Мероприятия

Location: USA, Philadelphia, Hyatt at the Bellevue 
Organization: the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania 
Website: Wharton Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference

 

This season's conference, themed "A New Dawn: Investing in the Post-Crisis World", will provide a forum for discussing some of the imminent issues arising out of the recent financial crisis affecting private equity and venture capital firms, their investors, and portfolio companies, and the way forward for the various industry stakeholders.

Keynote and Panel topics will embrace discussion around such issues as the learnings from the economic crisis, state of the industry's recovery, changing dynamics and new paradigms of investing, and practicalities in securing returns given the current market conditions. The conference offers attendees a unique opportunity for learning and networking with others interested in thoughtful discourse on these key topics and on the industry as a whole. 

Agenda

7:00 - 8:15 Registration and Networking Breakfast

8:15 - 8:30 Introduction

8:30 - 9:30 Opening Keynote Address John F. Mergrue, Jr., CEO of Apax Partners U.S.

9:30 - 9:45 Networking Coffee Break

9:45 - 10:45 Concurrent Panels: Leveraged Buyouts, Middle Market Private Equity, and Venture Capital in Emerging Markets

10:45 - 12:00 Concurrent Panels: Distressed Investing, Limited Partner Perspectives, and Alternative Investment Strategies for the Future

12:00 - 1:00 Networking Lunch

1:00 - 2:00 Afternoon Keynote Speaker: Dalip Pathak, Head of Warburg Pincus Europe and India

2:00 - 2:15 Networking Coffee Break

2:15 - 3:15 Concurrent Panels: Venture Capital Investing, and Private Equity in Emerging Markets

3:15 - 3:30 Networking Coffee Break

3:30 - 4:30 Closing Keynote Speaker: Paul Holland, General Partner Foundation Capital

4:30 - 6:00 Cocktail Reception

Panels

Distressed Investing: Navigating the current credit cycle

For the past several years, distressed investing has been the focus for many investors as experts have predicted double-digit default rates. Fundraising efforts have largely targeted this strategy and unprecedented capital was raised in anticipation of upcoming opportunities. Yet today it is not clear that there are any near-term catalysts to crystallize this view. This panel brings together some of the most experienced leaders in distressed investing to share their thoughts on the current cycle.

Panelists:

Moderator: Curt Cornwell, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Q. Munir Alam, Managing Member, Watershed Asset Management

David Corleto, Caspian Capital

Donald E. Morgan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Brigade Capital Management

Rory O'Neill, Founder and Managing Partner, TPG Credit

Kenneth Wolfe, Senior Managing Director, Beach Point Capital

Tony Yoseloff, DavidsonKempner Capital Management, Co-Head of Distressed

Leveraged Buyouts: Generating returns in a challenging climate

Private equity firms currently face unprecedented challenges in managing struggling portfolio companies and executing new investments in the current climate of sluggish economic activity and limited credit availability. Despite these challenges, the large amount of "dry powder" and depressed valuations present a unique investing environment. This panel will examine how large-cap funds can evolve to overcome the difficult landscape by taking advantage of new and attractive investment opportunities. Topics will include applying lessons learnt from the financial crisis to drive returns in new investment opportunities, sourcing deals in a competitive environment, and managing portfolio companies through the economic cycle.

Panelists:

Moderator: Professor N. Bulent Gultekin, Associate Professor of Finance, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Perry Golkin, Partner, KKR

Greg Mondre, Co-Head of North America, Silver Lake

Jim Neary, Co-Head Global TMT, Warburg Pincus

Jackie Reses, Head of US Media, Apax Partners

LP Perspectives: Identifying new opportunities and balancing the GP/LP relationships moving forward

As the private equity and venture capital industries face significant changes in the economic environment, investors in these funds face unique challenges. The panelists will discuss their perspectives of investing in private equity and venture capital during the recent bull market and the subsequent crisis, discussing topics including: their current and long-term assessment of the market PE/VC; their current secondaries market perspectives; the LPs reaction to more lenient lock-up and commitment terms and the impact of this power shift on the LP/GP relationships; the impact of recent changes in accounting regulations and disclosures on the industry.

Panelists:

Shad Azimi, Founder and Managing Partner, Vanterra Capital

Matt Garfunkle, Principal, Pantheon Ventures

Michael Hacker, Principal, AlpInvest Partners

Cory Pulfrey, Co-head of Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners ("AIP") and Head of the Private Markets Team, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners

Rick W. Slocum, Director of Private Investments, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Donna Smolens, Managing Director, Portfolio Advisors, LLC

Middle Market Private Equity: Positioning for growth in a downturn

Building a business during a downturn presents a challenging, yet enormously rewarding opportunity. Due to the markedly changed macroeconomic landscape, future success in private equity investing will be driven more by investing acumen than by financial engineering. Firms that successfully maneuver this new landscape will be better poised for growth. This panel will explore various avenues for growth in both the middle market industry and individual private equity firms. It will also focus on which investing characteristics will generate returns, including industry-specific investing, operational expertise/differentiation and expansion into new strategies. 

Panelists:

Moderator: G. Daniel O'Donnell, Partner, Corporate and Securities, Dechert LLC

Kyle Cruz, Managing Director, Centerbridge

Edward Johnson, Managing Director, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, DLJ Growth Capital Partners

Rick Rosen, Managing Director, Co-head of Mid-market fund, H.I.G. Capital

Justin Wender, President, Castle Harlan

Marc B. Wolpow, Co-CEO, Audax Group

Private Equity in Emerging Markets: The state of private equity in emerging markets

Most emerging market countries have withstood the destabilizing financial events of the past 18 months better than expected, and attractive private equity investment opportunities exist across these markets. This panel will bring together leading global investors from various emerging markets to discuss the current state of private equity in each panelist's respective geographic areas and some of the changes that have occurred in their markets as a result of the financial crisis. They will discuss where they believe opportunities exist in their markets today and the directions in which private equity investing will head in their markets going forward.

Panelists:

Patrice Etlin, Managing Partner, Advent International

Dmitri Elkin, Managing Director, UFG Capital Partners

Thomas Gibian, CEO, Emerging Capital Partners

Richard Zhang, Managing Director, Apax Partners

Naveen Wadhera, Managing Director, TA Associates

Veronica Lukito, Co-founder and Managing Director, Ancora Capital

Alternative Investments: Strategies for the future

This panel will explore the future challenges and opportunities faced by the private equity industry in a world of scarce profitable investment opportunities, widespread risk aversion among investors and restrictions on leverage in financing acquisitions. These realities have resulted in an increase of investment companies who have made investments outside of their traditional scope, including PIPE transactions, credit market investments, real estate, and fund-of-funds investments. This panel will feature professionals who are at the forefront of the newest developments in private equity and will provide insights into the industry's future trends in light of an increasing dispersion of investment strategies across alternative asset classes.

Garrett Moran, Senior Managing Director and COO of Corporate Private Equity, The Blackstone Group

David Ingles, Partner, Skadden Arps

Chris Ip, Managing Director of Private Equity, University of Pennsylvania - Office of Investments

Venture Capital: Redefining early stage investing

As we emerge from the crisis, the dynamics of early-stage investing are evolving unlike any previous era the industry has experienced. Though investments have increased significantly in Q3'09 as compared to the bottom in Q1'09, the sector still contends with discussions predicting consolidation and the possibility of Washington introducing new challenges. In light of these hurdles, the venture capital industry will redefine itself in the coming years and remain one of the most attractive asset classes available to investors. The panelists will share their thoughts on whether this is the time to be contrarian and fund new ventures, explore which sectors and geographies have become most attractive, and discuss what their respective firms are doing to capitalize on these new opportunities. 

Panelists:

Michael DeRosa, Managing Director, Element Partners

Alex Ferrara, Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners

Alex Kinnier, Partner, Khosla Ventures

Nick Sturiale, General Partner, JAFCO Ventures

Ravi Viswanathan, PhD, General Partner, New Enterprise Associates

Venture Capital in Emerging Markets: Financing Innovations in High Growth Economies

Based on the latest NVCA survey, venture capitalists anticipate additional growth in investments across China and India in 2010. However, the path to great VC returns in these emerging markets does not mirror our experiences in the U.S. Instead, venture investors must differentiate themselves not only by identifying opportunities divergent from those of Silicon Valley, but also by demonstrating deep understanding of the region's legal, business and social terrain. In addition, there has been a noticeable shift among many traditional early stage funds towards growth investing. Building upon their collective experience in successfully financing and stewarding entrepreneurs in China and India, our panelists will share their insights on the present and future dynamics of venture investing in these economies.

Price: $380.00

Contacts:  

Tram Nguyen, Marketing and Communications

tram@wharton.upenn.edu