International
CFOs & COOs Forum New York 2022
27 - 28 April 2022,
Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, 811 7th Avenue, W 53rd St
COVID-19 vaccination requirements
As part of our commitment to safety at the CFOs and COOs Forum New York 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 (drivers license or passport only) when checking into the event at Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel.
Redefining the private equity CFO & COO role
In its 19th year, the CFOs & COOs Forum New York is still the industry benchmark for high-value content and networking.
The annual meeting for C-level executives, the CFOs & COOs Forum is an irreplaceable resource for the private equity community. Featuring a breadth of relevant topics and authoritative speakers, finance and operations executives are guaranteed to receive key information that will impact processes and practices within the firm.
The 2022 live Forum featured insightful keynotes, panels, working groups, live Q&As, think tanks and lunch chats. The event continues to respond to the needs of the PE community and addresses pivotal issues affecting the industry in real-time.
2022 Discussion topics
» Redefining the CFO and COO role
» Data management
» Valuation methodology
» Fundraising
» Hybrid work environments
» Subscription lines
» Compensation trends
» Tax updates
» ESG
» Diversity & inclusion
» Secondaries and end of life funds
» Legislative and regulatory update
» SPACs
» LP requirements
» Technology implementation
» Waterfall calculations and carried interest
Featured keynote speaker
Vik Sawhney
Chief Administrative Officer
Blackstone
Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Sawhney worked as a Managing Director in the Financial Sponsors Group at Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for managing the firm’s relationships with Blackstone and several other large private equity firms. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Mr. Sawhney was an Associate at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Vik represented Blackstone as a Rockefeller Fellow during 2010-2011. He currently serves as Board Chair on the Board of Dream, an east Harlem social services and educational organization.
Connect with your peers.
Connect with a community of CFOs, COOs, and senior finance executives in networking sessions and small group meetings.
Hear from the leaders in private equity.
The Forum’s authoritative speaking faculty will share key information that will impact processes and practices within the firm.
Save time building your network.
Create and nurture sustainable relationships with private equity’s elite by using our sophisticated matchmaking platform.
Our 2022 attendees include
What attendees say about the Forum
Evelyn Pellicone
Crestview Advisors
PEI did a nice job of pivoting to the virtual conference. Without missing a beat, the CFO & COOs forum provided valuable discussions and networking opportun…
Kristine O' Connor
Managing Director and CFO, Franklin Park
The Forum is consistently the best conference for finance professionals in the private equity industry! The event offers meaningful content, knowledgeable speak…
Richard Lee
The Cynosure Group
The annual CFOs & COOs Forum has been the most helpful source of organized continuing education for my role as the CFO of a PE firm.
Evelyn Pellicone
Crestview Advisors
PEI did a nice job of pivoting to the virtual conference. Without missing a beat, the CFO & COOs forum provided valuable discussions and networking opportunities on the issues facing PE CFOs & COOs.
Kristine O' Connor
Managing Director and CFO, Franklin Park
The Forum is consistently the best conference for finance professionals in the private equity industry! The event offers meaningful content, knowledgeable speakers and ample networking opportunities!
Showcase your thought leadership to Forum attendees
The Forum offered a unique opportunity for organizations to raise their profile by meeting with an exclusive community of private equity senior professionals across two days of sessions.
2022 Speakers
For speaking opportunities, contact Shamara Ray at shamara.r@peimedia.com or call +1 212 633 1453.
Charmone Adams
Advisory Senior Manager, Grant Thornton LLP
Hina Ahmad
Senior Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer, Capital Dynamics
Saba Ahmad
Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Turning Rock Partners
Frank Anduiza
EVP, Head of Private Fund Sales, Ultimus LeverPoint
Anne Anquillare, CFA
Head of CSC U.S. Fund Services
Georges Archibald
Regional Managing Director - Americas, Apex Group Ltd.
Jonathan Balkin
Founder & Executive Director, Lionpoint Group
Jeremy Barlow
Head of Commercial, Diligent Equity, Diligent
Brandon Baudin
Chief Financial Officer, The Sterling Group
Noah Becker
Chief Financial Officer, LLR Partners
John Beczak
Chief Financial Officer. Resource Capital Funds
Graham Bippart
Editor, Private Funds CFO, Private Equity International
Jeff Bohl
CFO, Ontra
Tony Braddock
Chief Financial Officer, Stellex Capital Management LLC
Tim Buchner
COO, Alpha for Private Markets, State Street
Kyle Burrell
Partner, Financial Services Office, Ernst & Young LLP
Jesse Burwell
CFO & Senior Managing Director, Liberty Strategic Capital
Tracey Chaffin
Partner and Chief Financial Officer, Pamlico Capital
Megan Chandler
Director, Global Talent Management, The Riverside Company
Joshua Cherry-Seto
Managing Director, CFO & CCO, Blue Wolf Capital Partners
Dave Clauson
Director, BKD, CPAs & Advisors
Sam Cohn
Chief Financial Officer - Credit & Venture, Perceptive Advisors
Dina M. Colombo
Partner, COO & CFO, GreyLion Capital
Shannon Dolan
SVP, Asset Management & Private Markets, FIS
Andrew Edelman
VP of Sales, Cobalt, a FactSet Company
Gerald Esposito
Partner, CFO & CCO, Newbury Partners
April Evans
Partner, CFO and CCO, Monitor Clipper Partners
Simon Eyre
Chief Information Security Officer, Drawbridge
Jay Farber
Head of Growth, Juniper Square
Adam Felsenthal
General Counsel, Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, Great Point Partners
Nathan Ford
Senior Vice President, Business Development, Drawbridge
Adam Freedman
Chief Compliance Officer and Associate General Counsel, Angelo Gordon
Brian Garfield, CFA, ASA
Managing Director, Lincoln International
James Gaven
General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, SK Capital Partners
Jacqueline Giammarco
Managing Director & Chief Compliance Officer, Stone Point Capital
Jeffrey Gilbert
Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Carnelian Energy Capital
Omar Hassan
Principal, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Cloverlay Partners
Stephen E. Hoey
Chief Financial Officer, Vertica Capital Partners
Devin Holden
Compliance Director, NovaQuest Capital Management
Ruth E. Horowitz
Vice President, Equity Mobilization Division, IFC and Head, IFC Asset Management Company
Sara Huang
Managing Director, Ardian
Eric Huttman
CEO, MillTechFX
Bryan D. Hunkele
Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP
Rich Itri
Chief Innovation Officer, ECI
Rod James
Senior Reporter, Private Equity International and Secondaries Investor
Raoul Kamath
Regional Director – Americas, EWM Global
Sandra Kim-Suk
Chief Financial Officer, Engine No. 1
Amy Knapp
Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Corsair Capital
Vincent Korta
CFO & COO, 2B Living
Rishi Kotecha
Head of General Partner Segment, BlackRock
Jill Lampert
Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, NGP Energy Capital Management
P. Thao Le
Partner, Troutman Pepper
Richard Lee, CPA
Chief Financial Officer, The Cynosure Group
Mark Levitt
Chief of Staff, Global Infrastructure Partners
Mark Magerman, PhD, PCC
Executive Coach, Organization Development Consultant, Gestalt Works
Thomas Mayrhofer
Chief Operating Officer, EJF Capital, LLC
Rich Melville
Editorial Director, US, PEI Media
Nickie Norris
Senior Partner, COO, CCO, New Heritage Capital
Kristine O’Connor
Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Franklin Park
Matt Okolita
Head of Outsourced Business Services, IQ-EQ
Stephanie Paine
Partner and Chief Financial Officer, Pritzker Private Capital
Tony Paredes
Vice President, Head of Global Business Development, Anduin
Michael Patanella
Managing Partner - Asset Management, Grant Thornton
Andrew W. Petri
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Pfingsten Partners, L.L.C.
Deneshea L. Phelps
Chief Financial & Compliance Officer, Arlington Capital
Brad Pietras
Director of Finance, Level Equity
Barnaby Piggott
CEO, Atlas by Holland Mountain
Heramb Ramachandran
Chief Financial Officer, Sciens Capital
Neeta Rastogi Singh
Chief Operating Officer, Activant Capital Group LLC
Kevin Richardson
Finance Director, Bregal Sagemount
Sarah G. Roth
CEO, Argosy Capital
Igor Rudfeld
Senior Vice President, Harbourvest
Sebastien Sacre
COO of Private Capital Fund Services, Northern Trust
Vik Sawhney
Chief Administrative Officer, Blackstone
Dean Schaffer
Managing Director, Alter Domus
Daren Schneider
CFO & CCO, JLL Partners, LLC
Todd Schneider
CFO & CCO, Delta Capital Partners Management LLC
Béla Schwartz
CFO, The Riverside Company
KS Shah
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, WestBridge Capital
Dinesh Shastri
Partner and Head of Product Development, OpEff Technologies
Katie Stitch
Managing Director, W Capital Partners
Lance Taylor
Partner and Chief Financial Officer, HGGC
Daisy Tung
Partner, Advisory, KPMG
Jeanette Turner
Managing Director, Global Regulatory & Compliance Solutions, SEI
Katerina Tzouganatos
Principal, Deloitte
Stephen Wedemeyer
Chief Financial Officer, Carnelian Energy Capital
Gerald Whelan
Tax Partner/Principal – EY Private Equity Tax Technical Leader, Ernst & Young LLP
Irene Willard
Chief Financial Officer, Dunes Point Capital
Alisa A. Wood
Member, Head of Private Market Strategies, KKR
Patty Xu
CFO, Catalyst Investors
Mike Zack
Head of US Sales, Hazeltree
Pre-Event Resources
Private Equity/Venture Capital Compensation Report – Executive Summary
By Private Equity International
Year-round networking for private equity CFOs and COOs
The 19th annual CFOs & COOs Forum New York returns as in-person, live event January 2022.
Connect with your CFO and COO peers, get maximum visibility for your firm, and maintain relationships across the industry.
Attendance at the Forum is now exclusive to CFO All Access – our industry-leading CFO and COO community. Request a trial to see how, in addition to attendance at the CFOs & COOs Forum New York, membership can help expand your network.
Meet our growing community of CFOs & COOs
Connect with your peers.
Connect with a community of CFOs, COOs, and senior finance executives in networking sessions and small group meetings.
Hear from the leaders in private equity.
The Forum’s authoritative speaking faculty will share key information that will impact processes and practices within the firm.
Save time building your network.
Create and nurture sustainable relationships with private equity’s elite by using our sophisticated matchmaking platform.
What our attendees are saying about CFOs & COOs Forum
James Crossen
Managing Director Finance Apollo Global Management
The top conference I have attended. Very relevant topics, a great cast of characters and a diverse group of firms represented.
Kristine O' Connor
Managing Director and CFO, Franklin Park
The Forum is consistently the best conference for finance professionals in the private equity industry! The event offers meaningful content, knowledgeable speak…
Shant Mardirossian
Partner, Chief Operating Officer, Kohlberg & Company
A must attend conference for me. Plan to expand to other members of the Finance team.
Kristine O' Connor
Managing Director and CFO, Franklin Park
The Forum is consistently the best conference for finance professionals in the private equity industry! The event offers meaningful content, knowledgeable speakers and ample networking opportunities!
CFOs & COOs Forum New York attendees get more:
By attending the CFOs & COOs Forum New York you will join the most influential CFOs and COOs community. Membership will give you:
- Access to the CFOs & COOs Forum New York
- Access to all of PEI’s CFO events (both virtual and in-person)
- Access to the member directory
- Frequent virtual and in-person networking opportunities
- And much more …
2022 Agenda
Download the agenda to see the timely and relevant topics that were covered at the Forum.
All times are listed in Eastern Time (ET)
Agenda
Day one - Wednesday 27th
Registration – Continental breakfast
PEI Welcome & chair’s introduction
Chairman:
John Scerbo, Former CFO, L Catterton and Founding Member, Private Equity CFO Association New York Chapter
Chair’s welcome
9th annual global CFO and COO benchmarking survey results
In this session, we will review the results of the ninth annual survey of CFOs and COOs from across the globe. We’ve collected extensive data on people, processes, and planning for the future. The insight gained from the survey will provide the foundation for a robust discussion by an esteemed panel of CFOs and COOs representing a broad spectrum of private funds.
Moderator:
Kyle Burrell, Partner, Financial Services Office, Ernst & Young LLP
Panelists:
April Evans, Partner, CFO and CCO, Monitor Clipper Partners
Stephanie Paine, Partner and Chief Financial Officer, Pritzker Private Capital
Andrew W. Petri, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Pfingsten Partners, L.L.C.
Andrew W. Petri
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Pfingsten Partners, L.L.C.
Read bioNetworking coffee break
Think tank (GPs only): Bolstering the future of the firm with a solid succession plan
- Does your firm expect to see a succession event in the near future?
- Laying the groundwork for succession
- When is the right time to start identifying candidates?
- How much LP disclosure is required regarding succession plans?
- Determining if multiple candidates will be required to fill a role historically held by one person
- How often do firms meet to identify successors?
- Identifying successors by granting candidates some responsibility and authority to start to influence the business
- Putting a process in place for a seamless transition
- What does succession planning at end of fund life look like?
Facilitator:
Stephen E. Hoey, Chief Financial Officer, Vertica Capital Partners
Think tank (GPs only): Is private equity going through a talent revolution?
- How are CFOs competing effectively in the war for talent?
- Will paying whatever it takes or providing other benefits/alternatives win the race for talent?
- Restoring the balance: closing talent gaps resulting from women leaving the workforce during the pandemic
- Making a case for return to office when other firms are offering remote options
- Increasing value of soft vs hard incentives—finding the right mix
- Inventive strategies for retaining next generation talent
- Do you incentivize using matching or leveraged coinvest?
- Assessing how to maximize and leverage existing employees
Facilitator:
Todd Schneider, CFO & CCO, Delta Capital Partners Management LLC
Think tank (GPs only): Are SPACs on your firm’s radar for 2022
- Projections on SPACs formation and IPOs in the year ahead
- Dissecting why PE is attracted to SPACs and the benefits of entering the evolving space
- Does an increase in SPACs signal that firms should be giving the option another look?
- Are SPACS an ideal way for firms to find liquidity and go public in a more controlled environment?
- How does your firm view the growing SPACs market’s ability to bring companies public?
- What has been the LP reception to the rising popularity of SPACs?
Think tank (GPs only): PE compensation trends
- Conducting an analysis of your firm’s compensation and benefits
- CFO compensation trends
- What is competitive compensation by level of investment professional?
- How do you compensate your employees? How does it compare to industry standards?
- Identifying opportunities to augment terms of compensation
- How do you incentivize employees?
- Utilizing compensation surveys to benchmark against peers
- Establishing a process to identify individual career goals to align opportunity and compensation
Facilitator:
Mark Levitt, Chief of Staff, Global Infrastructure Partners
Think tank (Service providers only): What every GP expects from their service providers
- Private equity’s mounting acceptance of outsourcing
- Methods for overcoming challenges with adopting new technologies
- Collaborating with service providers as partners
- Setting up regular touchpoints
- Having clear dialogue on what your provider is doing
- Making your service provider a part of the team
- Ensuring third-party due diligence
Moderator:
Rod James, Senior Reporter, Private Equity International and Secondaries Investor
Panelists:
Joshua Cherry-Seto, Managing Director, CFO & CCO, Blue Wolf Capital Partners
Omar Hassan, Principal, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Cloverlay Partners
Sandra Kim-Suk, Chief Financial Officer, Engine No. 1
Stephen Wedemeyer, Chief Financial Officer, Carnelian Energy Capital
Omar Hassan
Principal, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Cloverlay Partners
Read bio
Networking luncheon
Track A | Utilizing automation to maintain a competitive edge
- Examining how automation is redefining PE firm processes
- How do you define emerging tech within your firm?
- How firms should be using emerging technologies to foster strategic growth
- Adopting systems to automate ILPA templates
- Budget friendly tools to help smaller firms automate
- Leveraging automation and visualization for better decision-making
- How do you sustain your advantage and/or not fall behind with the use of technology?
- Automating the back office
Moderator:
Frank Anduiza, EVP, Head of Private Fund Sales, Ultimus LeverPoint Private Fund Solutions
Panelists:
Rich Itri, Chief Innovation Officer, ECI
Brad Pietras, Director of Finance, Level Equity
Neeta Rastogi Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Activant Capital Group LLC
Track B | Establishing a successful dynamic for internal and external fundraising strategies
- Future direction of the CFO function during a fundraise
- Finding value-adds across the firm to contribute to the fundraise process
- Positioning the firm to be able to launch a new fund with existing resources and technology
- Will fundraising continue to employ virtual meetings?
- Making changes to how the firm presents in a virtual environment: scaling webinars, presentations and collateral
- How different are in-person and virtual due diligence meetings during fundraising?
- Fielding an increase in ESG policy questions
- Are placement agents playing a larger role in providing fundraising support?
- How are LPs utilizing track record data in the decision process?
Moderator:
Anne Anquillare, CFA, Head of CSC U.S. Fund Services
Panelists:
Tony Braddock, Chief Financial Officer, Stellex Capital Management LLC
Gerald Esposito, Partner, CFO & CCO, Newbury Partners
Alisa A. Wood, Member, Head of Private Market Strategies, KKR
Track C | One year later: tax reform and the Biden administration
- Overview of tax legislation and regulatory changes
- Affirmative planning for potential tax changes
- Pivotal focus areas: corporate minimum tax, personal tax surcharge, carried interest and stock buyback tax
- Dissecting the impact of tax reform on senior professionals
- How does the increasing cash tax drive what firms do with portfolio companies?
- Impact of carry and interest limitations tax on portfolio companies
- Recent state and local tax developments – including the passthrough entity tax
- Investor sensitivities—fund structure and tax reporting
- Emerging cross-border tax developments – including BEPS 2.0
- What is on your radar at the fund or portfolio company level?
Moderator:
Gerald Whelan, Tax Partner/Principal – EY Private Equity Tax Technical Leader, Ernst & Young LLP
Panelists:
Noah Becker, Chief Financial Officer, LLR Partners
Béla Schwartz, CFO, The Riverside Company
Track D | Reevaluating methods and implementing new approaches for streamlining firm operations
- Surveying what is driving operational efficiency at the firm to uncover additional areas of opportunity
- Is your firm readying for value creation initiatives to drive efficiency?
- Assessing how the finance team can deliver efficiency to support the business
- Taking another look at outsourcing: which functions can be outsourced and what remains in-house?
- What technologies are being utilizing across the firm from an operational perspective?
- Understanding who is responsible for and owns the system initiatives at your firm
- Adhering to ILPA standards to address increasing LP expectations
Moderator:
Daisy Tung, Partner, Advisory, KPMG
Panelists:
Brandon Baudin, Chief Financial Officer, The Sterling Group
Jay Farber, Head of Growth, Juniper Square
Richard Lee, CPA, Chief Financial Officer, The Cynosure Group
Nickie Norris, Senior Partner, COO, CCO, New Heritage Capital
Track E | Technology spotlight
Discover new automated solutions firms are implementing to address challenges and the best technology to help with accounting, transparency, reporting and more.
1:30pm
Empowering investors with next generation onboarding
Speaker:
Tony Paredes, Vice President, Head of Global Business Development, Anduin
1:45pm
Employing User-Centric Portfolio Monitoring to Increase Productivity
Speaker:
Andrew Edelman, VP of Sales, Cobalt, a FactSet Company
2:00pm
How to simplify MIP/option admin & waterfall analysis for PE firms
Speaker:
Jeremy Barlow, Head of Commercial, Diligent Investors
Track A | Orchestrating the management, normalization and utilization of data
- Growing importance of data across the firm
- Models for getting an essential database from an inherently complex task
- Best practices for achieving better organization of data
- Finding a complimentary approach to consuming data from an Excel spreadsheet
- Pulling data in a way that can be managed, utilized and shared—what tools do you need?
- Steps for maintaining good, quality data over time
- Deploying a company-wide platform to enable firmwide data solutions
- Strategies for cleansing data and quality control
- Is your firm using data warehouses, data lakes or business intelligence tools?
- Analyzing firm data to make better investment decisions
- How are firms utilizing data in a way that’s forward looking?
- Data protection risk
- Cybersecurity best practices and protocol
Moderator:
Tim Buchner, COO, Alpha for Private Markets, State Street
Panelists:
Jeff Bohl, CFO, Ontra
Omar Hassan, Principal, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Cloverlay Partners
Jill Lampert, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, NGP Energy Capital Management
Daren Schneider, CFO & CCO, JLL Partners, LLC
Omar Hassan
Principal, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Cloverlay Partners
Read bio
Track B | Holding on: improving performance and returns through continuation funds
- Unraveling the pros and cons of seeking longer term holds on companies
- Are continuation funds an option for addressing supply and demand issues?
- How do continuation funds de-risk assets?
- Determining which assets have the potential to grow doing a continuation fund
- What strategic approaches can firms take to extend funds and achieve positive performance results?
Moderator:
Graham Bippart, Editor, Private Funds CFO
Panelists:
Sara Huang, Managing Director, Ardian
Bryan D. Hunkele, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP
Katie Stitch, Managing Director, W Capital Partners
Track C | How private equity is adjusting valuation methodology
- State of valuations in a hot leverage and pricing market
- What does PE do to prepare for 2022?
- GP attitude towards lifting valuations in line with the large market valuation uplift
- Valuations and audit review: are firms using a third-party or doing it in-house?
- Benchmarking whether CFOs are responsible for valuation and how it’s evolved over time
- Does the investment team or finance/accounting complete valuations?
- Reviewing valuation policy changes made during the pandemic to determine the need to revert back
- Is the SEC focusing more on valuation and disclosure?
- Establishing a centralized data collection process with the finance and/or deal team
- Are firms doing valuations based on WACC or making adjustments?
- Best practices and where the industry is heading
Moderator:
Brian Garfield, CFA, ASA, Managing Director, Lincoln International
Panelists:
John M. Beczak, Chief Financial Officer, Resource Capital Funds
Adam Freedman, Chief Compliance Officer and Associate General Counsel, Angelo Gordon
Igor Rudfeld, Senior Vice President, Harbourvest
Track D | COO strategic initiatives: moving the back office toward operational efficiency
- Reassessing back office operating models to identify efficiencies
- Achieving efficiency gains through back office deal tracking, accounting and CRM software integration
- Identifying the operational elements COOs need to tackle as firms change
- Managing growth and scale while establishing processes to meet new demands from LPs
- Moving the firm toward better integrating systems
- Wading through point solutions to ensure the firm is getting the right visibility into investments
- Strategies for securing buy-in within the firm when operational efficiencies are needed and require a sizable investment
- Putting resources in place to enable you to achieve more and decrease day-to-day tasks
Moderator:
Barnaby Piggott, CEO, Atlas by Holland Mountain
Panelists:
Jeffrey Gilbert, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Carnelian Energy Capital
Vincent Korta, CFO & COO, 2B Living
Heramb Ramachandran, Chief Financial Officer, Sciens Capital Management LLC
Track E | Technology spotlight
Discover new automated solutions firms are implementing to address challenges and the best technology to help with accounting, transparency, reporting and more.
2:25pm
Solving investor accounting complexities related to waterfall allocations and tracking LP commitments, calls and distributions
Speaker:
Dinesh Shastri, Partner and Head of Product Development, OpEff Technologies
2:40pm
Introducing FX-as-a-Service: the evolution of currency management
Speaker:
Eric Huttman, CEO, MillTechFX
Networking coffee break
How can CFOs and COOs be more additive to firm initiatives?
- Evolving skills: how the role has changed and will function 5-10 years from now
- Tools CFOs and COOs use to effectively manage the growing demand on time and resources
- Prioritizing responsibilities when concurrent deliverables have critical levels of importance
- How are CFOs enhancing the support provided to portfolio companies?
- How do you split CFO vs COO responsibilities?
- Weighing in on outsourcing decisions
- Managing in-house and outsourced functions
- CFO role in the IR and fundraising processes
- How CFOs are assisting in making portfolio companies as profitable as possible
- Playing a strategic role in the firm’s considerations about its balance sheet
- Different hats CFOs wear throughout the span your career
- Overcoming challenges around adopting new technologies
Moderator:
Michael Patanella, Managing Partner – Asset Management, Grant Thornton
Panelists:
Joshua Cherry-Seto, Managing Director, CFO & CCO, Blue Wolf Capital Partners
Dina M. Colombo, Partner, COO & CFO, GreyLion Capital
Rishi Kotecha, Head of General Partner Segment, BlackRock
Thomas Mayrhofer, Chief Operating Officer, EJF Capital, LLC
Keynote interview
Cocktail reception and end of day one
Agenda
Day two - Thursday 28th
CFOs and COOs think tank
CCOs think tank
Senior finance executive think tank
Continental breakfast
Chair’s opening remarks
Chairman:
John Scerbo, Former CFO, L Catterton and Founding Member, Private Equity CFO Association New York Chapter
Adapting to hybrid work environments in a historically in-office culture
- Is remote and hybrid working the new normal for private equity?
- Exploring the purpose of “office” for your organization?
- What are firms doing to address the ever-increasing demand for work from home?
- Striking the right balance for your firm: number of days per week, rolling, etc.
- The role of behavioral health in adapting to hybrid working environments
- Hybrid work environment cultural and organizational design elements
- Importance of having the right technology in place to operate productively in a remote/hybrid environment
- Methods for fostering engagement and growth of hybrid/remote back-office employees when the investment team is in the office
- How to monitor performance and identify high performers
- Conducting remote finance team oversight in a post-COVID work environment
- Unintended consequences of people not being in the office
- Are firms concerned about attrition?
- How to attract and retain talent when other firms offer more appealing hybrid or remote arrangements
Moderator:
Georges Archibald, Regional Managing Director – Americas, Apex Group Ltd.
Panelists:
Tracey Chaffin, Partner and Chief Financial Officer, Pamlico Capital
Mark Magerman, PhD, PCC, Executive Coach, Organization Development Consultant, Gestalt Works
Lance Taylor, Partner & CFO, HGGC
Mark Magerman, PhD, PCC
Executive Coach, Organization Development Consultant, Gestalt Works
Read bio
Networking coffee break
Track A | What’s in store for the future of carry?
- Examining carry models that are simpler to administer and more equitable to manage
- Carry vesting schedules: what are firms doing?
- Examining GP carried interest waterfall structures and the impact on returns
- How do you think about who is entitled to carry, considerations?
- How does your firm allocate carry and who gets in the carry pool?
- Should founders spread carry more evenly down into the organization?
- What is the approach to fund new hires when all the carry has been allocated?
- Bracing for a change in tax legislation and whether carry will be taxed like regular income
- What kind of language are firms putting in LPAs to address the coming tax bill?
- Considerations for doing phantom carry
- Creative approaches for dealing with the carry rule
Moderator:
Raoul Kamath, US Regional Marketing & Sales Director, EWM Global
Panelists:
Kevin Richardson, Finance Director, Bregal Sagemount
Irene Willard, Chief Financial Officer, Dunes Point Capital
Patty Xu, CFO, Catalyst Investors
Track B | What’s ahead for PE compliance: the next three years?
- What regulatory changes is the industry anticipating from SEC Chair Gensler?
- How are you being strategic in compliance?
- Common issues firms encounter with respect to fees and expenses?
- Implementing a process to ensure better data and reporting
- Should PE anticipate an uptick in exams and enforcement actions?
- Before the exam—considerations when preparing for a potential SEC visit
- Recommendations for utilizing outsourced compliance consultants
- CFO and COO accountability in the compliance process
- Tracking timeline initiatives and trends from one SEC Chair to the next
- Standing by for a prescriptive approach for the industry at large on ESG, reporting and disclosure requirements
- Regulations on the horizon: crypto, capital gains tax and carried interest
- New marketing rules
Moderator:
James Gaven, Senior Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Panelists:
Adam Felsenthal, General Counsel, Great Point Partners
Matt Okolita, Head of Outsourced Business Services, IQ-EQ
Kshitij Shah, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Compliance Officer, WestBridge Capital Partners
Track C | Analyzing how technology is interconnected with firm success
- Surveying the latest technology and tools for private equity
- Ensuring your technology is ideal for the firm’s type of investments and required reporting
- Determining what system to use for fund accounting
- Leveraging technology to support waterfall calculations and carried interest allocations
- Tools for organizing data and metrics
- Providing necessary training and education for in-house use and remote access
- Uncovering common integration challenges when launching new technologies
- Incorporating user feedback into technology decisions
- The role next generation technologies are playing in the investment decision-making process
Moderator:
Dean Schaffer, Managing Director, Alter Domus
Panelists:
Saba Ahmad, Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Turning Rock Partners
Jonathan Balkin, Founder & Executive Director, Lionpoint Group
Jesse Burwell, CFO & Senior Managing Director, Liberty Strategic Capital
Sandra Kim-Suk, Chief Financial Officer, Engine No. 1
Track D | How firms approach and view the use of subscription lines
- Are you seeing an increase in the overall debt exposure in the funds?
- What type of facilities are being used and how long is debt outstanding before repayment?
- Using leverage to show increased returns given today’s low interest rates
- Overview of hybrid facilities
- Employing asset backed facilities at the portfolio level
- What is the borrowing landscape like for your firm?
- Do you use subscription lines for actual leverage or for bridging purposes?
- SEC oversight into use of the line
- Why UBTI has been sensitive issues with investors
- Renewal process of subscription lines—what it entails
- Calculating performance in a way that takes out the impact of subscription lines
- DDQ and subscription line terms: how much you can call on commitments and how long do you keep it out there?
- How to leverage your subscription lines to enhance returns
Moderator:
Mike Zack, Head of US Sales, Hazeltree
Panelists:
Noah Becker, Chief Financial Officer, LLR Partners
Sam Cohn, Chief Financial Officer – Credit & Venture, Perceptive Advisors
Sarah G. Roth, CEO, Argosy Capital
Roundup A | Aligning ESG commitment with corporate strategy
- Advancing the firm from ESG awareness to implementing policies and procedures
- Taking steps to make ESG a part of the firm’s DNA
- How are firms tracking and enforcing ESG within portfolio companies?
- Portfolio company ESG data: collection and frequency
- Presenting accurate ESG initiatives to potential LPs
- Tackling ESG reporting in response to more sophisticated LP questions
- New ESG regulatory requirements
- Examining the parameters and metrics of your ESG compliance policies
- What is the SEC focusing on with disclosures?
Facilitators:
Dave Clauson, Director, BKD, CPAs & Advisors
Jacqueline Giammarco, Chief Compliance Officer and Managing Director, Stone Point Capital LLC
Devin Holden, Compliance Director, NovaQuest Capital Management
Roundup B | Ensuring outsourced services are aligned with firm interests
- Checks and balances: getting comfortable with relinquishing a level of control to vendors
- Formalizing the vendor selection process to guarantee you pick the right partner
- Conducting service provider due diligence
- Cost allocation of outsourced solutions
- What are the hidden costs of insourcing vs outsourcing?
- How much time does outsourcing really save the firm?
- Examining the technologies needed to keep specific functions in-house
- Can a strong CFO network be an alternative to hiring or outsourcing?
- Having a productive and transparent relationship with your service providers
- Management of outsourcing in relation to regulatory oversight
Facilitators:
Amy Knapp, Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Corsair Capital
Deneshea L. Phelps, Chief Financial & Compliance Officer, Arlington Capital
Jeanette Turner, Managing Director, Global Regulatory & Compliance Solutions, SEI
Group A | Building finance teams
- Assessing what level of expertise you have in-house
- Evaluating whether to hire for the finance team or does it make more sense to outsource
- Focus on recruitment: using emerging/untraditional sources to assemble a pool of candidates
- Do your diligence: outlining requirements for third-party service providers
- Developing the junior finance team
Instructor:
Charmone Adams, Advisory Senior Manager, Grant Thornton LLP
Group B | Cybersecurity policies and risk mitigation
- Where does cyber risk rank on the list of challenges your firm faces today?
- What are firms doing to proactively prevent hacks?
- What should be the internal process if your firm gets hit by a cyberattack?
- Using technology/ tools more robustly in cybersecurity initiatives
- Implementing a process to lead the cybersecurity charge for your portfolio companies
- Handling ODD questions that have an increased focused on cyber
- How are other firms approaching cyber insurance?
- Cybersecurity email standards: how do you treat PDF attachments?
- Security measures for LPs who cannot/will not login to the investor portal
- Use of password-protected or encrypted documents
- Creating cybersecurity best practices and protocols around legacy systems with data in multiple places
- Developing a cybersecurity training program for employees
- Ensuring firm policies are up to par with SEC requirements
Instructors:
Simon Eyre, Chief Information Security Officer, Drawbridge
Nathan Ford, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Drawbridge
Group C | Secondary market: driving growth in fund restructuring
- What does aging funds mean and how many are out there?
- Market metrics and recent developments in the market
- Economic insight on what can be seen in the data
- Providing options for GPs and LPs seeking a way to structure out
- Evaluating the process: timeline of how long these deals are supposed to take
- Due diligence—perspectives on running and facilitating the deals
- What diligence looks like from the funds side of the universe
- Types of information and documents requested
- What changes can fund managers expect with fair value accounting for secondary market transactions?
- Tax and valuation issues to consider
Networking luncheon
Key considerations for addressing diversity, equity and inclusion issues in private equity
- Are DEI initiatives a matter of firm culture?
- How much does LP pressure contribute to DEI policies?
- Does your HR policy provide structure or outline diversity initiatives?
- Tackling post pandemic talent gaps in an inclusive manner
- How can the challenge of lack of diversity at entry and senior levels be solved?
- What impact hiring should look like for PE and your firm
- Changing how your firm approaches recruitment and hiring
- Utilizing recruiters to assist in identifying the right candidates
- Ensuring diverse hires are successful within the firm
Moderator:
P. Thao Le, Partner, Troutman Pepper
Panelists:
Hina Ahmad, Senior Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer, Capital Dynamics
Megan Chandler, Director, Global Talent Management, The Riverside Company
Katerina Tzouganatos, Principal, Deloitte
Evolution and normalization of investor reporting
- How has investor reporting evolved over the past 10 years?
- Primary areas of reporting that have changed the most in the last several years
- Best practices for responding to ESG questionnaires and reporting on ESG metrics
- Recent reporting on DEI initiatives
- Handling ILPA templates and increasing side letter requests
- Are ILPA templates used for specific investors or across the board for all investors?
- Exploring different ways to manage data including technology implementation
- What are you doing internally to get to a single point of truth?
- Utilizing portals as the delivery mechanism to LPs
- Will AGMs and diligence meetings remain virtual in the future?
- Are investors requesting returns presented in accordance with GIPS?
Moderator:
Sebastien Sacre, COO of Private Capital Fund Services, Northern Trust
Panelists:
Shannon Dolan, SVP, Asset Management & Private Markets, FIS
Ruth E. Horowitz, Vice President, Equity Mobilization Division, IFC and Head, IFC Asset Management Company
Kristine O’Connor, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Franklin Park
Ruth E. Horowitz
Vice President, Equity Mobilization Division, IFC and Head, IFC Asset Management Company
Read bio
End of conference
Up to 15 CPE credits available
Earn up to 13.5 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits at this year’s CFOs & COOs Forum. PEI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.NASBARegistry.org.
COVID-19 vaccination requirements
As part of our commitment to safety at the CFOs & COOs Forum New York and following New York City and venue COVID-19 vaccination requirements, we are requiring that all attendees must provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination status before checking into the event.
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Frequently asked questions
Will I need to be vaccinated to attend the CFOs & COOs Forum New York?
Yes. Only individuals who provide full proof of COVID-19 vaccination status via the Health Pass by CLEAR app will be allowed to enter the event.
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What if I don’t download the app and complete Health Pass by CLEAR before arriving to the event?
We strongly encourage all attendees to download the CLEAR app and sign up for Health Pass by CLEAR at least 24 hours prior to the event to ensure your vaccination status is confirmed. If you do not this, please bring your vaccine card and a photo id with you to the venue to verify your information through the app onsite at the event. It can take up to 30 minutes for your vaccination status to be confirmed.
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I am already registered for the CFOs & COOs Forum New York, how do I confirm my vaccination status?
Email communications are being sent to all attendees regarding Health Pass by CLEAR and the CLEAR app can be downloaded right away to start verifying your vaccination. Attendees are strongly encouraged to verify vaccine status at least 24 hours prior to the event. The event specific code needed to confirm your identity will be sent to all attendees two weeks prior to the event.
Any questions regarding the event and vaccination requirements should be sent to customerservices@peimedia.com.
The Sheraton NY Times Square Hotel
811 7th Avenue, 53rd street
New York, NY 10019
All conference sessions will take place at the Sheraton NY Times Square Hotel.
We also have reserved a room block at the hotel for all attendees with a discounted rate. To reserve your room at the hotel please use the link below or call reservations and mention PEI CFOs & COOs Forum at 1-888-627-7067.
*Please note the group rate is only available on or before April 8th.
