Ventures
Martina spent 30 years as a marketing and product leader. She started her career working on market-defining software, Microsoft Office and Netscape Navigator. She teaches what she’s learned with SVPG and is a lecturer at UC Berkeley's graduate school… Read full bio
Misha Logvinov
Managing Director, Head of Technology Strategy, EQT
Misha joined EQT in 2018 as Managing Director and Head of IT Strategy. In his role, he is advising the EQT's investment teams and portfolio companies on digital transformation. Previously, he was Group Vice President of Cloud Customer Success at Orac… Read full bio
Patricia Ludwig
Director, KKR Capstone
Patricia Ludwig joined KKR in 2015 and is a director on the KKR Capstone team based out of Menlo Park. Since joining, she has been involved with the firm's investments in Ensono, Optiv, Teaching Strategies, BrightSpring, Reliaquest and Slice. Previou… Read full bio
Will Lytle
Chief Operating Officer, Plandek
Will Lytle is the COO of Plandek, a SaaS platform that provides intelligent insights throughout the product and software delivery process. In addition to leading their Customer Success, Product and Engineering areas, Will works closely with and advis… Read full bio
Ryan McMullin
Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Ryan McMullin is an Operating Principal at Accel-KKR Consulting Group. Prior to joining Accel-KKR’s Consulting Group, Ryan was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he specialized in serving private equity portfolio companies and pri… Read full bio
Gabriel Mesanza
Partner, Resource Group, Huron Capital
Gabe has extensive experience across various industries and facets of company operations. Prior to Huron Capital, Gabe held multiple senior operating roles in Private Equity portfolio companies, including VP of Quality, VP of Operations, COO, and CEO… Read full bio
Declan Morris
Private Equity Transformation Advisor, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Declan Morris is a Transformation Advisor to Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies. Prior to joining AWS, Mr. Morris spent six years at Splunk where he served as CIO during an intensive hyper-growth period that saw revenues soar tenfold.… Read full bio
Martin Mumford
Operating Partner, Angeles Equity Partners
Martin is an Operating Partner at Angeles Equity Partners. He is responsible for the evaluation and due diligence of new investment opportunities, driving post-close transformation and providing oversight across portfolio investments. Prior to joinin… Read full bio
Gautam Nadella
Operating Partner, EQT Ventures
Gautam Nadella is currently an Operating Partner of Business & Corporate Development at EQT Ventures, responsible for the global portfolio of companies in EQT’s multiple funds. He leads and advises on company efforts around M&A, equity and de… Read full bio
Hoyoung Pak
Partner and Managing Director, AlixPartners
Hoyoung has extensive experience in both management consulting and industry executive roles in applying AI to the Private Equity, Consumer, Retail, and TMT industries. In addition, he has expertise in consumer insights, retail analytics, pricing, and… Read full bio
Ankur Patel
Operating Vice President, Accel-KKR
Prior to joining Accel-KKR, Ankur was a customer & partner success leader at Celonis. Over the course of his five years with Celonis, Ankur launched, built and led the customer success & delivery organization for North America, as well as the… Read full bio
Eli Potter
CIO as a Service, Insight Partners
Eli Potter is a Vice President of IT Systems and Data at Insight Partners, advising startups on enterprise applications at scale. She has a proven history of building capabilities that transform technology into critical business value. Two of her man… Read full bio
John Roselli
Operating Partner, New Harbor Capital
John Roselli currently serves as an Operating Partner at New Harbor Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm. As an Operating Partner, John assists New Harbor’s investment teams in portfolio investment oversight in the areas of strategic planning… Read full bio
Neil Roseman
Technologist-in-Residence, Summit Partners
As Technologist-in-Residence, Neil works closely with the Summit team and our portfolio companies to assist with engineering organization design and architecture strategy. He brings over 20 years of experience in building high-scale software and web… Read full bio
Tim Sanders
Vice President of Client Strategy, Upwork
Tim leads client strategy at Upwork where he helps leaders transform their businesses through the adoption of on demand talent solutions. He began his career as an early stage member of Mark Cuban's broadcast.com and, once acquired, he became the chi… Read full bio
Chris Satchell
Operating Principal Technology and Digital, Clayton Dubilier & Rice
Mr Satchell joined CD&R in 2020. Prior to CD&R, he spent twenty-five years in software and technology industries spanning five different CXO roles. Most recently, Mr Satchell served as CTO of Zume Inc, building AI, logistics and robotic syste… Read full bio
Saurabh Singh
Director, AlixPartners
Saurabh has diverse experience across multiple industries and has helped many organizations realize tangible revenue growth and cost savings across various functional areas. More specifically, Saurabh specializes in end-to-end company transformation… Read full bio
Anish Sharan
Head of Digital Transformation, Pritzker Private Capital
Anish Sharan is the Head of Digital Transformation at Pritzker Private Capital where he leads the development of digital capabilities that enhance customer experience, drive operational excellence, and deepen data utilization across PPC’s portfolio o… Read full bio
Colin Smith
Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Transformation Team, Oaktree Capital Management
Mr. Smith is a Managing Director in Oaktree’s Portfolio Transformation Team, and specializes in driving commercial and operational performance improvement initiatives, including turnarounds, collaboratively with boards and management teams. He joined… Read full bio
Lucia Soares
Managing Director and Chief Information Officer, The Carlyle Group
Lucia Soares is Managing Director and Chief Information Officer - Global Portfolio Solutions at The Carlyle Group. Ms. Soares provides technology advisory to Carlyle investment teams and works with portfolio company executive teams leveraging technol… Read full bio
Sarah Spoja
Chief Financial Officer, Tipalti
Sarah Spoja has been the Chief Financial Officer at Tipalti since 2018. She is an experienced executive skilled in Management, Financial Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Development, and Payments. Her deep finance and operational exper… Read full bio
Milo Sprague
Senior Technology Advisor, FTV Capital
Milo Sprague is the Senior Technology Advisor at FTV Capital based in San Francisco. He is an experienced PE Technology Advisor, Silicon Valley CTO, technology executive, and Board Advisor with over twenty-five years leadership experience focused in… Read full bio
Cathy Tanimura
Vice President, Analytics and Data Science, Summit Partners
Cathy Tanimura is Vice President, Analytics and Data Science, at Summit Partners where she works closely with the Summit team and portfolio companies to create and execute strategies that effectively use data and analytics to drive better decisions a… Read full bio
Shivani Tejuja
Advisory Director, Charlesbank Capital Partners
Shivani joined Charlesbank as an advisory director in 2018 to partner with portfolio company CEOs. Her mission is simple -- to accelerate growth and drive digital transformation. Shivani focuses on four key areas: eCommerce, digital marketing, analyt… Read full bio
Prerak Vohra
Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Prerak Vohra is Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in their Private Investing Business. He leads the Digital and Technology Value Accelerator Capability and works with portfolio companies driving both strategy and execution of their… Read full bio
Carsten Weber
Technology Director, The Sterling Group
Carsten joined Sterling in 2021, bringing over 20 years of technology experience in various leadership roles in both industry and consulting. In his role as Technology Director, he is leading Sterling’s Technology Lever and value creation across the… Read full bio
Bryan West
Managing Director, Talent, Resurgens Technology Partners
Bryan joined Resurgens in 2021 as the Head of Talent and focuses primarily on organization, leadership, and talent development for the firm’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining Resurgens, Bryan was an Associate Partner and led the Private Equity P… 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, American Residential Services, and Patriot Growth Insurance Services . He previously served on the board of Consilio. Prior… Read full bio
2023 Sponsors
Sponsorship and Engagement Opportunities:
The Operating Partners forums and events are the most efficient and effective way to connect directly with private equity operating partners and value creation experts. To learn more about ways to create a customized program that maximizes your desired impact and to engage with PEI’s operating partners community, please contact Lawrence Dvorchik by email Lawrence.d@pei.group or call +1 646 545 4429.
Venue and hotel
Hotel Nikko
222 Mason St
San Francisco, CA 94102
