Private Equity
International
International
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum New York 2022
30 - 31 March 2022,
Convene, 151 W 42nd St, New York
COVID-19 vaccination requirements
As part of our commitment to safety at the Operating Partners Human Capital Forum and in accordance with New York City and venue COVID-19 guidelines, we are requiring that all attendees must provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination status along with a matching photo ID (driver’s license or passport only) when checking into the event at Convene.
Driving human capital as a key value creation lever
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum brings together an elite crowd of top human capital value creators and operating partner specialists. It is the place to meet key players in the PE community and get a firm grasp on initiatives designed to transform operations, deliver growth, and drive value creation strategies through talent.
Speakers provide insights into the evolving and rapidly changing talent market and share strategies and approaches that uncover why firms need a “human capital operating partner.”
Join us in New York City to hear engaging and informative discussions to make your workforce planning a competitive advantage.
Learn key strategies to accelerate growth through human capital
Join discussions with the leading PE operating specialists in human capital
Network with top value creators focused on talent and leadership
2022 Agenda highlights
» One hour think tanks led by operating partners and designed exclusively for operating partners
» Interactive working group discussions: operating partners/talent partners share their thoughts
» Talent retention and the Great Resignation
» Working with CEOs and the next generation of CEOs
» What makes a great talent partner/human capital operating partner in PE?
» Operating partner-CHRO dynamics
» Training and coaching management teams effectively
» Critical dimensions in talent due diligence
» Grasping the lower and mid-level talent execution plan
» Recruiting optimization: advanced strategies in talent acquisition
» Workforce analytics: leveraging data science with talent/portfolio performance
» Board dynamics: looking at diversity of boards, board construction, and board development
» Uncovering the organizational design playbook
» 100-day talent action plans
» Amplifying the human capital and talent function in PE: comparing models
» The long journey for diversity: an inside look at private equity
» The future of work
» Talent assessments for success
» Empowering workforce transformations
» Culture and strategy to accelerate growth
2022 Speakers
2022 Firms attending include:
2022 Agenda
Download the agenda to see the timely and relevant topics that are of importance to Operating Partners today. These topics will shape the discussions at the Operating Partners Human Capital Forum.
If you are interested in a speaking role please contact contact Marc Mele at marc.m@peimedia.com.
All times are listed in Eastern Time (ET)
View agenda page
Agenda
Day One - Wednesday 30th
07:45 - 09:00
Registration and breakfast
08:00 - 09:00
Human capital operating partners think tank (invitation-only)
Kristen Chang,
Kristin Schroeder
Invitation-only think tank for full-time PE and VC operating partners and talent partners. This closed-door room will allow you to learn and share best practices in human capital and talent management for PE portfolio operations. The think tank will also allow you to submit topics to be introduced by the facilitators and discussed in the room. Please select one of the rooms based on how long you have been in private equity:
Room 1
Emerging Human Capital Operating Partners and Talent Partners (1st year in PE)
Facilitators:
Kristen Chang, Managing Director, Human Capital, LLR Partners
Camille DeLaite, Operating Partner, Talent, Charlesbank Capital Partners
Room 2
Advanced Human Capital Operating Partners and Talent Partners
Facilitators:
Kristin Schroeder, Operating Partner, Talent, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
09:00 - 09:10
PEI’s welcome and opening remarks
Plenary Sessions
09:10 - 09:50
Talent retention and the “Great Resignation” — how the game has changed
Christopher Kim,
Danie Levy,
Alice Mann
- Exposing the real challenges around employee retention in today’s environment
- Talent retention best practices in an increasingly fluid/mobile workforce: what needs to evolve, and what legacy best practices will always hold true?
- What is being done to retain talent in advance and not just to react
- Developing effective retention strategies in looking at all levels in the pyramid
- How to win in a highly competitive market: understanding workforce trends and turnover costs
- Balancing benefit optimization with retention
- Where are we headed to? How long can this go on for?
Panelists:
Christopher Kim, Principal, Platinum Equity
Danie Levy, Principal, The Carlyle Group
Alice Mann, Partner, Human Capital
09:50 - 10:30
Amplifying the human capital and talent function in PE: comparing models
Dan Hawkins,
Andy Caine,
Angela Geffre,
Kate Migliaro
- Comparing teams, networks, and resource structures: who do you rely on most for human capital expertise? How do you get the right team structure in place?
- How operating partners come into play: what are the functions/roles on your team?
- How do you influence your deal team — what is the ROI of human capital
- How to drive EBITDA by supporting the overarching vision of where the company needs to head towards
- How to map the talent evolution, talent to value models, meshing talent with your value creation models
- Where/when to be prescriptive vs. allow the portco to lead
- Amplifying the value proposition of human capital: how have models evolved and what will they look like moving forward?
Moderator:
Dan Hawkins, CEO, Summit Leadership Partners
Panelists:
Andy Caine, Partner, Human Capital, Frazier Healthcare Partners
Angela Geffre, Chief Human Resources Officer, Sun Capital Partners
Kate Migliaro, Principal, Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness, Apollo Global Management
Kate Migliaro
Principal, Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness, Apollo Global Management
Read bio
10:30 - 11:10
Private equity-leadership team alignment and the next generation of CEOs
Amanda Good,
John Knapp,
Pericles Mazarakis,
Bryan West
- How leading PE Firms are rethinking their CEO hiring in the current environment
- What does the next generation CEO look like? And what can be done to identify that next generation and coach them?
- How do you do good CEO performance reviews: what is the right process for it
- Supporting new CEOs as well as CEOs new to PE
- Setting up productive relationships with leadership teams across the deal lifecycle to help them operate at full power
- Leadership in times of disruption: uncovering challenges in different industries
- Exploring the unique tensions faced by PE-backed CEOs but rarely discussed
- If you had to hire a new CEO today what profile and characteristics would you prefer?
Panelists:
Amanda Good, Partner, Global Head of Value Creation, Searchlight Capital Partners
John Knapp, Operating Director, Talent, Berkshire Partners
Pericles Mazarakis, Managing Partner, Trispan Capital
Bryan West, Head of Talent, Resurgens Technology Partners
11:10 - 11:40
Networking Break
Breakout Series I
11:40 - 12:20
Track 1 | Critical dimensions in talent due diligence
Thomas Caruso,
Ben Holzemer,
Chris Trendler
- Explaining the dynamics of human capital diligence and how best to partner with investment teams
- What role does human capital assessment/evaluation play in your firms overall due diligence processes?
- In our current environment, what particular people dynamics do you pay attention to and track pre-transaction? What are the analytics you are using?
- Refining the toolkit: specifically addressing the broad range of deal dynamics which may dictate your approach in developing a human capital plan
- Fully understanding the human capital risks: how do you identify red flags during diligence?
- Can you share any “horror” stories of an investment thesis that went askew due to people issues?
- Can you share how the pandemic has re-shaped the way you approach due diligence?
- Understanding turnover costs and right sizing it during diligence
Panelists:
Thomas Caruso, Partner, Portfolio Operations, Guardian Operations and Advisory Company, Guardian Capital Partners
Ben Holzemer, Partner, Global Head of Human Capital, TPG Global
Chris Trendler, Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Talent, Madison Dearborn Partners
11:40 - 12:20
Track 2 | Grasping the lower and mid-level talent execution plan
Neel Bhatia
- Looking at the challenges and opportunities of mid and lower-level hires
- Dos and don’ts post deal
- Analyzing the different levels in a company and how your PE firm gets involved
- Post-COVID talent acquisition, development, assessment, and retention for the lower and mid-level
- In our current environment, what particular people dynamics do you pay attention to?
- Challenges and opportunities of virtual/hybrid workforces
Panelists:
Neel Bhatia, Operating Partner, Talent, Arcline Investment Management
Breakout Series II
12:20 - 13:00
Track 3 | 100-day talent action plans: starting your value creation journey
Katie Marchetti,
Kate Berkeley,
Ashley Day,
Robert Murray,
Sean Turner
- How to think about creating value through human capital in the first 100 days
- What to do and what not to do in the first 100 days post close
- What talent levers do you consider to be top priorities for generating value within the portfolio company? What has become more urgent?
- How do you engage/support in starting your journey with the portfolio company?
- Understanding organizational culture as part of 100-day plans
- Comparing different strategies post transaction
Moderator:
Katie Marchetti, Managing Director, BluWave
Panelists:
Kate Berkeley, Managing Director, Talent Acquisition, Human Capital Group, Gryphon Investors
Ashley Day, Operating Partner – Human Capital, FFL Partners
Robert Murray, Vice President, Portfolio Human Capital, Audax Private Equity
Sean Turner, Director, Portfolio Operations, GI Partners
12:20 - 13:00
Track 4 | Culture and strategy to accelerate growth
Dwight Cooper,
Tracey Abbott
- How do you evaluate a prospect’s culture?
- Understanding the challenges and barriers of a misaligned culture and unclear strategy
- Uncovering key elements of organizational culture as part of 100-day plans
- What tools do you use internally at your firm: how do you support culture?
- How investors and operators assess, align, and activate both culture and strategy to ensure momentum
- Establishing clear roadmaps for the organization and help people understand where the company is headed
- Designing environments that support the new strategy and promote high performance in people
- Looking at how culture plays a part when it comes to retention and compensation
Moderator:
Dwight Cooper, CEO, Hueman
Panelists:
Tracey Abbott, Senior Operating Lead, Partners Group
13:00 - 14:00
Networking Lunch
Breakout Series III
14:00 - 14:40
Track 5 | CHRO/CFO Challenges: Controlling costs while stabilizing health of the workforce
- Engaging CHRO and CFO: collaboration on healthcare value creation initiatives
- What is being done to retain talent in advance – while impacting bottom line costs
- What are some innovative things HR leaders are doing when it comes to healthcare and employee engagement?
- Looking at top challenges and opportunities for HR teams
- Looking at the challenges and opportunities of mid and lower-level hires
14:00 - 14:40
Track 6 | Workforce analytics: leveraging data science with talent/portfolio performance
- What are the leading human capital indicators of performance?
- To what extent are you using people analytics to understand your business, make strategic decisions, and drive business processes across the investment lifecycle?
- AI, KPIs, metrics and data science for talent development and assessments
- Tools and innovations in “people data science” to uncover hidden patterns
Panelists:
Javier O’Neil-Ortiz, Talent Systems and People Analytics, B Capital Group
Breakout Series IV
14:40 - 15:20
Track 7 | Operating partner-CHRO dynamics: alignment, expectations, and impact
Tanya Hayes,
Michelle Nasir ,
Michael Song
- Working with the CHRO to elevate value creation initiatives: how do you support them and what do they need from PE?
- Assessing the CHRO for that company: how much can they handle? What is the role of the CHRO in the portco?
- Working with the CHRO in executing the 100-day plan
- Leveraging CHROs across the portfolio: what are the key initiatives to focus on?
- Helping CHROs think more strategically to be aligned in the value creation plan to execute it
- How can the CHRO influence the CEO and CFO for alignment of talent? How can you help your CHRO to be a more influential leader?
- What are some creative and innovative things HR leaders are doing when it comes to standards, processes, and functions?
Panelists:
Tanya Hayes, Partner, Human Capital and ESG, Frazier Healthcare Partners
Joe McDougall, Managing Director, TC Operating Partners, Trive Capital
Michelle Nasir, Chief Talent Officer, Arsenal Capital Partners
Michael Song, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity Partners
14:40 - 15:20
Track 8 | Accelerating workforce transformations through digital and human forces
David Beuerlein
- Understanding workforce development in the age of digital
- The digital workplace: digitizing physical workplaces smarter using AI, IOT, and other key technologies
- Overcoming the challenges of scarcity in tech talent: attracting, retaining, and supporting tech talent in the current environment
- Building a digital culture at your companies
- Sharing examples of how the pandemic accelerated workforce transformations at your companies
- What newly created digital roles have you created at your companies? What tech skillsets will be required in the digital future?
Panelists:
David Beuerlein, Former Operating Partner, Khosla Ventures
Katie Czerepak, Head of Talent, Portfolio Tech Opportunities, Bain Capital
Kyle Roemer, Managing Director, Incline Equity Partners
15:20 - 15:45
Networking Break
Interactive Working Group Series I
15:45 - 16:30
Interactive Working Group 1 (for operating partners only) | Training and coaching management teams effectively: operating partners/talent partners share their thoughts
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators:
- Training the management team about how to work with private equity
- What is your view on the value of executive development for the management team such as executive coaching, education, 360 feedback, and other performance feedback?
- Sharing stories about coaching and career developments within your portcos
- Coaching: how are you doing it specifically with CEOs and CFOs
- What works and what doesn’t when it comes to coaching portfolio company executives?
- How is investing in the management team’s development worth the time and money? What do you prioritize?
15:45 - 16:30
Interactive Working Group 2 (for operating partners only) | Talent assessments for success: operating partners/talent partners share their thoughts
Alan Foster
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators:
- Sharing lessons learned: Do you have the right A players in key roles?
- Assessing leadership and talent: what are you doing that is correlating with performance? What is worthwhile and what is not worthwhile? When are you doing it, how do you know it is making a difference? Does the data prove it is making a difference?
- Pre-hire leadership assessments, how to get the deals teams up to speed in assessing the management teams; how to improve the assessment process
- What have been the implications on how you assess leadership and talent capability (for existing and new investments) amidst continued uncertainty introduced by covid-19?
- How often are you assessing management teams throughout the lifecycle (due diligence through exit)?
- How are you tracking certain metrics to determine the value creation gained through human capital? If so, which metrics?
Facilitator:
Alan Foster, Partner, Head of Private Equity, ghSMART
Interactive Working Group Series II
16:30 - 17:15
Interactive Working Group 3 (for operating partners only) | The future of work: operating partners/talent partners share their thoughts
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators:
- How to effectively organize in hybrid work models; have your companies fully transformed themselves to thrive in the current work environment?
- How are GPs shaping portco policies and/or best practices for “return to office”?
- What considerations must you consider with regard to giving employees work location flexibility?
- Scrutinizing the next generation of workforce: what work models will work best? How do you position yourself as a place where people want to work? What future plans are you thinking about in looking at where we are headed to in the years to come?
- Looking at top challenges and opportunities for HR teams
- How can HR teams support professional growth in the company remotely?
- How should companies maintain and grow a unique company culture?
- How are you supporting your portcos, how are you thinking about?
16:30 - 17:15
Interactive Working Group 4 (for operating partners only) | The impact of human capital tactical areas: operating partners/talent partners share their thoughts
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators:
- Benefits: what is your playbook on the post-acquisition side
- Compensation and rewards in a rapidly shifting world to attract and retain people
- Comp design and competitiveness: how to get good data
- Incentives: what role does it play in driving transformation and the value creation agenda?
- Executive compensation: negotiating it earlier on; how to think about wage inflation
- Exposing challenges in the current inflationary environment: what can be done?
- Investing in human capital resources: implementing processes/systems to better manage third parties that interact with your portfolio companies as well as your own firm
- What to insource vs. outsource when it comes to human capital
17:15 - 18:15
End of day 1 and networking cocktail reception
Agenda
Day Two - Thursday 31st
07:30 - 09:25
Registration and breakfast
07:45 - 08:30
Human capital deep dive breakfast discussion (for operating partners only): The “Great Resignation” and the “War for Talent”
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive discussion with designated facilitators:
- How CEOs must lead and communicate in a hypercompetitive environment for talent
- It takes a village: building an effective leadership team to successfully navigate multiple disruptions while attracting and retaining talent
- Using your company’s purpose and mission to attract the right kind of employees
- Understanding the multi-generational workforce and using differing expectations and values to grow your talent base
- Leveraging your company’s culture to become a talent magnet
- Accelerating your DE&I strategy to strengthen your talent retention
08:30 - 09:25
Think tanks for full-time operating partners: Comparing operating partner human capital models — value creation war room (invitation-only)
Giles Whiting
This closed-door discussion will allow you to learn and share best practices of successful human capital and talent operational models. The think tank will also allow you to submit topics in advance to be covered in the room in looking at what the future holds for PE talent value creation models. Please select one of the two rooms based on portfolio company size:
Think Tank Room 1
Mid-Market
Facilitators:
Giles Whiting, Operating Partner, Verdane
Think Tank Room 2
Large Cap
09:25 - 09:30
Chairman’s welcome
Plenary Sessions
09:30 - 10:10
What makes a great talent partner/human capital operating partner in PE?
Jan Jamrich,
Kelly Carlson,
David Cohen,
Merche del Valle,
Steven Maxwell
- Building your role as a high-quality talent partner: how do you support your firm and your portfolio companies
- PE talent partner market trends: driving better and faster execution
- When does your firm engage the talent partner?
- Linking the role to value creation: uncovering specific tactical talent partner value creation plans
- Talent partner-deal team dynamics: identifying opportunities and risks
- Establishing playbooks of evaluation, resources, and support at different stages
Moderator:
Jan Jamrich, CEO, Entromy
Panelists:
Kelly Carlson, Managing Director, Head of Talent, STG Partners
David Cohen, Managing Director, Human Capital, Kelso & Company
Merche del Valle, Managing Director, Chief Talent and Chief HR Officer, Grain Management
Steven Maxwell, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Human Capital, Audax Private Equity
10:10 - 10:50
Recruiting optimization: advanced strategies in talent acquisition
Emily Azevedo,
Wes Cole,
Glenn Stevens
- What does the recruiting climate look like for you in scrutinizing risks, challenges, costs, and opportunities?
- What are you doing at the lower, mid-level and senior level of talent?
- What criteria are you using? What’s working and what is not?
- Recruitment and alignment: what do you need to know to confidently hire the right top people and ensure alignment? How is there room for them to get better?
- How has the remote-first mindset impacted your hiring plans?
- Impactful trends, tools, and technologies for recruiting
- Uncovering challenges in recruiting diverse talent
Panelists:
Emily Azevedo, Operating Partner, Talent, Mainsail Partners
Wes Cole, Portfolio Talent Lead – GS Value Accelerator, Goldman Sachs
Glenn Stevens, Partner, Talent Management, Apollo Global Management
10:50 - 11:10
Networking break
Interactive Working Group Series 3
11:10 - 11:50
Interactive Working Group 5 (for operating partners only) | The long journey for diversity: sharing challenges and initiatives in PE
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators:
- DE&I programs: what are you doing and what is actionable? How do you build diversity from within and not just at the top?
- What are the challenges in finding diverse talent and what must be done?
- Looking at initiatives from different PE firms: what has been successful and what has not?
- Operationalizing it and interfacing with portco leaders: what best practices can you share regarding advising management teams at the portco levels? What goals do you set for the portfolio companies relative to D&I?
- How can PE firms create cultures at their portfolio companies that will ensure D&I initiatives have the desired impact?
- Understanding the different stages of DE&I
- What is holding PE back from achieving diversity?
- How does the industry define success? What are LPs looking for? What type of data are LPs requesting?
- Diversity and leadership: what can be done better? How are you thinking about diversity of boards?
- KPIs and data to measure effectiveness; how are companies leveraging data to augment their efforts with portfolio companies?
11:10 - 11:50
Interactive Working Group 6 (for operating partners only)
This deep dive discussion designed solely for operating partners will allow the audience to join an interactive roundtable discussion with designated facilitators.
Breakout Series V
11:50 - 12:30
Track 9
- What are the leading human capital indicators of performance?
- To what extent are you using people analytics to understand your business, make strategic decisions, and drive business processes across the investment lifecycle?
- AI, KPIs, metrics and data science for talent development and assessments
- Tools and innovations in “people data science” to uncover hidden patterns
11:50 - 12:30
Track 10 | Uncovering the organizational design playbook
Ann McCloskey
- How prescriptive are you on the org design? How do you do it from day 1 and how do you set it, who is involved?
- Tracking the first milestones: how do you get there and how do you scale?
- Exploring structures and trends in organizational effectiveness to successfully execute your business strategy
- Looking at the future: how to optimize how your organizations are functioning
- How are skills evolving and how is this affecting the process? What types of jobs are needed and what are the capabilities required for those jobs?
- Designing for growth: what resources can you use and how do you do it?
- What should you be looking at from an org design point of view when you are approaching exit?
Panelists:
Ann McCloskey, Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Plenary Session
12:30 - 13:10
Boards: Composition, optimization, and effectiveness
Mark Herther,
Nick Winter
- Composition and construction: how do you get more value of out of boards?
- Board structure: where do certain human capital elements come into play here?
- Board effectiveness: What is the secret to the best board/CEO relationships? How does a capable board operate? What is your role in it?
- Should operating partners be on boards?
- Diversity of boards
- Board compensation: uncovering the variety of compensation structures to optimize board participation
- What kind of emphasis is being placed on human capital metrics at the boardroom?
Panelists:
Mark Herther, Director, Operations and Administration, The Riverside Company
Nick Winter, Managing Director, Head of North America Portfolio Operations, Värde Partners
13:10 - 14:10
Chairman’s closing remarks and networking lunch
13:10 - 14:10
Women in PE & VC portfolio operations lunch (invitation-only)
Kristin Brown Patrick
This closed-door discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE and VC portfolio operations:
- What are the issues causing a disparity in genders?
- Exploring career paths, development, and how to position yourself as female leaders
- Is your firm focused on women’s leadership at portfolio companies?
- Does your firm have any specific programs, leadership coaching and assessments geared towards promoting women’s leadership?
- Are there any changes in recruiting that will create a more equal playing field?
- Looking at trends and stats in gender in PE and VC
Facilitators:
Kristin Brown Patrick, Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital, New State Capital Partners
14:10 - 14:10
End of conference
2022 Speakers
For speaking opportunities, contact Marc Mele at marc.m@peimedia.com or call +1 646 581 9295.
Tracey Abbott
Senior Operating Lead, Partners Group
Tracey Abbott is the Senior Lead Operator on the Special Situations team at Partners Group, a $119 B Assets under management private equity firm. Prior to joining Special Situations, she was the senior operating lead on the direct equity side of Part… Read full bio
Emily Azevedo
Operating Partner, Talent, Mainsail Partners
Emily is an Operating Partner and head of talent at Mainsail Partners, a San Francisco-based growth equity firm with $1.2 billion in raised capital invested across more than 50 high-growth software companies since 2003. Prior to Mainsail, Emily was a… Read full bio
Kate Berkeley
Managing Director, Talent, Gryphon Investors
Kate joined Gryphon Investors in 2020 as Managing Director of Talent Acquisition to lead and scale the firm’s talent acquisition capabilities, both internally at Gryphon and externally with Gryphon portfolio companies. She brings over 20 years of hum… Read full bio
David Beuerlein
Former Operating Partner, Khosla Ventures
David Beuerlein has focused on talent issues for the past 25 years of his career - beginning with his work as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, and later as a partner with two major search firms. In 2015, Dave was recruited to design and build… Read full bio
Neel Bhatia
Operating Partner, Talent, Arcline Investment Management
Neel is currently an Operating Partner at Arcline Investment Management where he is focused on talent assessment and development both within the firm and across portfolio companies. Most recently, Neel was the Managing Partner of Green Peak, a privat… Read full bio
Kristin Brown Patrick
Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital, New State Capital Partners
Kristin joined New State Capital Partners in 2019 as Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital with more than 25 years of hands-on growth strategy, executive search, talent acquisition and talent development experience. The bulk of Kristin’s career has… Read full bio
Andy Caine
Partner, Human Capital, Frazier Healthcare Partners
Andy is a Partner at Frazier Healthcare where he focuses on pre-investment organizational due diligence, talent assessment and development, and post-acquisition management. In addition, he has designed and help lead the firm’s diversity, equity, incl… Read full bio
Kelly Carlson
Managing Director, Head of Talent, STG Partners
Kelly Carlson is Managing Director, Head of Talent with STG, where she is leading the firm’s talent efforts, working across the portfolio to attract CEOs and executive leadership teams to drive results. Kelly’s mandate includes the curation of a CEO… Read full bio
Thomas Caruso
Partner, Portfolio Operations, Guardian Operations and Advisory Company, Guardian Capital Partners
Mr. Caruso is a partner of Guardian and leads the Guardian Operations and Advisory Company. He plays an integral role in investment due diligence, value creation opportunity identification, and working alongside portfolio company management teams pos… Read full bio
Kristen Chang
Managing Director, Human Capital, LLR Partners
Kristen Chang joined LLR Partners in 2011 and is a leader on LLR’s Value Creation Team. She partners with LLR’s portfolio companies on executive search, Board recruitment, talent assessment, compensation, and broad HR practices that drive growth. LLR… Read full bio
David Cohen
Managing Director, Human Capital, Kelso & Company
David joined Kelso in 2019. He is focused on applying talent and human capital best practices to enhancing the firm’s investment process, portfolio companies and Kelso Specialist Network. He spent the preceding nine years with American Securities in… Read full bio
Wes Cole
Portfolio Talent Lead - GS Value Accelerator, Goldman Sachs
Wes leads portfolio talent efforts within the Goldman Sachs Value Accelerator. Previously, he led more than 100 successful executive searches for high impact portfolio company leadership, board, and operating partner roles for private equity clients… Read full bio
Dwight Cooper
CEO, Hueman
Hueman is a nationally and globally recognized recruitment firm based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. For over 20 years, Hueman has been providing world-class services to successfully source, screen and recruit culture and value matched candidates on… Read full bio
Ashley Day
Operating Partner - Human Capital, FFL Partners
Ashley Day, PhD, joined FFL in 2021. Ashley works closely with FFL's portfolio companies advising them on all aspects of talent management including recruiting, compensation, succession planning, retention, team building, and performance management.… Read full bio
Merche del Valle
Managing Director, Chief Talent and Chief HR Officer, Grain Management
Merche del Valle is a Managing Director and the Chief Talent Officer at Grain Management who brings over 25 years of experience in Talent Intelligence, Leadership and Organizational Development (OD) and Executive Coaching in multiple industries acros… Read full bio
Alan Foster
Partner, Head of Private Equity, ghSMART
Alan Foster is a Partner at ghSMART where he is head of the Private Equity practice. He co-leads ghSMART’s European business. He serves private equity firms and their portfolio company CEOs . Alan co-authored the Wall Street Journal bestselling book,… Read full bio
Angela Geffre
Chief Human Resources Officer, Sun Capital Partners
Angela is the Chief Human Resources Officer for Sun Capital Advisors, where she partners with the Investment and Operating Partner teams to accelerate growth through talent. Angela’s role focuses on leading human capital initiatives for both the firm… Read full bio
Amanda Good
Partner, Global Head of Value Creation, Searchlight Capital Partners
Amanda has spent 20 years in the private equity industry, working with high growth technology, media and branded companies. Amanda joined Searchlight Capital, in their NY office, to lead the value creation team in early 2021, driving consistency and… Read full bio
Dan Hawkins
CCEO, Summit Leadership Partners
Dan is the CEO and Founder of Summit Leadership Partners. He advises boards, CEO's, investors and business leaders on strategy execution and value creation through leadership and organization performance. After a successful corporate career, Dan foun… Read full bio
Tanya Hayes
Partner, Human Capital and ESG, Frazier Healthcare Partners
Tanya joined Frazier Healthcare Partners in January 2020 on the Growth Buyout team. Tanya is a human capital leader focusing on pre-investment organizational due diligence and post-acquisition management to create long-term value for portfolio compan… Read full bio
Mark Herther
Director, Operations and Administration, The Riverside Company
Mark joined The Riverside Company in 2019 as the Director, Operations and Administration for the Riverside Micro-Cap Strategy. Mark works on a broad range of initiatives including executive talent recruiting, outsourcing, revenue acceleration, ESG an… Read full bio
Ben Holzemer
Partner, Global Head of Human Capital, TPG Global
Ben Holzemer is a Partner at TPG and the Head of Global Human Capital, based in San Francisco. Under his leadership the firm’s human capital team partners with TPG’s investment professionals and portfolio company leaders around the world to build gre… Read full bio
Jan Jamrich
CEO, 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
Christopher Kim
Principal, Platinum Equity
Chris Kim is a Senior Vice President within Platinum Equity’s Mergers & Acquisitions Operations practice. He is responsible for evaluating Human Capital aspects of prospective additions to the Platinum Equity portfolio. Chris also has responsibil… Read full bio
John Knapp
Operating Director, Talent, Berkshire Partners
John an Operating Director and Talent Specialist in Berkshire Partners’ Portfolio Support Group, where he focuses on talent leadership and human capital best practices across the portfolio. Prior to joining Berkshire, John was a Partner with David Ba… Read full bio
Danie Levy
Principal, The Carlyle Group
At Carlyle, Danie Levy is Principal, Talent & Organization Performance and helps portfolio companies maximize organizational, operational, and leadership effectiveness. Danie has spent her career partnering with executives to address their most p… Read full bio
Katie Marchetti
Managing Director, BluWave
Katie is a Managing Director with BluWave where she leads overall corporate development and account management activities. Prior to joining BluWave, she was with GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group), a leading knowledge marketplace connecting private equity fi… Read full bio
Steven Maxwell
Senior Vice President, Portfolio Human Capital, Audax Private Equity
Steve is a Senior Vice President for Audax Private Equity where he leads Portfolio Human Capital. Previously, he was the Talent Partner at Kodiak Venture Partners. Steve also worked in the executive search industry at Korn Ferry and Russell Reynolds,… Read full bio
Pericles Mazarakis
Managing Partner, Trispan Capital
Prior to working with TriSpan, Pericles was a Senior Operating Partner and Head of Portfolio Support at CDPQ’s Private Equity division that has $25B under management and invested in 40+ direct investments. Before joining CDPQ Capital, he was a Managi… Read full bio
Ann McCloskey
Operating Principal, Accel-KKR
Ann McCloskey is Operating Principal with Accel-KKR. Accel-KKR is a private equity firm with $9BN in assets focused on high growth software and technology enabled businesses. Ann’s primary focus areas are executive team effectiveness, executive searc… Read full bio
Kate Migliaro
Principal, Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness, Apollo Global Management
Ms. Migliaro is a US Army Veteran with 5 years active duty experience in the Military Police Corps. During her service, Ms. Migliaro deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan supporting and building local national law enforcement capabilities. She was aw… Read full bio
Robert Murray
Vice President, Portfolio Human Capital, Audax Private Equity
Robert is a Vice President of Portfolio Human Capital for Audax Private Equity, based in Boston. Prior to joining Audax in 2021, Robert worked at Korn Ferry as a Principal in the Human Resources Practice. Prior to that, Robert was a Director in the G… Read full bio
Michelle Nasir
Chief Talent Officer, Arsenal Capital Partners
Michelle Nasir is Arsenal Capital Partners Chief Talent Officer (CTO), where she leads the firm’s Human Capital efforts (people, culture, organization, and performance). Michelle’s expertise includes M&A due diligence, executive coaching, success… Read full bio
Kristin Schroeder
Operating Partner, Talent, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Ms. Schroeder is an Operating Partner on the WCAS Technology Talent Team, having joined in 2021. Ms. Schroeder has 15 years of talent experience spanning executive search, corporate recruiting, and talent advisory. Most recently, she served as a Seni… Read full bio
Michael Song
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Providence Equity Partners
Michael Song is a managing director focused on portfolio operations and is based in our Providence office. Prior to joining Providence in 2010, Mr. Song worked at RSA, the security division of Dell EMC. Prior to joining Dell EMC, Mr. Song was a consu… Read full bio
Glenn Stevens
Partner, Talent Management, Apollo Global Management
Glenn Stevens is a Partner, Talent Management at Apollo Global Management focused on management team and board construction for Apollo's portfolio companies. Previously he was the Head of Talent Management at L Catterton, the largest consumer-focused… Read full bio
Chris Trendler
Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Talent, Madison Dearborn Partners
Chris Trendler is a Managing Director and the Head of Portfolio Talent for the firm, responsible for leading the firm's talent strategy across the portfolio. Prior to joining MDP in 2021, Chris was a Partner at ghSMART and Company, where he advised i… Read full bio
Sean Turner
Director, Portfolio Operations, GI Partners
Founded in 2001, GI Partners is a private investment firm based in San Francisco, California. The firm has raised over $25 billion in capital from leading institutional investors around the world to invest in private equity, real estate, and data inf… Read full bio
Bryan West
Head of 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
Giles Whiting
Operating Partner, Verdane
Giles is an Operating Partner at Verdane Capital and acting COO of Forsta, a Verdane investment. He supports the portfolio and management teams with a focus on growth acceleration, building go-to-market teams, and rapid company transformations. Giles… Read full bio
Nick Winter
Managing Director, Head of North America Portfolio Operations, Värde Partners
Nick Winter is a Managing Director and North American Head of Portfolio Operations focused on value creation in Värde private equity investments. Based in New York, he joined the firm in 2018. Prior to Värde, Nick spent several years at JPMorgan Chas… Read full bio
2022 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, complete the inquiry form or contact Lawrence Dvorchik by email Lawrence.d@peimedia.com or call +1 646 545 4429.
Pre-Event Resources
pdf
Private Equity/Venture Capital Compensation Report – Executive Summary
By Private Equity International
Resources
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Explore our exclusive operating partner only networking
Operating Partner exclusive networking events are taking place throughout the Forum. Starting with our Operating Partner Only reception on the evening before the event, the Forum provides operating partners with opportunities each day to network and share thoughts with operating partners. Explore the various interactive working groups, think tanks, breakfast sessions and receptions to discuss emerging topics in value creation and network with your peers.
Pre-event networking reception on March 29
Networking amongst operating partners is a key portion of the event, and we hope you will join us for the Kickoff Networking Reception for operating partners only on the night prior to the conference sessions starting.
Pre-event women’s networking dinner on March 29
Join our Kickoff Women’s Private Networking Dinner for PE and VC operating partners and talent partners only on the night prior to the conference sessions starting (invitation-only).
Featured networking opportunities
Think Tank sessions
Hosted by your fellow operating partner peers, these closed-door rooms will allow you to learn and share best practices of successful operating partners. The thinks tanks will allow you to submit topics to be covered in looking at best value creation practices and the toughest challenges operating partners face daily.
Interactive Working Groups
These exclusive deep dive discussions only available to operating partners allow you to participate in interactive roundtable discussions with designated facilitators.
Women’s networking lunch
This closed-door lunch discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE and VC portfolio operations.
Breakfast Deep Dive discussion
Join fellow operating partners for a portfolio operations breakfast deep dive discussion (invitation-only).
Venue and hotel
Convene
151 W 42nd St
New York, NY 10036
To reserve your room at the hotel please use the link below or call reservations & mention PEI Operating Partners Forum at +1-800-228-9290