Speakers | EMPEA Fundraising Masterclass
EM PE Week in London 2016
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Speakers include
Alexander J. F. Chaplin, Principal, BerchWood
Alexander joined BerchWood’s London office in 2008 and is responsible for managing fundraising assignments and relationships with Limited Partners and Fund Managers across Europe, Asia and Africa. Alexander has 11 years of alternative investment fundraising experience working on all aspects of the private fund placement field. Prior to BerchWood Alexander was at MVision Private Equity Advisers where he worked on a diverse range of fund offerings from small country focused funds to large global funds including venture capital, growth, buyout, mezzanine, infrastructure, real estate, distressed, sector focused funds and emerging market funds totaling over $20bn in size.
Alexander graduated with a first class joint honors BA in philosophy and mathematics from the University of Bristol and completed the Oxford Private Equity Programme, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He is registered CF11 and CF30 by the FCA.
Anne Fossemalle, Director, Equity Funds, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Anne Fossemalle has been the Director in charge of Equity Funds at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development since 2009.
Previously, she was the Director, Bank Equity, responsible for EBRD’s direct equity investments in banks. Prior to this appointment in 2007, she was a Senior Banker in the Financial Institutions group, where she led various debt and equity transactions with banks, and was responsible for EBRD’s relationship with international banking groups. She joined EBRD in 1993, as part of the Agribusiness Team, then the Hungary Team, from Crédit National in Paris, where she was responsible for loans and equity transactions with large French food companies
Anne holds various Supervisory Board, Advisory Board and Investment Committee memberships.
Anne holds an M.A. in Economics from Stanford University (U.S.A), an M.Sc. from Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts (France), an M.Sc. from Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (France).
Rafael Kariyev, Counsel, Debevoise & Plimpton
Mark Kenderdine-Davies, General Counsel, CDC Group plc
Mark, a British national, is General Counsel of CDC Group plc (CDC) with oversight of the company’s legal and regulatory affairs. Mark manages the company’s legal team and corporate secretariat and sits on its private funds investment committee.
CDC, established by HM Government in 1948, is the world’s oldest development finance institution (DFI). Its mission is to support the building of businesses, to create jobs and make a lasting difference to people’s lives in some of the world’s poorest places. CDC is self-funding and invests from its own balance sheet of US$5bn. Receipts and profits from its investments are recycled into future investments.
CDC provides capital in all forms, including equity, debt, mezzanine and guarantees, to fund growth. It invests both directly and indirectly through private equity fund managers whose aims are aligned with its own. As a responsible investor, it seeks to add value by helping companies achieve good standards of governance, along with strong environmental, social and integrity policies.
CDC has committed approximately US$6.0bn to private equity funds and co-investments in Africa, Asia, Central America and Latin America since 2004. It currently targets fund, direct equity and debt investment opportunities in Africa and South Asia.
Mark joined CDC in 2006 from Gartmore Investment Management plc where he was Legal Counsel focusing on private equity and other alternative investments. Prior to that, he was Legal Counsel at Threadneedle Asset Management Limited. From 1994 to 2002, Mark lived in Vietnam working in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar as General Counsel/Senior Investment Executive at Indochina Asset Management Limited, the manager of two private equity funds, and as Executive Director of an investment company. Before the move to Vietnam, Mark was a partner at a London law firm.
Mark has an LLB (Hons) from the University of Liverpool and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School Of Business.
Mark is admitted to practice as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and is a Non-Executive Director of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association whose Legal and Regulatory Council he also chairs. Mark is also a Member of the Legal and Regulatory Committee of the African Venture Capital Association.
Geoffrey Kittredge, Corporate Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton
Geoffrey Kittredge is a corporate partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in London. Mr. Kittredge's practice focuses on private equity and investment fund formation.
Mr. Kittredge represents a broad range of international private equity and other private investment funds and their sponsors, including buyout, infrastructure, energy, mezzanine, real estate, secondaries, and venture funds, as well as funds of funds.
Mr. Kittredge has been in Europe since 1999 and in London since 2002, where he is Chair of Debevoise’s European Private Equity Funds Group. Mr. Kittredge is a member of the EMPEA Legal & Regulatory Council, and is also a member of the Legal and Technical Committee of the BVCA.
Labelled a “private equity ace” by Legal Week, he is ranked as a top-tier lawyer for Investment Funds by Chambers UK (2016), where he is described as “‘big personality’ and ‘fantastic lawyer’ with a wealth of industry knowledge in the European private funds sphere.”
John Kristensen, Senior Investment Manager, Financial Institutions and Head of Fund Investments, Swedfund
John joined Swedfund in 2013 where he’s covering the firm’s direct investments in Financial Institutions and Funds across all markets within its mandate. Prior to joining Swedfund, John was with Aviva plc in London focusing on strategic investments in the financial services sector. Prior to Aviva, he was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns in London.
Randy Mitchell, Vice President, EMPEA
Mr. Mitchell is uniquely exposed to institutional investors—globally. As the former U.S. government official responsible for private equity Mr. Mitchell created an initiative of international trade missions to promote inward LP commitments to U.S. based general partnerships resulting in $1 billion in inward flows to the United States. Over the years at the U.S. Department of Commerce and now at EMPEA, the global industry association for private capital in emerging markets, Mr. Mitchell facilitated 3,500+ LP:GP introductions; and moderated 50+ LP:GP roundtable discussions across the globe giving him unique insights.
Lynn Nguyen, Managing Director, PE Funds Portfolio, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
Ms. Nguyen is a Managing Director in the Investment Funds Department (IFD) at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). OPIC is one of the largest private equity fund sponsors in developing nations, providing support for the creation of privately-owned and managed investment funds. Since 1987, IFD has committed $4.1 billion to 62 private equity funds in emerging markets since 1987. These funds in turn have invested $5.6 billion in more than 570 privately-owned and managed companies across 65 countries.
Kevin Njiraini, Regional Lead, Sub-Saharan Africa, Private Equity Funds, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Kevin Njiraini is the Regional Lead for Private Equity Funds in Sub Saharan Africa at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). He previously worked with IFC’s Global Financial Institutions Group where he worked on transactions in Africa, Asia and Central America. Prior to joining IFC Kevin was the general manager of an investment bank.
Jesper Persson, Head of Unit, Private Equity, European Investment Bank (EIB)
Jesper Persson is responsible for the European Investment Bank’s private equity investments in sub-Saharan Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, and MENA. He previously held the position of Structured Finance Manager at the European Investment Fund. Prior to joining the EIB Group in August 2003, Jesper worked during a number of years in investment banking and structured finance for CIBC World Markets and Fitch Ratings in London. Jesper holds a degree in economics and finance from Lund University, Sweden and the University of Exeter, UK. He is a CFA charterholder.
John W. Rife III, Associate, Debevoise & Plimpton
John Rife is an English-qualified associate in the Corporate Department at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in London. He is a member of the firm’s Investment Management Group, where he advises institutional and independent sponsors of buyout, debt, secondaries, infrastructure and energy funds, as well as funds of funds, in connection with a broad range of matters, including fund formation and on-going operational matters, co-investments and internal reorganizations.
In addition, Mr. Rife regularly advises on secondary transactions, including end-of-life and other sponsor-led liquidity solutions.
John Rife is ranked as an “associate to watch” for Investment Funds: Private Equity by Chambers UK (2016) where he’s described as handling “a wide assortment of operational and transactional matters for his sponsor clientele, in addition to assisting with fund formations. His commendable track record includes fund-raisings for debt, infrastructure and buyout entities.”
Mr. Rife was admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales in 2009.
Jeff Schlapinski, Director, EMPEA
Jeff Schlapinski is the Director of Research at EMPEA, where he leads a team producing industry data, analysis and in-depth reporting on private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real assets investing in emerging economies. In addition to providing quarterly market intelligence to EMPEA’s members, Jeff manages EMPEA’s annual Global Limited Partners Survey and is a regular author of EMPEA special reports and research briefs. He also interacts frequently with the media, fund managers, institutional investors and industry advisors in order to fulfill EMPEA’s broader mission of informing the investment community on the private capital opportunity set in emerging markets. Jeff graduated from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) at Georgetown University in 2010 with a B.S. in International Economics.
Nikolay Shestak. IR Manager, Zubr Capital
Nikolay’sscope of responsibilities includes legal matters arising in course of Zubr Capital business activity and Investors Relations. In 2016 he close the first Belarus PE Fund Zubr Capital Fund I.
Before joining Zubr Capital worked in Moscow law firm dealing with international business structures and tax planning.
Represented interests of Zubr Capital on selling 35% of AtlantTelecom shares to EBRD. Was involved in number of M&A deals in Belarus and Russia. Holds L L.M. degree of Manchester University (UK).
Ophir Shmuel, Managing Director and the Regional Head of EMEA, MVision Private Equity Advisers
Ophir is a Managing Director and the Regional Head of EMEA, based in the London office of MVision Private Equity Advisers, a leading independent placement adviser. Ophir joined MVision in 2007 and has over 15 years of experience in private equity and investment banking.
At MVision, Ophir has managed numerous fundraisings and advisory mandates across regions and strategies and has led projects ranging from advising new teams on set up and attracting their first institutional capital, to advising established private equity firms on growing and diversifying their institutional funding base over multiple funds.
Ophir is also responsible for maintaining and developing relationships with limited partners across Europe, Asia and Latin America.
During his tenure at MVision, Ophir has raised in excess of $11 billion in commitments to private equity funds.
Prior to joining MVision, Ophir spent over four years at Goldman Sachs where he most recently led a research team responsible for the analysis of M&A transactions and equity and debt offerings.
Gunnar Stork, Director Corporates & Funds – Africa – Equity & Mezzanine, DEG
Gunnar Stork heads the risk capital business for Corporates and Funds in Africa at DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, the German development finance institution. Prior to this he was the Director of DEG in Mexico, responsible for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean from 2008 till 2012. Before joining DEG in 2001, he held various positions in the international tax structuring and consulting business.
He holds a Masters Degree in Business from the University of Cologne, Germany and a Masters in International Management from CEMS – the Community of European Management Schools at the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.
Michaela Sved, Director, Actis
Michaela is a Director with responsibility for the project management and operational functions of Actis’ Investor Development Group. Michaela manages the fundraising process for all Actis’ funds and also has responsibility for co-investment transactions. Prior to joining Actis in 2015, Michaela worked for MVision Private Equity Advisers, where she was a Director responsible for fundraising for private equity, energy and infrastructure funds including sourcing, origination and execution. Previously she had over 10 years with the Macquarie Group in Sydney, HK and NY, initially in the investment banking team and subsequently running co-investment deals for Macquarie's infrastructure and PE funds globally. During her last two years at Macquarie she was Head of Investor Relations at Macquarie Infrastructure Partners. Michaela holds a Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) (Advanced Japanese Major)/Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales.
Dabney Tonelli, Investor Relations Partner, Helios Investment Partners
Ms. Tonelli is responsible for leading Helios’ efforts to develop and maintain its relationships with existing and prospective investors. She joined the firm in 2012 from Chayton Capital LLP, an emerging markets private equity investment advisor, where she was Chief Operating Officer. She was jointly responsible for Chayton’s Africa business, executing the firm’s strategy on the continent, with a focus on operations, transactions and key investor relationships. Prior to Chayton, Ms. Tonelli was at Goldman Sachs for 12 years. She held a variety of management roles in Global Investment Research in London and was previously in the Investment Management Division in New York, where she was responsible for product development and management, as well as marketing and client coverage. She began her financial services career at American Express and received a BA, cum laude, from Georgetown University.
Nicolas Vagner, Executive Director, Head of EMEA Advisory, Private Funds Group
Nicolas joined the UBS Private Funds Group in 2007 in New York, and subsequently relocated to London in 2011, where he now heads the team's advisory efforts for the EMEA region. In this capacity, Nicolas works with leading managers across sectors, strategies and geographies to originate, advise on and execute fundraising solutions. Prior to that, Nicolas spent three years as an Associate within Lehman Brothers' Investment Banking Division in New York. He also worked as a Management Consultant for four years in Canada and France. Nicolas graduated from HEC Business School with a Bachelor in Business Administration and earned his MBA in Finance from Yale University's School of Management.
Kaido Veske, Founding Partner, Livonia Partners
Kaido Veske co-founded Livonia Partners in 2012. He started his career in London and New York working for investment bank Bear Stearns. Later he spent 3 years with Irving Place Capital in New York, focusing mainly on packaging, manufacturing, and consumer sectors. At Livonia, Kaido looks after the Ha Serv investment and spends most of his time on general industry and manufacturing industries. Kaido holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from INSEAD.