Plenary Session

Fireside Chat 

• Henry R. Kravis**, Co-Chairman & Co-Chief Executive Officer, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
• Jason Kelly, Chief Correspondent, Bloomberg QuickTake

Breakout Sessions

Running Concurrently

(I) Credit: Investing in a Changing Economic Landscape

Accomplished credit investors will provide insights into the opportunity set for their strategies and how they are positioned amid today’s changing landscape. Panelists will also highlight their edge in identifying attractive investments across sectors of the credit market.

• David J. Scudellari (Moderator), Senior Vice President and Global Head of Credit & Private Equity Investments, PSP Investments
• Adam Gubner, Managing Director & Portfolio Manager, PIMCO
• Armen Panossian, Head of Performing Credit and Portfolio Manager, Strategic Credit, Oaktree Capital Management
• Bruce Richards, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Marathon Asset Management
• Sengal Selassie*, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Brightwood Capital Advisors

(II) Hedge Fund: How are Successful Hedge Fund Managers Positioning Their Portfolios

Accomplished hedge fund managers will provide insights into the opportunity set for their strategies and how they are positioned amid today’s changing landscape. Panelists will also highlight their edge in identifying attractive investments in a variety of asset classes.

• Mary Knobler (Moderator), Managing Director of External Affairs, Oaktree Capital Management
• Fred Cummings, President & Founder, Elizabeth Park Capital Management
• Amit Doshi*, Managing Partner & Portfolio Manager, Harbor Spring Capital
• Robert Galeano, Director of Investor Relations, Standard General
• Robert Holley*, Investment Systems Advisor, Baltimore Fire & Police Employees’ Retirement System

(III) Private Equity: Record Levels of Dry Powder Coupled with High Valuations

In 2020, the Private Equity industry continued to see valuations rise as dry powder climbed to record levels. As the economy recovers from Covid-19, our panelists discuss the current investment environment, how they are thinking about managing their portfolios, and where they see the industry going in 2021 and beyond.

• Karen Welch (Moderator), Director, Investments, Spider Management Company
• Kathlika Fontes, Director of Investor Relations, Grain Management
• Prital Kadakia, Partner, Serent Capital
• Juan Sabater, President, Valor Equity Partners
• Latifa Tefridj-Gaillard, Managing Director, Digital Colony

(IV) Real Estate: Navigating the Current Cycle

Accomplished commercial real estate investors will provide insights into the opportunity set for their strategies and how they are positioned amid today’s changing landscape. Panelists will also highlight their edge in identifying attractive investments across sectors of the commercial real estate market.

• Caixia Ziegler (Moderator), Managing Director of Real Assets, MacArthur Foundation
• Catherine Chen, Managing Director, Apollo Global Management
• John Gluszak, Senior Investment Officer – Real Estate, NYC Retirement Systems, Office of the Comptroller
• Natalie Tejero Serafeim*, Principal, The Baupost Group
• Pamela Spadaro, Director, Real Estate Investments, Bank of America

(V) Venture Capital: Evaluating First Time Managers

In this panel, we will discuss how LPs evaluate first-time managers led by people of color and women, how these first-time managers can distinguish themselves to attract LP capital, and how diverse managers have generated outsized financial returns.

• Meha Patel (Moderator), Vice President, 645 Ventures
• Theresia Gouw, Founding Partner, Acrew Capital
• Charmel Maynard*, Associate Vice President, Chief Investment Officer & University Treasurer, University of Miami
• Kavita Nayar, Investment Manager, DUMAC Inc.

LP-Focused Event

Future of Alternatives

Despite the impact of the pandemic, AUM continues to rise in the Alternative Investments industry. While numbers and sizes of deals/exits are down, the industry is seeing record levels of dry powder waiting to be deployed. This panel discusses current trend and outlook for the Alternative Investments industry, where growth opportunities lie and what should one expect in the next five years.

• Cameron Joyce (Moderator), Vice-President, Research Insights, Preqin
• Vincent Ip, Partner, Ropes & Gray
• Kelly Williams, Founding Chair & Co-Chief Executive Officer, Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN)

Closing the Day

Emcee

• Renae Griffin, Executive Director, GCM Grosvenor

Breakout Panels

Running Concurrently

(I) Fund Formation – Fundraising: The Ins and Outs

As Emerging Managers look to break out on their own, fund allocators look for their ability to source, close, and manage transactions successfully. Join our panel as they discuss the challenges Emerging Managers face as they attempt to maintain their stellar track records without the infrastructure of an established fund.

• Angela Outlaw-Matheny (Moderator), Director of Investment Staff & Diverse Manager Equity, Crewcial Partners
• Adeyemi Ajao, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Base10
• Nick Jean-Baptiste, Founder & Managing Partner, Jacmel Growth Partners
• Edward Powers, Managing Partner, HarbourVest Partners

(II) Fund Formation – Independent Sponsor Deals

Panelists speak about the advantages and challenges of being an independent sponsor. In addition, if you’re looking to raise your first fund, the panel touches on the importance of closing a few deals as an independent sponsor in advance of fundraising.

• Vipul Tandon (Moderator), Managing Partner, Curated Capital Management
• Daniel Balzora, Managing Director, MHB Capital
• Duane Jackson, Managing Partner & Chief Executive Officer, Jackson Private Capital
• Federico Schiffrin, Partner, Private Equity, Unigestion
• Chad Strader, Co-Founder, Co-CEO & Managing Partner, Red Arts Capital

(III) Fund Formation – Legal & Compliance

As new fund managers plan the formation of their new firms and as emerging managers fine-tune their operating models, the need to be aligned with best practices in compliance and legal structuring remains paramount. Join our panel as they discuss the compliance and legal aspects surrounding today’s fund management space and what measures managers are taking to reduce their firm’s operating risks while increasing their suitability for LP commitments.

• Arthur Andersen (Moderator), Partner, Ropes & Gray
• Michelle Dipp, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Biospring Partners
• Kolawole Olofinboba, Managing Partner, Fairview Capital Partners
• Vivek Pingili, Director, ACA

(IV) Fund Formation – Stepping out with Fund 1

Founders, consultants, and allocators speak about what potential or current founders need to think about as they are forming their funds.   The discussion ranges from how to build a firm when you can’t walk with your track record to finding allocators and programs that may be the best match.

• Sheryl Mejia (Moderator), Managing Partner, Steward Asset Management
• Christopher Keller, Managing Director, Moelis Asset Management
• Shawn Schestag, Partner, Sixpoint Partners
• Bharath Srikrishnan, Managing Partner & Founder, BharCap Partners

Closing Session

Emcee

• Renae Griffin, Executive Director, GCM Grosvenor

Breakout Panels

Running Concurrently

(I) Career – Breaking into Alternative Investments

An insightful discussion around uncovering and landing job opportunities within the Alternative Investments sector.  With the space becoming increasingly competitive, learning the industry landscape and developing a blueprint for navigating the recruiting process are key to securing these opportunities.

• Stacy Levine (Moderator), Partner, Amity Search Partners
• Marianna Fassinotti, Managing Director, D.E. Shaw
• Jennifer Harris, Managing Director, Henkel Search Partners
• Jaya K. Hathaway, Recruiter, CPI

(II) Corporate Venture Capital: Growing Source of Capital for Founders

Global CVC-backed deals soared to an all-time high of $73.1B in 2020, increasing 24% from 2019. Speakers address ways underrepresented founders can work with CVCs, emerging fund managers can partner with CVCs, and discuss the outlook of this growing segment of the venture capital landscape.

• Osei Van Horne* (Moderator), Former Managing Director & Co-Founder, Technology Division, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital
• Karim Assef, Chairman of Global Investment Banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Jackson Cummings, Investor, Salesforce Ventures
• Mario Ruiz*, Investor, PayPal Ventures

(III) Emerging Regulatory Risks

Change brings risk. This panel will lead us on a tour through the myriad risks facing the alternatives industry in 2021 – AML, CFIUS, new SEC and CFTC leadership, ESG, the rise of SPACs, trade and economic rivalries, and the new administration’s priorities winding through it all.

• Ama Adams (Moderator), Partner, Ropes & Gray
• Brandon Gay, Principal, The Carlyle Group
• Scott Weisman, Managing Director & Global Chief Compliance Officer, Bain Capital

(IV) Private Company Boards: Navigating the Process

Private companies lag far behind in boardroom diversity.  Panelists will speak about the role that private equity firms, venture capital, and executive search firms play in increasing the diversity at private company boards.  In addition, panelists will also speak about their own experiences and journey on getting on boards.  Many times, getting on private company boards is a path to public company boards, that can have an outsized influence on how companies make decisions.

• Aaron Clubb (Moderator), Partner, True Search
• Gena Ashe, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Anterix
• Lucinda Duncalfe, Chief Executive Officer, AboveBoard
• Nedu Ottih, Principal, Apax Partners

(V) Secondaries & Co-Investments: An Ever-Changing Marketplace

Competition in the Secondaries market is rising fast – and so are prices. These trends are expected to continue thanks to an ever-more diverse seller universe and increasing amount of dry powder. Our panelists discuss the challenges and opportunities for co-investors and secondary buyers amidst an uncertain economic environment.

• Natalie Walker (Moderator), Partner, StepStone Group
• Jeffrey Armbrister, Head of Direct Equity Investments, Hamilton Lane Advisors
• Joshua Blaine, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone Strategic Partners
• Olga Kosters, Head of Private Debt Secondaries, Tikehau Capital
• Jenna Shen, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Vintage Funds

Closing the Day

• Renae Griffin, Executive Director, GCM Grosvenor

• Raina Singh, Vice President, Alternative Investments, SEO