Our Speakers
First Time Funds Panel
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Andy Lee Founder and CIO, Parallaxes Capital
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Brice Messavussu (VC) Founding Partner, BM Prime Capital
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Jeremy Sohn Managing General Partner, P74 Ventures
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Miguel Armaza (VC) Founding Partner, Gilgamesh Ventures
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Nadia Murad Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
Andy Lee
Founder and CIO, Parallaxes Capital
Andy founded Parallaxes Capital in 2017. Previously, he was with Lone Star Funds, focused on investing in the Americas. He began his career at Citigroup.
Andy graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Masters in Accountancy and a Bachelors in Finance and Accountancy.
Andy has been featured in publications including Institutional Investors, NBC, Forbes (as part of the 2020 Class of 30 under 30), ReOrg Radio and Fitch’s LevFin Insights. He has spoken at events and conferences for organizations such as the Association of Asian American Investment Manager (“AAAIM”) and leading academic institutions including the University of Illinois and Texas Christian University (“TCU”)
Brice Messavussu (VC)
Founding Partner, BM Prime Capital
Brice is an experienced executive, investor, and a JD/MBA Candidate at The Wharton School of business and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Brice became COO of a private firm at age 23, making partner just 1.5 years later after scaling the company to record high profits. He went on to become a high-return real-estate investor by age 25. With elite analytical and strategic skills, Brice has successfully launched and funded startups in several countries, building an extensive network of prominent connections. Brice Messavussu is the founder and chief executive of BM Prime Capital, his success is powered by a superior work ethic and sustained with relentless ambition to improve the world.
Jeremy Sohn
Managing General Partner, P74 Ventures
Jeremy is a recognized venture capitalist, thought-leader, and change-agent for digital transformation in healthcare and life sciences. He is responsible for both developing and executing Novartis’ data and digital strategy AND for designing and implementing the company’s transformation and operating model. His leadership roles and groundbreaking initiatives have impacted every facet of the life sciences business, including research & development, clinical development (trials), commercial sales & omni-channel marketing, medical education & RWE, manufacturing, and supply chain management.
Over the last few years alone, Jeremy has led multiple signature and first-in-pharma initiatives. A few examples include: in-licensing the first prescription digital therapeutic (Pear Therapeutic’s reSET and reSET-O), investment in the first virtual or decentralized clinical trial company (Science 37), designing and investing in Novartis’ global commercial transformation (Aktana & Medidata), implementing Novartis’ next-generation data, AI / ML, and advance analytics strategy (Microsoft, Amazon, Benevolent.ai), and driving patient centricity and clinical trial optimization within clinical development (Tencent, Apple, CentrosHealth / Clinical Ink).
Jeremy is also a serial entrepreneur and seasoned venture capitalist with deep experience investing in, starting, and growing technology, healthcare, and life-science related companies from inception to acquisition. He has demonstrated repeated success identifying fast-growing market opportunities, leading transformational change, building high-performance teams, developing trusted customer relationships, delivering rapid growth and profitability, and achieving strong returns.
Miguel Armaza (VC)
Founding Partner, Gilgamesh Ventures
Miguel is a former banker and fintech podcast host. He hosts the Fintech Leaders Podcast and previously co-hosted the Wharton Fintech Podcast, which he grew 13x to a monthly audience of 130k. In a prior life, he was a banker for Citi and MUFG in their structured finance and infrastructure teams. He holds an MBA from Wharton and an MA from the Lauder Institute and has lived in several countries, including Bolivia, China, Russia, Ireland, Uruguay, Italy, and USA. He is fluent in Russian, Spanish, and English.
Nadia Murad
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
Nadia Murad is a partner in the Investment Funds Group at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She has nearly 20 years of experience representing many of the world’s most well-known private equity sponsors in their fundraises, with aggregate capital raised totaling in the tens of billions of dollars. As an integral part of the Firm’s leading global IFG platform, she has built her career advising private equity clients on a wide variety of fund formation and related matters, including numerous mega-fund formations and fundraises across a broad spectrum of strategies and sponsors including private equity buyout funds, hybrid (PE/hedge) funds, first-time fund products, secondary funds, continuation funds, co-invest vehicles, feeder vehicles and HNW platforms, fund-of-one and single asset vehicles, and alternative investment vehicle structures.
Growth Equity Panel
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Aaron Goldman Managing Director, General Atlantic
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Chen Lihan Senior VP, GIC
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Kelly Ford General Partner & COO, Edison Partners
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Steven Sarracino Founder & Partner, Activant Capital
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William Scwab Moderator
Aaron Goldman
Managing Director, General Atlantic
Aaron Goldman is a Managing Director and Head of General Atlantic’s Enterprise Technology sector, where he leads the firm’s efforts around enterprise and vertical software and innovative technologies. Prior to his current role, Aaron Co-Headed Financial Services where he focused on Fintech and Payments. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2007, Aaron was part of the growth equity arm of the Fremont Group in San Francisco where he made several investments in the Internet, communications and healthcare sectors. While at the Fremont Group, he served as President and Chief Financial Officer of LPL Technologies, a growth stage company focused on the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Prior to that, Aaron was an Analyst in Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette’s Leveraged Finance group. Aaron is currently a director at Fresha, Gen II, Guideline, Modulr, Qontigo and Citymeals- on-Wheels and was previously a board member or shareholder representative at Adyen, FNZ and Network International. Aaron has also been involved in GA’s investments in Clip, d:local, Fireblocks, Mollie, Outsystems, NYDIG, PingPong, Riskified, Spendesk, Strike and Visma.
Chen Lihan
Senior VP, GIC
Lihan Chen is a Senior Vice President in GIC’s Technology Investment Group. In this role, she leads the team’s enterprise software investing efforts and serves on the team’s global investment committee. Lihan is a board observer for Grafana and ezCater, and led investments in Attentive, Databricks, Datadog, dbt Labs, Monte Carlo, Miro, Snowflake, and more.
Prior to joining GIC, Lihan was a member of the Corporate Development group at Workday and led Finance teams at Clara Lending (acquired by SoFi) and Citrus Lane (acquired by Care.com). Earlier in her career, she was an investor at GGV Capital and Francisco Partners. She began her career in the technology investment banking group at Morgan Stanley.
Lihan holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Kelly Ford
General Partner & COO, Edison Partners
Tech industry executive turned growth equity investor, Kelly manages investments in enterprise SaaS and fintech sectors, serves on Edison’s investment committee, and leads firm operations. Over the last nine years with the firm, Kelly has worked with more than 55 portfolio companies, been involved in 15 financings, served as director of 12 companies, and pioneered of the Edison Edge value creation platform. Current active investments include GAN Integrity, Northpass and Solutions by Text. Prior to joining Edison in 2014, Kelly spent 20 years operating in high-growth emerging and established B2B and B2B2C companies, including IBM, Groove Networks (now MSFT), LivePerson (LPSN), Operative (Francisco Partners) and Sundaysky (Clearhaven Partners). Active with her alma mater, Michigan State, she serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence for Broad’s Burgess Institute and on the advisory board for the university’s Center for Venture Capital, Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance. She is regularly featured in business, investor and technology media, and is an in-demand speaker at local and national events.
Steven Sarracino
Founder & Partner, Activant Capital
Mr. Sarracino is the Founder of Activant Capital Group, a growth equity firm focused on investing in market leading technology companies. Previously, Steve was a founding member of Serent Capital and he helped open the technology investing office at American Capital, Ltd. in Palo Alto, CA. Steve also worked at McKinsey & Co. in their Hong Kong office. He began his career in mergers and acquisitions at Robertson Stephens in San Francisco, CA.
Steve has an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He attended Southern Methodist University for his undergraduate degree, where he received a BBA in Finance with a minor in History.
William Scwab
Moderator
WILLIAM SCHWAB focuses his practice on advising leading private equity funds and their portfolio companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions, early and late-stage private equity investments, leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, and secondary transactions. Bill regularly represents searchers, search fund investors and search fund companies, advising on fundraising, acquisition, company operations and exit strategies. Bill also provides outside general counsel to early-stage and mature private companies, assisting with debt and equity financings, corporate governance, commercial agreements and employment matters.
Prior to joining Sidley, Bill was a partner at another global law firm and worked at the U.S. Department of State.
Pro Bono
Bill is very active in the community, volunteering his time for pro bono matters such as coordinating a benefits assistance project for wounded combat veterans, and representing an asylum applicant fleeing political violence in Burundi.
Memberships & Activities
- Bill served as co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Committee on Venture Capital and Emerging Companies.
Admissions & Certifications
- Massachusetts
Education
- Harvard Law School (J.D., 2003)
- Carthage College (B.A., 1996, summa cum laude)
Healthcare Panel
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Christopher Rile Moderator
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David Schuppan Partner & Co-head, Vistria
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Gabriel Luft Partner, Amulet Capital
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Geeta Vemuri Partner, Agent Capital
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Sam Brasch Managing Director, New Leaf Venture Partners
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Shaunak Parikh Managing Director, EW Healthcare Partners
Christopher Rile
Moderator
CHRISTOPHER RILE represents private equity sponsors and public and private businesses in connection with mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, recapitalizations, debt and equity financings, and other general corporate matters. His clients span a wide-range of industries including healthcare, aviation, food service, technology, supply chain, and professional sports.
Chris has been recognized in Legal 500 (2016-2017).
Prior to joining Sidley, Chris was a partner at another global law firm in their private equity transaction group.
Admissions & Certifications
- New York
Education
- Fordham University School of Law (J.D., 1996, Order of the Coif: Associate Editor, Fordham Law Review)
- Franklin and Marshall College (B.A., 1991, cum laude with honors)
David Schuppan
Partner & Co-head, Vistria
Gabriel Luft
Partner, Amulet Capital
Gabriel Luft is a Partner of Amulet Capital Partners. Prior to joining Amulet, Mr. Luft was a Director of Corporate Development at Universal American Corporation (NYSE: UAM), a leading managed care organization. From 2009 through 2011, Mr. Luft was an associate at Galen Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on growth equity investments in the healthcare industry. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Luft worked in healthcare investment banking at Robert W. Baird & Co. Mr. Luft began his career at Goldman Sachs & Co in 2005.
Geeta Vemuri
Partner, Agent Capital
Sam Brasch
Managing Director, New Leaf Venture Partners
Sam Brasch brings over 25 years of experience successfully leveraging technology innovations to create value across the healthcare and lifesciences industries. Prior to rejoining New Leaf Venture Partners as Managing Director, Sam was the Senior Managing Director and head of Kaiser Permanente Ventures, a leading strategic venture fund with >$550M AUM. During his tenure at KP, Sam led investments and sat on the Boards of numerous successful companies, including Ginger (Headspace Health), iRhythm (IRTC), Collective Medical (PointClickCare), Health Catalyst (HCAT), and several others.
Shaunak Parikh
Managing Director, EW Healthcare Partners
Shaunak is a Managing Director in the New York office of EW Healthcare, a private equity firm specializing in growth and buyout investments across the healthcare sector.
Shaunak has nearly fifteen years of experience in the healthcare and finance industry. At EW, he is responsible for identifying and evaluating new investments across the healthcare sector including pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and technology-enabled service opportunities. Shaunak also plays an active role in the management and
value creation process of existing portfolio companies. During his time at EW, Shaunak has been a key member in a number of the firm’s investments, including Vital Connect, MiMedx Group, Cardiva Medical, Prolacta Bioscience, TissueTech, TELA Bio, Bioventus and Encore Dermatology. Prior to joining EW Healthcare, Shaunak was an investor at Health Evolution Partners, a San Francisco based private equity firm focused on healthcare services, life sciences and HCIT. Shaunak began his career in the
investment banking group at Citigroup, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions primarily in the medical device and pharmaceutical sectors. Shaunak earned his Master of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with Honors from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.
Infrastructure Panel
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Chris Dell’Amore Principal, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, Blackstone
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Helen Newell MD, Head, Americas Infrastructure Asset Management, GIC
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Matthew Hutton Managing Director, Infrastructure Investments, Brookfield
Chris Dell’Amore
Principal, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, Blackstone
Mr. Dell’Amore is a Principal in the Infrastructure Group for Blackstone Inc. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Dell’Amore has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investment in Atlantia, while also serving on the Board of Directors of Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. and as a Board Observer of Tallgrass Energy. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Dell’Amore worked at Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) and Fortress Investment Group, focusing on investments in the energy, power, and transportation sectors. Prior to that, Mr. Dell’Amore was an Analyst at Société Générale in the Energy group. Mr. Dell’Amore received a B.A. in Economics and Spanish Language & Literature from Colgate University, where he graduated magna cum laude and with honors, an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.A. in International Studies (Latin America) from The Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Dell’Amore serves as an Associate Board member of America Needs You.
Helen Newell
MD, Head, Americas Infrastructure Asset Management, GIC
Helen Newell leads the America’s Asset Management function for GIC’s Infrastructure department. In this role, Helen oversees GIC’s Infrastructure portfolio across North and Latin America, approximately 30 portfolio companies. Helen joined GIC in October 2018 in London and relocated to New York in Oct 2019. Prior to joining GIC, Helen had 25 years’ experience in the transportation and mining industries, in operations and corporate roles, working on 6 continents. Helen holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales (Sydney) with Honors in Econometrics and an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Matthew Hutton
Managing Director, Infrastructure Investments, Brookfield
Matthew Hutton is a Managing Director in Brookfield’s Infrastructure Group. In this role, he is responsible for leading investment activities in North America, as well as the evaluation of global investment opportunities.
Prior to joining Brookfield in 2016, Mr. Hutton was a manager of corporate development with Koch Industries and previously worked in the investment banking group at Macquarie in New York, where he focused on the infrastructure sector.
Mr. Hutton holds a Bachelor of Science degree, with concentrations in Finance and Mathematics, from Ithaca College.
Large Cap Buyouts Panel
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Jason Young Head of PE Direct Investments Group, North America, GIC
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Matthew O’Brien Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
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Olivia Howard Partner, Bain
Jason Young
Head of PE Direct Investments Group, North America, GIC
Matthew O’Brien
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
Matthew O’Brien is a corporate partner in the Firm’s Chicago office. Matthew represents private equity sponsors and public and private company clients in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, going-private transactions, joint ventures, divestitures, private financings, recapitalizations and restructurings, and in related corporate governance, executive compensation and general corporate matters. Matthew joined Kirkland in 2006, has been a partner since 2012 and was selected by The Deal as a “Rising Star” M&A attorney in 2019.
Olivia Howard
Partner, Bain
Technology Panel
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Brien Wassner Moderator
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Judah Siegal Senior VP, Brookfield
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Michelle Moon Principal, Sorenson
Brien Wassner
Moderator
BRIEN WASSNER is a global co-leader of Sidley’s Private Equity practice and a co-leader of the New York M&A and Private Equity group. He is also recognized in Chambers USA for Private Equity: Buyouts in New York. Brien represents large cap and middle market private equity sponsors and other private capital investors and asset managers, as well as their portfolio companies, in connection with complex transactions including mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, financings and general corporate matters. He has extensive experience in domestic and cross border leveraged buyouts, take-privates, carve-outs, distressed investments, special situations and structured equity investments and joint venture transactions. In Chambers USA 2022, clients said that “[Brien] is a creative thinker and always finds a way to get to a solution even in complex situations” and describe Brien as “a tireless worker who provides solid commercial advice.”
Brien’s clients include private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, hedge funds, pension funds, venture capital funds and other sponsors and asset managers, financial institutions, public and private companies and their financial advisers.
Brien often advises clients on transactions that are multijurisdictional in nature and subject to complex regulatory regimes. Representative industries include financial services and insurance, software and technology, healthcare and life sciences, media, real estate, business services, retail and consumer products, manufacturing, logistics and transportation, telecoms, energy and infrastructure.
Prior to joining Sidley, Brien was a partner at another global law firm in the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice and was one of the leaders of its Private Capital Industry group.
Admissions & Certifications
- New York
Education
- Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University (J.D., 2003, Squadron Fellow)
- Princeton University (A.B., 2000)
Judah Siegal
Senior VP, Brookfield
Judah Siegal is a Managing Director at Brookfield, responsible for sourcing, executing, and managing technology-enabled investments at Brookfield Technology Growth Partners. He has played a role on Brookfield’s investments into VTS, Deliverr, Built, PassiveLogic, and Material Bank among others.
Mr. Siegal joined Brookfield in 2012 and has held several roles across the organization. He was initially involved in investment and strategic initiatives for Brookfield’s Real Estate Group in NYC where he worked on a wide range of real estate transactions including Brookfield’s investments in Forest City Realty Trust and Hospitality Investors Trust. Prior to joining Brookfield, Mr. Siegal worked in Citigroup’s Real Estate Investment Banking Division.
Mr. Siegal holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Michelle Moon
Principal, Sorenson
Michelle joined Sorenson Ventures as a Principal in 2022, and focuses on early-stage investments in enterprise software and security. Michelle is interested in the intersection of the physical world and software, and covers related themes, such as the future of work, Industry 4.0, supply chain and logistics, construction tech, proptech and energy.
Michelle is unafraid of partnering with founders in the earliest stages of building their company. She is committed to being a value add partner and a sounding board throughout the lifecycle of a startup – from the first crucial decisions, which have a disproportionate impact, to the long term. Michelle strives to support and enable founders working on bold and disruptive ideas, or like herself, entrepreneurs who don’t often fit the Silicon Valley mold.
Michelle brings 9 years of investment experience across the capital stack prior to joining Sorenson Ventures. Previously, Michelle was a Principal at LG Technology Ventures, a leading corporate venture capital fund in the San Francisco Bay Area, helping deploy an inaugural $450 million fund. Prior to that, Michelle spent two years in investment banking at RBC Capital Markets, followed by four years in growth equity at ARC Financial Corp.
Michelle holds a Master of Business Administration degree with majors in Business Analytics and Entrepreneurship at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and an International Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Michelle is a CFA charterholder.
In her free time, Michelle enjoys playing ice hockey, writing her own music, and spending time outdoors with her husband, daughter and dog.
Consumer Panel
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Brad Morehead Managing Partner, Shore Capital Business Services Fund
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Elizabeth Burgess Partner, Maxim Partners
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Mike Akolly Panel Manager
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Winston Song Partner, PAI
Brad Morehead
Managing Partner, Shore Capital Business Services Fund
Investor: Brad Morehead is an investor and independent board member for his personal direct investments, several funds and growth companies that focus on:
- Development of winning cultures and world-class teams,
- Deployment of strong sales channels and marketing strategies,
- Creation of innovative technologies and
- Implementation of scalable operating procedures.
Private Equity Partner: Brad is the Managing Partner for the Shore Capital Business Services Fund that he raised with Shore Capital in 2021 to partner with entrepreneurs and business owners to invest in micro-cap companies to rapidly scale those businesses
CEO: Brad served as CEO of Assembly Health from 2018 to 2021 before moving to the Board as Executive Chairman. Assembly Health is the nation’s leading tech-enabled revenue cycle management company providing ancillary back-office services and Revenue Cycle Acceleration to physicians and long-term care facilities. Founded in 1971 in Northbrook, IL, Assembly has grown tremendously to its current footprint serving 4,000+ facilities and 200+ physician practices in more than 40 states. Prior to Assembly, Brad acquired two security companies to form LiveWatch in 2010. As CEO of LiveWatch, Brad built LiveWatch into one of the fastest growing security companies in the country. Brad sold LiveWatch in 2015 for an industry-record valuation. LiveWatch is the exclusive home of the patented ASAPer® (As Soon As Possible Emergency Response) product.
Professor: Brad served as entrepreneurship adjunct professor and faculty member as a Lecturer of Finance at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University from 2014 to 2021.
CFO and Finance Professional: Prior to LiveWatch Security, Brad was CFO of Feldco Factory Direct, a fast-growing, entrepreneurial company that is the Midwest’s leading home renewal company and winner of the BBB Torch Award and two-time National Window & Door Company of the Year. Before joining Feldco, Brad worked in private equity with Friedman Fleischer & Lowe LLC (“FFL”), a San Francisco-based private equity firm and in investment banking with Goldman Sachs (New York) and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (Chicago).
Board of Directors: Brad is Chairman of the Board for StrongPoint (outsourced retirement services), PTG (managed service provider) and Dynamic Connections (3PL) as well as a Board Member of Assembly Health, Tandem (PEO / ASO for HR outsourcing), Point C (aka “BPA” a provider of self-funded health insurance and benefits plans), Sidekick (outsourced sales / BPO), Amyntas Capital (consumer finance company) and NextGen Growth Partners (private equity firm) and has previously served as a Board Member with Record Connect (health records management business), MHW (beverage importer/exporter), the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship at the McCormick School of Engineering – Northwestern University, Director of the Zell Fellows at the Kellogg School of Management and a Chapter Officer of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO – Windy City Chapter). He also serves on the advisory board for Granite Creek Capital Partners, co-founded Wildcat Angels (a group of Northwestern and Chicago Angel Investors working to increase the quantity and quality of successful startups in the area) and co-founded Kellogg Entrepreneurs’ Organization (or KEO, which helps student and alumni entrepreneurs grow their businesses). Brad serves on the board, has been a founding investor or was on the startup team for a variety of other companies in industries from financial services to consumer products.
Education: Brad received an MBA with highest distinction from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Brad completed his undergraduate degree with high distinction in Finance from Indiana University.
Competitor and Inventor: On a personal basis, Brad played football at Indiana University (briefly), ran a marathon (not so briefly), completed the Alcatraz triathlon and has been a contestant on both The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune game shows. Brad testified as an expert on the Internet of Things and technology before the U.S. Congress Energy and Commerce Committee. Brad was issued multiple U.S. patents (8,754,763, 8,896,436, 9,123,228 and 9,536,419).
Family: Brad has been married to his wonderful wife, Jenny, since 2003. He enjoys water skiing, snow skiing, golfing and playing football with their three kids.
Elizabeth Burgess
Partner, Maxim Partners
Mike Akolly
Panel Manager
Mike is a second-year MBA student at The Wharton School. Prior to Wharton, he was a Associate at the World Bank where he worked on credit investments in the EMEA region primarily on technology, infrastructure and consumer product projects. Mike graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 2014 with a degree Mathematics and Finance.
Winston Song
Partner, PAI
Climate Investing and Energy Transition Panel
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Andrew Siwo Director, Sustainable investments, New York State Common Retirement Fund
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Bryan Hom Principal, Blackstone Infrastructure
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Mary Beth Houlihan Partner, Kirkland & Ellis ESG
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Meghan Hsu Associate, Blackrock
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Vikram Raju Head of Climate Investing, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners
Andrew Siwo
Director, Sustainable investments, New York State Common Retirement Fund
Andrew Siwo is the Director of Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions at the New York State Common Retirement Fund. He is charged with providing leadership and oversight of sustainable investment efforts across the Fund’s $272 billion portfolio. Previously, Siwo was an Investment Director and Head of Mission-Related Investments at Crewcial Partners, an investment consultancy to over 150 leading foundations and endowments.
Prior to joining Crewcial Partners, Siwo was a manager at the Global Impact Investing Networking (GIIN). In his capacity there, he was responsible for the operation, sourcing, and development of ImpactBase, the largest platform of impact investment funds globally, which he grew by north of $10 billion and approved more than 100 prospective impact funds targeting a financial return as well as social/environmental benefits. He also educated and fostered institutional investors seeking exposure to sustainable investments.
Prior to joining the GIIN, Siwo spent five years in the investment banking division at JP Morgan—most recently in the Global Special Opportunities Group, a $3 billion proprietary portfolio of principal investments in private equity, debt, mezzanine, infrastructure, and real estate. He also held roles on the Rates Desk and executed fixed income financing transactions as well as the Securitized Products Group where he valued collateralized mortgage obligations.
Before JP Morgan, Siwo was a member of the Corporate Finance and Real Estate Strategy Group at Victoria’s Secret where he oversaw capital budgeting. He began his career at E*TRADE Financial where he managed a team of investment representatives serving active traders and high net-worth investors. His investment articles have been printed in various industry publications.
Siwo completed an MPA in Finance and Fiscal Policy at Cornell University and holds a BA in Accounting from Morehouse College. He has held FINRA Series 7, 63, and 24 licenses. He teaches an ESG course at The Wagner Graduate of Public Service at NYU where he is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Service. Siwo also serves on the Board of New York Professional Advisors to Community Entrepreneurs (NYPACE).
Bryan Hom
Principal, Blackstone Infrastructure
Bryan Hom is a Principal in Blackstone Infrastructure. Mr. Hom has experience across many verticals, including power & renewables and transportation. Mr. Hom has been involved in the execution of several Blackstone investments, including Applegreen and the HMSHost U.S. motorways business. In addition, Bryan serves as the Head of Corporate Development and M&A at Blackstone portfolio company Atlantic Power Transmission. Mr. Hom is an Observer on the Board of Directors of Applegreen. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Hom was an Assistant Vice President in the Power & Renewables Group at EIG Global Energy Partners in Washington, DC.
Mr. Hom received a BBA with Distinction in Business and Economics from Emory University and his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2022, Mr. Hom was named one of Business Insider’s 2022 Rising Stars of Wall Street.
Mary Beth Houlihan
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis ESG
Mary Beth Houlihan is an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and impact partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Her practice focuses on advising clients with respect to complex and dynamic ESG issues, including legal and regulatory compliance considerations, investor demands, and voluntary reporting frameworks, in the context of fund formations, public disclosure, and due diligence. Mary Beth’s ESG practice builds upon more than a decade of experience providing environmental, health, and safety counseling to financial institutions, investment funds, and private and public company clients in hundreds of complex corporate, real estate, and financial transactions, including helping clients to evaluate and address physical and transition risks from climate change, product and supply chain risks, legacy environmental issues, and the potential business implications of pending and proposed changes to environmental, health, and safety regulations.
Meghan Hsu
Associate, Blackrock
Meghan Hsu is an Associate in the Climate Infrastructure Group at BlackRock. She is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing new private equity investments, and managing existing portfolios. Prior to business school, Meghan spent two years at Evercore in Hong Kong, first in the Private Funds Group, where she covered private equity and infrastructure fund clients, and then the Utilities, Transportation and Infrastructure advisory team, focusing on renewable energy in APAC. Previously, Meghan was an Investment Analyst at Manulife in Toronto and Hong Kong, primarily focused on private equity and infrastructure investments. Meghan holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance & Economics from the University of Toronto and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School.
Vikram Raju
Head of Climate Investing, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners
Vikram Raju is a Managing Director and serves as Head of Climate Investing for the Private Credit & Equity platform of Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM). Prior to joining MSIM to set up the impact investing platform in 2014, Vikram was the Climate Funds Lead at the IFC/World Bank Group. Previously, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and a portfolio manager with Lazard Frères. Vikram is a past Chair of the Impact Council at the Global Private Capital Association and is currently an adjunct faculty member with the Department of Food and Resource Economics at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Vikram received Master’s degrees in Finance and International Affairs from Bombay and Columbia University, respectively. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Limited Partners and Family Offices Panel
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Clare McLaughlin Managing Director, TLI Bedrock
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Julia Paliare Managing Director, RSL Investments
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Thomas P. Scriven Managing Director, University of Pennsylvania
Clare McLaughlin
Managing Director, TLI Bedrock
Clare McLaughlin is the director of private investments at TLI Bedrock. Clare is a multi-strategy investor with a focus on venture capital and early-stage venture capital funds. She holds deep expertise in material science, Web3, gaming, food, and agriculture. She currently serves on several boards including Stopwatch, OrthoFX, Dot Dot Dot Media and The Gaming Society. Her portfolio includes EPIC Games, Divergent Capital, Insitro, MUUS Capital, MycoTechnology and ReThink Food.
Julia Paliare
Managing Director, RSL Investments
Julia Paliare is the Founding & Managing Partner of Sage. Sage is an evergreen investment platform, built in partnership with the Lauder Zinterhofer family, that invests in high-integrity founders and fund managers across sectors, stages, and geographies. Sage invests through a human- and data-centric lens with a diversified venture strategy, backing the next generation of founders and emerging managers.
Julia is a Board Observer at Esusu and Gro Intelligence, two growth stage startups addressing fundamental global issues – equitable financial opportunity, and food security & climate risk, respectively. She is also a Board Member of The Equity Alliance, a fund that invests in emerging venture capital fund managers that are underrepresented. Julia co-founded BLDRS, which brings together investors and entrepreneurs to collaborate on building and scaling better businesses. Before RSL, Julia was at Providence Equity Partners, a $50bn asset management firm and prior to that, at Scotiabank working in credit, currency and interest rate derivatives. Since 2002, Julia has been an advisor for Peacebuilders International, an organization that focuses on diverting Toronto’s inner-city youth from the justice system using restorative justice measures, she also volunteers at The River Fund in Queens, NY. Julia grew up in Toronto, has a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University in Canada, and is a CFA Charterholder.
Thomas P. Scriven
Managing Director, University of Pennsylvania
Thomas Scriven joined Penn’s Office of Investments in 2015 and manages the private equity investment program for the University’s endowment and pension plans.
Prior to joining Penn, Mr. Scriven was a Principal Director and Partner at H.I.G. European Capital Partners, a leading global mid-market private equity firm he helped found. Mr. Scriven led and managed a large number of control equity and credit investments from 2007 to 2014. Previously, he served as a private equity investor at Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. Prior to attending business school, Mr. Scriven was a private equity associate at Parthenon Capital, LLC and an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley & Co. Throughout his career he has sat on numerous boards of companies in the industrials, media, environmental services, and building products industries.
Mr. Scriven holds an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Middle Market Buyouts Panel
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Adam Blumenthal Managing Partner, Founder & Chairman, Blue Wolf Capital
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Alex Mayes Panel Manager
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Dennis Moore Managing Principal, Odyssey Investment Partners
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Harris Kealey Managing Director, New Mountain Capital
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Jon Canarick Managing Partner, North Castle Partners
Adam Blumenthal
Managing Partner, Founder & Chairman, Blue Wolf Capital
Mr. Blumenthal is Founder, Managing Partner and Chairman at Blue Wolf Capital Partners. He has
served on the Board of Directors of numerous middle market companies over the course of three
decades. From 2011 through 2017, Mr. Blumenthal also served as Independent Trustee, and Chair of the
Investment Committee, of the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, a $60 billion fund that pays retiree
health benefits for over 700,000 UAW employees of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors.
Prior to founding Blue Wolf in 2005, Mr. Blumenthal served as First Deputy Comptroller and Chief
Financial Officer for NYC’s elected Comptroller from 2002 – 2005, with oversight of the city’s pension
system. During his tenure, the City’s pension assets increased from $65 billion to $85 billion, primarily as
a result of strong investment gains. Prior to that from 1989 to 2002, Mr. Blumenthal built and managed
American Capital Ltd., a publicly traded buyout and mezzanine fund (NASDAQ: ACAS). During that time,
Mr. Blumenthal played a central role in building the company from an unfunded start-up into a publicly
traded company with over $1 billion invested in 63 middle market companies at the time of his
departure.
Mr. Blumenthal is currently a member of the Advisory Board for Yale’s International Center for Finance
and a Lecturer in the Practice of Management at the Yale School of Management (SOM). From 2004 to
2007, he served on the Yale SOM’s Board of Advisors and in 2009, he was named a Donaldson Fellow at
the Yale SOM. He has also served as a trustee and Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Nathan
Cummings Foundation and the Community Service Society of New York.
Mr. Blumenthal serves on the Board of Directors of Finch Paper Company, Twin Rivers Paper Company,
Elara Caring, Fox Rehabilitation, ClearSky Health, RHA Health Services, and Colson Group. He received a
B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard College and a M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management.
Alex Mayes
Panel Manager
Alex is a first-year MBA student at The Wharton School. Prior to Wharton, he was a member of the investment team at Compass Diversified (NYSE: CODI), a $3 billion publicly traded private equity investment vehicle that owns and manages a diverse set of middle-market businesses. Previously, he worked in Mergers & Acquisitions within Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division.
Alex holds a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University, where he was a member of the inaugural class of NYU Shanghai, China’s first Sino-US research college and the third degree-granting campus of NYU. Alongside his MBA at Wharton, Alex is concurrently pursuing a Master’s degree in Business Law from Penn Carey Law.
Dennis Moore
Managing Principal, Odyssey Investment Partners
Mr. Moore joined Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC in 2003 as an Associate and was promoted to Vice President in 2007 and to Principal in 2009 and to Managing Principal in 2016.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Moore was an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney where he spent time in both the Financial Sponsors Group focusing on financings and advisory services and the Consumer/Retail Group concentrating primarily on mergers and acquisitions.
A native of Michigan, Mr. Moore received his BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Prior Odyssey Portfolio Company Involvement: Pro Mach and York Risk Services
Former Boards: Ranpak, Peninsula Packaging, Pexco, and Duravant
Current Boards: Aramsco and Service Champions
Harris Kealey
Managing Director, New Mountain Capital
Harris Kealey, Managing Director, joined New Mountain in 2008. He previously worked at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in the Financial Sponsors Group. He received his B.S., magna cum laude, in Economics with concentrations in finance and accounting from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 2005. Mr. Kealey currently serves on the Board of Directors of Unitek Global Services, Zep Inc., ILC Dover, Aegion, HomeX, Profile Products and Cumming Corporation. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Legends Hospitality.
Jon Canarick
Managing Partner, North Castle Partners
Jonathan (“Jon”) Canarick is a Managing Partner with 19 years of consumer private equity investment experience. Since joining North Castle in 2001, Jon has actively managed North Castle’s investments across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors and across all job functions at North Castle. Having started his career at NCP as an Associate out of investment banking, Jon has played a crucial role in the development of North Castle and many of its portfolio companies. Jon currently sits on the Board of Directors of Therabody, Five Iron Golf, Echelon Fit, CR Fitness, Encore Vet Group, The Escape Game, Barry’s, Brooklyn Boulders, and SLT. Previously, Jon served on the Board of Directors of Kettlebell Kitchen, Curves, Jenny Craig, Palladio, Mineral Fusion, gloProfessional, Flatout, International Fitness, Enzymatic Therapy, Performance Bicycle, Avalon and DDF and was actively involved in the Firm’s investment in Grand Expeditions. Prior to joining North Castle, Jon worked in the Financial Sponsors Coverage and Leveraged Finance groups of Bear, Stearns & Co., where he executed leveraged buyout transactions and provided advisory services for financial sponsors. Jon earned a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Secondaries/Fund of Funds Panel
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Heidi Miskin Head of Funds and Co-Investments (FCG) Americas, GIC
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Matthew Block Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
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Matthew Romanczuk Managing Director, AlpInvest Partners
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Simon Ok Principal, Lexington Partners
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Steve Sebastian Moderator
Heidi Miskin
Head of Funds and Co-Investments (FCG) Americas, GIC
Heidi Miskin is Head of Funds and Co-Investments (FCG) Americas in GIC’s Private Equity (PE) department. In this role, Heidi oversees GIC’s North America private equity funds program, as well as co-investments alongside GPs. In addition, Heidi is co-chair of GIC America’s Global Women in GIC (WING) taskforce, which helps to further advance the representation and inclusion of women at GIC. Heidi joined GIC in April 2004. Prior to joining GIC, Heidi was a Senior Associate at Doughty Hanson and an analyst at Morgan Stanley. Heidi holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University where she graduated with Joint Honors in Economics and Finance.
Matthew Block
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
Matt Block is a partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Matt focuses his practice on the formation, structuring and management of a variety of private equity funds, hedge funds, real estate funds, credit funds, distressed funds, co-investment funds and seed capital funds. Matt advises clients in connection with the entire fundraise lifecycle, including end of term GP-led portfolio company restructurings. He has also advised leading investment firms in connection with investment management M&A transactions, including minority investments, seed capital transactions, and strategic partnership arrangements. Matt also represents institutional limited partners and family offices with respect to their investments in the alternative investment space.
Matthew Romanczuk
Managing Director, AlpInvest Partners
Matthew Romanczuk is a Managing Director in the Secondary and Portfolio Finance team where he is responsible for sourcing, evaluating and executing transactions in North America. He joined AlpInvest Partners in 2011 from Peter J. Solomon Company, where he was an Investment Banking Analyst. Matt received an A.B. in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University.
Simon Ok
Principal, Lexington Partners
Steve Sebastian
Moderator
Venture Capital Panel
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Allyson White Managing Director, Insight Partners
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Gina Kline Managing Director, SmartJob and Enable Ventures
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Iynna Halilou 2Y MBA Candidate, The Wharton School
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Rikhil Bajaj Head of Fintech & Software, Private Investing, Tarsadia Investments
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Will Szczerbiak Partner, Greycroft
Allyson White
Managing Director, Insight Partners
Allyson joined Insight in 2012. Previously, she was a strategy consultant in the markets and customers practice at Monitor Group, where she advised multi-national companies on growth strategy, product innovation, acquisitions, scenario planning and pricing strategy. She worked in a variety of industries including Pharmaceutical, Insurance, and Chemicals.
Allyson graduated with high honors from the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She is fluent in Spanish.
Gina Kline
Managing Director, SmartJob and Enable Ventures
Regina “Gina” Kline is the Founder and Managing Partner of Enable Ventures, the first impact venture fund dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap by investing in early-stage companies working at the nexus of technology and disability. Enable is a leader and pathfinder in a highly innovative sector whose potential has been largely untapped by venture investors.
Investor, entrepreneur, civil rights lawyer, and thought leader, Gina has dedicated 15 years of her career to building the future of work by advancing the rights and interests of people with disabilities as innovators, entrepreneurs, workers, and consumers. Prior to founding Enable in 2022, Gina spent several years developing a pipeline of investible opportunities at the nexus of tech and disability. Gina previously served in the Obama Administration and litigated landmark ADA cases and is nationally recognized for her legal and policy work in advancing the rights of people with disabilities. Gina is also the founder of SmartJob, an impact consultant and early-stage scout for the disability tech sector.
Iynna Halilou
2Y MBA Candidate, The Wharton School
Iynna is an investor at Moxxie Ventures and a Partner at the MBA Fund where she leads deals across Vertical SaaS (her areas of interests include logistics, mobility, manufacturing, construction, deeptech etc.) Prior to Moxxie, Iynna built and ran the global division of ERA – NYC’s largest seed fund and tech accelerator working with over 300 startups from around the world. She led Muhammad Yunus-backed social impact accelerator, Yunus & Youth. In 2022, She was recognised as a rising star VCs by Business Insider for her contributions to the venture capital industry. A builder at heart, Iynna spent time on the other side of the table as a founder running operations for edtech startup Enza Academy and she started her first career at the United Nations. Iynna is a true global citizen, being from Madagascar and Cameroon, where she was born and raised. She lived and worked in Paris, Durham (UK), London, Moscow, Dakar (Senegal), and New York. Iynna earned a Bachelor’s from Durham University, where she majored in International Affairs and a Master’s from NYU with a focus on International Development. She is currently an MBA Candidate at the Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania). She is fluent in French and Spanish. In her spare time, Iynna runs marathons and enjoys cooking different cuisines.
Rikhil Bajaj
Head of Fintech & Software, Private Investing, Tarsadia Investments
Rikhil leads the firm’s venture & growth equity investments in financial services & technology and blockchain & web3; while also extensively focusing on software, healthcare, and consumer investing. Informed by his experience working with growth stage to scale businesses, Rikhil supports entrepreneurs on topics including growth, talent, and financing/M&A. He works closely with Petal, YieldStreet and BoltTech.
Prior to Tarsadia, Rikhil was a founding member of the growth equity team at SignalFire, a $1.5B+ talent and technology-driven venture capital firm, where he invested in Stampli and Argyle and launched an executive-in-residence program. Rikhil was also part of the senior team at GTCR, a $20B+ private equity firm, partnering with companies such as Paya (NYSE: Paya), RevSpring and CAPTRUST. Rikhil also worked as a technology & healthcare investor at Warburg Pincus and Primus Capital, on investments such as Hyperwallet (acquired by PayPal) and PayScale (acquired by Francisco Partners) as well as companies such as Yodlee (acquired by Envestnet), CardinalCommerce (acquired by Visa) and G2 Web Services (Acquired by Verisk Analytics). Previously, Rikhil was a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.
Rikhil holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BBA (Honors) from the Schulich School of Business, York University where he graduated at the top of his class.
Will Szczerbiak
Partner, Greycroft
Will joined Greycroft in 2015 and is based in New York City. He co-leads the fintech team and targets investments in enterprise fintech, DeFi, Web3, vertical SaaS, and B2B marketplaces.
Will’s active investments include Addi, Amperity, AmplifAI, Emerge, Enboarder, Flutterwave, FrankieOne, Immuta, MyCarrier, Palmetto, Pryon, Red Balloon Security, SmartHop, Wagr, and Yieldstreet. His notable exits include Archer Aviation (IPO), MapAnything (acquired by Salesforce), and Vettery (acquired by Adecco).
Prior to Greycroft, Will worked at Volition Capital, a Boston-based growth equity firm that invests in high potential, founder-owned companies across different technology sectors. At Volition, he was responsible for sourcing and executing new investments, as well as working with existing portfolio companies. Will’s investments at Volition included Velocify (acquired by Ellie Mae) and Globaltranz (acquired by Providence Equity). Before Volition, Will worked in the Technology Services group of Raymond James advising middle-market companies on M&A transactions and private capital raises.
Will holds a BS in Finance and Marketing from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Distressed & Special Situations Panel
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Angelo Rufino Managing Partner (Global Head for the Brookfield Special Investments), Brookfield
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Anthony Grossi Moderator
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Greg Braylovskiy Managing Director, Strategic Value Partners
Angelo Rufino
Managing Partner (Global Head for the Brookfield Special Investments), Brookfield
Angelo Rufino is a Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group and Group Head and Chief Investment Officer of Brookfield Special Investments. In that capacity, he is responsible for non-control debt and equity investment activities globally. Mr. Rufino previously served as Portfolio Manager and Co-Head of Brookfield’s Credit Opportunities Business.
Prior to joining Brookfield in 2014, Mr. Rufino worked at Brigade Capital Management where he was a founding member of the distressed credit and special situations group in addition to a Sector Head covering autos, industrials and business services. Previously, Mr. Rufino worked in the investment banking division at JPMorgan Chase and began his career at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Rufino is a Director of Superior Plus Corporation and Primary Wave.
Mr. Rufino holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Skidmore College.
Anthony Grossi
Moderator
ANTHONY GROSSI is a partner in Sidley Austin LLP’s Restructuring group and splits his time between New York and Washington, D.C. Anthony advises distressed companies in all aspects of Chapter 11 reorganizations and out-of-court restructurings. His experience includes top-tier large and complex Chapter 11 debtor cases for both company and creditor-side representations, which have been featured in industry publications such as Turnarounds & Workouts. Prior to joining Sidley, Anthony served as the bankruptcy counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. He was also a partner at another global law firm in New York and Washington, D.C. Anthony is a frequent guest lecturer at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, his alma mater.
Greg Braylovskiy
Managing Director, Strategic Value Partners
Mr. Braylovskiy is a senior trader and member of the sourcing team with responsibility for long positions in the U.S. and short positions globally. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Braylovskiy worked as an Analyst at FridsonVision, a prominent provider of independent research on high yield and distressed markets. Mr. Braylovskiy received a BBA in Finance from Pace University in 2000 and an MBA in Finance and Statistics from New York University in 2003.
Investing Internationally Panel
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Jason Goh Director, Investments, (Head, Americas) Khazanah Nasional Berhad
Jason Goh
Director, Investments, (Head, Americas) Khazanah Nasional Berhad
Jason joined Khazanah in 2021 and heads Khazanah’s U.S. office currently located in San Francisco. He has served in leadership roles in both the private and public sectors, most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff to New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio. He has over 15 years of experience in principal investing, investment banking and capital raising experience. Jason started his career in a Khazanah portfolio company in an operational finance role. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a BSc (Hons) in Finance from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom.
PE Operations/ Value Creation Panel
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Aaron Miller Partner, Apollo Global Management
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Bill Clendenen Executive Partner, Shore Capital Partners
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Jean-Marc Levy CEO of predictis
Aaron Miller
Partner, Apollo Global Management
Aaron Miller joined Apollo in 2019 in Private Equity as Head of Apollo Portfolio Performance Solutions. Immediately preceding Apollo, Aaron was Chief Operating Officer of Catalina Marketing, a Berkshire Partners portfolio company where he oversaw Operations, Product, Data & Analytics, Technology, and Solutions. He also held roles as an Operating Director at Berkshire Partners and a Partner at Bain & Company. At Bain he worked in both advisory and interim executive roles to enable companies to drive distressed turnarounds, growth, performance improvement, transformation, and conduct deal diligence across a broad range of sectors, business situations and geographies including private equity portfolio companies. Earlier in his career Aaron also held key product and operations roles with General Mills and the Nestle/General Mills joint venture, Cereal Partners Worldwide, in the US, Mexico, and Brazil.
Aaron serves on the board of Bellwether Education Partners. He received his MBA from Wharton and his BS in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University.
Bill Clendenen
Executive Partner, Shore Capital Partners
Bill Clendenen currently serves as an Executive Partner of Shore Capital Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm with over $3B in committed capital that invests in the healthcare, food & beverage, and business services industries. Bill sits on the Board of Directors of Shore portfolio companies Community Care Partners, Together Women’s Health, and Innovative Packaging Company. Bill formerly served on the Board of Directors of Shore companies Elevate Women’s Health and Navia Benefit Solutions.
Most recently, Bill served as the CEO of Community Care Partners, a primary care/urgent care business based on Eugene, OR. Bill’s prior experience includes the former CEO of Health & Safety Institute, a training and certification portfolio company of Riverside Companies. In 2001, Bill had purchased MEDIC First Aid (MFA) from its founders for roughly $2 million. He grew sales organically from $3 million to $8 million over five years. In 2006, Riverside Companies acquired MFA. MFA was an add-on to HSI, which trains and certifies over 2 million students each year through 13,000 training centers and 45,000 educators. Bill quickly rose to the position of CEO and led the platform from 2006 through 2016. Between 2006-2016, HSI was sold to DW Healthcare Partners and then back to Riverside Companies; in total representing three private equity sale transactions in ten years. During his tenure, HSI realized strong organic growth and acquired six tuck-ins. He is the editor and author of several books and articles on oxygen first aid and scuba diving safety. He holds an MBA from the Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and a bachelor’s from Colby College in Maine.
Jean-Marc Levy
CEO of predictis
Jean-Marc Levy is CEO of predictis, a data software business platform backed by Alpine Investors. Jean-Marc has over 30 years of experience in data and information services and has held several board and CEO roles at high-growth venture and PE-backed data and technology companies. Prior to joining predictis, Jean-Marc served as CEO of ComplySci, where he led the growth of the company into an award-winning provider of compliance and risk management solutions used by thousands of institutions globally.
Jean-Marc holds a BS in Computer Science from Tulane University and an MBA from The Wharton School.
Private Credit Panel
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Jay Ramakrishnan MD, Head of Originations, AB Private Credit Investors
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Jeremy Herz
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Jim Bonetti Managing Director, GTCR
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Milwood Hobbs, Jr. Managing Director & Head of NA Sourcing & Operations, Oaktree Capital Management
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Russell Matambo Panel Manager
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Shahab Rashid Managing Partner & Co-head of Private Credit L Catterton
Jay Ramakrishnan
MD, Head of Originations, AB Private Credit Investors
Jay Ramakrishnan joined AB in 2014 and is a founding member, Head of Originations, and a member of the investment committee of AB Private Credit Investors. In addition, she is responsible for business initiatives such as technology-focused growth capital solutions, oversees investments in the healthcare/HCIT sectors, and covers select East Coast financial sponsors with an emphasis on technology, healthcare and business services. Previously, Ramakrishnan was a managing director with Barclays Private Credit Partners, and as a founding member of the business was involved in various aspects of business launch, transaction sourcing and execution. Prior to joining Barclays, she was a vice president at Goldman Sachs, in the Specialty Lending Group in New York, and in London, where she oversaw a European leveraged-loan portfolio and managed restructurings. Before that, Ramakrishnan was in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns, and she started her career as an associate consultant for Bain & Company. She holds a BA (Hons) in economics from the University of Cambridge, England, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Location: New York
Jeremy Herz
Jim Bonetti
Managing Director, GTCR
Jim joined GTCR in 2017 and is currently a Managing Director of the firm. Prior to joining GTCR, Jim was a Managing Director and Co-Head of the North American Leveraged & Acquisition Finance Group at Morgan Stanley. Jim also functioned as the Head of the North American Syndicate Desk. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he was an analyst in the Equity Capital Markets and Asset Management Groups at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Jim holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Business Administration summa cum laude from Northeastern University.
Jim is head of GTCR’s Capital Markets Group. In this role, Jim leads the firm’s capital markets activities as part of the transaction teams and manages key financing and banking relationships.
Milwood Hobbs, Jr.
Managing Director & Head of NA Sourcing & Operations, Oaktree Capital Management
Mr. Hobbs leads Oaktree’s North American Sourcing and Origination group, which focuses on private credit sourcing and deal origination for the firm’s U.S. Private Debt, Global Private Debt, Special Situations and Global Opportunities strategies. He also serves on the investment committee for Oaktree’s Direct Lending platform. Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Mr. Hobbs was an executive director at Natixis Securities focused on building the high yield sales and trading franchise. Prior thereto, he spent five years at Goldman Sachs as a vice president in leveraged finance origination and sales. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2007, Mr. Hobbs was a director in Leveraged Finance at Deutsche Bank Securities, which he joined in 2000. Additional experience includes regional account management focused on fleet financing at GE Capital Corporation and controller for Leveraged Finance at Bank of America. Mr. Hobbs received his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.S. degree in accounting from Rutgers University.
Russell Matambo
Panel Manager
Russell is a 1st year MBA student at the Wharton School. Previously, Russell worked at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) where he focused on growth-stage technology companies in North America, Germany and Israel. Russell started his career in management consulting and investment banking focused on serving telecoms, media and technology (TMT) companies across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Russell is a CFA charterholder and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Shahab Rashid
Managing Partner & Co-head of Private Credit L Catterton
Mr. Rashid is a Managing Partner at L Catterton and the Co-Head of Private Credit.
Prior to joining L Catterton, Mr. Rashid was a Partner & Co-Founder of the Private Credit Group at Adams Street Partners. In this role, he was responsible for leading the build-out of the business by developing the strategy, recruiting and managing the team, heading the fundraising efforts, and approving investment opportunities. The strategy focused on investing in all forms of debt of private equity backed, middle-market companies. Mr. Rashid was a member of the Private Credit Investment Committee and the firm’s Portfolio Construction Committee.
Before joining Adams Street, Mr. Rashid was a Managing Director in the U.S. Private Credit/Direct Lending Group at Oaktree Capital Management where he was responsible for leading his team in investing across the capital structure in private equity backed, middle-market companies. Mr. Rashid started his career as a member of the Leveraged Finance Team at Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup providing capital solutions to financial sponsors and corporate clients.
Mr. Rashid has a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a concentration in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.