Suzanne lives in Chicago with her husband and three children and is an outdoor and sports enthusiast who enjoys golfing and fishing with her family.
Nigel Travis transformed Dunkin’ Brands during his tenure as CEO (2009–2018), expanding its global footprint and increasing franchise profitability. Previously, he held leadership roles at Blockbuster, Papa John’s, and Burger King. He is the author of The Challenge Culture, highlighting his leadership philosophy. He is also a board member of Advanced Auto Parts, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Servpro.
Dan joined CD&R in 2023 after holding senior positions in commercial insurance and insurance brokerage across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East for more than four decades, most recently as President and CEO of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC). Dan held a series of senior leadership roles at MMC, including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh, interim CEO of Mercer, and Group President and Chief Operating Officer before becoming President and CEO in 2013. Earlier in his career, Dan acted as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Willis Risk Solutions business and served in senior roles at AIG, including leading its UK and Ireland business. For 10 years Dan served as the Chairman of the US Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Partnership for New York City. In 2024, Dan was appointed an honorary Most Excellent Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his services to UK/US trade and investment. Dan currently serves on the MetLife Board.
Sanjay Dholakia joined Warburg Pincus in 2022, after working with the firm as a Senior Operating Advisor for the prior three years, and is a Senior Vice President. Sanjay most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for Marketo, through its growth phase, IPO, and acquisition by Vista Equity Partners. He previously held go-to-market leadership roles, ranging from GM to CEO to CMO at enterprise software companies SumTotal Systems, Crowd Factory, and Lithium Technologies. Sanjay began his career as an advisor at McKinsey & Company and Anderson Consulting. He holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Strategy and Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Brian Moynihan leads a team of more than 210,000 employees dedicated to making financial lives better for people, companies of every size, and institutional investors across the United States and around the world. Under his direction, Bank of America continues to be recognized as a leader in financial services. In 2024, the company was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Companies and appeared on PEOPLE’S 2024 100 Companies that Care list. Bank of America also appears on Forbes magazine’s list for World’s Best Employers, as well as Fortune magazine’s list of World’s Most Admired Companies and Best Companies to Work For. The company has recently been named World’s Best Bank by Global Finance in 2023 and by Euromoney magazine in 2022, and has also been ranked four times on LinkedIn’s Top 50 Companies in the U.S. list.
Moynihan participates in several organizations that focus on economic and market trends, including the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics Initiative (chair), the Financial Services Forum, the Bank Policy Institute, the Business Roundtable, The Clearing House Association (chair), the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable (co-chair), the Catalyst Board of Directors, the Council on Competitiveness Board and the Business Council. He also is chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, which was founded by His Majesty King Charles III, then The Prince of Wales, in 2020.
Moynihan serves as chair of the company’s Global Opportunity and Inclusion Council, as a member of the advisory council for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Appeal of Conscience Board of Trustees. He also works with public officials, businesses and civic leaders at the local level through his participation on the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and the Partnership for Rhode Island.
In addition, Moynihan is the chancellor of the Corporation of Brown University, a volunteer role that leads the 54-member Brown Corporation. Prior to that, he was a member of the Brown University Corporation’s Board of Fellows for eight years after having served on the Board of Trustees from 2010 to 2016.
Paul Aversano is a Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), the Global Practice Leader of the firm’s Global Transaction Advisory Group, and maintains executive oversight of the firm’s U.S. Corporate Transactions Group.
For over 30 years, Mr. Aversano has led both buy-side and sell-side financial and accounting due diligence projects for complex public and private company transactions, as well as transactions in the capital markets.
Ted Bililies is an internationally recognized expert on leadership and organization development and the Chief Talent Officer of AlixPartners. Ted launched the first commercial practice in leadership and human capital at AlixPartners which advises investors, CEOs, and boards on the selection and development of leaders and the alignment of culture for maximum and sustainable value creation. Ted’s career spans three decades as a psychologist, human resources executive, management consultant, and executive coach. He holds academic degrees from Loyola University of Chicago and Harvard University. Ted taught at Harvard University for many years, is currently on the Executive Education faculty of the Harvard Business School and is a board member of the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis. 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.
David Cochran is a Partner at JM Search and a member of the firm’s Technology Practice. He brings more than 25 years of experience advising private equity and venture investors, and their portfolio companies across the technology, services, and investment management sectors on C-suite executive recruitment. David partners closely with clients to assess, attract, and develop top-performing leaders, with a particular focus on people, talent, and go-to-market functions.
Prior to joining JM Search, David served as a Partner at several global executive search firms, including True Search, where he helped build and lead the firm’s private equity portfolio company coverage model. Earlier in his career, he spent more than five years in senior HR and talent roles at Nuveen Investments, supporting the CEO and CHRO in building the firm’s newly formed global investment management business. David began his executive search career at Spencer Stuart, following several years trading fixed income securities.
David holds an undergraduate degree from Yale University, where he was a member of the Varsity Men’s Hockey and Lacrosse teams. He and his wife live in Connecticut, where they raised their son and daughter.
Krishna’s expertise sits at the intersection of strategic growth, innovation, operating model redesign, and M&A. He has supported financial institutions in executing complex transformations, redefining operating models, and future-proofing revenue generation.
Krishna is a trusted advisor to the C-Suite, boards, and senior leaders at many of the world’s leading financial institutions. He partners with them to shape and execute strategies that deliver sustained revenue growth and improved profitability. His ability to connect strategic insight with analytical rigor and real-world execution is well recognized across asset management, capital markets, corporate banking, fintech, and specialty finance.
He is a frequent speaker and moderator at leading industry conferences and executive forums, including CFA Society, Institutional Investor, and SIFMA. He is also a recognized thought leader, having authored white papers and executive insights on emerging topics such as intelligent automation.
Krishna holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Ms. Holland has led more than 300 commercial diligence and growth engagements across consumer and retail, beauty and personal care, consumer health, e-commerce and DTC (direct-to-customer), business information services, B2B software and services, residential services, and other tech-enabled sectors.
In addition to her client work, Ms. Holland has helped build and scale A&M’s US Commercial Due Diligence platform, driving quality standards, capability development, and cross-industry integration. She is particularly focused on embedding analytics and data-driven approaches into diligence and portfolio value creation.
Prior to joining A&M, Ms. Holland spent 6.5 years with Bain & Company’s Private Equity Group, where she led the Beauty & Personal Care vertical within the practice and advised investors across the consumer ecosystem. Earlier in her career, she was with EY-Parthenon, where she focused on private equity strategy and transaction advisory and helped expand the firm’s global delivery capabilities.
Ms. Holland earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Ash Kolady is a Partner at JM Search and a member of the firm’s Industrial Practice. He partners with public and private boards to recruit CEOs, COOs, and CFOs for industrial companies in the machinery, automotive, building products and industrial services market segments.
Prior to joining JM Search, Ash covered the industrial segment for Egon Zehnder and True Search. As a former COO of a diversified industrial company, Ash brings real-world P&L leadership and hands-on operational experience to help assess and recruit talent. He started his career as an engineer at General Motors and later led multiple functional roles at Eaton Corporation. He led Corporate Development for AZZ incorporated, leading the rollup of hot-dip galvanizing, and later led a portfolio of products and services businesses as the COO.
Ash earned a degree in engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Michigan State University.
Austin S. Lilling focuses on issues relating to executive compensation arrangements and employee benefit plans. He provides comprehensive counsel to senior executives, management teams, boards, key stakeholders, and employers on the design, negotiation, implementation, and administration of employment agreements; severance agreements; change in control arrangements; corporate and partnership equity and phantom equity compensation arrangements; qualified and nonqualified deferred compensation plans; welfare plans; retention; incentive; and other compensation and benefits arrangements.
Austin has substantial knowledge of ERISA, corporate, and tax issues relating to benefits and compensation arrangements, including under Internal Revenue Code Sections 409A, 457A, 162(m), 280G, and 83, and strives to maximize tax efficiency for, while avoiding the potential for punitive tax consequences to, his clients.
He advises on benefits, compensation, and employee matters in transactional settings, including in private and public mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings, and investment fund acquisitions and dispositions, and has experience representing various parties to such transactions.
Throughout his career, Austin has been involved with many of the country’s most significant financial restructurings. Private equity and hedge fund clients rely on Austin for guidance on key employee compensation arrangements and those covering portfolio company management.
Bhavin is a Partner in Simon-Kucher’s North American B2B practice based in New York City. For the past 18 years, Bhavin has supported clients in boosting their top line growth by developing and implementing growth strategies, value-oriented pricing concepts, and designing programs that optimize sales effectiveness.
Bhavin has deep expertise in M&A growth strategy, sales force effectiveness, pricing strategy, and process optimization. Bhavin has successfully led 15 pre-deal merger integration projects. He has guided management teams through large, complex scale transformations. He has served a broad base of B2B clients, and understands the complex environment within which B2B companies and intermediaries transact.
He has coached management teams of leading companies in the space to transform their businesses and increase their profitability by formulating business unit strategy, simplifying product portfolios, optimizing channels, restructuring list prices and optimizing discounts across project quoted work, and buying programs. He also has experience in digital topics, including the application of recurring revenue models, and two-sided marketplaces.
Prior to joining Simon-Kucher, Bhavin worked at a consultancy, where his primary focus was on pre-deal and integration planning for Mergers and Acquisitions. He is a frequent guest lecturer on pricing and marketing topics for full time MBA programs at Harvard Business School and Columbia Business School. He graduated with degrees in Economics and Finance from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia (USA).
As the co-lead of the Americas Private Equity practice, Jason drives transformation programs for private equity portfolio companies, achieving tangible and measurable commercial and operational improvements on accelerated timelines. He has 25 years of experience (including 6 years in India and 4 years in Southeast Asia and Europe).
Jason has taken interim and permanent executive roles to lead dramatic EBITDA improvements in technology and business services organizations across the globe. In particular, Jason has led global shared service operations, global market expansions, and cross-border acquisitions. Jason is a recognized expert and contributor to Harvard Business Review and has earned an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Key Engagements:
Ms. Pearsons brings 20 years of professional services and transaction experience, including nearly 15 years dedicated to private equity commercial diligence. She has led more than 150 buy-side diligence engagements across consumer, retail, commerce infrastructure, and vertical software, advising investors on underwriting growth across direct-to-consumer, wholesale, retail, franchise, and platform-enabled models.
Ms. Pearsons’ experience spans branded consumer businesses, omnichannel retailers, franchise systems, and related service and technology providers across health and wellness, apparel, food and beverage, and premium and specialty brands. She has also evaluated vertical and horizontal software and payments platforms that support B2C and B2B commerce environments.
In addition to her client work, Ms. Pearsons co-leads A&M’s US Commercial Due Diligence platform, driving capability development, cross-functional, and cross-sector integration as the practice grows.
Prior to joining A&, Ms. Pearsons spent 14 years with Bain & Company in Boston, where she most recently served as a Partner in the firm’s Private Equity, Consumer, and Retail practices. She led Bain’s Consumer Health and Apparel & Luxury subsectors within the Private Equity Group, and advised investors and corporate clients on commercial due diligence and growth strategy engagements.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Pearsons worked in investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, focusing on M&A and capital markets transactions.
Ms. Pearsons earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Patrick Rehfield focuses on matters related to executive compensation, payroll tax, and employee fringe benefits. He advises private and public companies on designing and implementing nonqualified retirement plans, equity compensation plans, and executive compensation arrangements. He also counsels publicly traded companies on reporting and compliance matters involving the SEC, with a focus on proxy and disclosure issues, executive compensation, and corporate governance. He advises public and private companies on employee benefit issues in mergers and acquisitions, including executive compensation matters for senior management.
Patrick also advises companies of all sizes on the design and implementation of employment agreements, retention agreements, and change in control agreements. He represents senior management teams in leveraged buyouts, and senior-level executives in compensation package negotiations. He has particular experience in the application of sections 162(m), 280G, and 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.
Patrick also maintains an active payroll tax and fringe benefit practice that focuses on corporate and payroll tax audits, penalty abatements, refund claims, IRS ruling requests, and multistate tax and withholding issues.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, he was a member of the tax section of a US-based law firm.
Dan Rohr, CFA, is Head of Equity Research for Morningstar, a leading independent investment research provider known for its focus on economic moats. Before assuming his current role in 2019, Rohr led the department’s team of North America-based equity research analysts. Previously, he was director of basic materials equity research and coordinated the department’s research on the Chinese economy.
Prior to joining Morningstar in 2007, Rohr worked in consulting. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and international studies from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
Charlie Tice is Travelers’ National Private Equity Practice Leader within Business Insurance, based in the New York metropolitan area. With more than 20 years of experience helping businesses manage complex risks, Charlie drives countrywide strategy for Travelers’ PE practice representing the company’s interests with private equity firms and their portfolio companies, overseeing portfolio management across Travelers’ PE client base, and providing executive-level support for enterprise-wide PE strategies.
Charlie builds and maintains national relationships with broker partners to deliver insurance solutions at deal speed — helping protect investments, strengthen portfolio performance, and build investor confidence. Working with the broader Travelers team, he leads efforts to establish production and profitability metrics across the Private Equity practice.
Prior to his current role, Charlie led a team of Commercial Accounts underwriters in the New York metropolitan region and served as Managing Director of Travelers’ Construction division. He began his career at Gallagher. Charlie holds a BA in Business Finance from Moravian University.
Suzanne Yoon is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on control investments in lower middle market companies in the manufactured products, business services and consumer industries. She currently serves as Chair of the Investment Committee for Kinzie and as Board Chair of Kinzie’s portfolio companies Chelsea Lighting, GT Golf Holdings, Arctic Industries and Fraser Steel. In 2017, Suzanne launched Kinzie as part of her long-standing vision to advance the use of technology and innovation to help companies unlock value. Kinzie’s operational focus and advancement of technology leads to improved efficiency and new avenues for growth within Kinzie’s diverse portfolio of companies. In 2020, Kinzie was recognized by the Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN) as the North American Female Founded Firm of the Year.
Suzanne has over 25 years of experience investing in and advising middle market companies. Before founding Kinzie, she held senior roles at Versa Capital Management, CIT Group and LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO. She also held positions in the Special Assets Group and Restructuring Advisory at LaSalle Bank and Ernst and Young’s Corporate Finance group, respectively.
A recognized leader in both the business and civic spheres, Suzanne has extensive experience serving on private company and civic boards including the Chicago’s John G. Shedd Aquarium and the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. Suzanne is on the Steering Committee of the Women’s Association of Venture & Equity (WAVE) and is active with the Private Equity Women’s Investor Network (PEWIN). She is a member of the Illinois Venture Capital Association and The Chicago Network.
Suzanne earned her B.A. in Economics from the University of Iowa and is an Executive Scholar of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Mergers & Acquisitions named Yoon one of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023; The Wall Street Journal recognized her as a Top Female Deal Maker Shaping Private Equity’s Present and Future in 2019 and Chicago United named her one of their Business Leaders of Color in 2021.
Suzanne lives in Chicago with her husband and three children and is an outdoor and sports enthusiast who enjoys golfing and fishing with her family.
David B. Zelikoff represents and counsels clients in a range of matters related to employee benefit plans and executive compensation agreements. He advises on the design and implementation of tax-qualified, nonqualified deferred compensation, equity compensation, and health and welfare plans, and he helps clients draft and negotiate executive employment agreements, severance arrangements, and change-in-control arrangements. David’s clients include tax-exempt organizations, and public/private Fortune 500 and emerging growth companies in the technology and life sciences fields.
David also represents benefit plan sponsors in audit and corrective action matters before the IRS, counsels plan sponsors and committees on ERISA fiduciary matters, and advises on matters related to the IRS code (IRC), including Section 409A.
In mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and other major transactions, he helps negotiate employee benefit and equity terms, and advises on the application of Section 280G of the IRC. He also works with public companies in connection with the disclosure and approval of their equity and executive compensation programs, including issues related to Section 162(m) of the IRC.
David represents ERISA plan and public pension plan sponsors investing in private equity and hedge funds or in direct co-investments in portfolio companies. He also advises on prohibited transaction rules related to IRA investments in alternative investment vehicles.
In private equity buyouts, he has negotiated the terms and conditions of executive management team equity and employment agreements and the terms and conditions of employment and separation from employment agreements on behalf of individual executives.
He is also an adjunct professor at Villanova University, where he teaches executive compensation planning during the summer session.
Elizabeth Broomfield is the Managing Partner at Aquitaine Capital, a middle market private equity firm based in New York City. She was previously an investor at the Carlyle Group in their flagship U.S. Buyout fund, at Stonecourt Capital where she led the investment team, and with Hg Capital investing in growth and buyout deals. She graduated with distinction from Yale University with a double major in Electrical Engineering and Ethics, Politics, and Economics, earned a masters from the London School of Economics, and received her JD/MBA from Columbia University, where she graduated with highest honors as a Kent Scholar and with Dean’s Honors. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
As the CEO of Equitable Capital, Andrew Glaze brings a wealth of expertise to the realm of media private equity. At West Point Andrew developed discipline and leadership skills. After serving as a Captain in the United States Army, including a tour in Baghdad, he attended Columbia Business School, focusing on Value Investing under luminaries like Warren Buffet.
A Chartered Financial Analyst, Andrew began his finance career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch. Andrew’s investment leadership roles at Claar Advisors and Standard General deepened his understanding of the industry. His contributions extend to board service on NASDAQ:MDIA and NASDAQ:NCMI, reflecting his commitment to shaping the media landscape through astute decision-making and strategic leadership. Andrew’s combination of execution experience, network and vision drives success in media private equity.
Mr. Kim is the founding partner of investment firm Standard General and is the firm’s Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer. Standard General owns a majority stake in MediaCo Holding (NASDAQ:MDIA). He is the Chairman of Bally’s Corporation (NYSE:BALY) and has served as an independent Director since 2016. He has been investing in special situations strategies since 1997, starting at Bankers Trust Company, as a Principal at Och-Ziff Capital Management, and a Partner at Cyrus Capital Management. Mr. Kim is currently a Director of Intralot SA (GA:INLOT). He is a Director of Pursuit (fka Coalition for Queens), Vice Chairman and Director of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and Director and former President of the Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association.
Christine Ann Miller has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the board of Melinta Therapeutics since August 2020. Ms. Miller is a global pharmaceutical veteran with more than 20 years of experience in life sciences. Most recently, Ms. Miller led the global and U.S. product portfolio for Sandoz, a $10 billion division of Novartis, where she was accountable for transitioning the portfolio toward- rapid-growth and higher-margin segments, such as complex generics and value-added medicines, while continuing to build the branded generics business.
Among her various achievements, Ms. Miller directed more than 50 product launches that generated over $300 million of new annual revenue, closed numerous business development acquisitions, and built a robust five-year development and acquisition product pipeline. Before Sandoz, Ms. Miller spent over a decade at Actavis (now Allergan) and its predecessor Watson Pharmaceuticals where she led the preparation of numerous product launches and held leadership roles in both R&D operations and supply chain management.
Ms. Miller started her career at Merck as a chemical engineer and procurement analyst and earned an MBA and a Master’s in Technology Management at Stevens Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Ms. Miller’s leadership focus combines her passion for building and leading high performing teams with goal-driven operational rigor. She articulates a clear mission, vision and strategy that engages people to cohesively work towards creative problem solving and innovative solutions.
She serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and Velocity Advisory Group and is a frequent panelist and speaker at industry events.
Managing Director and Global Practice Leader, Global Transaction Advisory, Alvarez & Marsal
Paul Aversano is a Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), the Global Practice Leader of the firm’s Global Transaction Advisory Group, and maintains executive oversight of the firm’s U.S. Corporate Transactions Group.
For over 30 years, Mr. Aversano has led both buy-side and sell-side financial and accounting due diligence projects for complex public and private company transactions, as well as transactions in the capital markets.
Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Aversano was a Partner with EY in New York and Director of Middle Market Private Equity. He led financial accounting due diligence projects for private equity investor groups, and the development and coordination of the firm’s go-to-market and service delivery strategies focused on the private equity market. Previously, he was with Arthur Andersen’s Transaction Advisory Services and Audit practices in New York.
Mr. Aversano earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Binghamton University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York and a member of American Institute of CPAs, New York State Society of CPAs, and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He serves on the Board of Directors and Audit Committees of both the New York Police & Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund (Answer the Call) and PowerPlay NYC and is a former board member of Youth INC (Improving Non-Profits for Children), Audit Committee of the Manhasset School Board of Education, and Alumni Association Board of Directors of Binghamton University. In addition, Mr. Aversano represents A&M on the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business (Michigan Ross) Private Equity Leadership Council, in parallel with the firm’s anchor corporate sponsorship of the school’s DIAG Growth Private Equity Investment Fund – a hands-on, action-based learning experience for Michigan Ross students to gain real-world exposure to private equity and alternative investments.
Mr. Aversano is a sought-after guest lecturer at top universities including the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania and Binghampton University, as well as a leading industry voice who has frequented such broadcast channels as Bloomberg and FOX Business.
Mr. Aversano is the recipient of numerous awards for his industry stewardship, including The M&A Advisor’s Leadership Award and Hall of Fame honor in 2024 and its Service Professional of the Year in 2015. In recognition of his personal service to his alma mater, Binghamton University, Mr. Aversano was also the recipient of the B. Jean Fairbairn Access Award in recognition of his efforts in improving services and access for students with disabilities at the school.
Global Head of Transformative Leadership practice and Managing Director, AlixPartners
Ted Bililies is an internationally recognized expert on leadership and organization development and the Chief Talent Officer of AlixPartners. Ted launched the first commercial practice in leadership and human capital at AlixPartners which advises investors, CEOs, and boards on the selection and development of leaders and the alignment of culture for maximum and sustainable value creation. Ted’s career spans three decades as a psychologist, human resources executive, management consultant, and executive coach. He holds academic degrees from Loyola University of Chicago and Harvard University. Ted taught at Harvard University for many years, is currently on the Executive Education faculty of the Harvard Business School and is a board member of the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis. 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.
Managing Partner, JM Search
Tom Figueroa is a Managing Partner at JM Search and Leader of the Firm’s Technology Practice. He has dedicated over 20 years to partnering with private equity investors to build the leadership teams for countless portfolio companies. His team includes over fifty search professionals who specialize in various industries that include FinTech, Cybersecurity, IT Services, EdTech, Data & Analytics, MarTech, eCommerce and Digital Media. He is also a member of the firm’s Board of Directors.
Tom joined JM Search in 2003 from Kenexa, where he most recently led the company’s Technology Executive Search practice. In addition to leading the firm’s most critical searches and managing key accounts, Tom was responsible for general management of the practice, which included training and mentoring the team’s search consultants and assuring the highest level of service delivery. Many of Tom’s clients are repeat customers who have come to rely on his expertise and ability to identify, recruit, and close the best candidates for Board, CEO, and other C-level positions.
Tom received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University and graduated high school from the American School of Paris. Tom has lived in France, Chile and Venezuela, is fluent in Spanish and conversant in French. He is married with four amazing daughters and lives in Phoenixville, PA
Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Mr. Lee brings more than 20 years of specialist experience helping clients effectively analyze and draw decision insights from financial and operational business data. He brings significant international experience throughout Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. Mr. Lee has worked with clients across various industries, including consumer products, distribution, retail, healthcare, software, financial services and business services.
Mr. Lee advises clients across the lifecycle of private equity investments and corporate transactions. He assists private equity firms and other strategic buyers to obtain financial and operational transparency in companies to make informed investment decisions and drive growth.
Most recently at A&M, Mr. Lee advised a private equity firm contemplating investment into a home furnishing company by developing dynamic analytics models to review historical trends in sales, customer retention, new and lost products, SKU margin and year-over-year pricing trends. He also analyzed actual versus forecasted financials to provide insight into future potential earnings. Prior to joining A&M’s Global Transaction Advisory Group, Mr. Lee led the Applied Data Analytics service offering for the firm’s Disputes and Investigations practice.
Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Lee worked at global consulting firms, including a Big Four accounting firm, performing investigative data analytics in the context of fraud, risk management and regulatory compliance.
Mr. Lee earned a bachelor’s degree in science and engineering (concentration in computer and telecommunication engineering) from the University of Pennsylvania. He is fluent in English and Korean and proficient in Spanish.
Partner, Morgan Lewis
Austin has substantial knowledge of ERISA, corporate, and tax issues relating to benefits and compensation arrangements, including under Internal Revenue Code Sections 409A, 457A, 162(m), 280G, and 83, and strives to maximize tax efficiency for, while avoiding the potential for punitive tax consequences to, his clients.
He advises on benefits, compensation, and employee matters in transactional settings, including in private and public mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings, and investment fund acquisitions and dispositions, and has experience representing various parties to such transactions.
Throughout his career, Austin has been involved with many of the country’s most significant financial restructurings. Private equity and hedge fund clients rely on Austin for guidance on key employee compensation arrangements and those covering portfolio company management.
Partner and Board Member, Simon-Kucher
Bhavin is a Partner and member of the Board at Simon-Kucher. He works in our New York office, where he supports clients in boosting their top-line growth by developing and implementing growth strategies, creating value-oriented pricing concepts, and designing programs that optimize sales effectiveness.
Bhavin has extensive expertise in mergers and acquisitions and has guided management teams through complex, large-scale integrations. He serves a broad base of B2B clients and understands the environment in which B2B companies and intermediaries operate.
He has coached the management teams of leading companies to transform their businesses and increase their profitability by formulating corporate and business unit strategies, simplifying product portfolios, optimizing channels, and developing pricing and monetization strategies. Bhavin’s commercial strategy work has also supported sales teams in increasing their effectiveness and commercial performance through pragmatic solutions.
Before joining Simon-Kucher, Bhavin worked at a consultancy where his primary focus was on pre-deal and integration planning for mergers and acquisitions. He is a regular speaker at pricing conferences and a frequent guest lecturer on pricing and marketing topics for Columbia Business School’s MBA program. He graduated with degrees in economics and finance from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia (US).
Managing Partner, JM Search
Jim McGinley is a Managing Partner at JM Search and a Co-leader of the Firm’s Industrial Manufacturing & Technology Practice. Jim joined JM Search 25 years ago and has been instrumental in the firm’s growth and success. A Partner in the firm, Jim focuses on recruiting CEOs, C-Suite executives, and other senior leaders for both private equity-backed businesses, family owned and publicly traded companies. Jim’s clients span the industrial manufacturing and industrial technology sectors.
Since Jim joined JM Search in 1998, he has been recruited across a multitude of industries that include industrial manufacturing, packaging, food, and consumer products. His long-term relationships and multifaceted expertise position him as a sought-after consultant by private equity investors, board members, and CEOs who need to upgrade or add to their leadership teams. Before JM Search, Jim spent a decade in sales leadership roles with Waste Management and Aramark.
Jim earned a B.S. in Marketing from Philadelphia University. He lives in Spring City, PA, with his wife and two children. Along with spending time with his family, he enjoys a good day at the beach and is a fan of sports and music.
Partner, Morgan Lewis
Patrick Rehfield focuses on matters related to executive compensation, payroll tax, and employee fringe benefits. He advises private and public companies on designing and implementing nonqualified retirement plans, equity compensation plans, and executive compensation arrangements. He also counsels publicly traded companies on reporting and compliance matters involving the SEC, with a focus on proxy and disclosure issues, executive compensation, and corporate governance. He advises public and private companies on employee benefit issues in mergers and acquisitions, including executive compensation matters for senior management.
Patrick also advises companies of all sizes on the design and implementation of employment agreements, retention agreements, and change in control agreements. He represents senior management teams in leveraged buyouts, and senior-level executives in compensation package negotiations. He has particular experience in the application of sections 162(m), 280G, and 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.
Patrick also maintains an active payroll tax and fringe benefit practice that focuses on corporate and payroll tax audits, penalty abatements, refund claims, IRS ruling requests, and multistate tax and withholding issues.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, he was a member of the tax section of a US-based law firm.
Insights Manager, Carta
Hamza Shad is an insights manager at Carta, where he analyzes data on private markets, including startups, venture capital, and private equity. Previously, he conducted research on entrepreneurship in emerging markets at Endeavor. He holds a BA in economics and political science from the University of Chicago and an MPhil in international development from Oxford.
Managing Director, Alvarez and Marsal
With over 25 years of industry, consulting, and interim management experience in North, South and Central America, Mr. Vincentelli has worked with clients in various industries, including food & beverage, professional services, manufacturing services, and consumer and industrial products. He has served as interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Transformation Officer, SVP of Operations, Director of Procurement, and other leadership positions for his clients during transformation programs.
Mr. Vincentelli’s notable assignments include serving as interim CEO of the regional body that governs soccer in North/Central America. There he executed a major turnaround, including a complete overhaul of the organization structure and leadership team. As Interim Sr. VP Operations for a print/marketing company, Mr. Vincentelli managed the design/implementation of a performance improvement program and transformed its organization structure and operations management team
Mr. Vincentelli also served as COO for a women’s fashion company; interim CEO for the U.S. operations of a global optical retailer; and CTO for a retail display developer. He led a transformational program for a global consumer products and direct selling company, where he was responsible for transforming its organization and operations management team structure. Mr. Vincentelli also led the performance improvement program for a global food ingredients company, improving OPEX efficiency in sales, customer service, R&D, finance, and HR
Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Vincentelli worked with Arthur D. Little and Capgemini, focusing on operational excellence for corporate and private equity backed companies. Mr. Vincentelli started his career in the Food & Beverage industry working for Del Monte Fresh Produce managing one of its flagship product lines for North America.
Mr. Vincentelli earned a bachelor’s degree in food and resources economics from the University of Florida and an MBA from Emory University, Goizueta Business School.
Partner, Morgan Lewis
David B. Zelikoff represents and counsels clients in a range of matters related to employee benefit plans and executive compensation agreements. He advises on the design and implementation of tax-qualified, nonqualified deferred compensation, equity compensation, and health and welfare plans, and he helps clients draft and negotiate executive employment agreements, severance arrangements, and change-in-control arrangements. David’s clients include tax-exempt organizations, and public/private Fortune 500 and emerging
growth companies in the technology and life sciences fields.
David also represents benefit plan sponsors in audit and corrective action matters before the IRS, counsels plan
sponsors and committees on ERISA fiduciary matters, and advises on matters related to the IRS code (IRC), including Section 409A.
In mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and other major transactions, he helps negotiate employee benefit and
equity terms, and advises on the application of Section 280G of the IRC. He also works with public companies in
connection with the disclosure and approval of their equity and executive compensation programs, including
issues related to Section 162(m) of the IRC.
David represents ERISA plan and public pension plan sponsors investing in private equity and hedge funds or in
direct co-investments in portfolio companies. He also advises on prohibited transaction rules related to IRA
investments in alternative investment vehicles.
In private equity buyouts, he has negotiated the terms and conditions of executive management team equity and
employment agreements and the terms and conditions of employment and separation from employment
agreements on behalf of individual executives.
He is also an adjunct professor at Villanova University, where he teaches executive compensation planning
during the summer session.
0
1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.