OUR GUEST SPEAKERS

Andrew Sillitoe

Partner, Co-CEO - Apax Partners

Andrew Sillitoe has been Co-CEO of Apax since 2014. He is Chairman of the Apax Global Investment Committee and the Digital Investment Committee, amongst others.  He is also a member of the Apax Executive Committee. He has been based in London since joining the Firm in 1998, focusing on Tech & Telco investments.

Andrew has been involved in a number of investments including Inmarsat, Intelsat, King, Orange Switzerland, TIVIT, TDC and Unilabs. 

Prior to joining Apax, Andrew was a consultant at LEK.  Andrew holds an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford and an MBA from INSEAD. 

Andrew is also a member of the UK Investment Council.

Mubashir Mukadam

Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Blantyre Capital

Before founding Blantyre in 2016, Mubashir was Head of KKR’s European Special Situations business. At KKR he successfully built and scaled the business in Europe, from hiring and training a team of 10, sourcing interesting public and private investment opportunities amounting to approximately USD3.5bn invested, and innovating and developing a successful investment track record for the business in Europe. He also founded and scaled Pillarstone, a European stressed/distressed loans platform that launched with approximately EUR1bn in 2015. Prior to KKR, Mubashir was a Managing Director at York Capital, where he helped establish the group’s European credit business, growing it to approximately USD2bn at the time of his departure. Prior to York, Mubashir worked for Deutsche Bank’s Distressed Products Group. Mubashir started his career in 1996 at Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank.

Mubashir has a B.Sc. (Hons) in Business Administration from the University of Bath. He also holds an MBA with Honors from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Mubashir is a guest speaker on European special situations investing in the MBA program at the London Business School.

Andrew Fairbairn

Executive Vice President, SEO USA

Andrew Fairbairn is the Senior Vice President of SEO USA, overseeing SEO’s five professional programs: Career, Tech Developer, Alternative Investments, Law, and Leadership Institute.

Andrew has been involved with SEO for almost three decades, beginning in 1995 as an SEO Career intern for Lehman Brothers, which launched his career in finance, consulting, and executive leadership.

In 2000, Andrew co-founded SEO London while on assignment with Deutsche Bank, and after many years on the board of directors, he became the CEO in 2016. Under his tenure at SEO, Andrew oversaw the growth of all SEO London programming. Andrew knows firsthand the power and impact of SEO and believes that SEO is a “powerful vector for hope in our society.”

Andrew’s upbringing has been influential throughout his life and has solidified his focus on racial equity and social justice. Although he was born in Massachusetts, Andrew spent his first 10 years in Jamaica, West Indies, in his mother’s hometown. He moved back to the Boston area for middle school and high school. Being mixed race, Andrew is simultaneously an insider and an outsider in many of the conversations on race and differences in our society. Throughout his formative experiences, he saw how systemic factors can be limiting for so many individuals and communities, which solidified his commitment to ensuring opportunity is available to all.

Andrew brings an entrepreneurial and cross-industry perspective to his role and is passionate about seeing young people succeed.

Nathalie Richards

Peter Lockhead

Managing Director, Co-Head of Direct Lending - Senior Debt Partners

Peter joined ICG in June 2017, and is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of the Senior Debt Partners strategy. Prior to joining ICG, he was the Portfolio Manager for Avenue Capital’s direct lending business in Europe, having joined Avenue in September 2012 to establish that business.

Previously Peter was a Managing Director and Head of Sponsor Leveraged Finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and before that a Managing Director in the Financial Sponsor Coverage and Leverage Finance groups at Merrill Lynch. Previously, he worked for Barclays Capital in their Leveraged Finance & Sponsor Coverage Group and NatWest Markets in their Acquisition Finance team.

Peter received a first class honours degree in Banking and Finance from Loughborough University.

Chanelle Wallace

Senior Principal – Cinven

Channelle is a member of the TMT sector team. She has been involved in a number of transactions, including Allegro, Kurt Geiger, MasMovil and RTB House.

Prior to joining Cinven, Channelle worked at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division as a member of the Consumer Retail and Healthcare team, focusing on M&A and IPO transactions.

Channelle has a BA in Economics and Business from University College London.

She joined Cinven in 2015.

CEO, SEO London

Nathalie Richards serves as the CEO of SEO London and is at the forefront of the organisation’s impactful journey, which is dedicated to pathways for success for those with untapped potential. Rooted in personal experiences and fuelled by a passion for social impact, Nathalie is resolute in making a difference.

Before SEO London, Nathalie amassed two decades of experience across the charity, education, and consulting sectors. She is also a trustee of Virgin Unite, the foundation of the Branson family and the Virgin brand and the founder of EduKit, a notable social enterprise dedicated to enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of students in school. Nathalie now proudly sits on the Board as Chair, exemplifying her commitment to holistic development and making a positive impact within the education sector.

Born to Caribbean parents and raised in East London, Nathalie’s upbringing has also fuelled her commitment to breaking down barriers and fostering a fair and equitable society, having experienced herself the limitations of resources and access to certain career opportunities.

Under Nathalie’s stewardship, SEO London has expanded its footprint, reaching across borders with initiatives like the SEO Europe Finance Academy in Paris, seamlessly aligning with the organisation's mission of creating opportunities for talent on a global scale. An entrepreneurial spirit clearly defines Nathalie’s leadership style, coupled with commitment to cross-industry collaboration. Her passion for seeing young people succeed manifests in SEO London’s impactful programs, creating a powerful vector for hope and change.

Guy Israel

Director - MV Credit

Joined in 2014 - Director. Guy joined MV Credit as a member of the Deal Team. Prior to MV Credit, Guy worked in the UK M&A Team at Barclays in London.

Guy holds a BSc (first class) in Accounting & Finance from The University of Warwick.

Michael Magee

Managing Director - Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Private Credit

Michael is a managing director in Direct Lending within Goldman Sachs Asset & Wealth Management with coverage responsibility for the TMT sector and also the Benelux region.

Michael joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in Leveraged Finance within Investment Banking in 2012 and later joined AWM Direct Lending in 2015.

Michael earned a BSc. in Economics & Finance from University College Dublin in 2012.

Miguel Toney

Partner - CVC Credit

Miguel Toney, Partner at CVC is a member of the Private Credit team based in London.

Prior to joining CVC, Miguel was a Partner at Park Square Capital. Miguel also spent 11 years at MezzVest (now MV Credit), and two years at Credit Suisse.

Miguel holds an MBA from Said Business School (University of Oxford), and a BA in Economics and International Politics from Vassar College, New York.

Nino Mowinckel

Managing Director - Hayfin

Nino Mowinckel joined Hayfin in 2019 and serves as a Managing Director in the Maritime Team. Prior to this, he was at Breakwater Capital which began an exclusive partnership with Hayfin in 2014.

Prior to joining Breakwater, Nino was at Delphin Shipping, a New York based investment vehicle focused on the maritime sector backed by Kelso & Co, where he was involved in investment analysis, risk management and commercial strategy.

Before this, he worked at McQuilling Partners in maritime finance and special projects. He began his career at BNP Paribas (New York) in Debt Capital Markets, Fixed Income Origination, covering transportation and financial clients and focusing on both Investment Grade and High Yield primary bond issuance.

Nino graduated with a BA. in International Relations from Boston University and holds an MBA from INSEAD. 

Patrick Oehlschlaeger

Director - Advent International Ltd.

Patrick Oehlschlaeger joined Advent in 2015. Following business school, he joined Advent in the London office, focusing on industrial investments.

Previously, Patrick was a consultant at Bain &Company in Frankfurt, focusing on strategy, private equity due diligence and post-acquisition value creation projects. He also spent time as an intern at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Elliott.

Patrick earned a BSc, summa cum laude, in International Management from ESB Reutlingen / Northeastern University, an MSc with distinction from London Business School and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

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Amit Bahri

Co-head European Direct Lending -
Goldman Sachs & Wealth Management

Amit Bahri serves as the co-head of the European Direct Lending platform for Goldman Sachs’ Asset and Wealth Management.

The Direct Lending business is the flagship senior loan and mezzanine investing platform within the Private Credit business of Goldman Sachs.

Amit joined Goldman Sachs in 2006 within the Investment Banking Division and joined the Private Credit investing business in 2008.

Romain Ferron

Partner - Davidson Kempner

Romain oversees Real Estate in Europe and Asia for Davidson Kempner and has been at the firm for 10 years. He joined Davidson Kempner in July 2013.

From 2009 to 2013, Romain was an associate at Starwood Capital Group in London in their European Acquisitions team. From 2006 to 2009, he was an investment banking analyst at UBS Investment Bank in the Real Estate and Leisure Group in London.

Romain is French and received his Master of Science in Management from ESSEC Business School in Paris in 2006.

Teia Merring

Senior Investments Director - USS

Teia Merring is a Senior Investment Director in the Private Equity Funds and Co-Investment team at USS Investment Management (~£70bn AUM), the corporate pension plan for universities in the United Kingdom. 

She is responsible for executing and managing private equity fund commitments and co-investments across all sectors and geographies and sits on various supervisory boards. 
In addition to her role at USS, Teia is the Vice Chair of the ILPA Board and a chair of the ILPA Industry Affairs & Standards Committee. 

Prior to joining USS in 2011, Teia was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in the Healthcare division.

She holds a MSc in Applied Economics and Finance from Copenhagen Business School, and her university studies included a MBA term at IIM Ahmedabad, India.

Michael Thompson

Partner - Warburg Pincus

Michael Thompson is head of the Capital Solutions business in Europe, having joined Warburg Pincus in 2019. Prior to joining Warburg Pincus, he was a Managing Director at Och-Ziff Capital (now Sculptor) in the Private Investments group where he spent over 14 years investing across the capital structure in opportunistic credit and equity investments across private and public markets incorporating distressed, control, minority and convertible transactions.

Previously, Michael worked in Leveraged Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions roles at Merrill Lynch in London. He is a Director of Prismic, Delticus and Somers Re. Michael holds a BA in Economics from the University of Manchester and an MA in Corporate Strategy and Governance from the Nottingham University Business School.

Setor Lassey

Director - BII

Setor is a Director in BII’s Infrastructure and Climate Group, helping to allocate private capital across the Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

He is responsible for appraising new investment opportunities, executing investments across the sector, and managing BII’s existing portfolio exposure (across funds, co-investments and platforms).  Setor leads on portfolio management for a c.USD 600m portfolio of investments and sits on various respective governance committees for those investments.

Setor began his career in Consulting and then Restructuring at KPMG.  He is a CFA Charterholder and has a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College.

Franziska Kayser

Managing Director - KKR

Franziska Kayser (London) joined KKR in 2011 and is a member of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications industry team within KKR's Private Equity platform in EMEA. She has been involved in KKR's investments in Axel Springer, GfK, Trainline, Scout24 Switzerland, SMCP and Wild Flavors.

Franziska Kayser currently serves on the board of directors of Axel Springer. She is further part of KKR’s Global and European Inclusion & Diversity Council and sits on SEO London’s AIP advisory board. Prior to joining KKR, she worked in the investment banking division of Credit Suisse in London.

She holds a First Class Honours BA from McGill University, Canada.

Dana Haimoff

Managing Director, JP Morgan Asset Management

Dana Haimoff, Managing Director, joined the Private Equity Group in 2002. Ms. Haimoff is a senior Portfolio Manager in the London office.  She is responsible for sourcing, due diligence and monitoring private equity primary venture capital, growth and buyout funds, secondary and co-investment opportunities on behalf of the PEG’s comingled and client separate account funds. 

Currently, she serves on numerous private equity LP advisory committees.  Dana is the co-Founder of Level20, a not-for-profit organization set up to encourage women to succeed in the private equity industry. She is a member of the British Venture Capital Association’s Limited Partner Committee.  Dana is a director on the board of JP Morgan Asset Management International Ltd and JP Morgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd and is responsible for the firm’s SMCR’s EMEA Alternatives.

Krysto Nikolic

Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Real Estate - ICG

Krysto Nikolic is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate at ICG. He is a member of ICG’s Management Committee.

Prior to joining ICG, he was Head of European Real Estate at Starwood Capital Group, where he served on its Global Investment and Operating Committees.

Previously, Krysto was a Partner at TPG and started his career at Goldman Sachs International.

Krysto has led over $14 billion of real estate acquisitions and served on the Board of Directors of multiple portfolio companies and real estate platforms. He holds an MA from Cambridge University.

Eva Boutillier

Managing Director, CVC Credit

Krysto Nikolic is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate at ICG. He is a member of ICG’s Management Committee.

Prior to joining ICG, he was Head of European Real Estate at Starwood Capital Group, where he served on its Global Investment and Operating Committees.

Previously, Krysto was a Partner at TPG and started his career at Goldman Sachs International.

Krysto has led over $14 billion of real estate acquisitions and served on the Board of Directors of multiple portfolio companies and real estate platforms. He holds an MA from Cambridge University.

Stephane Tetot

Managing Director, Black Rock

Stephane Tetot, Managing Director, joined BlackRock in 2011 and is a member of BlackRock Climate Infrastructure (“BCI”), within BlackRock Alternatives, which currently manages c.$10 billion in capital commitments across six mandates. BCI has invested in over 100 climate infrastructure assets across a range of markets. Stephane currently leads investment activities in Europe and is responsible for sourcing, executing and managing climate investments across the EMEA region from London, as well as setting investment strategy. Recently led the team's investments in Ionity, NorthVolt and WindVision, as well as supporting BlackRock's engagement with Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Prior to joining BlackRock in 2011, Mr. Tetot was an investment manager at Veolia Environnement. Mr. Tetot began his career as an analyst in the Financial Sponsor Group at Societe Generale CIB in London in 2007.

Mr. Tetot earned an MSc in banking and finance from Paris-Dauphine University, France.

Joanna Kirby

Managing Director, Ormonde Partners

Joanna Kirby is a Managing Director at Ormonde Partners, a specialist private markets investment manager. Joanna works mainly with family/UHNW investors, providing advice around the development of bespoke private markets investment programmes. Within private markets, Joanna’s main areas of expertise are in private equity, private credit, ESG and impact investing, across Europe, North America and Asia.

Joanna began her career in investment banking, at HSBC Investment Bank then NM Rothschild, working on EMEA privatisations and corporate capital raisings. She subsequently moved into private equity, joining Advent International where she was a Director in the Fundraising & IR team. Prior to joining Ormonde in 2021, Joanna was Managing Director at Time Partners, a specialist advisory firm focusing on private markets.

In addition, Joanna is a Lay Trustee and Chair of the Finance & Investment Committee at the Royal College of Surgeons England.

Joanna received a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Politics from the University of Bristol.

Niccolo Ferragamo

Senior Principal, Apax Digital

Niccolo Ferragamo is a Principal in the Digital team. He focuses on minority and buyout investments in high-growth businesses. His Apax Digital Fund experience includes Pricefx, Faculty, and Tide. Niccolo joined Apax Partners in 2018 and is currently based in London.

Prior to joining Apax Partners, Niccolo was working at Hellman & Friedman, where he executed the acquisition of several technology businesses and focused on the software, financial technology and online industries. Previously, Niccolo worked as an Associate at McKinsey & Company, where he advised clients on Corporate Finance and Technology projects. Before that, Niccolo worked at Rocket Internet in South East Asia and founded the Startup Kiwi, focusing on mobile software development.

Niccolo holds a Dual MSc in International Management from Bocconi and London School of Economics, a Grand-Ecole Diploma in Economics from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, and a BSc in Economics and Finance from University of Pisa. 

Ali Otmar

Senior Partner, Head of Investments – Tristan Capital Partners

Ali is a Senior Partner and Head of Investments of Tristan Capital Partners. He is responsible for all the investment activity of the firm across both fund strategies. During his 20+ year track record in Europe, Ali has been responsible for underwriting, due diligence, negotiating and structuring over 70 investments with a total equity commitment of c. €2.5 billion.

Prior to joining Tristan, Ali worked for five years in Merrill Lynch’s Real Estate Principal Investments group and its successor, Peakside Capital, where he was responsible for structuring, raising and managing two real estate private equity funds on behalf of third party investors, as well as the firm’s investment activity on its own account.

Before joining Merrill Lynch, he worked seven years in Citigroup’s real estate investment businesses for direct real estate assets as well as NPL portfolios.

Since joining Tristan in March 2011, he has been responsible for the origination and execution of new investments in excess of €3.5 billion on behalf of funds which invest in Core+ and Value-Add/Opportunistic investment opportunities on a pan-European basis. Ali graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Chicago in 1999.

Soren Holt

Director, Hg Capital

Søren is a member of the Genesis team and focuses on investments in software and services, notably ERP software.  He has been involved in Hg’s investments in Dext, Trackunit, Geomatikk, Access Group, IRIS, Visma, Zitcom, Raet and Foundry. Søren sits on the board of Dext and Trackunit.

Søren joined Hg in 2015 with three years of management consulting experience in Kearney in Denmark & Germany, where he worked on a range of strategy projects, primarily for private equity clients.

Søren is from Denmark and has a B.Sc. in International Business and a M.Sc. in Applied Economics and Finance from Copenhagen Business School

Rachel Zagaweski

Executive Director, HPS Investment Partners

Ms. Zagajewski is an Executive Director at HPS Investment Partners. Prior to joining HPS in 2021, Ms. Zagajewski worked at Park Square Capital in London, sourcing and executing subordinated capital investments. Prior to Park Square, Ms. Zagajewski worked at UBS, where she focused on leveraged financing transactions. Ms. Zagajewski holds a BA in Economics & Management from the University of Oxford.

Amar Majithia

Managing Director, Real Estate Capital Markets, Blackstone

Amar Majithia is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group focusing on the financing of Blackstone’s real estate investments across Europe.

Before joining Blackstone in 2020, Mr. Majithia spent 6 years at Goldman Sachs where he was an Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division, responsible for origination, structuring, syndication and securitization of real estate financings across Europe.

Mr. Majithia graduated from Cardiff University with a BSc in Business Management and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland. 

Jamaria Kong

Managing Director – TowerBrook Capital Partners (U.K.) LLP

Jamaria Kong is a Managing Director of TowerBrook, where she co-leads Digital. Jamaria is responsible for Digital Value Creation across nearly 30 European portfolio companies and has been actively implementing Artificial Intelligence.

Previously, Jamaria was an independent management consultant to private equity firms and large corporates. She was formerly the Managing Partner at Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s advisory and consulting services.

Prior to that, Jamaria was an Associate Director at EY’s transaction advisory services and an Executive Advisor at KPMG’s deal advisory team.

Jamaria earned her BSc in Business Information Technology and M.Com. in International Business from the University of New South Wales.