Events & Training

Patrick Adelsbach

Head of Credit Strategies, Aksia

Session: The Risk and Return of Leverage in 2019

Patrick is Head of Credit Strategies and has over 20 years of financial markets experience including 18 years focused on research and investment management. He oversees sourcing, research, and risk management for private credit, public credit and event driven investments. Patrick led the creation of Aksia’s private credit business and has worked closely with the institutional investor community to increase acceptance of private credit as an asset class. Prior to joining Aksia, he managed event driven and fixed income emerging markets investments at Credit Suisse and began his career in 1997 at Capital One Financial Corporation. Patrick graduated cum laude in 1997 from the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, contemporaneously earning a BS in Economics from The Wharton School and a BAS in Systems Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Kevin Charlton

Chairman of the Board, American Allwaste

Session: Target Opportunities: How to Engage and Maximize Investments with Independent Sponsors

Kevin Charlton is Co-Chairman of NewHold Enterprises and has spent more than twenty years in private equity. Prior to NewHold, Kevin was with JPMorgan, Investcorp, and Macquarie. Kevin has served on over thirty Boards of Directors in all relevant roles, and in almost all cases as Chairman or Lead Director on behalf of the majority owner. He has a long history of working in partnership with management to develop and execute a strategic agenda. Prior to his career in private equity, Kevin was with McKinsey and Company in New York and NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Kevin is Chairman of American AllWaste, and currently serves on the Boards of Daseke (NASDAQ: DSKE), a heavy haul trucking company that he took public in February 2017; Spirit Realty Capital (NYSE: SRC), a triple net commercial REIT that he took public in 2012; and Macro Energy, a high efficiency lighting company. Kevin has successfully sold to strategic and financial investors, maximized value through the staged exit to separate buyers, and taken companies public. This includes companies in aerospace, automotive, playground manufacturing, sporting goods, housewares, gourmet goods, industrial fabric, water infrastructure, petroleum drilling tools, bunkering and heavy-duty truck parts distribution. Kevin received his BSE Cum Laude from Princeton University in 1988, his MSE with Distinction from the University of Michigan in 1990, and his MBA with Honors from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University in 1995.

Jon Finger

Partner, McGuireWoods LLP

Session: Target Opportunities: How to Engage and Maximize Investments with Independent Sponsors

Jon Finger's practice focuses on private equity and corporate transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and corporate governance initiatives. Jon’s client base includes private equity funds, independent sponsors, venture capital funds, mezzanine finance funds, and companies in mergers, stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, minority investments, private placements, venture capital and growth equity transactions. His clients and representative transactions involve a diverse scope of industries including health care and pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, technology, telecommunications and financial services. John earned his MBA from Pepperdine University and holds degrees from the Pepperdine University School of Law, JD, cum laude and the University of Arizona.

Joseph Goldrick

Partner, Adams Street Partners

Session: If the Shoe Fits: Determining and Constructing the Optimal Manager Footprint

Joe is responsible for all aspects of the secondary business, including strategy, investments, fundraising, and portfolio construction. He is focused on North American opportunities while also covering Adams Street’s secondary efforts in Latin American funds. Prior to joining the firm, Joe was an investment banking analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. where he worked on a variety of corporate advisory assignments for middle-market companies in the business services and technology sectors. Joe’s work experience also includes positions with the City of Chicago Office of Budget and Management and Nuveen Investments, LLC. Joe monitors several funds within Adams Street’s portfolio and is responsible for the management of Adams Street’s secondary lender relationships. Joe is a member of the Secondary Investment Committee and the Portfolio Construction Committee.

Renae Griffin

Executive Director, GCM Grosvenor

Session: Building the Ladder: Designing and Implementing Effective Emerging Manager Programs

Ms. Griffin assists the firm in expanding its small, emerging and diverse manager platform. Prior to joining GCM Grosvenor in December 2017, Ms. Griffin was CEO of RG + Associates, a consulting firm she founded in 2001 that provided tools and resources for emerging and diverse asset managers. The firm also sponsored the ConsortiumEAST and ConsortiumWEST conferences. In 1995, she joined Progress Investment Management Company as a marketing director responsible for investor relations, institutional investor marketing, and strategy to many of the largest public institutional investors in the country. In 1986, Ms. Griffin joined Capital Guardian Trust Company as a marketing associate working with senior portfolio managers and marketing executives. Ms. Griffin began her career in finance in 1982 with Bankers Trust Company serving as an associate to senior officers in the commercial lending group. Griffin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of San Francisco. Ms. Griffin is a member of the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP), New America Alliance (NAA), Private Equity Women Investment Network (PEWIN), and the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC). Ms. Griffin hold her Series 7 and 63 Securities Licenses.

Barry Griffiths

Partner, Landmark Partners

Session: Commitment and Cashflow Modeling: Planning for Uncertainty

Barry Griffiths is a partner and head of quantitative research at Landmark Partners. He is responsible for quantitative analysis for Landmark’s private equity and real estate areas, including customer-oriented research, performance analysis, and risk management activities. Prior to joining Landmark in 2009, Mr. Griffiths was head of quantitative research at Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group. Earlier, he was an aerospace research engineer specializing in guidance, navigation, and control. Mr. Griffiths is a CFA® charterholder, who received a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University and an MS and BS from Michigan State University.

Aris Hatch

Managing Director, GCM Grosvenor

Session: Building the Ladder: Designing and Implementing Effective Emerging Manager Programs

Ms. Hatch is located in the Boston office and brings 19 years of alternative assets expertise with a career focus in private equity. She joined GCM Grosvenor from HarbourVest Partners, where she completed her nine year tenure as Managing Director leading the firm’s global Custom Solutions business, which provides bespoke private equity solutions for separately managed account clients. Previously, she was Vice President of the Client Service Group and Chief Administrative Officer at Rock Maple Funds, a multi-strategy hedge fund of funds, where she was responsible for business development and origination. She spent five years at Advent International in their LP Services team responsible for investor and consultant relations, capital origination, and sourcing strategic deal-flow for custom corporate investor programs. Ms. Hatch began her career as a Consultant in the market and communication strategy division of E&Y. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English, cum laude, from Wellesley College.

John Hershey

Director of Alternative Investments, Oregon State Treasury

Session: Bridging the Generation Gap: How to Identify, Address and Assess GP Succession Plans

As the Director of Alternative Investments, John is responsible for all alternative asset classes including: private equity, real estate, private credit, and alternative investments, totaling over $30 billion of assets. Prior to assuming this role in 2014, Mr. Hershey was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Alternatives Portfolio and Opportunity Portfolio for the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (OPERF). With assets of approximately $75 billion, OPERF was recently ranked as one of the 25 largest pension funds in the U.S. Before joining Oregon State Treasury in February 2008, Mr. Hershey was a venture capitalist and a technology investment banker. He currently sits on the LPA Board of Directors. John has a BA in Economics from the University of California, Davis and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Jason Howard

Managing Director, GCM

Mr. Howard focuses on client portfolio management and private equity fund investments, and private equity co-investments, and is based in Los Angeles. Prior to joining GCM Grosvenor, Mr. Howard was a Principal in the Customized Fund Investment Group of Credit Suisse Group AG. Previously, he was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Howard was also a Manager of Deal Analysis at Walt Disney Pictures and Television and a consultant for Turner Broadcasting. He began his career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Howard graduated with high honors from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Mr. Howard currently serves as a member of The Salvation Army's National Advisory Board.

Austin Kimson

Director, Senior Economist

Session: The (Economic) Times They Are A-Changin’

Austin Kimson is the co-founder and Senior Economist of Bain & Company’s Macro Trends Group, out of the Dallas office. The Bain Macro Trends Group (MTG) is the capability group for developing Bain’s insights about global macroeconomics, macro social trends and geopolitics as they impact the results of Bain’s clients. The group’s proprietary research includes work on trends driving global growth in GDP and in capital markets, as well as specific geographic analyses (including China, the United States, and the Eurozone), which it uses to help clients understand the potential impact of the volatile global environment on their businesses. Austin’s expertise is in global macroeconomics, market pricing dynamics and corporate failure and distress. He is principal author and developer of all of the Macro Trends Group’s major studies including the recent megatrends series on capital markets, spatial economics, and the intersection of demographics and automation. He is also a contributing author to the macroeconomic perspectives for Bain’s annual Private Equity report and Retail Holiday Newsletter. He joined Bain in 2004, and has also worked in Bain’s San Francisco/Silicon Valley offices. Austin has served clients in all major sectors with emphasis on financial services, industrials, technology and privately held companies. Prior to joining Bain, Austin spent three years working at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in the System Cash Product Office, the Federal Reserve System’s national office for managing the supply and distribution of currency and coin. While there Austin led several key analyses on the transactional uses of currency in the US economy.

Beth Manzi

COO, PEF Services LLC

Session: Distribution Waterfalls: Checking Your GPs Work

Beth oversees PEF’s General Partner and Limited Partner Fund Administration Services including Investor Services, Fund Accounting, and Reporting and Compliance. Beth has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry which includes providing audit, tax and fund administration services to a wide variety of private equity and hedge funds with diverse investment strategies and structures. Prior to joining PEF Services in 2009, Beth was the CFO/CCO of Washington Corner Capital Management, L.P., an investment adviser to a high-yield and distressed debt fund. Prior to joining Washington Corner, Beth was the VP of Quality Control and Training at Citi Hedge Fund Services North America, Inc. (formerly BISYS RK Alternative Investment Services Inc. and Rothstein Kass/RK Consulting) and a Principal at Rothstein Kass & Company, PC. She is a member of the AICPA and the NYSSCPA, where she serves on the Investment Management Committee. Beth holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Seton Hall University and is a Certified Public Accountant in NJ.

Kevin McDowell

Co-Head of Private Equity, Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund

Session: Putting ILPA Principles 3.0 into Action: New Ideas for Stronger GP-LP Alignment

Kevin McDowell is a Managing Director of the Alberta Teachers\' Retirement Fund Board (ATRF), an independent corporation that administers the pension plans for teachers in the province of Alberta, Canada. Kevin is responsible for the external fund portion of the ATRF private equity program. Kevin joined ATRF in 2014. Prior to joining ATRF, Kevin was a Senior Principal at Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo). He worked at AIMCo for 14 years, most recently in the private equity team for over 8 years and prior to that with the external public equity team for over 5 years. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta, an M.B.A. from the University of Alberta and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is a Board member for the Institutional Limited Partners Association.

Kate Mitchell

Co-founder, Scale Venture Partners

Session: Bridging the Generation Gap: How to Identify, Address and Assess GP Succession Plans

Kate is a co-founder of Scale Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based firm that invests in software companies creating the future of work. She and the ScaleVP team have backed successful, high growth companies including ExactTarget (Salesforce), Hubspot (NYSE: HUBS); Box (NYSE: BOX), DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU); Locus Robotics, JFrog and Textio that modernize the way we work, create and collaborate. Kate is past chairman and board member of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and is active in policy matters that impact entrepreneurship, start-ups, innovation and inclusion. She co-authored the IPO section of the 2012 JOBS Act and is currently working on additional legislation to help small company IPOs and to increase the flow of immigrant entrepreneurs into the U.S. In 2014, Kate co-founded the NVCA initiative (now called VentureForward), which focuses on advancing opportunities for women and minorities across the venture ecosystem. Mitchell received the NVCA Outstanding Service Award in 2013 for her policy work on behalf of the venture industry and was awarded the Private Equity Trailblazer Award at the 2018 Women in Private Equity Summit.

Dennis Montz

Managing Director/Director of Private Investments, Sentinel Trust Company

Session: Putting ILPA Principles 3.0 into Action: New Ideas for Stronger GP-LP Alignment

Dennis A. Montz, CFA serves as Managing Director and Director of Private Investments, at Sentinel Trust Company, L.B.A., a Houston-based multifamily office specializing in complex, multi-generational planning and investing in growth. Mr. Montz manages six proprietary private equity funds of funds, which includes sourcing, performing due diligence independently and with consultants, and monitoring limited partner investments in venture capital, corporate finance, and real estate funds. He joined Sentinel after serving as vice president of finance/treasury for Amedisys, a public home-health company, where he managed cash investments and bank relationships as well as worked on a $125 million secondary equity offering. Previously, Mr. Montz worked at AIG in New York where he reviewed limited partner investments for private equity funds of funds and direct investments for AIG-sponsored funds on behalf of the Chief Investment Officer and managed fixed income portfolios. Prior to that, he served as an investment officer for Global Partner Ventures, a private equity fund investing in defense conversion joint ventures in the former Soviet Union. Mr. Montz started his business career at Price Waterhouse management consulting on privatization in the former Soviet Union. Mr. Montz earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University, an MBA from Tulane University, and both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations.

Courtney Nowell

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Session: Getting Ahead by Getting Along: Opportunities for LP Collaboration

Courtney Nowell is a member of our Global Board and leads our Institutional Investors Practice Group. She focuses on domestic and international business transactions, primarily representing institutional investor clients in investments in private equity and other investment funds, including LBO, venture capital, distressed debt, special opportunity, infrastructure, and hedge and real estate funds, as well as secondary market purchases and divestments. Courtney has more than 15 years’ experience representing institutional investors with respect to their private fund and consortium investments, including one of the largest institutional investors in the world. She counsels clients on a wide range of business and federal taxation issues, including the sovereign immunity status of foreign governments, foreign ownership of US real estate, the application of bilateral tax treaties and withholding tax obligations. Courtney also advises institutional investor clients with respect to US corporate structuring, compliance and governance issues.

Sylvia Owens

Global Private Credit Strategist, Aksia

Session: The Risk and Return of Leverage in 2019

Sylvia oversees the implementation of Private Credit portfolios across Aksia’s global base of LPs. As Aksia’s Global Private Credit Strategist, she advises the firm’s clients with respect to portfolio construction, investment selection, pacing, risk, performance monitoring, benchmarking, co-investment programs, structuring, tactical plans and board presentations. She is also a member of the firm’s Private Credit Investment Committee. Sylvia has partnered with prominent industry organizations to increase awareness of Private Credit as an asset class, including spearheading the development of ILPA’s Private Credit Specialist Series, where she is one of the lead instructors for the course. In addition, she speaks regularly at industry conferences about the challenges of building Private Credit portfolios and has contributed to articles including Preqin’s Future of Alternatives Series and Institutional Allocator Magazine. Prior to joining Aksia in July 2016, Sylvia spent nearly a decade in the private market space, working with both investors and GPs across Private Equity, Real Assets and Private Credit selection and positioning. She began her career in 1992 at Goldman Sachs in Chicago, where she oversaw the Midwest Convertibles business and then moved to New York to co-lead the institutional synthetics convertibles business. Sylvia graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in Economics and East Asian Studies and completed her MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Sylvia is a founding board member of the Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), an invitation only group founded in 2008 and that currently has 550 members globally, consisting of women at the most senior levels of their respective firms.

Jon Roellke

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Session: Getting Ahead by Getting Along: Opportunities for LP Collaboration

Jon Roellke focuses on antitrust, trade regulation, and other commercial litigation, primarily counseling clients in the financial services and high technology industries. He handles class action and other complex litigation, advises clients on enforcement matters before state and federal agencies, and regularly counsels on competition issues, including refusals to deal, distribution and franchising restraints, tying arrangements, group purchasing, price discrimination, exclusive dealing, leveraging, joint ventures, and trade association activities.

Graham Rose

Partner, Bain & Company

Session: The (Economic) Times They Are A-Changin’

Graham Rose is a partner based in Bain & Company's Boston office. He is a member of the firm's Private Equity and Energy & Natural Resources practices and has more than 15 years of consulting experience at Bain. Graham spends the majority of his time working with private equity funds on strategic due diligence and portfolio improvement. He has led over 300 cases diligencing assets across a range of industries, evaluating growth prospects, profit improvement opportunities and portfolio strategies. He also regularly works with investors on their own strategies, particularly by determining focus areas and means of developing processes and organizations to generate repeatable success. Prior to joining Bain, Graham worked as a financial analyst in the investment banking division of Alex Brown, focusing on equity and debt financing and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). He also worked as an associate at the private equity firm TD Capital, where his client portfolio spanned the media, technology, oil and gas, mining and consumer products spheres. Graham holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was named a Palmer Scholar. He also holds an honors degree in government and legal studies from Bowdoin College.

Toby True

Partner, Adams Street Partners

Session: If the Shoe Fits: Determining and Constructing the Optimal Manager Footprint

Toby applies the firm’s advanced analytics capabilities to support activities related to setting investment strategy and risk management. Prior to joining Adams Street, Toby served as a Vice President and Risk Specialist with MSCI Barra, and as an Analyst with Bloomberg L.P. His experience includes working closely with clients to implement customized risk models and developing performance attribution analyses to enhance portfolio construction decisions. Toby is a member of the firm’s Portfolio Construction Committee and chairs Adams Street’s Charitable Giving Committee. Toby is a member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Chicago and the Global Association of Risk Professionals.

Joe Topley

Director, Funds, OTPP

Session: Co-Investment Staffing Strategies

Joe Topley joined the London office in 2016 and is responsible for private equity funds in the EMEA region. Joe previously worked at StepStone, a global private markets advisory firm where he was responsible for business development, investment research and client management across Europe. He started his career as a management consultant and worked in private equity and investment banking prior to joining StepStone. Joe holds a B.Sc. in Molecular Biology from Imperial College, London; a Postgraduate Diploma in Economics from University College, London; and an MBA from INSEAD.

Henry Zhang

Founding Partner, Morningside Capital Management

Session: Navigating GP-Led Secondaries: Perspectives from Both Sides of the Table

Henry is the Founding Partner of Morningside Capital Management. He has a deep and successful track record in private equity secondaries investing, having deployed $4.2 billion across 16 transactions. Prior to establishing Morningside, Henry was an original member of CPP Investment Board’s secondaries program where, from 2008 to 2013, he contributed significantly to the build-out of one of the largest secondaries programs globally. Henry’s role spanned all aspects of the investment process, including investment sourcing, structuring, execution and monitoring. In addition, he represented CPP Investment Board in numerous fund relationships through his capacity as limited partner advisory board member. Prior to joining CPP Investment Board, Henry worked at RBC Capital Markets. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with High Distinction from the University of Toronto.