Where We've Been and Where We're Going: A Private Equity Retrospective and Look Ahead
The Private Equity Program offered a panel discussion at Alston & Bird on November 27, 2012. This was part of our ongoing series for alumni about private equity related topics. The discussion included the latest in deal trends and what the 2012 predicts for 2013. The session was be followed by a networking reception for attendees.
The panel discussion was moderated by Professor Donna M. Hitscherich `90, Director of the Columbia Business School Private Equity Program with panelists David DeLeeuw `69, Chairman, Lion Cao Asset Management; Jason Kelly, Private Equity Reporter Bloomberg News; Matthew Mamak, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP; , and James H. Sullivan, Jr., Partner, Alston & Bird LLP Corporate Transactions and Securities Group. Click here for the full bios.
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.
David DeLeeuw `69
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Lion Chemical Capital LLC
Co-Founder & Chairman, Lion Cao Asset Management LLC
David E. De Leeuw is a founding partner of Lion Chemical Capital LLC, a private equity firm focused on investing in premier businesses operating in the chemical and materials industries. Mr. De Leeuw founded Lion Chemical with his brother Pete De Leeuw in 2002 to acquire, manage and eventually monetize chemicals and materials businesses. Since the Firm’s founding, Lion Chemical has invested and/or advised on transactions in the chemical industry valued at over $4 billion and have earned net returns in excess of 10x invested capital.
Mr. De Leeuw has more than 10 years of investment experience in the chemical and materials industries and more than 40 years of investment experience in various sectors including, consumer goods and services and financial services.
Mr. De Leeuw also co-founded Lion Cao Asset Management in 2005, which provides institutional quality investment management services to family offices and wealthy individuals with a focus on private equity, direct investments, co-investments, and funds. Lion Cao principals have led investments into more than 40 funds, managers, direct investments and co-investments.
Prior to establishing Lion Chemical and Lion Cao, Mr. De Leeuw, was a founding partner at McCown De Leeuw & Co., which raised more than $1.2 billion in four funds and invested over $1 billion in 40 leveraged platform acquisitions and over 100 add-ons. Mr. De Leeuw led or played a key role in numerous financings for McCown De Leeuw including IPOs, mezzanine debt, bonds, and private financings, as well as acquisitions, divestitures, and secondary offerings over a 20 year period. Prior to founding MDC in 1984, Mr. De Leeuw led the leveraged acquisitions group at Citibank, and was previously at W.R. Grace & Co., and Paine Webber in New York and Tokyo.
Mr. De Leeuw has served on more than 25 Boards (with several listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ) since 1984, often as Chairman or Vice Chairman. Mr. De Leeuw is currently serving on the boards of Lion Copolymer, a manufacturer and distributor of EPDM and SBR rubbers, and specialty polymers and Columbia Business School's Private Equity Program Advisory Board. Mr. De Leeuw received an MBA from Columbia University, and a BA in History from Lafayette.
Private Equity Reporter, Bloomberg News
Jason Kelly is a writer covering the global private equity industry for Bloomberg News in New York and the author of The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything. He's a frequent contributor to Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Businessweek. During his tenure at Bloomberg, he's written about issues ranging from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to economic development during the war in Afghanistan. Prior to joining Bloomberg in 2002, he was the editor in chief of digitalsouth magazine, a publication focused on technology and finance in the Southeast and Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University.
Partner, Alston & Bird LLP
Matthew Mamak is a partner in the Financial Services & Products Group, concentrating his practice on the formation, structuring and management of private investment funds and publicly offered and privately placed commodity pools, debt and equity security offerings and securities regulation. He regularly advises clients with respect to compliance with the Commodity Exchange Act, Investment Advisers Act of 1940, exemptions from the Investment Company Act of 1940, Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Futures Association and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He represents a broad range of clients that utilize different strategies from well-established institutions to fund managers that have decided to start their own funds.
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 fourth in the series focused on issues in private equity presented by Columbia Business School's Private Equity Program and hosted by Alston & Bird.