4th ANNUAL EXCHANGE 2021
EXCHANGE AGENDA - view speakers
12:30pm EST - Member Event (by invitation only)
Come together for an intimate (virtual) gathering to celebrate the growing community of women dealmakers who are supporting each other’s success. Together with our board and our sponsors, we’d like to engage and hear what’s important for your personal and professional growth this year, and learn how we can continue to play a valuable role for you.
Jennifer J. Fondrevay, Chief Humanity Officer of Day 1 Ready, will discuss how she got into M&A as a female after 25 years as an international Corporate Marketing Executive which will be followed by Q&A and Networking!
1:15pm - Opening Remarks
1:30pm EST- Women Founded Business - sponsored by Houlihan Lokey
What Really Matters to Compete as a Female Founder?
Our panel explored the challenges behind the title of CEO – and the real role that gender plays/does not play in a highly competitive market.
What really matters to compete as a female founder? That was the question posed to the panelists and members during the first panel at the 4th Annual Exchange. Each panelists brought their own experience and opinion in hopes of best answering the question and instilling their own advice into the minds of each listener.
All of the women in this panel emphasized that it is ok to be nervous and feel lonely as a female founder. Humility is often frowned upon, but it is part of being human and taking risks. Education and investing, as well as the use of emotion in one’s business plans, allow women to be successful in any field that they break into. Using one’s humility and sympathy allow for women to attract the right kind of talent that make female founded businesses so successful.
PANELISTS
Catherine Berman is CEO and Co-founder of CNote, an award winning investment platform delivering competitive returns with 100% positive social impact. She is a 3X entrepreneur with experience building and scaling profitable businesses with transformative social impact.
Alicia Grande, is Founder & CEO of Grande Cosmetics, LLC. With a lifelong passion for beauty, Alicia Grande founded Grande Cosmetics in 2008 as the first “functional cosmetics” makeup brand.
Thessy Mehrain, Co-founder of Liquality.io, provides financial infrastructure and privacy-preserving tools, such as a multi-asset crypto wallet as one-point entry to the crypto-universe.
Meena Sankaran, Founder & CEO of Ketos Inc. is an Entrepreneur striving to create change in the world through the power of technology and innovation.
Moderator, Alexandra Lebenthal, Senior Advisor, Houlihan Lokey, is a member of Houlihan Lokey’s Financial Sponsors Group and leads an initiative focusing on female-led companies.
2:15 - Networking
Virtual Room Breakouts, Deal Discussions/New Connections
2:30pm EST- People First
A Renewed Prioritization of Human Capital and What it Means for Today’s Investing
How do we tell stories and empower people, especially women, across organizations?
During our second panel of the Exchange, we explored new ways of working, new definitions of work life integration, and new requirements for success. Our four panelists and moderator spoke to the idea that all companies (and investors) need to think/act in creative ways when it comes to recruitment in order to retain the best talent. The talent market is competitive, but companies that put people first will continue to thrive, even in the most saturated industry. Our panelists included
As a result of this flexibility, the workplace culture is improving. Dialogue is much more open among all levels of the corporate ladder. Women in power are especially successful at making an environment where employees feel seen and heard. All our panelists spoke to the need for a healthy work-life balance, not just for yourself, but maintaining the same for your employees.
PANELISTS
Stacey Leibowitz is a Vice President based in Bain & Company’s New York office. As the global head of Leadership Recruiting, she supports the firm’s senior leadership in the areas of global talent strategy, recruiting, and integration for senior consulting and functional leadership at Bain.
Annmarie Neal, joined Hellman & Friedman in 2015 and is the Chief Talent Officer. She is a Director of SnapAV. Her primary responsibility is to help H&F drive value by improving the organizational and leadership effectiveness of the Firm’s portfolio companies.
Kiran Pande is the Co-Founder of VMock, an AI/ML powered career acceleration platform that enables students and professionals globally to maximize their career success.
Lauren Braswell Smykle, Consultant, Russell Reynolds Associates is a member of the firm’s global Board & CEO Advisory Partners. She works with clients across sectors and geographies to help identify, recruit and develop top executive and non-executive talent.
Moderator, Cortney Stapleton, Managing Partner, The Bliss Group. Cortney partners with companies primarily in financial and professional services to help realize communication goals by developing integrated marketing campaigns that move their clients and prospects to action.
3:15 - Networking Power Break
Opportunity to connect in small groups of 4 to exchange information while developing professional and/or social contacts
3:30pm EST- Keeping the Pulse on Healthcare - Sponsored by Alliant Insurance
Current Trends in M&A and the Long Term Tech Impact
This panel addressed current themes within the healthcare industry, including how the current pandemic has played a transformational role. Taking into consideration public policy, demographics, technology, and how these influence investor appetite and perspective, all of the panelists brought different and unique insight to the field of healthcare.
How can we make healthcare more accessible and affordable? The current pandemic shined a light on a need for better access to affordable health care services. Services such as hospice, homecare, rehab, and assisted living facilities are at a high demand, with low supply and exacerbating costs. All of the panelists are working on building a healthcare system that is easier to access and operate, without breaking the bank.
Through investing in our healthcare systems and technology, the panelists strive to help patients access care providers and learn to navigate their own health, especially at an older age during an on-going pandemic.
PANELISTS
Allison Fiore, Vice President, Tailwind. Her prior experience included Sentinel Capital Partners and Piper Jaffray
Natalie Greene, is a Principal at RiverGlade. Natalie’s primary responsibilities include origination, diligence and execution of investment opportunities.
Becky Gregg is a Director at Brentwood Capital Advisors, a middle-market investment bank that provides M&A and capital raising advisory for healthcare, technology and tech-enabled services companies
Kate Pettinato joined Ziegler in 2017 to lead financial sponsor coverage. In this role, she has the pleasure of sitting across a group of 50 healthcare services and healthcare IT focused
Moderator, Ashley Schade, CPA, Partner, Plante Moran. With over 14 years of experience, Ashley provides assurance and consulting services to middle-market privately owned businesses with a focus in private equity firms investing in healthcare, service and manufacturing industries.
4:15 - Networking
Virtual Room Breakouts, a space for attendees to join smaller sessions to continue the discussion of healthcare in an intimate setting.
4:30pm EST- The Common Thread Sponsored by Datasite
The Impact of Digitalization on Food, Education, Energy and Security
The panelists we heard are all experts on how hot industries are being transformed with the expanding reliance and centrality on technology.
All of these panelists are in extremely different fields, yet all know the importance of technology in the expansion of a business. In order to be successful in a digitalized world, you have to ask yourself: How do you accelerate and make things more efficient? One has to always be looking ahead.
Using AI to predict trends, whether it be for climate change, buyer influence, or food availability, it gives companies a leg up in understanding the market. Technology is not a bonus to these industries, but an essential facet of their success. With Artificial Intelligence, productivity explodes. Consumers feel more empowered as well with a new influx of information at their fingertips, feeling more confident in their investments. While all of the panelists have a wide array of interests, technology unites them together in their success.
PANELISTS
Susie Jaramillo, currently serves as Co-founder, President, and Chief Creative Officer of Encantos, an award-winning entertainment-driven edtech company creating direct-to-learner family brands that both kids and parents love.
Rini Greenfield, Founding General Partner of Rethink Food, an early to growth stage food and agricultural technology fund, where she has led investments in Gro Intelligence and Territory Foods.
Cheryl Ingstad, Former Director, AI and Technology Office at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Moderator, Abby Roberts, is the Senior Director, Product Marketing, at Datasite, and as a financial journalist, Abby covered the consumer, eCommerce and retail industry. She received her JD from Georgetown University Law Center and BA from Bard College.
5:15 - Networking
Virtual Room Breakouts, Deal Discussions/New Connections
5:30pm EST -6:30pm - Cocktail Reception Sponsored by DealCloud
