Cristina Alesci is a Private Equity reporter for Bloomberg News.  In addition to her print pieces, which appear in Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Markets Magazine and Bloomberg Businessweek, Cristina also is a reporter for Bloomberg TV and a regular guest on Deal Desk, a short weekly TV segment that analyzes trends and breaking news in M&A and private equity. Cristina is a 2008 graduate of the City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism.

 

Tom Angell is the principal-in-charge of Rothstein Kass’ national Commercial Services Group and its Private Equity practice, and he is a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee.  

Tom has extensive experience with both public and private companies, including advising private equity funds and investment advisors on all aspects of private equity transactions, such as raising financing, deal origination and structuring. He has over 25 years of experience providing audit, tax and consulting services to middle market businesses in the manufacturing, distribution, and service industries. Additionally, Tom specializes in organizational structure, operational issues and mergers and acquisitions for middle market businesses.

Tom is a certified public accountant and he is a member of the New Jersey, New York, and Virginia Societies of Certified Public Accountants as well as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Rutgers College and a Master of Business Administration degree in Information Systems from the Rutgers Graduate School of Management. 

His activities outside the Firm include membership in and serving as a former chair of the AICPA Large Firm networking group. Tom also serves as a treasurer to the Drumthwacket Foundation in New Jersey. 

 

Sarah Ashmore Bradley recently joined HM Capital in September 2011 as a Partner.  She will be responsible for all fundraising and investor relations activities as well as assist the consumer team in execution of the food and consumer investing strategy.  Prior to joining HM Capital, Sarah was a Managing Director at Investcorp in their private equity group and was Global Head of Investor Relations & Fundraising.  Prior to Investcorp, she was a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank in New York in the Financial Sponsors Group and Consumer Group, where she was responsible for food and consumer investment banking and middle-market sponsor coverage, and a Director in the Global Consumer Group of the investment bank of Citigroup in New York.  During her investment banking tenure, she worked with HM Capital and other private equity firms on numerous transactions in the food and consumer sector.

 

Dennis K. Berman is the Wall Street Journal’s Marketplace editor, responsible for the Journal’s global business and corporate news.

He is author of a regular column, “The Game,” that covers the world of business. 

Previously, Mr. Berman was deputy bureau chief for Money & Investing, helping oversee the Journal’s financial coverage and rebuilding its presence on WSJ.com. 

For four years, Mr. Berman was the Journal’s mergers and acquisitions reporter, breaking news on a series of large deals including Bank of America’s purchase of Merrill Lynch, AT&T's purchase of BellSouth, Sprint’s purchase of Nextel, and Federated Department Stores' purchase of May Department Stores.

In 2007, he launched Deal Journal on WSJ.com, which has became the Journal’s most popular online blog.
 
Mr. Berman began his career at Business Week Online and joined the Journal in 2001 as a telecom reporter and technology columnist. He covered the historic financial collapse and subsequent accounting scandals at companies such as Lucent, Global Crossing and WorldCom.

Mr. Berman shares in the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism, and the 2009 Loeb Award – business journalism’s highest honor – for his coverage of the global financial coverage. His has been honored in “Best Newspaper Writing” published by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

He is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, a lecturer on journalism at New York University and Columbia University and a Kentucky Colonel.

 

Ben Burkhart focuses primarily on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and securities transactions.

Ben has represented both public and private companies, commercial and investment banks, and private equity funds in a wide range of transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures, 144A and leveraged finance transactions, public offerings, and private placements of debt and equity.

 

James F. Burr is a Managing Director in the Global Financial Services Group. Mr. Burr is based in Charlotte.

Mr. Burr comes to Carlyle from Wachovia Bank, where he was the Corporate Treasurer. He joined Wachovia Bank in 1992 and has served in several senior positions, most recently as Corporate Treasurer since 2006, where he was responsible for activities relating to funding, investing, risk transference, balance sheet management, liquidity and capital usage. Other Wachovia positions include Assistant Treasurer, Controller of the Corporate and Investment Bank, Product Controller of Treasury/Balance Sheet Management and Structured Products and Mortgage Analyst. Mr. Burr began his career at Ernst & Young, where he was a C.P.A. focused on banking and computer audit issues.

Mr. Burr earned his B.S. in business administration from Appalachian State University.

 

Cheryl Casone joined FOX Business Network (FBN) in September 2007 as an anchor.  Prior to FBN, Casone served as a correspondent for FOX News Channel’s (FNC) business unit and was a regular guest on FNC’s Your World with Neil Cavuto.

Casone brings years of experience covering finance, business, and consumer news to FBN.  She has reported on the economic impact of war on the economy, consumer fraud, global markets, foreign investment, and corporate governance in addition to her work covering the U.S. markets. 

Prior to FNC she worked as a freelance business correspondent for CNN primarily reporting from the New York Stock Exchange, and CBS Newspath as a general assignment reporter. Casone moved to New York to work as an overnight and early morning news anchor for MSNBC and NBC.  Prior to that she anchored a business show for San Francisco’s KRON-TV, and served as a business and general assignment reporter.  She began her career at CNX Media on the nationally syndicated program Travel Update.

Casone has served on the boards of the Associated Press Television and Radio Association, California and Nevada Regional Chapter, and American Women in Radio and Television, San Francisco Chapter.

A native of Dallas, TX, she graduated from Northern Arizona University.

 

Martha is a Managing Director in the Investment Management team at Capital Dynamics. She has 27 years of experience in private equity as a general partner with various funds including predecessors of JP Morgan Partners and Mid-Ocean Partners. In addition, she has several years of operating experience as an executive managing a private equity-backed manufacturing company. Martha holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Wellesley College.

 

Curt Cornwell is a partner in the Transaction Services Group of PwC where he is Private Equity Leader for the NY office and a member of the Firm’s Private Equity Sector Council.  His focus within mergers and acquisitions includes business and financial due diligence as well as transition/integration matters. Curt’s experience includes both financial and strategic buyers in public and non-public deals with deal sizes ranging from $50 million to in excess of $10 billion. He has over 17 years of transaction experience, assisting clients in analyzing and structuring over 200 deals.  His industry focus and experience includes technology, services and distribution, and consumer and industrial products.
 
Curt has an MBA in finance from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a BS in accounting from Bucknell University. He is Chair of Bucknell’s Business School Advisory Board, and is also a Certified Public Accountant and member of the AICPA and ABI.

 

Heather Davis is Senior Managing Director and Head of Global Private Markets for the TIAA-CREF organization.  Ms. Davis is responsible for overseeing the organization’s private fixed-income and private equity investments including direct private equity investments in natural resources, energy and infrastructure. Most recently, she was Head of Global Private Markets Portfolio Management where she oversaw the $40 billion Global Private Markets portfolio which included private placements, distressed investments, commercial mortgages, natural resources and infrastructure investments. While at TIAA-CREF, she has held various positions across the private asset classes, including private placements, commercial mortgages, project finance, distressed loans and loan dispositions. Ms. Davis joined the organization in 1995 and has 26 years of investment industry experience.  Prior to joining TIAA-CREF, Ms. Davis was employed by Prudential Financial in a variety of roles including commercial mortgage origination, underwriting, portfolio management, and credit underwriting. 

Ms. Davis serves on the Board of Directors of The Westchester Group, Radar Propridades Agricolas, S.A. and Silverado Premium Properties.

Ms. Davis holds B.A. in economics from Cornell University and an M.B.A. in finance from Cornell University, Johnson School of Management. 

 

Mr. deVeer joined Ares Management in May 2004 and serves as a Senior Partner in the Ares Global Private Debt Group. He is a member of the Investment Committee of Ares Capital Management, the Ares Global Private Debt Group Investment Committee and the Investment Committee of ACE, Ares' European Private Debt business. Prior to joining Ares Management, Mr. deVeer was a partner at RBC Capital Partners, a division of Royal Bank of Canada, which led the firm's middle market financing and principal investment business. Mr. deVeer joined RBC in October 2001 from Indosuez Capital, where he was Vice President in the Merchant Banking Group. Mr. deVeer has also worked at J.P. Morgan and Co., both in the Special Investment Group of J.P. Morgan Investment Management, Inc. and the Investment Banking Division of J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. Mr. deVeer received a BA from Yale University and an MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

 

Michael is a Senior Managing Director of Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners. Michael has been investing in the infrastructure space for over a decade, during which time he has built one of the most successful investment track records in the North American infrastructure investment sector. Prior to starting Stonepeak in 2011, Michael was a Senior Managing Director with The Blackstone Group, co-heading Blackstone Infrastructure Partners. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2008, Michael worked as a Senior Managing Director at Macquarie Group. Michael’s infrastructure investments include Michigan Electric Transmission Company, the Dulles Greenway toll-road, Chicago Thermal District Energy, Atlantic Aviation, and Crosstex Energy.

Michael has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce, both from the University of New South Wales in Sydney. 

 

Steve Galli is currently Vice President of Product Marketing at Intralinks, where he is responsible for the Financial Services practice which includes the Alternative Investments and Debt Capital Markets businesses.
 
Prior to Intralinks, Steve worked at Standard & Poor’s for seven years. At S&P he was a Vice President in the Strategy & Business Development group responsible for the Credit Ratings division.  He also served in the role of Director of Product Management at S&P where he was responsible for managing the development, commercialization, and distribution of structured finance, analytical, and data products.
 
Steve has more than 20 years of experience in the finance industry, and has worked in various capacities including investment banking, relationship management, product management, and marketing/sales.   Steve began his Wall Street career at Solomon Brothers in the fixed income capital markets after completing his Masters in Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business in 1997.

 

Mr. Hansley joined the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in May 1999 and serves as Director, Private Equity.  In a total portfolio of some fifty private equity funds (representing over $5 billion in total capital) supported by the Agency since inception of the funds program, he has played a role in: overseeing the daily activities of investment funds; and performing due diligence in the vetting and selection of global, regional and country professional fund managers.

For six years, Mr. Hansley was engaged as Senior Venture Capital Advisor in the Europe Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  He was responsible for providing technical advice to USAID and the U.S. Department of State concerning the administration of enterprise funds in Central Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Prior to the European assignment, Mr. Hansley was engaged for three years as a venture capital consultant to the Africa Bureau of USAID. He advised USAID on the design and establishment of venture capital companies in a number of African countries.

In 1969, Mr. Hansley founded and served, for fourteen years, as President and Chief Executive Officer of Vanguard Investment Company, a private equity fund licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. He is a founder and past president of the National Association of Investment Companies. He is a former Governor of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies.
Mr. Hansley is a graduate of Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and has completed an executive business program at Harvard Graduate School of Business, “The Internationalization of Private Equity”.

 

Scott Higbee is a Partner and head of the New York office with responsibilities in investment origination and client relations in the Americas. He is also a member of the private equity North America investment committee and has been materially involved in the firm's direct, secondary and partnership investment activities and is a primary relationship manager for several leading partnerships in the US. Prior to joining Partners Group, he worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the firm's capital markets practice in New York where he served several broker/dealer and private equity clients. He holds a BS in Accounting and an MBA from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University.

 

Tom is a Managing Director at Hamilton Lane where he is responsible for the oversight and management of the firm’s global Secondary Investment activities. In this capacity, Tom is active in the sourcing, due diligence and execution of secondary investments.

Tom started his career at Hamilton Lane in 1999 and most recently was a member of the Fund Investment Team, where he was responsible for due diligence of primary fund investment opportunities. Prior to this, Tom was responsible for the coordination and management of the firm’s client relationship and reporting activities.

Prior to joining Hamilton Lane, Tom spent two years at BISYS Plan Services where he was responsible for the investment activities of institutional defined benefit plans.

Tom received an M.B.A. at Saint Joseph’s University and a B.S. in Finance from Rider University.

 

Ms. Kreutzer is assistant managing editor of private equity within the newsletter group of Dow Jones overseeing private equity coverage for The Private Equity Analyst, LBOWire and Private Equity Beat. Prior to her current position, she had covered various beats for the Private Equity Analyst since 2000 and was a regular contributor to LBOWire, VentureWire and Private Equity Beat. Previously, Ms. Kreutzer spent six years living and working in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Japan. She has a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Brown University and a M.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

 

Scott Mackin is Co-President and Managing Partner at Denham Capital, responsible for the firm’s Power & Renewables Group. He brings 24 years of energy experience to the firm. Scott is a member of the Executive Committee, Management Committee, Investment Committee, and Valuation Committee.  Denham is a global energy and commodities fund and has made renewables sector investments in geothermal, wind, solar, biomass and waste gas recovery internationally.   

Prior to joining Denham Capital, Scott was President and CEO of Covanta Energy Corporation, a leading renewables company, and President of Ogden Energy, and General Counsel at Ogden Projects. He also was an Associate at Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis and Law Clerk to the Hon. Daniel H. Huyett III, Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Scott received a Bachelor of Arts, Honors Program, from Villanova University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. 

 

Donald B. Marron has been a prominent figure in the financial services industry for more than 40 years, during which time he led a major Wall Street firm and distinguished himself as a successful entrepreneur.

Mr. Marron founded Lightyear Capital in 2000 and serves as Chairman and a member of the Investment Committee.  Lightyear is a leading private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. Based in New York, Lightyear, through its three affiliated funds, has managed over $2 billion of committed capital with investments across the financial services spectrum, including asset management, banking, brokerage, financial technology, insurance, and specialty finance.  Lightyear identifies attractive sub-sectors and companies by utilizing a top-down approach that consists of conducting comprehensive, in-house studies on specific industry sectors and sub-sectors.

Prior to founding Lightyear Capital, Mr. Marron served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paine Webber Group Inc. for twenty years, from 1980-2000. In 2000, PaineWebber merged with UBS AG, creating a top wealth and asset management firm.  Following the merger, Mr. Marron served as Chairman of UBS America until September 2003.  Prior to his tenure at PaineWebber and UBS, Mr. Marron served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mitchell Hutchins, overseeing its transformation from a predominately retail-oriented firm into one of the leading U.S. institutional research firms. Mr. Marron began his career at the New York Trust Company.

In addition to his four decades of leadership as an executive, Mr. Marron has also distinguished himself as an entrepreneur. In 1969, he co-founded Data Resources Inc. (“DRI”) with Harvard economist Dr. Otto Eckstein. DRI became the largest non-governmental source of economic data in the world.  Mr. Marron served as DRI’s Chairman until McGraw-Hill Inc. purchased the firm in 1979.

Mr. Marron serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lightyear portfolio company Cetera Financial Group and Clarion Partners. Mr. Marron is a former Director of Fannie Mae and a former Director of Shinsei Bank.  He is a former Director of the New York Stock Exchange, former Governor and Vice Chairman of the Securities Industry Association, and former Governor of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD).

Mr. Marron is Chairman Emeritus of the Center for the Study of the Presidency, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).  Mr. Marron is also a member of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s Board of Overseers, a Trustee of New York University, and a Director of the Partnership for New York City. He is an advocate for the homeless and has been actively involved with the Coalition for the Homeless.

An avid collector and advocate for the arts, Mr. Marron is a longtime Trustee, former President and currently a Vice Chairman of the board of The Museum of Modern Art.  He is a former member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

A lifelong resident of New York City, Mr. Marron attended New York City public schools and The City University of New York, and was the recipient of honorary law degrees from Baruch College of the City University of New York in 1983 and Long Island University in 1986.

 

David Musicant joined American Securities in 2011 as Senior Director, Investment Development. Previously David was with Bank of America/Merrill Lynch for 15 years. In 2003, David launched Bank of America/Merrill Lynch's Middle Market Financial Sponsor Coverage effort serving as a Managing Director and, since that time, has been very active in the middle market private equity space. He was the leader of American Securities' sponsor coverage relationship at Bank of America for seven years.

Prior to Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, David held positions in the retail financial advisory businesses at Lehman Brothers and Alex Brown. Earlier in his career, David founded and managed the Corporate Client Coverage Group at Montgomery Securities which was responsible for the Personal Wealth business of the firm's Corporate Finance and Financial Sponsor clients.  David has a B.A. from Rutgers University.

 

Mr. Nee is the President of WPM and serves as chair of WPM's Investment Committee. He is also responsible for sourcing, performing due diligence and monitoring investment opportunities across private equity sectors within the US, as well as oversight of WPM. He has been an investor in the private markets for 18 years and has served on numerous partnership and company boards. Prior to joining WPM, Mr. Nee was with BlackRock, Inc., where he was a Managing Director and member of the Management and Investment Committees for the BlackRock Private Equity Partners team. Prior to BlackRock's acquisition of Quellos Group, LLC, he was a Principal of the latter, where he co-founded Quellos' private capital division. Mr. Nee was also a member of that division's Investment Committee and Portfolio Management Group, and served on the firm's Portfolio Management Group responsible for co-investment activities across alternative asset classes. He began his private markets career in 1993 with INVESCO's private capital group, where he managed fund-of-funds portfolios and participated in direct company investments. A summa cum laude graduate of Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, Mr. Nee received his Master in Business Administration degree with honors from Columbia Business School. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder. Mr. Nee is a member of the Wilshire Associates Board of Directors and joined Wilshire in 2009.

 

Crevan O’Grady joined 3i in 1997.  He began his 3i career in Leeds and, following a year working in Amsterdam, was based in London since 2002. Crevan led 3i’s TMT team globally and, most recently, was responsible for running the firm’s consumer sector team.  He joined New York’s team on September 1, 2010.

Prior to joining 3i, Crevan worked for KPMG, Leeds.  Crevan has a degree in Business and Accounting from Dundee University and also qualified as a Chartered Accountant while working for KPMG.

During his time with 3i in Europe, Crevan led, amongst others, the buyouts of Malmberg Educational Information Group, De Telefoongids, Mediatel, YBR, Sparrowhawk Media and VNU Media. Crevan currently sits on the board of directors of TouchTunes Interactive Networks.

 

Jessica Reed Saouaf is a Managing Director at Hall Capital Partners LLC and Head of the Private Equity group. The firm's Private Equity program covers buyout, growth, distressed, credit, venture capital, and other private equity strategies on a global basis.

Ms. Reed Saouaf joined the firm in 1999 and has held a number of positions, among them Vice President and Head of the Equity Strategies group, where she focused on public equity and equity hedge fund investments, Head of Distressed, where she focused on distressed investment strategies in the private and public markets, Research Associate, and Research Analyst. Ms. Reed Saouaf took a sabbatical to earn her M.B.A. at which time she also interned at Buena Vista Fund Management.

Ms. Reed Saouaf serves on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center and the Advisory Boards of Aberdare Ventures I, II, and III, Asia Environmental Partners, Freestyle Capital Fund I, Gemini Israel IV and V, GP Capital Partners V, JC Flowers I and III, Khosla Ventures III and Khosla Ventures Seed, Longreach Capital I, New Horizon Capital III, Oak Hill Capital Partners, and Qiming I, II and III.
Ms. Reed Saouaf graduated cum laude from Wellesley College with a B.A. in Economics and Psychology. She earned an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

 

David Schamis is a Managing Director and member of the Operating Committee at J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, a private equity firm which invests solely in the financial services sector. Mr. Schamis has been employed with J.C. Flowers & Co. and its affiliates since May 2000. Prior to joining the firm Mr. Schamis was in the financial institutions investment banking group at Salomon Smith Barney (previously known as Salomon Brothers and since renamed Citigroup), from 1995 to 2000. Mr. Schamis has spent virtually his entire career focused on the financial services sector.

Mr. Schamis is Chairman of the board of directors of Crump Group, Inc. a multi-line wholesale insurance broker and retirement services administrator; a member of the board of directors of MF Global Ltd., a leading broker of exchange-listed futures and options and a member of the board of directors of Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc., a producer and provider of non-standard automobile insurance.  Mr. Schamis had previously been Chairman of the board of directors of Fox-Pitt, Kelton, a full service investment bank, and a member of the board of directors of Symetra Financial Corp., a life insurance company.

In 2007 and 2008, Investment Dealers’ Digest magazine selected Mr. Schamis for its list of “40 Under 40” (December 2007 issue and November 2008 issue).

Mr. Schamis graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics and is a member of the board of directors of the Yale Alumni Fund.

 

Mr. Schmidt is a Co-Managing Partner and one of the co-founders of Rockwood Capital, LLC and has over 25 years of experience in the real estate industry.  Rockwood Capital, LLC is a  real estate investment company with $4.8 billion currently under management.

Mr. Schmidt has overall responsibility for co-managing Rockwood and implementing its investment program.  In addition, Mr. Schmidt chairs Rockwood’s personnel committee.  Mr. Schmidt serves on various portfolio management and investment committees, as well as the firm’s investment strategy and personnel committees. 

From 1996 to 2010, Mr. Schmidt was responsible for acquisition, asset management and disposition activities for a portfolio of $5.12 billion located in the east coast region.  Mr. Schmidt spearheaded the firm’s lodging investment and management activities with an asset value exceeding $2 billion.  From 1986 to 1996, Mr. Schmidt advanced from Associate to Vice President of Competrol Real Estate Limited and was responsible for asset management of the east coast portfolio.  From 1984 to 1986, Senior Auditor with Touche Ross & Co (currently Deloitte & Touche), with experience in real estate, light manufacturing, distribution and transportation.

Mr. Schmidt received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Adelphi University.  Mr. Schmidt is a full member of the Urban Land Institute, where his is a member of the Urban Land Institute, Development/Mixed Use Council – Gold Flight.

 

Benoit Verbrugghe is Senior Managing Director and Head of North America for AXA Private Equity. Mr. Verbrugghe is responsible for helping further expand AXA Private Equity’s business in North America.

Previously, Mr. Verbrugghe was a Managing Director based in AXA Private Equity’s Paris office where, as part of the Fund of Funds team, he played an active role in developing the firm’s business around the world, including North America.

Over the past two years, Mr. Verbrugghe has played a key role alongside Dominique Senequier, Chief Executive Officer and Vincent Gombault, Managing Director, Fund of Funds in some of the largest deals in the secondaries Funds of Funds market:

In April 2010, AXA Private Equity acquired a landmark US$1.9 billion portfolio of limited partnership interests in PE funds from Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). This was followed by two large deals in June 2011: the purchase of $1.7B portfolio of PE assets from Citigroup (NYSE: C) and the acquisition of $740 million portfolio of PE assets from Barclays. And in August 2011, AXA Private Equity acquired a $895 million majority stake in an HSH Nordbank PE portfolio.

These deals asserted AXA Private Equity’s world leadership in secondary fund-of-funds and underscored the firm’s strategy of offering liquidity to large institutions looking to monetize their PE investments.

Mr. Verbrugghe joined AXA Private Equity in 1999, having formerly worked in M&A transactions at a boutique firm.

Mr. Verbrugghe has a Master’s degree from ESSEC – DESS in Banking and Finance.