Wednesday 1 November
Value creation takes centre stage: private equity acclimatises to challenging market conditions
Market conditions will put downward pressure on private equity returns. What can investors expect? What role will value creation play in future performance?
Exploring the three big economic issues on the minds of PE players - inflation, interest rates and recession.
- View from private equity leaders running businesses about how the rules of the game have now changed.
- Where does value creation sit as a priority in the firm, compared with investments and fundraising?
- How are firms positioning themselves for a more challenging few years ahead? How should LPs evaluate the operational credentials of their fund portfolio?
Moderator
Eric Bloom, COO & Head of Client Solutions, RE:CO
Speakers
Lorenzo Levi, Managing Director and Operating Partner, CDPQ
Dr. Dirk Markus, Founding Partner, AURELIUS
Claudio Siniscalco, Founding and Managing Partner, Fiduciary Co- Investment Partners
- Understanding the impact of higher interest rates and a slowing economy on value creation
- Growth opportunities in a recession and innovative approaches
- Addressing the increasing challenge of tight labour markets and the war for talent
- How does the current crisis affect the playbook?
- What is PE’s track record for delivering returns in a recession?
- How do operating partners remain agile to mitigate what’s coming next on the horizon?
Moderator
Silvia Saccardi, Reporter, The Drawdown
Speakers
Wojciech Jezierski, Partner, Abris
Streisan Bevan, Director, Mayfair Equity Partners
Stephen Edwards, Co-Managing Partner, Soho Square Capital
Marc Ciancimino, Managing Partner, All Seas Capital
The buzzword of the year. What developments should be expected in the years to come?
Speaker
Andreas Wuchner, Operating Partner, TempoCap
- Use cases in portfolios
- Implication on a GP's ops and deal lifecycle
- Impact of AI and large language models (LLMs) like Chat GPT
- Required skills in the workforce
Moderator
Kitson Symes, Partner, Singulier
Speakers
Gilad G Amir, Digital Operating Partner, Pollen Street Capital
Lewis Bantin, Partner, ECI
Mathilde Ragnhildstveit, Senior Investment Analyst, Formue
Alpesh Doshi, Partner, RedCliffe Capital
David Walters, Investment Director, River Capital
- Value creation in a low growth/high cost environment
- Managing key stakeholders through the cycle
- The importance of R&D ROI: Understanding the benefits and managing the risks
- The impact of culture on value creation in tech companies
Speakers
Riccardo Basile, Operating Partner, Permira
Damien Henault, Partner, TempoCap
Justin Maltz, Partner, Mobeus
Speaker
Matthew Murphy, Portfolio Partner, CBPE Capital
The global forces shaping import and export markets
- Exploring the challenges of establishing a network of service providers
- How to identify relevant service providers
- Fostering collaboration – encouraging partnerships and knowledge sharing among service providers
- Exploring ways to incentivise service providers to actively support talent efforts in the ecosystem
Speaker
Ben Cole, Investment Director, FPE Capital
Roundtable
Operating partners and value creation
- Quantifying the value of operating partners
- When to engage operating partners in the deal process
- Evolving operating partner organisational models: in-house vs externally sourced
- Generalist vs specialist operating partner models and respective engagement models
Facilitator
Wim de Bruyne, Partner, Montagu
Roundtable
Preparing for exit: strategies for enhancing company value prior to sale
- Leveraging VDD to grow value
- Timelines: when is the best time to start preparing a company for sale?
- Red flags: identifying aspects of the business that need improvement before going to market
Facilitator
Mauro Ballabio, Operating Partner, Progressio
Co- facilitator
Chris Wardle, Managing Director, Foresight Group
Roundtable
The ‘pre-100-day plan’: defining a value creation plan prior to acquisition
- When is the right time to define the value creation strategy? Is post-acquisition too late in today’s market?
- Working with DD providers to define the value creation plan prior to acquisition
- Using value creation strategies to win deals
Facilitator
Violette Castagné, VCP Director, Digital Transformation, LDC
Thursday 2 November
Talent in focus: prioritising talent for value creation
- Growing role of organisational effectiveness and talent in value creation
- Empirical evidence linking organisational effectiveness with value creation
- Building resilient and agile organisations to master turbulent times
- Assessing management’s capacity to deliver increasingly ambitious value creation plans
- How to attract and retain talent in a tight labour market
Moderator
Andros Payne, Managing Partner, Humatica
Speakers
Sam Ellis, Portfolio Director, Growth Capital Partners
Kate Migliaro, Global Head of Portfolio Talent, SearchLight Capital Partners
Lisa Telford, Private Equity Partner, Montagu
- Understanding the evolving role of the talent operating partner – defining responsibilities and expectations: What are the key stages and milestones in the evolution of talent operating partners? What is the future role?
- Key challenges, common obstacles and strategies to overcome them
- Leveraging the unique skills and competencies that talent operating partners bring to private equity and value creation
- Managing the interface with deal teams and operating partners
Speakers
Nick Kingma, Portfolio Talent, HG
Jade McGrath, Head of Talent Network, YFM Equity Partners
- How to attract top talent and keep them engaged
- Different approaches for different generations: GenZ, Baby Boomers, Millennials
- Growing role of values and purpose for retention
- Key considerations beyond salary
- Onboarding: making every day memorable
Moderator
Paul Blant, Managing Director, Finatal
Speakers
Ruby Biring, Head of Talent, Livingbridge
Tim Pointer, Operating Partner, Three Hills
- Methods to facilitate the exchange of best practices between portfolio companies
- Leveraging competencies and cumulative experience across portfolio companies
- Cross-portfolio training programmes – functional specialists including HR, finance, commercial
- Online tools and databases to facilitate exchange of best practices between portfolio companies
Moderator
Louise Kingston, Director, Baird Capital
Speakers
Lucie Mills, Partner, North Edge
James Markham, Senior Partner, Graphite Capital
- Role of DE&I in driving value growth in dynamic market environments
- Demonstrating the connection between DE&I and improved performance
- Link between DE&I and good governance
- Successful DE&I strategies and approaches
Moderator
Jennifer Wilson, Founder CEO, RE:CO
Speakers
Shami Nissan, Partner, Head of Sustainability, Actis
Imogen Richards, Partner and Head of Primaries, Pantheon
Liz Jones, Partner, Livingbridge
Stream A: Workshop – ESG's influence on the next generation
- Understanding the importance of ESG to Millennials and Gen Z
- The impact of ESG – why and how it matters to the next generation of workers
- Exploring how ESG influences employment decisions for young generations
Speakers
Mia Smith, Investment Associate, ECI
Ashim Paun, Head of Sustainable Investing, Triton Partners
Stream B: Workshop – Impact of new ways of working on value creation
- Challenges and benefits of remote and hybrid working
- Impact of hybrid working on collaboration, leadership and innovation
- Surveys and training to promote employee engagement and career progression
Speakers
Harriet Rosethorn, Investment Director, Puma Private Equity
James Marham, Senior Partner, Graphite Capital
- Latest technology solutions for HR and talent management
- Use of social media for recruitment and employer branding
- Utilising talent assessment tools and methods
- Leveraging tech tools for self-serve employee support and training