Moving Forward in Uncertain Times: Navigating a New Economic, Regulatory, and Financial Reality

Wharton Private Equity & Venture Capital Conference

Saturday, February 5, 2011 - Hyatt at the Bellevue, Philadelphia

Team

Co-Chairs

Elizabeth Bell

Co-chair, Keynotes, Panels

Elizabeth is a second year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Finance and Real Estate. This past summer, Elizabeth was an intern on the real estate investment team at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) Endowment. Prior to Wharton, Elizabeth worked at JER Partners in Washington, DC and primarily focused on Latin America real estate investments. While at JER, she also spent time working on an Emerging Markets Private Equity Fund-of-Funds. Previously, Elizabeth was an analyst in the Equity Capital Markets Group at Deutsche Bank. Elizabeth graduated from Princeton University where she was captain of the women’s soccer team.

Jennifer Pereira

Co-Chair, Marketing and Communications

Jennifer is a second year MBA student at Wharton and a Joseph Wharton Scholar. Prior to Wharton, Jennifer worked at the Boston Consulting Group, where she focused on strategy and operations projects in financial services and consumer goods. Jennifer spent her third year at BCG establishing a multi-million dollar carbon offset fund, which was officially launched in November 2009. After graduation, Jennifer will join the CPP Investment Board’s Principal Investing Group in Toronto, Canada.

Philip McLeod

Co-chair, Operations

Philip McLeod is a second year MBA student at Wharton and a Joseph Wharton Scholar. Prior to Wharton, Philip worked at Wachovia Capital Partners, a $1.8B private equity fund, focusing on middle market buyout and growth equity transactions. Prior to WCP, Philip worked in Wachovia’s Leveraged Finance group structuring bank and bond financings in the consumer retail, media, and healthcare industries. After graduation, Philip will join Goldman Sachs.

Jae Kim

Co-chair, Sponsorships

Jae Kim is a second year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Jae worked at CVC for two years, where he worked on leverage buyouts and the portfolio management of companies in a variety of industries. Prior to CVC, Jae worked at Credit Suisse for four years in the Corporate and Investment Banking Division where he focused on advising global industrial clients on mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyout transactions and related financings.

Directors

Roman Leifer

Marketing & Communications

Roman Leifer is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Roman worked for three years as a management consultant with Oliver Wyman. He provided strategic and operational advice to clients in a variety of industries, including Healthcare, Energy, and Transportation and has worked with private equity sponsors on a number of transactions.

Roman graduated with an honors Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Elvina Mintarno

Marketing & Communications

Prior to attending Wharton, Elvina spent three years with Audax Group, a middle-market private equity fund with $4 billion under management. At Audax, Elvina evaluated investment opportunities and executed transactions within the consumer and business services sectors. She also worked closely with senior management teams on various value creation opportunities. Elvina graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and M.S. in Management Science & Engineering.

Patty Tritipeskul

Marketing & Communications

Patty Tritipeskul is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Patty worked with Manhattan GMAT to launch a sister test prep company for the LSAT, called Manhattan LSAT. There she worked as a general manager, focusing on developing overall market entry and growth strategy while managing the day-to-day operations of the start-up. Prior to Manhattan LSAT, Patty was a management consultant, where she focused on strategy projects in financial services, consumer products, and food service. Patty earned a B.A. with honors from Yale University. Her interests include Bikram yoga, cooking, and photography.

Richa Bansal

Operations

Richa Bansal is a first year MBA student majoring in Private Equity and Entrepreneurship. Most recently, she worked with Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) where she led real estate investments in India. She also executed transactions in the consumer and infrastructure sectors. Prior to BVP, she worked with the Everest Group where she managed the finance and accounting practice. Richa holds a Bachelor’s of Science from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. Her interests include mountain climbing, contemporary dance, and yoga.

Chen Chen

Operations

Chen Chen is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Chen worked at China’s leading Investment Bank – China International Capital Corporation where he focused primarily on China’s insurance sector and leading domestic insurers. Chen holds a B.S.B.A. degree in Finance and graduated magna cum laude from Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University.

Sanaz Memarsadeghi

Operations

Sanaz Memarsadeghi is a first year MBA student majoring in Finance and Management. Prior to Wharton she worked in international development. She served as a Peace Corps Small Enterprise Development Advisor in Burkina Faso and subsequently as the Senior Program Officer for Microfinance at The Hunger Project. She has also conducted economic research and policy analysis for the Institute for Food and Development Policy, USAID Mali, and UNDP’s Office of Development Studies. Sanaz holds a master’s degree in International Finance and Economic Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Jonathan Shannon

Operations

Jonathan Shannon is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Jonathan worked at Booz & Company, for three years focusing on various healthcare clients and providing them with strategic advice. In addition, Jonathan enjoys football, snowboarding, soccer, and reading.

Krishna Nandigam

Sponsorships

Krishna is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Before Wharton, Krishna worked at Coach, a luxury leather goods retailer. During her three years with the company, Krishna worked with the Consumer Insights and Strategy team where she focused on a variety projects, including market research and international growth opportunities. Prior to Coach, Krishna worked for two years as an investment banking analyst at Jefferies & Company, where she worked predominantly with the Financial Sponsors Group and the Restructuring Group. Krishna graduated from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 2005 with a Bachelor in Business Administration.

Abel Osorio

Sponsorships

Abel S. Osorio is currently a first year MBA student at The Wharton School where he is pursuing a double-major in finance and entrepreneurial management. Before Wharton, Abel worked at H.IG. Capital in the firm’s San Francisco office. While at H.I.G.’s flagship middle-market LBO fund Abel worked in all aspects of the investment process including sourcing, structuring, financing, and post-closing management. Prior to H.I.G. Abel was an analyst in the technology investment banking group of Thomas Weisel Partners in San Francisco. Abel graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from New York University with a B.A. in economics and politics.

Katerina Tchakalska

Sponsorships

Katerina Tchakalska is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to attending Wharton, Katerina worked for Societe Genrale’s M&A; group in New York, focusing on middle market cross border transactions. In addition, Katerina has worked for Mitsubishi Securities in Tokyo and the European Investment Fund in Luxembourg.

Katerina has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

John Wilson

Sponsorships

Before coming to Wharton, John began his career as an Associate Consultant in the San Francisco office of Bain & Company, where he worked on projects in the technology and private equity sectors. Following his role at Bain, John spent two years as an Associate at ClearLight Partners, a middle market private equity fund, where he evaluated new investment opportunities across a number of different industries. Most recently, John spent a year with ACCION International's Frontier Investments Group, where he evaluated and structured double bottom line investments in microfinance adjacencies in Africa, India and Latin America. John graduated with a triple major from UC Berkeley in Business, Political Science, and Economics.

Panel Managers

Tomas Pieter

Distressed Investing

Tomas Pieter is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Tomas worked at EBF & Associates, a multi-strategy hedge fund, where he was responsible for investments in distressed and mispriced fixed income and equity securities, direct corporate investments and hard assets. Previously, Tomas worked at Lazard’s M&A; practice and Kraft Foods’ strategic-planning group. Tomas’ interests include mountaineering, ice hockey, traveling and economic development.

Tessa Truex

Distressed Investing

Tessa is currently a first year MBA student at Wharton and is pursuing a dual major in real estate and finance. Prior to Wharton, she worked for two years at Revstone Industries, an industrial buyout firm, as a Vice President in its corporate finance group. Before Revstone, Tessa worked as an analyst at Lehman Brothers in the Real Estate Solutions Group where she financed commercial properties for real estate clients.

Tessa graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Middlebury College.

Andreea Chisca

International Venture Capital

Andreea Chisca is a first year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Strategic Management and holds BS degrees in Economics and Mathematics from MIT. Prior to Wharton, Andreea worked at IFC, the private sector investing arm of the World Bank, in the Telecom/Media/Technology Department. She previously spent two years at JPMorgan in the High Grade Credit Research Department. Her interests include classical literature, architecture and mountain climbing.

Michelle Larivee

International Venture Capital

Michelle Larivee is a first year student pursuing a dual-degree MBA/MA in International Studies at The Wharton School. Prior to Wharton, Michelle spent 2 years at International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, where she traveled to Asia, South America, and the Middle East analyzing equity and debt investments in the pharmaceutical and construction materials sectors. Before IFC, Michelle was an Associate at Merrill Lynch in the Public Finance Healthcare Group where she structured capital solutions involving taxable and tax-exempt debt and derivative structures for healthcare and higher education clients. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, cum laude, from Georgetown University. Her interests include international travel, farmers’ market cooking, biking and wine discovery.

Matthew Kane

Leveraged Buyouts

Matt is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Matt was an associate at GTCR Golder Rauner where he focused on technology, information services and government contractor investments. Matt began his career as an analyst at Lehman Brothers, advising financial exchanges and diversified industrial clients on mergers and acquisitions. Matt graduated from Northwestern University, earning a BA with honors in Economics and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences.

Veronica Lee

Leveraged Buyouts

Veronica is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Veronica worked at CDIB Capital, the overseas private equity investing arm of China Development Financial Holdings, one of the largest merchant banking groups in Asia. Prior to CDIB, Veronica worked in McKesson’s Corporate Strategy/Business Development group. Veronica began her career as an investment banking analyst at Merrill Lynch. She graduated from UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School with a B.S. in Business Administration.

Tim Milinchuk

Limited Partner Perspective

Tim is a first year MBA student at the Wharton School. From 2008 to 2010, Tim worked as a Senior Analyst in the Relationship Investing group at Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), a Toronto-based $100 billion pension fund. At OTPP Tim worked on a number of transactions in the aerospace, food and mining sectors. Before OTPP Tim spent several months at a boutique Canadian merchant bank PowerOne Capital focusing on junior mining companies. Prior to PowerOne Tim worked about a year as an analyst in Troika Dialog where he advised clients in media, finance and retail. Tim has a Master’s and Bachelor from Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Alison Paskert

Limited Partner Perspective

Alison Paskert is a first year MBA student at the Wharton School, majoring in Finance. Prior to Wharton, Alison spent four years at Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (AIP), Morgan Stanley’s alternative fund of funds business with approximately $17 billion in assets under management. Most recently, Alison was an Associate on AIP’s Private Equity Secondaries Team where she evaluated secondary private equity fund investment opportunities with a focus on small- and mid-cap buyouts, distressed and special situations funds. Prior to this role, Alison worked in Morgan Stanley’s Alternative Product Development team where she managed the development and global launch of several funds. Alison graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University with a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management.

Timothy Lucey

Middle Market

Timothy Lucey is a first year MBA student at the Wharton School. Prior to Wharton, Timothy worked at Harvest Partners, where he focused on leveraged buyouts and growth financings across a variety of sectors. Prior to Harvest Partners, Timothy worked in Wachovia Securities’ Mergers and Acquisitions and Media and Communications groups. Timothy graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in Finance. Timothy’s interests include traveling, Notre Dame football, intramural sports and culinary arts.

Shamik Patel

Middle Market

Shamik Patel is a first year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management. Prior to Wharton, Shamik worked at Veritas Capital for three years, where he focused on middle-market buyouts in the aerospace, defense, and government services sectors. Prior to Veritas, Shamik spent two years in Credit Suisse’s Mergers and Acquisitions Group in New York. He graduated with Highest Honors from the Business Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin. Shamik’s interests include traveling, football, golf, and hotel development.

Shruti Chandrasekhar

Private Equity in Emerging Markets

Shruti Chandrasekhar is a first year MBA student majoring in entrepreneurial management and marketing. Prior to Wharton, Shruti worked at the IFC, the World Bank's private sector arm, making investments in private equity and investment funds across Asia, Africa and Central America for four years. She also has experience in consulting with Oliver Wyman and sales and trading at Barclays Capital. She holds a bachelors degree from MIT and was involved in a start up during her MIT years.

Anirudh Suri

Private Equity in Emerging Markets

Anirudh Suri is currently pursuing a joint degree in business and public administration (MBA-MPA) at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Most recently, he served a Policy Advisor to the Minister of State for Communications and Technology in the Government of India, Mr. Sachin Pilot. Prior to that, Anirudh worked at McKinsey & Company in its New York, New Jersey and Washington DC offices, as well as at PSI, Inc., a growth equity firm in India. He also served as a Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a foreign policy think-tank based in Washington, DC. He is also the founder and global coordinator of Global Young Indian Professionals and Students (GYIPS), a global network of over 1,500 young Indian professionals.

Piotr Ossowicz

Investing in Europe

Profile coming soon.

Zaid Pardesi

Investing in Europe

Profile coming soon.

Jacob Roffman

Value Creation

Jacob Roffman is a first year MBA student at Wharton and holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. Prior to Wharton, Jake worked at H.I.G. Capital for three years, where he worked on leveraged buyouts, equity, and debt investments in companies across a variety of sectors. He previously spent two years at Credit Suisse in the Global Industrial and Services Division, where he focused on advising a wide range of clients on mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyout transactions, and related financings. Jake’s interests include Notre Dame football, White Sox baseball, intramural sports, and guitar.

Nirupam Sinha

Value Creation

Nirupam Sinha is a first year MBA student at Wharton and holds a BA in Political Science from Yale University. Prior to Wharton, Nirupam worked at Serent Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firms that invests in growing service-based companies. He previously spent three years at McKinsey & Company focused primarily on technology and financial service clients throughout North America and Europe. Nirupam’s interests include Boston sports, current events and traveling.

Stewart Campbell

Venture Capital

Stewart Campbell is a first year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurship and holds a BA in Economics from Stanford University. Prior to Wharton, Stewart worked at Spectrum Equity, a Menlo Park-based private equity firms that invests in growing technology companies. He previously spent three years at L.E.K. Consulting focused primarily on advising healthcare and media clients throughout North America. He currently serves as an advisor for Argus Holdings, a Palo Alto-based technology company incubator. His interests include rugby, football and traveling.

William Lucas

Venture Capital

Will Lucas is a first year MBA student at Wharton and holds a BS in Economics from Duke University. Upon graduating Duke, Will co-founded First Help Financial, a Boston-based auto finance company that lends to recent Latino immigrants in the Northeast. After running First Help Financial for several years, Will left the firm to work at SilverBay Advisors, a financial services oriented consulting firm. Immediately prior to attending Wharton Will also worked at Paladin Capital, a private equity firm located in Washington DC investing in early, growth, and expansion capital in small-to-medium sized firms.