November 27, 2012
November 27, 2012 - Alumni Networking event and Panel Discussion at Alston & Bird - Alumni Login Required. Contact GL2304@columbia.edu if you have any registration issues.
Where We've Been and Where We're Going: A Private Equity Retrospective and Look Ahead
6:00-6:30 p.m: Program Check-in
6:30-7:30 p.m: Program
7:30 p.m: Networking Reception with refreshments
December 7-9 2012 - 2nd Annual Deal Camp in Montauk.
See our video about Deal Camp:
February 15, 2013 - 19th Annual Private Equity & Venture Capital Conference. Save the date.
Alumni Event April 4 2012
April 4, 2012
The Capital Deployment Decision: M&A Technology and Marketplace
The Private Equity Program offered an alumni panel at Alston & Bird. This is part of our ongoing series for alumni about private equity related topics.
View the slideshow of the event , and watch video of the discussion:
Come and join us for a discussion for the latest in M&A deal technology as we explore the capital deployment decision for Private Equity firms in today’s market. The Capital Deployment Decision: M&A Marketplace and Technology. The panel discussion will be moderated by Professor Donna M. Hitscherich `90, Director of the Columbia Business School Private Equity Program with panelists Stewart K.P. Gross `87 Managing Director, Lightyear Capital, Patrick Severson `01, Warburg Pincus LLC, Alexander A. Shahidi `92, Partner and People Leader, Americas Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP and James H. Sullivan, Jr., Partner, Alston & Bird LLP Corporate Transactions and Securities Group.
Featured presenters:
Donna M. Hitscherich '90
Director, Private Equity Program, Columbia Business School
Senior Lecturer in Discipline Finance and Economics
Professor Donna M. Hitscherich was appointed as director of the Private Equity Program in October 2010. Professor Hitscherich now serves as Senior Lecturer in the Finance and Economics division, a position she has held since 2008 after a nearly twenty year career in investment banking and law. Professor Hitscherich teaches Corporate Finance, Advanced Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions and Business Law in the MBA and Executive MBA programs. From 1988 through 1990, Professor Hitscherich was an assistant professor of law at St. John's University School of Law, where she taught Federal Securities Regulation and Legal Ethics.
Prior to her present position at Columbia, Professor Hitscherich had a career in investment banking, during which she held positions at CS First Boston, J. P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated and Banc of America Securities. Prior to her career in investment banking, Professor Hitscherich was a corporate lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Her research interests include mergers and acquisitions, valuation and fairness opinions. She was a member of the St. John's Law Review, and she is admitted to the Bar in the State of New York.
Stewart K.P. Gross `87 Managing Director, Lightyear Capital
Stewart Gross is a Managing Director of Lightyear Capital and a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining Lightyear Capital in May 2005, Mr. Gross spent 17 years at Warburg Pincus, where he was a Partner and member of the Operating Committee. Mr. Gross began his career as a Financial Analyst in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Gross serves on the Board of Directors of Lightyear Capital portfolio companies Cetera Financial Group, Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Limited, and Higher One Holdings, Inc. Mr. Gross received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Patrick Severson `01
Managing Director, Warburg Pincus LLC
Patrick Severson is a Managing Director at Warburg Pincus. Mr. Severson joined Warburg Pincus in 2001 and focuses on software and healthcare technology investments. Prior to joining Warburg Pincus, he was a consultant with Booz-Allen & Hamilton and Price Waterhouse, focused on media and technology industries. Mr. Severson’s current portfolio includes iParadigms, Nuance, Spigit, and CrowdStrike. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Stanford University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He serves as an advisor to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Warburg Pincus is a leading global private equity firm with more than $30 billion in assets under management and an active portfolio of more than 110 diversified companies. It is a growth investor and an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 13 private equity funds which have invested more than $35 billion in over 600 companies in more than 30 countries.
Alexander A. Shahidi `92
Partner and People Leader, Americas Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP
Alexander is a member of Ernst & Young's Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) group where he serves as the Global Client Service Partner for two private equity firms in addition to being the Americas TAS People Leader. He has extensive experience in complex cross-border M&A transactions and has led due diligence engagements of companies in a variety of industries, including industrial products, distribution, automotive, education, and technology. Mr. Shahidi is responsible for all areas of human resources for Americas TAS, including hiring, retention, compensation and performance management. He received his MBAat Columbia University Graduate School of Business and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Colgate University. He is a US Certified Public Accountant, member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and speaker at private equity conferences.
James H. Sullivan, Jr.
Partner, Alston & Bird LLP
Corporate Transactions and Securities Group
James Sullivan focuses his practice on advising institutional investors and private investment fund sponsors representing a wide variety of fund structures and asset classes. Mr. Sullivan has significant experience in representing buyout funds, venture capital funds, hybrid funds and real estate funds in their investment and acquisition activity, including investments in and acquisitions of portfolio companies, debt and equity capital raising initiatives, recapitalizations and sponsor exit transactions. He also counsels public and private companies (including companies controlled by private investment funds) in a variety of corporate transactions, including strategic acquisitions and divestures, equity and debt financings and other complex business transactions.
This is the third in the series focused on issues in private equity presented by Columbia Business School's Private Equity Program and hosted by Alston & Bird.
View the photo slideshow of last event in November 2011
Photo slideshow is now available from the April 2011 event. Check out the video podcast 
18th Annual PE/VC Conference
February 3, 2012
In 2012 the Annual Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference was hosted by Columbia Business School Private Equity and Venture Capital Club and it brought together over 750 professionals, alumni, and students to provide a forum for industry practitioners and followers to interact.
Visit http://www.cbspevcconference.com for more details and follow the Conference on Twitter: @cbspevcconf
The 2012 Carried Interest online highlights the panels and keynotes. The conference provided a fresh perspective on both the emerging lucrative exit opportunities and the challenges that the private equity and venture capital industries are facing ahead.
Featured keynote speakers:
Joseph L. Rice III – Chairman & Co-founder, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
David M. Rubenstein - Co-Founder and Managing Director, The Carlyle Group
Jason Kelly - Private Equity Reporter, Bloomberg News
Robert L. Nardelli - CEO, Cerberus Operating & Advisory Company
Timothy C. Draper - Managing Director & Founder, DFJ Gotham Ventures
Panels included:
The Leveraged Buyout
Strategic Venturing
Emerging Markets Investing
Private Equity in the Middle Market
Trends in Venture Capital Investing
The Changing Regulatory Environment