Operating Partners Forum
David Schaeffer
The premier PE operations event of the industry attracting the largest community of operating partners in North America. Find out more.
https://www.peievents.com/en/wp-content/themes/pei-events/new/apple-touch-icon.png
Events EN
Mark is a senior operating executive and member of Gryphon’s Operations Resources Group where he helps portfolio companies implement best practices in operational finance, accounting, planning and analytics, tax, and information technology, with a focus on growth, scalability, efficiency, and governance.

Prior to joining Gryphon, Mark was President & COO of NV5 Global, where he led the geospatial technology platform of this publicly traded engineering services firm, expanding capabilities and market reach through the acquisition and integration of leading technologies. Prior to NV5, Mark’s private equity experience included COO/CFO roles of technology leader Quantum Spatial and pharmaceutical producer Alcami. Mark is the former CFO of GE Healthcare Medical Devices and former Global Controller for GE Energy Products. Mark started his career in public accounting with KPMG.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors is a leading middle-market investment firm focused on competitively advantaged companies in the Business Services, Consumer, Healthcare, Industrial Growth, and Software sectors. Gryphon’s integrated Deal-Ops business model includes highly experienced investment professionals who work alongside full-time senior operating executives with general management, human capital, IT, treasury, finance and accounting expertise. Gryphon’s differentiated model has been a critical driver of the firm’s stable returns, significant alpha creation, and zero loss ratio since 2008. With approximately $9 billion of assets under management, Gryphon’s private equity funds target investments of $50 million to $500 million while the junior capital fund targets investments ranging from $5 million to $25 million. Recently, Gryphon was recognized by Inc. Magazine as a top 2023 Founder-Friendly Investor. Additional information on Gryphon can be found at: https://www.gryphon-inv.com/

Nadeem is a Partner in CrossCountry Consulting’s national Private Equity practice based in Dallas, Texas. A hands-on M&A leader with over 20 years of experience across the transaction lifecycle – from diligence to post-close transformation – he has particular expertise in infusing analytics and data-driven decision-making into an organization’s business processes to drive revenue growth and increase operational efficiency.

Prior to CrossCountry, Nadeem was a Managing Director in KPMG’s Deal Advisory and Strategy practice, providing technology strategy, digital transformation, and performance improvement support to private equity firms and their portfolio companies before joining West Monroe’s Technology Transaction Services as Senior Partner.

Preceding his consulting career, Nadeem spent many years working at product technology companies, including one which he co-founded, where he held roles from software engineer to CTO, giving him a unique perspective that he now brings to the technology M&A space.

Nadeem earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba, Canada, and a master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Rice University.

CrossCountry Consulting is a leading provider of specialized finance, operations, and technology advisory services. As a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies, emerging growth market leaders, and private equity sponsors, the firm solves today’s most pressing challenges and creates present and future enterprise value through accounting and risk, technology-enabled transformation, and transaction solutions. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CrossCountry has employees across the United States and in strategic international locations. With an unwavering commitment to providing a better experience, they are regularly recognized as a best place to work. Learn more at crosscountry-consulting.com.

Arvind leads Supply Chain & Procurement for Mubadala Performance Partners (a dedicated team of senior specialized operating partners who deliver holistic transformation which maximizes the value creation potential of our portfolio companies).

Arvind has 20+ years of transformation experience across a range of sectors. He led procurement, operations, and holistic performance transformations for numerous clients across the Industrial, Automotive, Energy, Financial sectors at McKinsey. Subsequently, Arvind joined Bridgewater Associates, and championed a cross-functional transformation process, including across commercial, operations, and procurement. At Mubadala, Arvind partners with portfolio company management teams and boards to drive value creation at companies such as Nova Chemicals, CEPSA, GlobalFoundries amongst others. In addition, he is a board member of CoolIT Systems, which specializes in scalable liquid cooling solutions for demanding computing environments.

Arvind holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and MBA from Dartmouth College.

Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi.

Mubadala’s $276 billion (AED 1015 billion) portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. It leverages its deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit, while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates. For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com

Experience:

Mr. Ashmore is Senior Vice President – Reporting & Insights in Portfolio Dynamics Group, a team dedicated to supporting Grain’s due diligence processes and portfolio company integration and operations to create value through sustained operational improvement, where he oversees financial reporting, business intelligence and analytics.

Prior to joining Grain, Mr. Ashmore was an executive with Communications Management working exclusively with the Grain investment team and Grain portfolio companies on financial reporting, optimization, and analytics. Mr. Ashmore has over 20 years of experience in the global TMT sector, most recently serving in a variety of financial and general management roles at Cable & Wireless, now a subsidiary of Liberty Latin America. Previously, he held multiple senior level finance roles in Ireland, Australia, and in the Caribbean.

Education:

Mr. Ashmore holds a B.A. in Business Administration from John Moores University (Liverpool, UK) and is a Fellow of The Institute of Public Accountants (Australia).

About Grain Management:

Founded in 2007, Grain Management is a leading, global investment firm. We believe broadband and digital infrastructure are foundational to the tech-enabled transformation occurring across all industries and facets of society. Our global team of seasoned and diverse professionals share a collective passion for the power of connectivity to strengthen communities and unlock human potential for all.

We specialize in digital infrastructure and are a trusted solutions provider to the broadband and communications industry. Our unique combination of sector knowledge, experience as operators, and disciplined analytical approach guide our differentiated investment strategy across fiber networks, data centers, wireless spectrum, cell towers, as well as managed and infrastructure services.

Annie Asrari is an Operating Principal at Accel-KKR.

Prior to joining Accel-KKR, Annie was the Chief Product Officer at Castellan, where she led the positioning, grew Castellan’s product portfolio, and built a product management practice. During her tenure at Castellan, Annie directed Castellan’s product strategy from a single product to a platform approach, launched organic products, integrated M&A add-ons, and built and led migration plans. Castellan was acquired by Riskonnect, where Annie served as VP of Product Management and focused on company integration as well as leadership of additional product lines. Prior to Castellan and Riskonnect, Annie spent seven years at Everbridge building product strategy, launching and growing organic products, and integrating numerous acquisitions. Prior to Everbridge, Annie held Product Management positions at several technology companies.

Annie received an M.B.A. from Babson College, and a B.S. in Computer Engineering, from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

Accel-KKR’s culture is built on a strong work ethic and drive to succeed and is one that values integrity and collaboration. Our investment and operating professionals have extensive experience in the technology space. The team is disciplined in its investment approach and dedicated to helping our portfolio companies grow and succeed.

Geoff Baird is a Senior Operating Executive partnering with Palladium Equity in the technology sector. Working as a consultant he leverages extensive PE experience assisting sourcing of new investments and driving growth in their technology portfolio businesses.

Geoff is a Board Advisor and Operating partner at Envoy Global, Everdriven Technologies, a Board Member of Propeller Industries and an advisor to Fora Financial. Previously, Geoff was the Senior Managing Director of Value Creation at LLR Partners where he built a functional expert team of 12 people. Prior to joining LLR, Geoff was an operating executive at Tailwind Capital where he assisted in sourcing, evaluating and performing due diligence on investment opportunities. He served as a board member and active advisor to Tailwind portfolio companies Stratix Corporation (Chairman), Diversified, AST and CoreBTS. In addition, Geoff was a board director at Worldaware, an LLR portfolio company. He also invests in early-stage technology companies as an angel investor and advisor.

Geoff’s leadership background is highlighted by several executive roles in the mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) and communications sectors. He previously served as President of the Product & Technology Group

at AGT International, CEO of 3i-MIND, and Vice President and General Manager of the Small Medium Business Unit and the Communications Appliances Business Unit at Avaya. Earlier in his career, Geoff was the CEO of mobile technology firms Commtag and Xtempus, and COO of Psion Computing. He received his MBA with distinction from the London Business School and a BSc in Cybernetics and Mathematics from the University of Reading, UK.

Palladium is a middle market private equity firm with approximately $3 billion in assets under management. The firm seeks to acquire and grow companies in partnership with founders and experienced management teams by providing capital, strategic guidance and operational oversight. Since its founding in 1997, Palladium has made 38 platform investments and 142 add-on acquisitions. Palladium is a signatory of the United Nations supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The PRI is recognized as the leading global network for investors committed to integrating Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their investment decision making.

For more information on Palladium, please visit www.palladiumequity.com.

Brian Barnum is the Operating Partner at Shamrock Capital Advisors and works with Shamrock's portfolio companies to improve operations and increase value. He currently serves as a director of Skillable, Ad Results Media, and Maple Media and has worked closely with the management teams of Bayard Advertising, Adweek, Iyuno, Wpromote, Appetize, RB Media and Questex. Prior to joining Shamrock in 2017, Mr. Barnum held a number of senior executive roles for privately held media, communications and technology companies including COO of Brighter, Inc. (aquired by Cigna), COO/CFO of the Rubicon Project (now Magnite), the COO/CFO of Business.com and later the President of Dex Media's Digital businesses (now Thryv Holdings) after it acquired Business.com, the CFO of Rent.com through its acquisition by eBay (now RentPath), and the CFO of Transaction Network Services, which he guided through an IPO. Prior to his roles as an operating executive, Mr. Barnum worked in investment banking to media companies at Bankers Trust Company and to technology and communications companies at Alex. Brown & Sons.

Mr. Barnum has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and has a BA in Economics from Stanford University.

Shamrock Capital Advisors, LLC is a Los Angeles-based investment firm with approximately $3.8 billion of assets under management. Shamrock Capital invests exclusively in media, entertainment, communications, and related sectors through a multi-fund strategy centered on private equity investments and entertainment intellectual property rights ownership. Shamrock Capital was originally founded in 1978 as the family investment company for the late Roy E. Disney and has since evolved into an institutionally backed firm with a leading group of investors, including endowments, foundations, and pension funds. Shamrock Capital partners with strong management teams and takes an active, collaborative approach to creating value in each investment. Shamrock Capital’s current private equity investments include Ad Results Media, Adweek, Bayard Advertising, Branded Cities, Canopy Spectrum, DeCurtis, Excel Sports Management, Iyuno-SDI Group, Learn on Demand Systems, Maple Media, Omega Wireless, Pixellot, SpotOn, and Wpromote. In addition, Shamrock Capital owns a diversified portfolio of premium content consisting of an economic interest in over 600 films, over 1,000 television episodes, and over 20,000 music compositions. For more information, visit Shamrockcap.com.

Alex Bello serves as Director of Technology Strategy at EQT, where he provides strategic support and advice to EQT’s investment teams and portfolio companies, focusing on technology, products, cybersecurity, and the application of AI to drive efficiency and innovation. EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with $250 billion AUM and three decades of developing companies across multiple geographies, sectors, and strategies covering all phases of a business’s development, from start-up to maturity.

Before joining EQT, Alex held various senior leadership roles in technology and product development, where he was instrumental in scaling businesses, driving revenue growth, and bringing innovative products to market. He has earned recognition for his contributions to software engineering and delivery, including being awarded a patent for continuous software deployment.

With over 20 years of experience in product and technology leadership, Alex began his career as a software engineer. His core expertise includes building highly scalable and secure software, optimizing R&D structures, driving growth through data-driven leadership and experimentation, and leading large-scale change initiatives to enhance operational efficiency and business performance.

Ted is an internationally-recognized expert on leadership and organization development. He advises investors, CEOs, and boards globally to help them position the right leaders for key roles and to support those leaders and teams for maximal value creation. Ted assists top performing organizations to anticipate and plan for future core business competencies and to install them in dynamic governance processes such as executive succession.

An organizational psychologist, human resources executive, management consultant and master coach for more than 30 years, Ted authors a bi-monthly leadership column in Chief Executive magazine and is also on the executive education faculty of the Harvard Business School. Ted has helped leaders around the world achieve enduring change in their organizations, their teams, and themselves by expanding their psychological, behavioral, and organizational insights into leadership.

Career Highlights: Ted Bililies, PhD:

• Internationally recognized expert on leadership and organization development

• Founded AlixPartners’ transformative leadership practice in 2014, advising global CEOs, their boards, and private equity investors

• Serving nearly three decades as an organizational psychologist, human resources executive, management consultant and master coach

• Executive Education faculty of the Harvard Business School and has held teaching appointments at Harvard University in four of Harvard’s graduate schools: Medical, Business, Arts & Sciences, and Extension

• Frequent speaker at leadership and investment conferences

• Featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CNBC’s Power and Money

• Author of bi-monthly leadership column in Chief Executive magazine

• Serves as exclusive advisor to the CEO of the Year Award committee

• Board Member, Perkins School for the Blind

• Board Member, Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis

• John Harvard Scholar, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University

For nearly forty years, AlixPartners has helped businesses around the world respond quickly and decisively to their most critical challenges – circumstances as diverse as urgent performance improvement, accelerated transformation, complex restructuring and risk mitigation.

These are the moments when everything is on the line – a sudden shift in the market, an unexpected performance decline, a time-sensitive deal, a fork-in-the-road decision. But it’s not what we do that makes a difference, it’s how we do it.

Tackling situations when time is of the essence is part of our DNA – so we adopt an action-oriented approach at all times. We work in small, highly qualified teams with specific industry and functional expertise, and we operate at pace, moving quickly from analysis to implementation. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients until the job is done, and only measure our success in terms of the results we deliver.

Our approach enables us to help our clients confront and overcome truly future-defining challenges. We partner with you to make the right decisions and take the right actions. And we are right by your side. When it really matters.

Barr has created an unparalleled community of "been there, done that" technologists at Crosslake — setting the standard for technology leadership and guidance at the intersection of investment and private equity. He came to Crosslake from global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he was Managing Partner of the firm's Charlotte, North Carolina office and served as a partner in the Transformation and Private Equity practices. Barr has extensive experience advising private equity firms, portfolio companies and Fortune 500 clients on strategic and transformational initiatives.

As advisors on 4,000+ private equity tech deals over the last four years, Crosslake is the firm investors call to understand what good looks like. The hands-on technical expertise of our 250+ practitioners is underscored by Crosslake’s objective TechIndicators®, based on thousands of prior M&A transactions. Our capabilities in tech due diligence, value creation and exit readiness are supported by accelerated delivery from our Build practice, cyber and risk solutions from our cybersecurity practice, and operational insights from our suite of proprietary, data-based applications.

From diligence through exit, we’ve helped more than 500 firms and 1,000 portfolio companies create value and make technology make a difference.

Will focuses on holistic, sustainable transformation of private equity investments. Most recently serving as a Chief Transformation Officer and Interim Chief Supply Chain Officer for a private equity backed consumer company. In this role, he turned around a company to structurally positive cash flow in one year post close whilst standing up the operations out of a global carveout. He also served as a Managing Director and Partner at AlixPartners advising and serving in interim roles for large scale private equity investors focused on operational transformation.

Experience includes:

Served as an Interim COO for a Tech-enabled CPG company.

Carved out a $500m CPG company from a multi-national conglomerate; stood up independent operations within 12 months including 3PL and IT ecosystem.

Served various PE clients across numerous transformation situations as an advisor and interim operating executive.

Will holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Bachelor of Science from the US Naval Academy. He has summitted Kilimanjaro, ran with the Bulls in Pamplona, and hiked the Inca Trail.

Tanoya Chatterjee is an Operating Partner on the Mubadala Performance Partner team, based in New York City. Mubadala is a sovereign investor with $302 Billion AUM. Tanoya leads go-to-market value creation initiatives for portfolio companies and due diligence workstreams for investment teams across all sectors. Tanoya has over 13 years of experience in both the operating and investing sides of private equity, including at firms such as KKR and Permira. She previously began her career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. Tanoya holds a Bachelor’s degree and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi.

Mubadala’s $276 billion (AED 1015 billion) portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. It leverages its deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit, while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates. For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com

Mr. Chesebrough, Operating Partner, joined New Mountain in 2022. Mr. Chesebrough has spent his entire career as a Growth Officer and Commercial Excellence executive, and he has worked in many industries in the B2B arena including: technology, discrete manufacturing, distribution, media, healthcare, and financial service. Prior to joining New Mountain, Mr. Chesebrough was an Operating Executive with TPG Capital from 2012 to 2021 where he was a leader on the Sales Effectiveness team. During his tenure at TPG, Mr. Chesebrough led sales transformations and turnarounds at a number of portfolio companies – where he often took the role of Acting CRO or Head of Sales Operations. Prior to TPG, Mr. Chesebrough held positions as Managing Director of the Revenue Enhancement practice at Alvarez & Marsal and Chief Revenue Officer at Corbis Corporation. He holds a BA in economics from Amherst College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) and a former member of Board of Directors of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA).

Jim is a co-founder of Blue Ridge Partners and serves as the firm’s Managing Partner. For 35 years he has assisted companies in North America, Europe and Asia accelerate profitable revenue growth. Jim has advised over 300 companies on revenue-related issues including growth strategy, pricing, sales and marketing management and effectiveness, customer segmentation and messaging. Prior to founding Blue Ridge Partners, Jim was a Partner at both McKinsey & Company and Accenture. He was also the President of the worldwide professional services group at Unisys and the Managing Partner of AT＆T Solutions, the professional services arm of AT＆T. Jim previously served as Managing Partner of Potomac Partners and CEO of Luminant.

Blue Ridge Partners

Blue Ridge Partners is a management consulting firm exclusively focused on helping companies accelerate profitable revenue growth. We have worked with more than 1,000 companies to improve their strategic understanding of markets and customers, deepen and expand their customer relationships, and enhance marketing and sales performance.

Our clients include over 130 private equity firms and their portfolio companies –supporting them during deal evaluation, due diligence, and post-acquisition. We have a reputation for helping companies grow faster by rolling up our sleeves, working collaboratively, and delivering measurable impact quickly and more efficiently than large consultancies.

Sean is an accomplished Cybersecurity professional with almost 30 years of experience leading Cybersecurity teams for Global consulting firms in the United States and Australia. Early on, he recognized the impact of ransomware and began helping the industry to acknowledge the importance of focusing on recovering business operations – not just determining the who and how.

A technologist with deep expertise in infrastructure and application security, Sean has designed, implemented and defended complex environments across most industries. He has also provided forensic analysis on complex breaches for both corporate and government agencies. In addition, he has developed a business acumen that stems from advising Private Equity firms on hundreds of complex mergers and acquisitions transactions in particular Cybersecurity firms and products.

This blend of skills has put Sean in the board room, supporting dozens of large organizations in the midst of a ransomware attack, and advising executives as they navigate their organization to recovery.

Enduir Cyber is the leading cybersecurity firm focused on Private Equity value creation.

In today’s market of fast paced transactions, cross industry investments, and a focus on technology enablement; Private Equity firms need a cybersecurity partner that understands the complexities of the M&A lifecycle.

Enduir’s Private Equity Portfolio Resilience (PEPR) Program™ delivers value from pre-close diligence all the way through sell-side preparation. We closely tailor each PEPR program with the Operating Partner to mitigate risk and build Portfolio cyber resilience throughout the investment period. When cyber incidents do occur, Enduir provides a white-glove Incident Command service to respond, recover, and get the PortCo back to business.

Cory A. Eaves is a Partner and Head of Portfolio Operations at BayPine, where he leads the firm’s digital transformation and portfolio operations team. BayPine is a pioneering new private equity firm—one built from the ground up to bring digital transformation to companies in the healthcare, consumer, business services, and specialty industrials industries. Cory’s primary focus is on driving digital transformation initiatives within the firm and its portfolio companies. Before joining BayPine in 2023, Cory was one of the first Operating Partners at General Atlantic, where he built and scaled their portfolio value-add capability for nearly 15 years. Before joining General Atlantic, he was Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Information Officer at Misys plc. Earlier in his career, Cory also served as Chief Technology Officer of SSA Global, one of the world’s largest enterprise software providers, and various other technology leadership positions. Outside of his professional endeavors, Cory is active in a number of philanthropic activities, including The Marfan Foundation, where he serves as past Chairman and board member, and NetHope, where he serves as Board Fellow. Outside of work, Cory spends his time off-shore sailboat racing, snowboarding, and with his family in Larchmont, New York.

BayPine is a newly-formed private equity firm that seeks to make control and control-oriented equity investments in high-quality, market-leading businesses in traditional industries with the intent of facilitating a comprehensive digital transformation. Headquartered in Boston, BayPine was founded to instill durable core-economy companies with the execution speed, innovation mindset and technology infrastructure of leading “new economy” businesses. At the heart of the strategy is a pointed focus on digital enablement, a purpose-built team of investors and operators, and a differentiated value creation playbook that operationalizes each company’s full potential. For more information on BayPine, please visit www.baypine.com.

Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Elder served as Executive Vice President, Strategy & Growth and Chief Transformation Officer at Nouryon. He was responsible for helping to develop and integrate Nouryon’s Global Transformation program, with a focus on Strategy, Growth and Commercial Excellence. Prior to Nouryon, Mr. Elder spent 25-years at McKinsey & Company, where he was a senior partner in its Washington, D.C., office and a leader in its Transformation, Private Equity and Organization practices. He brings extensive experience in transformation processes and strategy development and has applied his private- and public-sector experience to help global industrial, manufacturing, aerospace, and defense organizations develop new strategies and implement large-scale transformations. He started his career as an officer for the US Air Force.

Mr. Elder has been a board member for more than 10 years with Athletes for Hope, which connects professional athletes with charitable causes.

Mr. Elder holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA with honors from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $373 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2022, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,100 people in 29 offices across five continents.

Andy Fauver is the Senior Vice President of Transaction Services at INSIGHT2PROFIT, where he leads the Transaction Services Practice. Andy partners with private equity firms, their portfolio companies, and other transaction advisors to add significant value to the M&A process by developing the data foundation and analytics, identifying enterprise value creation opportunities and risks, and crafting the growth roadmap and strategy. With over 25 years of consulting and commercial experience, Andy is a trusted advisor to private equity firms, their portfolio companies, and investment banks. He spearheaded the launch of INSIGHT’s Quality of Pricing® service offerings to support buy-side, exit planning, sell-side due diligence, and post-acquisition value creation.

Prior to joining INSIGHT, Andy founded and served as President of Freedonia Custom Research, a division of The Freedonia Group, providing growth consulting and market analytics to Global 1000 companies, private equity firms, and investment banks across a wide range of industries. He began his career with Ernst & Young and Capgemini, serving clients across industries with operational improvement and business transformation engagements, and led Sales Operations for Capgemini’s Technology Consulting group as part of The Leadership Development Program. Andy earned his MBA from Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management and completed his B.A. in History from Hamilton College.

Russ Findlay is a sales and marketing executive currently serving as a Senior Executive Director and Operating Partner for H.I.G Capital. where he focuses on marketing due diligence, value creation planning and portfolio company operations. Russ is responsible for helping portfolio companies develop and implement comprehensive digital and marketing strategies.

Russ has over 30 years of experience in a broad range of industries including CPG, Food & Beverage, Sports & Entertainment and Financial Services. Prior to joining H.I.G., Russ was the Global Chief Marketing Officer of international specialist insurer Hiscox. Before Hiscox, he was the Head of Marketing for IHOP, the CMO of Major League Soccer, and a marketing executive for PepsiCo, where he launched the Sierra Mist and PepsiMax brands. Russ started his career at Unilever where he was the global expert in e-commerce prior to roles in brand management.

Russ earned his M.B.A. from Xavier University, a B.S. in Marketing from State University of New York, Oswego and a Financial Technology Certificate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

H.I.G. Capital is a leading global alternative investment firm with $60 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices across the US and around the world, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to middle market companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach across several funds including:

H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.

H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.

H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.

H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion.

Rory’s professional credentials have been built entirely within financial services technology delivery. His work has primarily focused on offsetting the inefficiencies created by the increasing gap between supply & demand in technology talent markets.

Recognizing that great people are central to the best business outcomes, Rory harnesses his Psychology background to create and implement tailored people-led solutions for Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies. This produces qualitative and quantitative efficiencies to technology delivery capability.

Recognizing the inherently unique demands of each firm Rory has been central in defining Saragossa products & services extending to; Project based Consultancy, Search & Selection and IT offshoring.

With an uncompromising dedication to delivering clear quantifiable improvements to business outcomes Rory has established a reputation as the trusted advisor to Technology leaders globally.

Saragossa is a Technology Solutions organisation with a proven track supporting Private Equity businesses, accelerating their portfolio companies. For nearly a decade we have provided support leading Private Equity organisations to maximise returns through rapid, specialised technology solutions. Providing strategic support alongside all of our core services: Project Delivery Consulting, Technology Outsourcing, Staffing, Executive Search, and 3rd party Talent Acquisition.

Having developed a reputation for unparalleled Private Equity domain expertise, we fully grasp the unique challenges presented managing an evolving technology business portfolio, responding rapidly to changing priorities and goals in a fiercely competitive landscape.

Our core values; Fearless, Uncompromising and Human underpin everything we do. We are brave, working outside of conventional methods to achieve agreed objectives, we do not compromise in our commitment to creating brilliant customer experiences, believing that great people are at the heart of every successful outcome.

Mr. Ganesan is a Managing Director within Oaktree Capital's Special Situation/Private Equity group. He specializes in driving commercial and operational performance improvement initiatives, including turnarounds, collaboratively with management teams. He joined Oaktree in 2017 from Yum! Brands, where he was the Vice President of Operations and corporate officer for the Taco-Bell division. He led operational and digital transformation of the 8,000 restaurant system. Prior thereto, he led Corporate & Business strategy and turnaround initiatives for both the Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Mattel, Inc. He was also an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company, where he served multiple Fortune 500 companies in the consumer, technology, manufacturing, medical devices, energy and financial sectors. Earlier in Mr. Ganesan’s career, he served as a 1st Lieutenant and field Artillery Officer of the Singapore Armed Forces. Mr. Ganesan received an M.B.A. from INSEAD Business School, a M.Sc. with highest distinction, and B.Sc. summa cum laude in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Purdue University, respectively.

Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $156 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2021. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 1,000 employees and offices in 19 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree’s website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com/.

As Head of Digital Value Creation, Mr. Ghai partners with Americas Private Equity investment teams, focusing on technology-related investment diligence and portfolio company value creation via digital transformation and technology modernization. He also supports the development and management of KKR's global portfolio technology platform.

Mr. Ghai oversees KKR’s global portfolio cyber risk program, manages relationships with strategic tech partners, and leads AI value creation efforts.

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Matt Greenberg is a Partner based in Leathwaite’s New York office, with over 20 years of executive search experience. He specializes in senior strategy, transformation, and digital talent from top-tier consulting and tech services firms worldwide. His clients include consulting and tech services firms, PE operating groups and their portfolio companies, and corporations seeking strategy, transformation, or M&A talent.

Matt has deep specialized experience at the intersection of strategy and digital transformation, including AI, cyber, and cloud. His expertise in cross-functional portfolio company leadership is reinforced by his background at a specialty retained search firm, where he founded and led the Digital & Analytics practice, and his experience leading talent functions at BCG and Gartner. His unique perspective and tailored approach consistently help private equity clients achieve their goals.

Matt’s extensive experience includes placing executives in critical roles that drive organizational growth and success. His expertise spans multiple sectors, enhancing his ability to meet diverse client needs and navigate complex talent landscapes.

Leathwaite partners with the world’s most successful private equity firms to build exceptional leadership teams. With offices across North America, EMEA and Asia, we support our private equity clients across: management company and fund-level functional leadership, operating partners and advisors, and building portfolio company leadership teams.

As experts in corporate officers and functional leadership, coupled with our industry agnostic approach, we recruit transformational leadership talent that delivers exceptional performance and unlocks value.

We speak the language of Private Equity and Venture Capital and understand what it takes to be successful in this environment. Our global talent networks extend across public and private markets enabling us to access talent for every stage of the deal cycle.

Doron Grosman is a serial Board Member, CEO/President and Private Equity Operating Partner with a proven track record achieving record revenue and EBITDA growth at leading private equity and public companies.

Currently Doron is the CEO/President of Smart Start, Inc. an Apollo Management portfolio company. Prior to that, Doron was the CEO/President of GCT Global Container Terminals a portfolio company of three equity investors, where he led a very successful sale to a strategic buyer.

Previously as an Operating Partner at Court Square Capital, Doron focused on leading portfolio company strategy and revenue growth acceleration, operational improvements and CEO hiring and mentoring. He was the interim CEO at DISA, and at Physiotherapy Associates.Doron was President of Hexcel Corporation, a public company, President of the Magazine Printing Solutions Business for Quebecor World and Chief Operating Officer for the global Trane Air Conditioning business. He began his career at GE in the Plastics business, where he led numerous businesses and spent 5 years at Bain & Co, after graduating from Harvard Business School.

Smart Start LLC, based in the Dallas suburb of Grapevine, is the acknowledged leader in alcohol monitoring nationally and worldwide with our advanced alcohol breathtesting technology. Smart Start’s Ignition Interlock is a convenient, discreet solution for impaired driving offenders. At the same time, SmartMobile™and BreathCheck™portable alcohol monitoring devices provide the greatest benefit at the lowest cost to users and monitoring authorities. Our SmartWeb™ online platform offers quick reporting and analysis for easy caseload management. Smart Start is Setting the Standard in Alcohol Monitoring Technology® with thousands of service locations across the U.S. and internationally, and a 24/7/365 multilingual Customer Care Center. Visit smartstartinc.com

Previously, Doron was the President of Hexcel Corp, a public company that is a global leader in advanced composites technology and the President of Quebecor Magazine Printing Solutions, where he was responsible for the successful turnaround of both these businesses.

Doron started his career at Bain & Company, the strategy and management consulting firm, and then spent eleven years in various senior executive capacities in General Electric both in the corporate office and at GE Plastics. Subsequent to his career at GE, Doron was the Chief Operating Officer (de facto) for American Standard’s global Trane Air-Conditioning business.

Doron holds a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and a Master of Science in Engineering from Witwatersrand University in South Africa.

GCT Global Container Terminals Inc. has been making waves in the marine container terminal industry for over a hundred years. GCT Canada has been operating on the West Coast since 1907 and is responsible for running both GCT Vanterm and GCT Deltaport. Beyond operating these facilities, GCT Canada has also played a major role in developing Canada’s Pacific Gateway. GCT’s two East Coast facilities, GCT Bayonne and GCT New York were established in 1972 and 1995, respectively. GCT’s high standards, customer focus, and leadership in safety, innovation, and automation have led to stable, long-term relationships with the majority of the world’s largest ocean carriers and shippers

As Vice President of Private Equity, Todd serves as the liaison between Private Equity firms, their portfolio companies, and Quantum Health. He works to educate the senior leadership teams on independent navigation and identifies opportunities for partnership and collaboration. In this role, Todd drives EBITDA growth through support of unbundled plan strategies.

Prior to joining the Quantum Health team, Todd was the Vice President of Health Plan/Payor Solutions for Ovia Health where he was responsible for contracting health plans nationally to offer digital maternity healthcare solutions. He also held positions at Accolade as the Regional Director of Sales for large employers in the Northeast and Teladoc as the National Director of Sales for the mid-market segment.

Todd says, Il l have worked for more than 30 years in the healthcare industry. Having been successful in the digital health care/navigation marketplace, I am able to support Private Equity owned firms thoroughly evaluate ways to improve healthcare outcomes for their valued employees while driving necessary costs down."

In his spare time, Todd can be found cycling the coast of Maine or hiking in the mountains of New Hampshire.

Quantum Health is the industry-leading consumer healthcare navigation and care coordination company that delivers an unparalleled experience for our members, as well as validated claims savings and high satisfaction rates for employers. Quantum Health’s proprietary Real-Time Intercept™ model identifies opportunities for early intervention, improves engagement, and ultimately drives cost efficiencies.

Akshay Grover serves as the Global Private Equity practice leader at Zscaler. Akshay has 20+ years of results-driven and forward-thinking transformational leadership experience in Private Equity, M&A, Divestitures consulting, SaaS GTM strategies, partnerships & alliances and value creation with cloud technologies across Americas, EMEA, APAC and LATAM. Prior to joining Zscaler, Akshay co-led the Global Go to Market M&A Integration and WW M&A, Divestitures and PE practice at Salesforce. Akshay was responsible for developing new routes to market with alliance and PE partners and driving GTM M&A integration strategy, planning and execution for 15+ Salesforce acquisitions. Prior to joining Salesforce, Akshay held leadership roles at PwC, HCL Tech, Deloitte Consulting, and Tata Motors.

Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) accelerates digital transformation so that customers can be more agile, efficient, resilient, and secure. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange protects thousands of customers from cyberattacks and data loss by securely connecting users, devices, and applications in any location. Distributed across more than 150 data centers globally, the SSE-based Zero Trust Exchange is the world’s largest in-line cloud security platform. Learn more at zscaler.com or follow us on Twitter @zscaler.

Dan advises boards, CEO's, investors and business leaders on strategy execution and value creation through leadership and organization performance. After a successful corporate career, Dan founded Summit in 2014 to help growth-oriented companies and business leaders scale and improve performance. He partners closely with clients to catalyze change and is an expert in leadership, strategy, assessment, executive and organization development.

Under Dan’s leadership, Summit has become the industry leader for PE investors and high growth companies in leadership and organization assessment and performance. Summit has been recognized by Forbes as America’s Best Management Consulting Firms in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and ranked as one of the fastest growing firms in the US by Inc., Consulting Magazine, and Charlotte Business Journal.

Dan is a Board-Certified Executive Coach (BCC), holds a NACD Directorship Certification, and is an active member of several industry and professional organizations, such as Fast Company’s Executive Board, Bloomberg Breakaway CEO Network, Forbes Coaches Council, Inc Masters, the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and the American Psychological Association (APA). He also serves on the boards of Clemson University College of Business and the Belk College of Business, University of North Carolina Charlotte.

Dan authors and presents numerous topics on CEO performance, leadership, organization change, strategy, leading in global contexts, and strategic talent management. He is regularly featured in top business publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Bloomberg, Forbes, Inc, Yahoo! Finance, and Chief Executive Magazine, as well as industry publications, such as Boardroom Insider, Consulting Magazine, HR Executive, PE Hub, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Middle Market Executive.

Summit Leadership Partner advises boards, investors, CEOs and senior leaders on scaling businesses, improving performance and increasing returns by unlocking the full potential in their leaders and organizations. We do this through our expertise in behavioral and leadership science, proven business acumen, and unparalleled data and benchmarks to ensure objective insights. Our solutions are practical and actionable to help our clients assess, develop, and improve their human capital to perform at peak levels. We understand the complex challenges CEOs and management team face and are trusted partners to catalyze change. Summit has been recognized by Forbes as America’s Best Management Consulting Firms in 2022, 2023 and 2024, ranked as one of the Inc. 5000’s Fastest Growing Private Companies in America over the last four years, and was listed as #5 on Consulting Magazine’s Fastest Growing Consulting Firms. For more information, visit www.summitleadership.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Jawad Hussain leads MorganFranklin’s Private Equity Services practice and has extensive experience leading global M/A integrations and identifying synergies to achieve value realization for private equity firms, their partners, and portfolio companies. He employs proven methodologies, tools and reporting techniques that provide the right approach at each phase of the deal lifecycle and consistency across Private Equity portfolios. Jawad’s focus is on driving operational improvements to enable value creation.

Prior to joining MorganFranklin, Jawad led M/A integrations at CrossCountry Consulting where he collaborated with clients to execute end to end integration related activities to drive strategic growth. Jawad has a bachelor’s in finance from George Mason University.

MorganFranklin Consulting is a management consulting firm that works with leading businesses to address critical finance, technology, cybersecurity, supply chain and business objectives. The firm’s areas of expertise also include on-demand technical accounting, financial reporting, M&A lifecycle and integration, finance transformation, risk advisory, supply chain services, and the implementation of enterprise and cloud applications including NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft ERP, OneStream and more. MorganFranklin is headquartered in the Washington D.C. area with regional offices in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The firm supports clients across the globe.

Jamie Jacobs serves as the Chief Talent Officer of Oak Hill Capital. Working across the entire portfolio of Oak Hill funds focusing on all aspects of Human Capital with specialties in Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Organization design and assessment, HRIS, compensation, and benefits advice. For almost eight years prior to partnering with Oak Hill, Jamie was the Director of Human Capital at American Securities where she worked with portfolio companies’ leadership teams on all aspects of Human Capital. Previously Jamie was with Morgan Stanley for nearly eleven years where she held a number of leadership positions within the firm including heading HR projects, program and data management for the wealth management division, restructuring and strategy for the firm’s recruiting function, Senior HR Business partner for the Private wealth management business, Head of Business Management for the International Private Wealth Management business and Head of Business Management and COO for the Global Talent Management organization. Earlier in her career Jamie worked in Management Consulting at PriceWaterhouseCoopers focusing on technology, business process, and strategy consulting. Jamie received a BS in Business and Economics from Lehigh University.

Oak Hill Capital is a private equity firm managing funds with over $19 billion of initial capital commitments and co-investments since inception. Over the past 36 years, Oak Hill Capital and its predecessors have invested in approximately 100 private equity transactions across broad segments of the U.S. and global economies. Oak Hill Capital applies an industry-focused, theme-based approach to investing in the following sectors: Business Services, Industrials, Media & Communications, and Consumer. Oak Hill works actively in partnership with management to implement strategic and operational initiatives to create franchise value. For more information, please visit: www.oakhill.com.

Danielle has been an Impact Advisor for GroundForce Capital since 2023. In this role, she works with the fund’s portfolio companies to implement and achieve best practices across impact and ESG. Danielle supports GroundForce Capital’s Investment Team and its Investment Committee to integrate impact and provide educational support for the firm. In addition, Danielle assists GroundForce Capital’s portfolio companies with remediating any ESG issues and helping them expand on current ESG policies and impact metrics.

Danielle recently founded her consulting practice, Impact FWD [fwd.eco], where she supports investors as an impact operating partner, and brands as a fractional head of sustainability. In this role, she helps define and operationalize sustainability strategies across investments, portfolio companies, and brands. Current clients include Nespresso, Cabinet Health and Lulu and Georgia as well as advisory relationships with EQT Partners and rePurpose Global. Danielle has expertise in impact investment diligence as well as operating expertise across consumer products, packaging, waste/materials, circularity and supply chain.

GroundForce Capital is an investment management firm that backs high-potential companies seeking to improve the health and longevity of people and the planet. The firm provides capital, strategic guidance and operating expertise to visionary companies including Bobbie, Liquid Death, OWYN, Miyoko's Creamery, KinderFarms, Thistle, and Vive Organic. GroundForce Capital's leadership team is comprised of innovators behind leading food and beverage brands, such as ZICO Beverages, an early pioneer in the coconut water category acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 2013, and Health Warrior, a superfood company purchased by PepsiCo in 2018.

GroundForce Capital has offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. For more information about the Firm, visit GroundForceCapital.com[cts.businesswire.com].

Ryan Jones is the Private Equity Global and US Consulting leader at Deloitte Consulting, and US India Board member. He and his team work with the world's leading private capital firms to maximize the value of their investments and make a positive impact in the world. Ryan’s work encompasses strategy and diligence, outcome focused ‘hands on’ business, as well as digital and IT transformation of portfolio companies. He works closely with buyout funds and operating teams to create value in the assets they own.

Prior to leading Private Equity, Ryan led Deloitte Consulting’s Technology Industry, where he and the team worked with the world’s most influential (and up and coming) Technology companies across the software, platforms, semiconductor, hardware, and consumer technology sub-sectors. Before Technology Industry, Ryan led Deloitte’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications investment fund, Deloitte Digital Central Region, and several of Deloitte's largest client relationships.

Ryan ‘grew up’ in Consulting digitizing his clients’ businesses, turning the old and complicated into the modern and simple. He provided both ‘born in the cloud’, and 30+ year old Technology companies a leg up in their growth and transformation: from strategy and advice, to changing business and operating models to be more Digital, often underpinned by large scale IT enabled business/digital transformations and commercial technology product modernization programs.

Ryan is a pioneer, with a unique capability to get things done, experienced leading high growth businesses and $1b+ P&Ls.

A future where more people have access to opportunities for creating wealth—it’s the promise of human-centered capitalism. Deloitte’s professionals bring a broad and powerful perspective that is experience-driven, strategic, and constantly evolving. Whether you’re in private equity, hedge funds, or mutual funds, Deloitte’s Investment Management practice can help you turn challenges into opportunities in an everchanging marketplace.

Senior Operating Partner. The Riverside Company

Marc Jourlait is seasoned business executive, Private Equity Senior Operating Partner, Chairman of the Board, Board Member, and battle-tested consumer and tech turnaround global CEO.

Jourlait is the Senior Operating Partner at Riverside Private Equity Value Fund. He is Chairman of the Riverside portfolio companies SCRAM Systems, PFB and siffron. Jourlait was recently Chairman of the Board of Avenga, an Oaktree Capital portfolio company, that just sold to KKCG. Jourlait is also Operating Partner for Cathay Capital as well as Executive Chairman of the Board for IMT, one of Cathay Capital’s portfolio companies. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Electrosonic headquartered in London UK.

Before Riverside, Marc was CEO of Kodak Alaris where he stabilized and turned around the business portfolio preparing it for a divestiture. Prior to Kodak Alaris, Marc was Deputy CEO at Navico, a global leader in Marine Electronics, an Altor Private Equity owned portfolio company bought by Goldman Sachs in 2016. Before Navico, Jourlait was Vice President and General Manager of Bose Europe, where he ran the entire €1B European business for Bose.

Previously Jourlait held senior general management, product, and marketing positions over the course of his 35+ year career in some of the world’s leading companies including Apple, HP, Seagate, and Technicolor. With triple citizenship (France, USA, Canada), he resides in Manhattan and has lived and worked in a variety of countries, including France, the United States both in Silicon Valley and New York City, Japan, and Canada. Jourlait holds an MBA from ESCP Paris.

Raj Kushwaha joined Warburg Pincus in 2012 and serves as Co-Head of the Value Creation function. In addition to providing oversight for the Value Creation function, as the firm’s Chief Digital Officer, Raj is also responsible for product and technology diligence with prospective investments, as well as ongoing work with the firm's existing portfolio companies.

His work with portfolio companies is focused on identifying opportunities to leverage digital strategies and emerging technologies to create new growth platforms and disruptive business model opportunities. Mr. Kushwaha is a Director of Cyren, Encora (f/k/a Indecomm), and Arise. He also serves on the board of Nutrien and the Information Technology Committee of the Boards of Trustees of Mount Sinai. Raj brings over 30 years of experience in leading large-scale digital transformations, building commercial grade SaaS software platforms, and managing technology operations in Fortune 500 companies and Entrepreneurial late stage ventures. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Kushwaha held senior management positions at Zimmer Holdings Inc., Dell Computer Corporation, PepsiCo, First Data Corporation (FDC), Cummins Engine Company and Safway, Inc. He has been recognized as one of the top 100 IT innovators in the automotive/manufacturing industry, is the recipient of a CIO 100 innovation award, is a noted industry author Financial services & Payments, and has numerous patents in the field of disruptive services technologies.

Mr. Kushwaha holds an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT, an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and ISU; a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from India and completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) from Harvard University.

Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. The firm has more than $60 billion in private equity assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 200 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 19 private equity funds, which have invested more than $90 billion in over 930 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com.

Neil Kimber is a Principal and Consulting CTO at Accel¬-KKR Consulting Group. Within Accel-KKR, his responsibilities include working with deal teams during technical due diligence, aiding portfolio companies with specific technology initiatives and managing portfolio-wide technology programs.

Prior to joining the firm, Neil held leadership technology positions in a number of software and tech-enabled companies including PowerPlan, Fiserv and Kaplan. At PowerPlan, Neil led the technology organization and helped to grow the company leading to an enterprise sale from Thoma Bravo to Roper Technologies for $1.1 billion. Neil was CTO at Kaplan Learning Technologies, managing technology groups in North America, Europe and Africa. He was a part of the management team that led the business to an acquisition by Assima. At Fiserv, Neil was responsible for Engineering in the Risk and Compliance Division, providing solutions to banks with AUM $20 billion.

Earlier in his career Neil was a consultant at the Monitor Company (Monitor Deloitte).

Neil has an MBA in Management of Technology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an M.S. in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and B.S. in Computer Science from De Montfort University (UK)

Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with over $9 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and IT-enabled businesses, well-positioned for topline and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across a wide range of transaction types including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta and London.

Darlene Kober is a growth-oriented commercial leader with more than 25 years of experience accelerating profitable growth in high-performance, high-expectation organizations. Combining her commercial acumen with an engineering background, she provides her clients with the necessary processes and skills to realize transformational growth that accelerates profitable revenue increases, drives share gains, reduces costs, and improves profitability.

Darlene has both P&L and functional leadership experience with Fortune 200 multinational corporations including: Danaher Corporation, Baxter Healthcare, Morton International, and Air Products & Chemicals. Most recently, and prior to joining NEXT LEVEL Partners®, LLC, Darlene was SVP at MW Industries, Inc, where she led the commercial excellence processes for this $500M private equity owned industrial manufacturer. She has also led the commercial functions for multiple PE-owned manufacturers as an interim management consultant.

Darlene has developed and executed several advanced Commercial Excellence/Growth Tools as both a process owner and as a facilitator with companies in diverse industries such as medical devices, industrial manufacturing, chemicals, and process equipment. In addition, she is highly skilled and experienced leading the implementation of the Strategy Deployment Process (SDP).

Samples of her leadership include growing revenues at 3X the market; 20-50% top-line revenue increases; price increases of 15%; and gross margin increases of >8 points.

Darlene holds an MBA in Marketing and Management from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University.

Ajay Kutty (New York) is a member of the KKR Capstone team. Mr. Kutty partners with Americas Private Equity investment teams, focusing on technology-related investment diligence and portfolio company value creation via digital transformation and technology modernization. He also supports the development and management of KKR's global portfolio technology platform. Previously Mr. Kutty was Chief Product and Technology Officer at Symphony Talent, a leader in AI based Recruitment Marketing platform. Before that, he was Head of Enterprise Applications in CIO office at PTC, a global leader in CAD, PLM, IoT and AR. Prior to that, Mr. Kutty worked as a technology leader at Publicis Sapient, a global leader in digital transformations. Mr. Kutty earned his MBA from Columbia University and is a Bachelor of Engineering.

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Nick Leopard is the CEO and Founder of Accordion, the financial consulting firm uniquely focused on private equity. Under Nick’s leadership, Accordion has grown significantly since its founding in 2009. Rooted in data and technology, the firm now boasts more than 300 of the world’s premier private equity firms and their portfolio companies as clients, offering services spanning the entire CFO function (including Operational and Technical Accounting, Strategic Financial Planning and Analysis, CFO-Driven Transformation, CFO Technology, Transaction Execution, Data & Analytics, and Turnaround & Restructuring). Nick has also spearheaded the company’s geographic expansion, growing it from one office in New York City to 11 offices across the globe.

Nick’s tenure has also seen the functional expansion of Accordion’s CFO Technology and Data & Analytics practices, which, through a combination of organic growth and acquisition, has built Accordion into the premier digital-enablement partner for portfolio CFOs.

As CEO, Nick is a hands-on leader who continues to drive Accordion’s strategic vision and ambitious scaling efforts. Nick remains committed to new ways of serving the evolving needs of the office of the CFO, and equally passionate about providing talented professionals with a better way to work in finance.

Before founding Accordion, Nick was part of the investment team for BHC Interim Funding, L.P., a $200M mezzanine debt fund, which focuses on short-term investments in companies with $50-$500M of revenue. Prior to BHC, he was a member of the FIG Investment Banking Department of Bear, Stearns & Co. LLC.

Nick began his career at CapitalSource Finance (NYSE: CSE), where he focused on securing and analyzing senior and subordinated debt opportunities. During his time at CapitalSource, Nick built and maintained more than 300 relationships with private equity funds, senior lenders, and investment banks.

Nick is a widely recognized thought leader, entrepreneur, and growth company CEO who has been featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg, CFO and PE Hub. He has been selected as one of M&A Advisor’s “Top 40 Under 40” and was recognized as a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. A former lacrosse captain at Saint Joseph’s University, Nick graduated with a B.S. in Finance from the Haub School of Business.

Accordion

We are a financial consulting firm uniquely focused on private equity. Rooted in data and technology, our expertise lives at the intersection of sponsors and PE-backed CFOs. We created this space–and remain obsessed with creating value for clients. Our services span the entire CFO function (including Operational and Technical Accounting, Strategic Financial Planning and Analysis, CFO-Driven Transformation, CFO Technology, Transaction Execution, Data & Analytics, and Turnaround & Restructuring), and we are trusted by over 300 private equity firms and their portfolio companies to consistently drive value through tailored, hands-on solutions. Our headquarters are based in New York, and we have 11 offices across the globe.

Pierre is the Senior Vice President and Private Equity Division lead at Wpromote. Under his leadership, the division is responsible for partnership and performance marketing initiatives for private equity, growth investors, and venture capital clients and their respective portfolio companies. Prior to Wpromote, Pierre created and led a similar division for another performance marketing agency. Additionally, Pierre brings almost two decades of consulting and financial services experience, including over a decade with Goldman Sachs.

Wpromote is a data-focused marketing agency powered by our Challenger culture, deep business intelligence, and predictive Polaris platform. Our agile, outcome-first approach helps private equity firms and portfolio companies unlock unprecedented EBITDA potential, next-level growth, and immediate impact.

We partner with private equity firms in three ways: assessment (diligence), value creation (portfolio companies), and reporting (data).

We offer strategic, organizational, operational, technological, and creative guidance that drives efficiency and growth, leveraging our deep bench of cross-vertical experience to evaluate investments, manage full media strategies, or build new models for performance, depending on the partner’s specific needs.

Our work adds quantitative value to targets in as early as 180 days, giving our partners the power to de-risk investment choices, take advantage of more efficient opportunities, and accelerate performance and profitability across the portfolio.

Misha Logvinov is a Director (Senior Operating Partner) on the Mubadala Performance Partner team, based in New York City. Mubadala is a sovereign investor with $284 Billion AUM. Misha’s responsibilities include advising the Mubadala’s investment teams and portfolio companies on digital transformation. Prior to joining Mubadala, he was Managing Director and Head of Technology Strategy at EQT Group where he helped build and lead its digital operating practice. Previously, he was Group Vice President of Cloud Customer Success at Oracle, where he helped lead the company's transition to cloud and directly oversaw product adoption, customer retention, and growth of Oracle's Cloud Infrastructure business in North America. Prior to Oracle, Misha served in various senior executive roles at Lithium Technologies (a cloud software company acquired by Vista Equity Partners and rebranded as Khoros), including Chief Information Officer, Chief Customer Officer, and SVP of Business Development. During his tenure, Lithium grew its revenue 6x and scaled its digital platform to support over 100 million users across hundreds of leading brands. Misha also has over 20 years of experience in technology leadership roles developing, scaling and advising venture-funded startups in Silicon Valley. Misha has a Bachelor's degree from Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

Steve joined New State Capital Partners in 2022 with 15 years of experience in executive management and high-tech consulting. Steve has operational experience developing strategy and executing transformational solutions using modern technology across a range of industries including business services, financial services, hospitality, healthcare, and real estate.

Prior to New State, Steve was the Chief Information Officer at PAYOMATIC responsible for developing and implementing innovative tech value creation strategies and for leading the company’s digital transformation. Previously, Steve was with Modus Agency, a boutique consulting firm specializing in digital product development, where he led global teams to execute strategic initiatives for clients in a variety of industries.

Steve began his career at UBS Wealth Management in the information technology group where he worked on enterprise-wide software and infrastructure projects.

Steve received his undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and earned his M.B.A in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Stern School of Business.

We founded New State Capital to be more nimble, more decisive and more cooperative than bigger, institutional private investment firms.

We also think of ourselves as entrepreneurs, not just asset managers. In this context, we pride ourselves on our long-term outlook. We approach each potential investment as an opportunity to create a long lasting and valuable relationship. This is why our prior counterparties serve as our strongest advocates. Moreover, our firm started as an independent sponsor and as such we seek to support and provide services to independent sponsors.

Our success will be directly linked to the success of our portfolio companies individually. By contrast with other firms who have large, diverse portfolios, and who de-emphasize the importance of any given investment, our entrepreneurial approach maximizes the chances for shared success. This must-succeed attitude creates an alignment of interests with our management partners.

We have made a deliberate choice to employ an experienced team. Because our senior principals also execute our investments, we must be highly selective. This also allows us to be very decisive and flexible. We evaluate each company’s business and financial needs and create the structure that best fits the situation.

Critically, we are focused on growth. For example, we have executed fifteen add-on acquisitions – on average, nearly one for each platform company. We also try to balance our focus on growth with the realistic expectations of inevitable challenges.

Lee joined AEA Investors in 2019 and serves as an Operating Partner. In addition to providing oversight for the digital value creation function, Lee is also responsible for digital diligence with prospective investments as well as ongoing work with the firm’s existing portfolio companies. He is primarily focused on working with portfolio companies to assess, develop and identify opportunities to build value creation via digital initiatives.

Prior to AEA, Lee most recently served as Vice President of North America at Alibaba Group, leading the company’s North American initiatives. Prior to Alibaba, Lee was the first Global Head of Travel at Facebook, where he was responsible for developing the company’s monetization and growth strategy. Previously, Lee held various executive positions at Expedia, including overseeing APAC and North America where he led many supply optimization initiatives. Earlier in his career, Lee was part of the start-up office for eBay UK, where he helped drive eBay’s market penetration with several initiatives across supply, product, digital payments and platform trust and safety. Lee started his career with Warner Music in London.

Lee studied at Warwick Business School where he earned an MBA. He also earned an MA from Sheffield Hallam University in Media Production.

AEA Investors LP was founded in 1968 by the Rockefeller, Mellon and Harriman family interests and S.G. Warburg & Co. as a private investment vehicle for a select group of industrial family offices with substantial assets. AEA has an extraordinary global network built over many years which includes leading industrial families, business executives and leaders; many of whom invest with AEA as active individual investors and/or join its portfolio company boards or act in other advisory roles. Today, AEA’s approximately 100 investment professionals operate globally with offices in New York, Stamford, San Francisco, London, Munich and Shanghai. The firm manages funds that have nearly $15 billion of invested and committed capital including the leveraged buyouts of middle market companies and small business companies, growth capital and mezzanine and senior debt investments.

As Managing Director, Operations, Lane works with investment and management teams to assess new investments and define and execute value-creation priorities. Lane is based in New York and joined the OMERS Private Equity team in 2022. Prior to joining OMERS, Lane was the Global Head of Financials, Business Services and Education for the Industry Value Creation team at Partners Group and, before that, helped build the Portfolio Strategy & Operations team for DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. She also has held various operations and strategy roles at Ropes & Gray, JetBlue Airways, American Express, Delta Air Lines and Bain & Company.

OMERS Private Equity manages private equity assets for OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees in Ontario. OMERS holds C$121 billion in net assets, and net private equity assets of over C$19.8 billion, as at December 31, 2021. OMERS Private Equity has been an active private equity investor for over 20 years and its portfolio currently consists of investments in 20 industry-leading companies headquartered across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia.

Todd Miller joined Risk International in 2015 as Chief Growth Officer. By 2016, he was promoted to President and, in July 2017, named CEO. As CEO, Todd is a key member of Risk International’s development team and board, primarily responsible for leading the company’s commercial activities and spearheading sales and marketing initiatives. Todd is also instrumental in identifying opportunities for expanding Risk International's service offerings, providing strategic vision and guidance, and setting long-term goals for the organization.

Todd has over 20 years of experience supporting private equity funds and their portfolio companies with their risk and benefits needs. Before joining Risk International, Todd spent 15 years overseeing risk management and benefits services at Oswald Companies. He finished his tenure as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Columbus, Ohio office.

Risk International is an independent insurance, risk management consultant, and employee benefits advisor, delivering solutions through data and analytics. With no ties to the insurance industry, we align exclusively with our clients, providing unbiased support in navigating the changing insurance market. Our independent client-centric approach is evident in our transparent fee-for-service model, with 100% of fees directly paid by clients, eliminating conflicts of interest.

Recognizing that companies invest in insurance to shield themselves from financial losses, we understand the intricacies of securing appropriate coverage can be overwhelming. Leveraging our expertise and resources, we collaborate with clients to develop optimized insurance programs that are practical and cost-effective, ensuring that the insurance programs align precisely with our client's unique needs.

riskinternational.com

Sean is a former NY-based private equity partner turned entrepreneur, founder and CEO. While in private equity, Sean and his peers in the PE industry experienced significant and growing pressures to devise new ways to more effectively assess opportunities and build value in companies under intensely competitive environments. Sean leveraged his years of experience investing in and supporting growth in data, network and information businesses to found BluWave and solve his own problem.

Sean is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Sachem Inc. and previously served on the Board of Directors of AGDATA, MD Buyline, Spectro Scientific, Ampac Packaging, and Alpha Sintered Metals.

Prior to founding BluWave, Sean was in the private equity industry for nearly 20 years, most recently serving as Partner and Member of the Investment Committee of SFW Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm specializing in information, data, and network enabled businesses. Sean received his MBA from Columbia Business School and BSBA from Georgetown University.

BluWave is the business builders’ network for private equity grade needs. BluWave innovatively combines technology, data, AI and human ingenuity to expertly connect businesses with proven operators across due diligence, value creation, and prep for sale. The BluWave Vetted™ network is an invite-only ecosystem of best-in-class individuals and service providing firms. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, BluWave ranks as one of America’s fastest growing companies and today serves more than 500 leading private equity firms and thousands of proactive businesses. Visit www.BluWave.net to learn more.

Brenda Morris, CGMA, CPA, MBA, is currently a partner with CSuite Financial Partners, a financial executive services firm. Brenda is an strategic and operationally focused executive and board advisor, with extensive experience as a CFO/COO in public and closely held companies including entrepreneurial start-ups, high-growth and mature organizations.

Brenda is on the Board of Directors of Xponential Fitness ("XPOF"-NASDAQ), iHerb and Boot Barn Holdings ("BOOT"-NYSE), where she chairs the audit committees and serves as Lead Independent Director for XPOF. She was formally a member of the Board of Directors for Duluth Trading Company, where she served on Audit Committee and Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors of Ideal Image Holdings and she serves on the advisory board of Asarasi Water. Brenda is on the Board of National Association of Corporate Directors, PSW Chapter, and formally on the Board of Regents of Pacific Lutheran University. Prior to her current work, Brenda served as CFO for a number of retailers, consumer products and lifestyle organizations, including Apex Parks, Hot Topic, Torrid, 5.11 Tactical, Zumiez, K2 Sports and Icicle Seafoods.

She is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University and earned her MBA from Seattle University.

Kristin’s passion is to help people and organizations realize and attain their highest potential by building inspiring and effective leadership and fostering a healthy culture. Her diverse career experience spans both consulting and executive positions as an operator in human capital, strategy, and product functions with public, private and PE owned organizations. Kristin has built both a deep understanding of leadership constructs and development approaches, and expertise with applying these practices as a business leader. She has presented at national and international professional conferences and is a lecturer and instructor at Duke University. Kristin brings a unique perspective to Entromy where she provides executive oversight for enterprise accounts, ensures global customer value, and advises on strategic product and growth initiatives. With Kristin’s expert guidance, the Entromy team helps clients swiftly extract deep insights across their portfolio companies, identify crucial risks to value creation, and enable time sensitive board level decisions.

Entromy is the leading strategy and organizational insights technology company and platform focused on helping Private Equity owned companies achieve results. We provide cutting-edge, actionable data and executive assessment that helps companies proactively understand readiness to execute and achieve key value drivers (innovation, scaling, M&A integration, commercial excellence, finance effectiveness, etc.) while identifying potential risks that could impact growth and value creation. The Entromy Insights Platform leverages cutting-edge natural language processing capabilities to synthesize insights for real-time organizational health visibility to support business due diligence, PMI, business transformations, rapid growth of distributed teams, and overall business performance.

As co-founder and managing partner of Acertitude, Kevin is dedicated to unlocking the full potential of today's leading organizations by discovering, connecting, and empowering brilliant leaders.

With a 25+ year career in executive search, he has earned the reputation as a trusted advisor to global board members, CEOs, and C-suite executives, having led more than 2,000 searches for prominent companies and private equity firms worldwide.

Acertitude’s success builds on Kevin’s establishment and leadership of O’Neill Consulting, an Acertitude company, which now specializes in senior management search, which he founded in 1996. His early career included roles at investment banks like Merrill Lynch and Kidder, Peabody & Co., as well as a senior position at a major search firm in Philadelphia. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Marietta College.

Kevin serves on the board of Avishkar Holdings, a biotech investment firm, and was a board member and founder of Cargenix, a clinical-stage CAR-t cell immunotherapy company acquired by a strategic buyer. He is actively involved in public service as a trustee of his alma mater and the Bryant University College of Business Dean’s Council, as well as a director of the World War II Foundation board. Previously, Kevin chaired the boards of the American Heart Association and the YMCA of Greater Providence.

Outside of work, Kevin prioritizes quality time with his family and community. A health and wellness advocate, he maintains an aggressive active outdoor lifestyle and is passionate about skiing, cycling, and rucking.

Acertitude is the executive search firm unleashing human potential for private equity firms and portfolio companies globally. We recruit Board, CEO, and C-level talent that transform businesses, teams, and performance. Our approach to search is built on taking extreme ownership of our client’s needs. We get closer to clients, move at your speed, and turn insight into impact.

https://www.acertitude.com/

Pat Petitti is the co-founder and CEO of Catalant, which he started in 2013 as a class project at Harvard Business School and has since grown into the premier provider of agile consulting services to the Fortune 500. Petitti is also co-author of a book titled, Reimagining Work: Strategies to Disrupt Talent, Lead Change, and Win with a Flexible Workforce, which lays out a vision and path for a new relationship between global companies and talent. In 2016, he received an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the New England region. Prior to co-founding Catalant, Petitti was a consultant at negotiation and conflict management consulting firm Vantage Partners, and before that at Booz Allen Hamilton. Petitti received his Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Catalant Technologies is the creator of Consulting 2.0 and the leader in on-demand access to the world’s best independent consultants and teams. Trusted by hundreds of leading private equity firms and their portfolio companies for flexible, fit-to-purpose consulting, Catalant's platform gives firms and their portfolio companies access to a network of thousands of experienced business professionals, matching them to pre-vetted professionals who have solved their specific problems before.

Michael recognizes that an effective response requires an integrated approach with blended skillsets across the incident command, forensics, containment, recovery, and remediation work-streams. He has almost 25 years of technology and cybersecurity experience in both industry & global consulting.

After spending many years building and leading programs to defend GE’s intellectual property against advanced threats, he co-founded managed detection and response (MDR) firm Morphick, which was recognized by Gartner as a “pioneer” in the MDR services market and ranked among the top firms to hold the NSA CIRA accreditation for incident response services.

Following the acquisition of Morphick by Booz Allen Hamilton, Michael led cybersecurity practices for global consulting firms, advising clients on cybersecurity strategy, incident response, and M&A transactions.

Enduir Cyber is the leading cybersecurity firm focused on Private Equity value creation.

In today’s market of fast paced transactions, cross industry investments, and a focus on technology enablement; Private Equity firms need a cybersecurity partner that understands the complexities of the M&A lifecycle.

Enduir’s Private Equity Portfolio Resilience (PEPR) Program™ delivers value from pre-close diligence all the way through sell-side preparation. We closely tailor each PEPR program with the Operating Partner to mitigate risk and build Portfolio cyber resilience throughout the investment period. When cyber incidents do occur, Enduir provides a white-glove Incident Command service to respond, recover, and get the PortCo back to business.

Experience:

Mr. Rodriguez is a Managing Director on the Investment Team, responsible for deal origination and investment underwriting.

Prior to Grain, Mr. Rodriguez served as President and CEO of Spirit MTA REIT, a net lease real estate investment trust (REIT) with approximately $2.5 billion in AUM. Previously, he held positions across Morgan Stanley’s Global Capital Markets division, including developed and emerging markets roles.

Education:

Mr. Rodriguez holds a B.S. in Engineering and Economics from the United States Naval Academy.

About Grain Management:

Founded in 2007, Grain Management is a leading, global investment firm. We believe broadband and digital infrastructure are foundational to the tech-enabled transformation occurring across all industries and facets of society. Our global team of seasoned and diverse professionals share a collective passion for the power of connectivity to strengthen communities and unlock human potential for all.

We specialize in digital infrastructure and are a trusted solutions provider to the broadband and communications industry. Our unique combination of sector knowledge, experience as operators, and disciplined analytical approach guide our differentiated investment strategy across fiber networks, data centers, wireless spectrum, cell towers, as well as managed and infrastructure services.

Zorian is an Operating Partner at Charlesbank Capital, with a focus on tech GTM and Revenue Growth. He has a track record as a CRO in mid-market SaaS companies, scaling revenue from $20M to over $100M. His career started in Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch within the Financial Institutions Group (FIG), participating in $100+ billion in M&A and financing transactions, and also has worked on buy-side software deal teams investing in technology companies. Zorian has been a speaker at PE conferences, including PEI and ACG, on Capital-Efficient Revenue Growth and has been featured in the WSJ, as well as Salesforce and Hubspot discussing CEO & CRO strategies for growing companies faster and capital-efficiently. He earned a Finance degree with minors in Applied Mathematics and also in Computer Science from Lehigh University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Tim leads client strategy at Upwork where he helps leaders transform their businesses through the adoption of on demand talent solutions. He began his career as an early stage member of Mark Cuban's broadcast.com and, once acquired, he became the chief solutions officer at Yahoo!. He is also the author of five books, including the New York Times bestseller, Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends.

Upwork is the world’s work marketplace connecting millions of businesses with independent talent around the globe. Help your portfolio companies find the on-demand talent they need because without effective execution, strategy only gets you so far.

Learn more about our partnership opportunities at upwork.com/enterprise/private-equity

Mr Satchell joined CD＆R in 2020. Prior to CD＆R, he spent twenty-five years in software and technology industries spanning five different CXO roles. Most recently, Mr Satchell served as CTO of Zume Inc., building AI, logistics and robotic systems to improve sustainability in the food supply chain. Prior to Zume, he served as chief product officer and head of consumer engineering at Comcast, responsible for product, design, and technology for consumer video, high speed data/Wi-Fi, IoT, and home security. Previously, Mr Satchell was CTO of Nike, helping to build their digital and direct-to-consumer businesses, and CTO and EVP of R＆D for IGT, the global leader in casino systems and entertainment. He started his executive career at Microsoft where he helped to build and ship Xbox 360 and was CTO of the interactive entertainment business. Mr. Satchell has a B.Sc. (Hons), computing, D.I.S., from Loughborough University.

Founded in 1978, Clayton, Dubilier ＆ Rice (CD＆R) is a private investment firm with a strategy predicated on building stronger, more profitable businesses. Since inception, CD＆R has managed the investment of more than $45 billion USD in 120 businesses representing a broad range of industries with an aggregate transaction value of more than $188 billion. The firm has offices in New York and London.

Brian Slobodow is an Operating Partner of Operational Resource Group, LLC ("ORG")*. Brian advises the firm and portfolio companies in a broad range of supply chain and procurement issues. Prior to joining ORG, Brian was an Operating Executive with Golden Gate Capital. He formerly served as Chief Operating Officer of Atrium Windows, Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Silica, and Chief Operating Officer of Neways International, all of which are current or former Golden Gate Capital portfolio companies. Prior to joining Golden Gate Capital, Brian held multiple leadership positions within Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products and was a Principal with A.T. Kearney.

HGGC is a leading middle-market private equity firm with over $5.4 billion in cumulative capital commitments. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., HGGC is distinguished by its Advantaged Investing approach that enables the firm to source and acquire scalable businesses through partnerships with management teams, founders and sponsors who reinvest alongside HGGC, creating a strong alignment of interests. Since its inception in 2007, HGGC has completed more than 200 platform investments, add-on acquisitions, recapitalizations and liquidity events with an aggregate transaction value of over $30 billion. More information, including a complete list of current and former portfolio companies, is available at www.hggc.com.

Shivani joined Charlesbank as an advisory director in 2018 to partner with portfolio company CEOs. Her mission is simple -- to accelerate growth and drive digital transformation. Shivani focuses on four key areas: eCommerce, digital marketing, analytics, and technology. She also leads the cybersecurity initiatives across the firm.

Shivani joined the firm from a Charlesbank portfolio company, FullBeauty Brands, where she served as executive vice president and chief digital officer. Previously, she was an operating adviser for Apax Partners leading the digital practice. Prior to Apax, she was multichannel director of New Look, driving a turnaround for the fashion business. She has held senior management roles and directorships at a host of major brands in the US and Europe, including Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, Expedia and Voyages-SNCF.

Shivani holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from London Business School. She lives in New York City. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, sailing and diving. She is also a mentor for the Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship program and a guest lecturer at London Business School in the marketing and analytics departments.

Founded in 1998, Charlesbank Capital Partners is a private investment firm with more than $15 billion of cumulative capital raised since inception. The team has a long history of working together, a deep specialization in the middle market and experience investing over multiple business cycles. Known for its consistent, disciplined approach, Charlesbank invests primarily in North America through its flagship private equity, opportunistic credit and technology opportunities strategies, which leverage Charlesbank’s brand and collective insights, resources and networks. Charlesbank is guided by its mission to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns through a best-in-class team and culture. The firm has more than 130 staff members and offices in Boston and New York.

Tony Totta currently serves as Executive Vice President at eShipping, a leading logistics company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Tony brings over two decades of experience in corporate leadership and private equity relationships.

Upon joining eShipping in 2009 in business development, Tony has played instrumental roles in the company’s growth. In 2011, Tony assumed leadership of eShipping’s Client Services division, enhancing

operational efficiency and employee development frameworks. In 2013, Tony spearheaded the development and launch of eShipping Exchange, a pivotal partnership sales channel. Today, as Executive Vice President, Tony embodies the principles of purpose-driven leadership and holistic personal growth. His focus extends beyond traditional sales respon