International
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum New York 2025
March 25-26, 2025
Convene, 117 W 46th St, New York
Shape the future of talent value creation
In its fourth year in person, the Operating Partners Human Capital Forum will bring together an elite crowd of human capital value creators and operating partner talent specialists. The annual Forum 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.
At this critical time in the economic cycle, attendees will uncover how leading firms are achieving value creation through the human capital function.
“This was an incredible opportunity to step away from the day to day hustle and devote time to my own professional development by connecting and learning from my peers in the industry. I truly forgot the value that can come from being in the room with those who are in a similar position – even if our firms are of different size & scale and industry focus.”
Angie Krtnick Complin
Talent Director, Granite Partners
Agenda highlights
Join discussions with leading PE operating specialists and learn key strategies to accelerate growth & transformation through human capital. The 2025 agenda will include:
- Think tank value creation war rooms
- AI’s impact on the talent function in PE
- New vs. old talent value creation levers
- Comparing operating partner human capital models and team structures
- Compensation plans: tools, benchmarks, and data
- Operating partner-CHRO dynamics
- And much more…
Connect with the leading community of talent operating partners:
2024 speakers
What our attendees are saying:
Jimmy Holloran
Partner and Head of Talent, American Industrial Partners
Tremendous event. This is where we push forward value creation through human capital.
Joe Schuster
SVP, Talent, Tide Rock
It was such a great experience deepening relationships across such a collaborative community of Talent leaders in PE.
Mike Rude
Operating Partner, Cressey & Company
This was my first PEI Forum and it was a great event to build my network and learn from others in the Operating Partner role.
2024 agenda
The 2025 agenda will cover human capital value creation challenges and opportunities for private equity and portfolio companies.
If you are interested in a speaking role please contact Marc Mele at marc.m@pei.group.
Pre-Event Resources
2024 speakers
For speaking opportunities, contact Marc Mele at marc.m@pei.group or call +1 646 581 9295.
Courtney della Cava
Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Portfolio Talent and Organizational Performance, Blackstone
Christian Grados
Principal - Portfolio, Talent Management & Organizational Effectiveness, Apollo Global Management
Kahena Joubert
Principal, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Business and Investment Strategy Lead, Ares Management
Kristin Schroeder
Operating Partner, Talent & Co-Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
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Meet the largest community of talent operators
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
2024 sponsors
Convene
117 W 46th St
New York, NY 10036
Explore our exclusive operating partner networking
Expand your relationships and build your network with our operating partner exclusive events taking place throughout the Forum.
Join our community of the brightest leaders in human capital value creation that will help you in your day-to-day operations.
Pre-conference networking
Monday, March 24, 2025
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum Welcome Reception (invitation-only)
5:30 – 7:45 pm
Tavern on the Green, 67th Street & Central Park West
Join the talent operating partners attending the Human Capital Forum in a relaxed setting to build your connections before the conference kicks off. Our annual reception is a great opportunity to gather together as a community for craft cocktails and gourmet fare.
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum Welcome Dinner (invitation-only)
7:45 – 9:00 pm
Tavern on the Green, 67th Street & Central Park West
Join us as we welcome all the attending operating partners for a private sit-down dinner to facilitate networking before the conference. Increase your connections and exchange ideas with leaders in value creation.
Day 1 reception
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Operating Partners Human Capital Forum Day 1 Networking Reception
5:40-6:40 pm
Venue: Convene, 117 W 46th St
Our grand reception will allow you to chat and get to know your peers better 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
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Human Capital Deep Dive Breakfasts (operating partners only)
7:45-8:30am
Venue: Convene, 117 W 46th St
These breakfast deep dive discussions designed solely for operating partners will focus on the most important value creation issues affecting human capital operating partners.
Women in PE Portfolio Operations Lunch (invitation-only)
12:30-1:30 pm
Venue: Convene, 117 W 46th St
This closed-door lunch discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE portfolio operations. Join this interactive session for an inside look at women’s leadership in PE: challenges and opportunities.
Featured interactive discussions & networking opportunities
Think Tanks
Led by operating partners and designed for operating partners only, these closed-door war room sessions will allow you to engage in lively discussions with your peers. The think tanks will also allow you to submit topics to be covered while sharing best value creation practices.
Interactive Working Groups
These exclusive deep dive discussions, only available to operating partners, allow you to participate in interactive and dynamic discussions with designated expert facilitators.
“As someone who is building out the talent function within my firm currently, I found valuable insights from the speakers and attendees. Being in a role that is fairly new to the private equity world makes events like this exceptionally helpful as we learn and grow the talent function together as a community.”
Kelie Morgan
Director of Talent Acquisition
Permanent Equity
Assessment
Custom solutions for your business challenges
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum offers portfolio operations teams a comprehensive analysis of talent value creation. As the demand for human capital rapidly increases, join industry names to network, collaborate, and determine the most effective ways to scale the talent function. Learn how other firms are driving growth through assessment, compensation, culture, DEI, leadership, organizational design, recruitment, technologies, and more.
Agenda highlight
Assessing CEOs and management teams across the lifecycle
- Uncovering the best leadership assessments and tools to utilize with management teams
- Predicting what makes executives successful in private equity
- How do you assess management teams in the due diligence phase?
- How do you approach the onboarding process?
- How do you identify and understand when you need a new executive member?
- How do you assess and engage with management teams while building and maintaining relationships both during the 100 days and beyond?
- What do portco executives think is most important in the value creation plan across the lifecycle?
Led by functional experts:
Emily Azevedo
Operating Partner and Head of Talent, Mainsail Partners
Camille DeLaite
Operating Partner, Talent, Charlesbank Capital Partners
John Knapp
Operating Director, Talent, Berkshire Partners
Katie Solomon
Managing Director, Talent Management, Genstar Capital
Assessment
Solution providers for your business needs
Search & Recruitment
Custom solutions for your business challenges
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum offers portfolio operations teams a comprehensive analysis of talent value creation. As the demand for human capital rapidly increases, join industry names to network, collaborate, and determine the most effective ways to scale the talent function. Learn how other firms are driving growth through assessment, compensation, culture, DEI, leadership, organizational design, recruitment, technologies, and more.
Agenda highlight - Day 1
Leveraging references as a tactical component in your human capital toolbox
- Operating partners share lessons learned: what works best and what doesn’t when it comes to utilizing references?
- Sharing strategic elements of forensic referencing to make the right decisions about candidates.
- Discussing off sheet and back-channel referencing: how are you doing it and what resources and tools are you utilizing for it?
- What are the long-term benefits and advantages of applying strategic methodologies to references? Do you outsource it or do it in house?
- What tools and technologies are most effective to facilitate referencing and candidate tracking?
- How do you protect the confidentiality in handling the process?
Agenda highlight - Day 2
Strategic talent acquisition across functional areas: sharing playbooks beyond C-suite level hiring
- Recruiting and hiring top talent across finance, tech, HR, and sales from leadership to front-line.
- How do you ensure your hires fit the value creation plan, investment strategy, nuances of the job, and company culture designed to succeed?
- What are key similarities and differences across various industries/sectors of investment?
- Sharing war stories, networks, and cost-effective methods that work
- What is your greatest challenge when it comes to recruiting in this environment? How do you get searches done faster?
Featuring:
Search & Recruitment
Solution providers for your business needs
Organizational Design
Custom solutions for your business challenges
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum offers portfolio operations teams a comprehensive analysis of talent value creation. As the demand for human capital rapidly increases, join industry names to network, collaborate, and determine the most effective ways to scale the talent function. Learn how other firms are driving growth through assessment, compensation, culture, DEI, leadership, organizational design, recruitment, technologies, and more.
Agenda highlight
Workforce management as a driving force in human capital value creation
- Understanding the most important nuances of broader workforce evaluation.
- How to scale rapidly with change readiness at all levels within your organizations: uncovering how to fully activate talent and work together in new ways.
- Looking at productivity deeper into the organization; KPIs across functions; looking at your top and bottom performers across functions.
- Setting up a data driven process to make decisions when it comes to labor.
- Getting your broader workforce aligned on the value creation plan.
- How to empower and enable middle managers to align the workforce.
- How are you strategically allocating people and resources and empowering your top talent to maximize impact?
Agenda highlight
Organizational design and effectiveness to scale for long term growth
- What are the latest trends in org design and how do you think about it?
- What are key indicators of org health? What are the most common indicators that a new org set-up is needed and how do you go about doing it?
- Who do you involve in the org design and strategy process? How do you ensure clarity in its purpose? What is required from a leadership standpoint to achieve your org design goals?
- What are the biggest risks and challenges in the implementation process? How do you deal with resistance and disruptive factors?
- How do you assess if the organizational design is delivering on its intended purpose? Are there specific KPIs that you utilize?
- What are the long-term implications of org design: how does it allow you to scale over 3-4 years? How do you align it to the value creation plan and investment thesis?
- Sharing lessons learned and what is needed in different stages of the investment lifecycle.
Agenda highlights
Led by industry specialists:
Bernardo Arrospide
Operating Vice President, Accel-KKR
Greg Harmeyer
CEO and Co-Founder, TiER1 Performance
Maggie van de Griend
Managing Director, Portfolio Talent, Warburg Pincus
Keith Warren
Senior Strategic Talent Advisor, LS Power
Organizational Design
Solution providers for your business needs
Leadership & Coaching
Custom solutions for your business challenges
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum offers portfolio operations teams a comprehensive analysis of talent value creation. As the demand for human capital rapidly increases, join industry names to network, collaborate, and determine the most effective ways to scale the talent function. Learn how other firms are driving growth through assessment, compensation, culture, DEI, leadership, organizational design, recruitment, technologies, and more.
Agenda highlights
Succession planning: how to develop the next generation of leaders
- What is the role of CEOs and founders in looking at succession plans?
- How are founders and CEOs thinking about the next generation internally? What should they be doing to teach and mentor for future success?
- What practices should organizations implement to develop the next generation into leaders?
- What are innovative approaches to how companies are governed with an eye to the future and getting the most out of your top talent?
Influencing and motivating portfolio company CEOs: what makes executives successful in current times
- Comparison of traits that make up great portfolio CEOs: high performing vs. low performing.
- How do you approach composition and motivation of high-performing management teams to drive long-term success for your company?
- How do you generate alignment with the leadership team on the value creation plan – distilling it down to key action, accountability and then tracking progress/productivity?
- How do you help CEOs and deal teams work together most effectively? How can human capital operating partners help?
- How do you motivate the leadership team to be at their best together?
Human capital operating partners think tank: Working with founder-led company CEOs
Led by your peers, this closed-door discussion will allow you to learn and share best practices of successful human capital and talent operating partners.
Agenda highlights
Led by industry players
Emily Azevedo
Operating Partner and Head of Talent, Mainsail Partners
Morgan McKeown
Talent Operating Advisor, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Kristin Brown Patrick
Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital, New State Capital Partners
Debra Somers
Senior Vice President, Portfolio Recruitment, Warburg Pincus
Dina Wang
Partner, ghSMART
Leadership & Coaching
Solution providers for your business needs
DE&I
Custom solutions for your business challenges
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum offers portfolio operations teams a comprehensive analysis of talent value creation. As the demand for human capital rapidly increases, join industry names to network, collaborate, and determine the most effective ways to scale the talent function. Learn how other firms are driving growth through assessment, compensation, culture, DEI, leadership, organizational design, recruitment, technologies, and more.
Agenda highlight - Day 1
Pushing DE&I higher up in the value creation agenda
- Current state vs future state; how do you think, define, and map out DE&I.
- How is the current economic environment affecting your DE&I initiatives? What has changed in the past 12 months?
- What initiatives are you taking to increase diverse representation at your portfolio companies? What recommendation do you give your companies on DE&I?
- Board diversity: sharing practical examples of what needs to be built out.
- How do you identify and utilize your DE&I metrics? How do you measure diversity across the portfolio to make sure you’re held accountable?
- How do you work with CHROs on DE&I initiatives? What is actionable?
Agenda highlight - Day 2
Women in PE portfolio operations lunch
This closed-door discussion will explore what it’s like being a woman in PE and VC portfolio operations:
- Exploring career paths, development, and how to position yourself as female leaders.
- What are the biggest challenges and missed opportunities when it comes to women’s leadership in PE?
- What traits and qualities do you search for and value most in women leaders at your companies?
- What initiatives are you driving for women on boards across portcos? What can be done better?
- How to best support incoming women leaders at portfolio companies, especially if they are new to being in a male dominated industry.
Featuring:
DE&I
Solution providers for your business needs
Compensation & Benefits
Custom solutions for your business challenges
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum offers portfolio operations teams a comprehensive analysis of talent value creation. As the demand for human capital rapidly increases, join industry names to network, collaborate, and determine the most effective ways to scale the talent function. Learn how other firms are driving growth through assessment, compensation, culture, DEI, leadership, organizational design, recruitment, technologies, and more.
Agenda highlight - Day 1
Strategic integration of human resources in value creation through employee benefit program optimization and cost savings
- How can Human Resources establish a strategic role in driving measurable cost savings aligned with the value-creation strategy goals of the private equity firm?
- What creative solutions can be identified within employee benefit programs to ensure cost savings while maintaining fiduciary responsibility?
- In the pursuit of achieving savings, how can a “do no harm” approach be implemented to avoid negative impacts on jobs and employee satisfaction?
- What strategies can be employed to develop metrics that effectively measure material returns resulting from Human Resources led cost-saving initiatives, and how can Human Resources stay adaptable to market dynamics during this process?
Featuring:
Todd Miller
CEO, Risk International
John Weaver
Senior Director, Risk International
Agenda highlight - Day 2
Workforce compensation: uncovering modern trends, models, and metrics
- As PE becomes more of a mature industry, how do you best deal with executive compensation, negotiations, and requests?
- How effectively are you doing comp benchmarking up and down the ranks?
- What are the latest and most creative compensation packages you are seeing? What types of equity/compensation packages is your workforce asking for?
- How are you motivating and incentivizing employees across the different levels to retain them in this environment?
- Equity vs. non equity in lower levels.
- Inflationary and economic pressures on compensation — how do you get the best talent in this market while staying within budget?
- Large cap vs. mid vs. small: sharing key differences and similarities in comp models across companies.
Compensation & Benefits
Solution providers for your business needs
Culture
Custom solutions for your business challenges
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum offers portfolio operations teams a comprehensive analysis of talent value creation. As the demand for human capital rapidly increases, join industry names to network, collaborate, and determine the most effective ways to scale the talent function. Learn how other firms are driving growth through assessment, compensation, culture, DEI, leadership, organizational design, recruitment, technologies, and more.
Agenda highlight - Day 1
Portfolio case study: establishing a new culture with a new executive team to drive value and create One Company growth
- Hear a case study from a Cloud Services portfolio company on how the ELT led a rebranding and culture change program to excite the employee base and drive value.
- Learn how to conduct a culture change program from diagnostic to defining the new culture to launching the new culture to reinforcing the values and measuring success.
- Learn how data and people analytics, a campaign, leadership actions, culture champion network, and refreshing talent practices drove adoption of the new culture.
Agenda highlight - Day 2
Transforming culture at your companies: what does good look like?
- Company culture is always a critical component for driving value in companies, what are you leading now and through the next year related to culture?
- Looking at key elements of culture in the due diligence and post deal phase.
- What does a healthy culture look like at your companies?
- How do you align culture to the value creation plan? What are the biggest challenges in this area?
- How do you maintain a healthy culture in a remote/hybrid world and across geographies?
Featuring functional specialists:
Katie Czerepak
Head of Talent, Portfolio Tech Opportunities, Bain Capital
Dan Meyer
Talent Partner, Align Capital Partners
Michelle Nasir
Former Chief Talent Officer, Arsenal Capital Partners
Darcey O'Halloran
Operating Partner, Talent, Artemis
Culture
Solution providers for your business needs
Technologies
Custom solutions for your business challenges
The Operating Partners Human Capital Forum offers portfolio operations teams a comprehensive analysis of talent value creation. As the demand for human capital rapidly increases, join industry names to network, collaborate, and determine the most effective ways to scale the talent function. Learn how other firms are driving growth through assessment, compensation, culture, DEI, leadership, organizational design, recruitment, technologies, and more.
Agenda highlight - Day 1
Accelerating decision making through data and analytics for the human capital functional: tracking done right
- How do you develop KPIs and what are your leading human capital indicators of performance? What macro and labor data trends are you paying close attention to?
- AI, KPIs, metrics and data science for talent development and assessments: technologies used to build and assess teams.
- What key metrics are you using for HR diligence and the onboarding process? What are you doing to enrich your firm and your investment partners with data and analytics?
- What metrics are you using throughout the different phases of the investment lifecycle?
- What tools are you using to automate talent processes?
- Sharing data driven insights to improve your operations cross functionally
- Efficiency metrics: how do you track your own talent team’s ROI and performance?
- Uncovering key differences in metrics and tracking across sectors of investment.
Agenda highlight - Day 2
AI’s impact on the talent function in PE and the future workforce
- How will AI change the talent function in PE? What is innovative from an AI perspective in talent? Will AI become more prominent within the talent function?
- Sharing practical use cases: how are you using it? What should talent operating partners be using and doing now for impact?
- How have you or your portfolio companies been leveraging generative AI on the recruiting/interviewing, assessment, or professional development front? How do you best use data with AI?
- How are you looking at AI across job functions and the different levels within companies: how will workforces and headcount be impacted by it in future?
- How do you create better workforce alignment around AI? How can CHROs help their workforces better grasp and work with AI?
Featuring:
Technologies
Solution providers for your business needs
Meet the largest community of talent operators
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