Hon. Peter Costello AC
Chairman
FUTURE FUND
From 1990 – 2009 Peter Costello served as a Member of the Australian House of Representatives and was Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007.
He delivered twelve federal budgets including ten surpluses. During this period Australia’s Sovereign Credit Rating was updated twice to its current AAA rating.
Mr Costello set up Australia’s system of financial regulation establishing the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). He also established the Takeovers Panel.
In 2006, after Government debt was eliminated in net terms, Mr Costello initiated the Australian Future Fund. From its original deposit, the Future Fund has grown to hold around $170 billion in assets.
Mr Costello has served on the IMF Committee, as a World Bank Governor and Chairman of the Global Group of 20 Finance Ministers & Central Bankers (G-20).
After leaving politics in 2009, Mr Costello joined a number of international and domestic boards and was chair of the Independent Advisory Board to the World Bank.
Mr Costello is currently Chairman of the Future Fund. He is also Chairman of the Nine Entertainment Corporation.
Cassandra Goldie
CEO
AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE (ACOSS)
Dr Cassandra Goldie is CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service, the national peak body for the community sector, and an advocate for tackling poverty and inequality. She has deep public policy expertise in economic and social issues, civil society, social justice and human rights and is a regular media and public commentator and conference presenter. Prior to joining ACOSS, Cassandra held senior roles in both the not-for-profit and public sectors at local, national and international levels, including with the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Darwin Community Legal Service, Legal Aid Western Australia and the global Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions.
Cassandra is Adjunct Professor with the Law Faculty at the University of New South Wales. She has a PhD from University of New South Wales and a Masters of Law from University College London. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She serves on the Advisory Committee for the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, the UNSW Law Advisory Committee, the Australian Climate Roundtable, the Pinnacle Foundation Board, the Management Committee of the International Council of Social Welfare and the Energy Charter Independent Accountability Panel.
Serge Allaire
Portfolio Manager
MLC PRIVATE EQUITY
Serge Allaire is responsible for manager selection, and executing investments in funds, co-investments and secondary transactions within MLC’s private equity program. He is also on the advisory board of various private equity funds and has been a director on multiple corporate boards.
Serge has 15 years of experience in investment management and M&A transactions, primarily in private equity and infrastructure. He was a founding member of nabinvest, MLC Asset Management’s predecessor. Prior to his investment industry career, Serge was a senior consultant at McKinsey, and before that led a research team at Alcatel-Lucent. Serge received his Masters of Business Administration from INSEAD and has two French engineering degrees.
Hamish Blackman
Portfolio Manager, External Investments & Partnerships
NZ SUPER FUND
Hamish Blackman is a Portfolio Manager in the External Investments and Partnerships (EIP) team for the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (Guardians) and is responsible for managers in buy-out, expansion capital, distressed credit, merger arbitrage, convertible arbitrage, shale energy and real estate.
Prior to joining the Fund in 2017, Hamish had spent eight years in London including in-house legal and investment roles at Northern Trust and F&C Investments and Senior Analyst in the hedge funds team for Auda International (BMW family office). Since returning to New Zealand, Hamish has been Director of Commercial Development at Craigmore Sustainables Group and Director in corporate finance at Murray & Co. Hamish has extensive experience in investment manager selection as well as structuring and executing investment transactions.
Hamish is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). He holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) from the University of Canterbury and was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in 1999.
Steve Byrom
Founding Partner
POTENTUM PARTNERS
Steve Byrom is a Founding Partner of Potentum Partners. Formed in 2019 by senior members of Future Fund’s private equity team, Potentum Partners offers a new way for institutional investors to access and build world-class private equity programs.
Prior to Potentum Partners, Steve spent 11 years as Head of Private Equity and Investment Committee member at Future Fund, Australia’s sovereign wealth fund. He led the team that created Future Fund’s private equity strategy, building a A$27.5bn investment program that returned over 17% p.a. (hedged, in Australian Dollars) over 10 years. As an Investment Committee member, he was involved in the whole of portfolio strategic and tactical decision making.
Steve has close to 30 years of private equity and corporate finance experience across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. His previous experience includes establishing a private equity program at the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Co-Head of ANZ Private Equity, financial sponsors with SG Hambros in London and corporate finance at Ernst & Young in London and Auckland.
Steve is a graduate of the University of Auckland and holds a Masters of Commerce in Finance.
Phil Cummins
Venture Partner
GREENSPRING ASSOCIATES
Phil Cummins joined Greenspring Associates as a Venture Partner in 2019. Prior to joining Greenspring, Phil spent 13 years with QIC Global Private equity where he helped lead their private equity program. At QIC Phil lead the venture and growth equity investments activity across directs, funds and secondaries. Phil also served as chairman and CEO of one of QIC’s portfolio companies were he was able to implement and drive the investment strategy. Prior to joining QIC Phil worked with BT Alex. Brown, Deutsche Bank and Thomas Weisel Partners in San Francisco where he worked with venture backed companies. He has advised on over 3.2b of capital raisings and 12 M&A transactions. Phil holds a Bachelor of Commerce, is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Alicia Gregory
Head of Private Equity
FUTURE FUND
Alicia Gregory is currently Head of Private Equity at Future Fund, Australia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund where she has responsibility for in excess of $22bn in assets invested in private equity. Prior to that she worked for MLC for 17 years, most recently as Head of Private Equity.
Alicia has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services sector and holds a Bachelor of Business from University of Technology, Sydney, is a CFA charterholder and has completed the General Management Programme at INSEAD.
Maria Guo
Investment Manager, Private Markets
SUNSUPER
Maria Guo is an Investment Manager in Private Markets at Sunsuper, a A$74 billion profit-for-members superannuation fund in Australia. Private Markets include investments in Private Capital, Infrastructure and Property asset classes. The Private Capital portfolio is a total programme of over A$5 billion, which consists of primary and secondary fund investments, co-investments and direct investments across buyout, venture/growth, and distressed opportunities.
Maria has over 14 years of experience in public and private markets. Prior to Sunsuper, Maria was an Investment Director at AP Capital, Equity Capital Markets at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, a Senior Research Analyst at Asia Pacific Arbitrage Partnership, and an Investment Strategist at AMP Capital. Maria has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours in Finance) from the University of New South Wales, and a Masters of Applied Finance & Investment from FINSIA. Maria is also a CFA Charterholder.
Ben Hart
Partner & Head of Investor Relations (Asia)
ADAMS STREET PARTNERS
Ben Hart focuses on the development of institutional client and consultant relationships, and works with other members of the investor relations team to serve the needs of Adams Street Partners’ clients.
Prior to joining the firm, Ben worked at Capital Dynamics as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Asia, overseeing the firm’s business development efforts in Asia and North America.
Before Capital Dynamics, Ben served as Managing Director at Aircom International, focused on improving regional business performance. He also held senior business development positions at Convergys Corporation, Alliance Digital, Inc., and the JM Network.
Katrina Liao
Principal
COLLER CAPITAL
Katrina Liao is an Investment Principal responsible for origination and execution and is based in the firm’s London office. Prior to joining Coller Capital’s Investment team in 2013, Katrina spent 18 months in the Investor Relations team.
Prior to Coller Capital, Katrina was a Controller at InterMedia Partners, a private equity fund focused on the media industry. Previously, she worked as a Senior Associate at Ernst & Young Financial Services Office in New York.
Katrina has a BS (summa cum laude) in Finance from Oklahoma State University, an MS in Accounting from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from INSEAD. She has also obtained her CPA license.
James Lilico
Portfolio Manager - Private Markets
SUNSUPER
James Lilico is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Markets team at Sunsuper, a $72 billion profit-for-members superannuation fund. His role encompasses portfolio construction, investment research, selection and execution and ongoing review and reporting across the private capital and property asset classes.
The private capital portfolio is a programme of over $4.5 billion, which consists of primary and secondary fund investments and co-investments across the buyout, venture, distressed, natural resources and real estate areas. Mr. Lilico represents Sunsuper on various advisory boards in Australia and overseas.
Mr. Lilico has been with Sunsuper for 9 years. Prior to this, he was at RMB Capital Partners and Grant Samuel. Mr. Lilico has a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Master of Science in Decision and Information Sciences from the University of Florida.
Will MacAulay
Investment Manager - Private Capital
HESTA
Will MacAulay is an Investment Manager – Private Capital with HESTA, and is responsible for HESTA’s Private Equity, Opportunistic Growth and Strategic Investment portfolios. Prior to HESTA Will has held roles with Wilshire Private Markets and MLC Private Equity.
Will holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne, is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Shaun Manuell
Senior Portfolio Manager
AUSTRALIANSUPER
Shaun Manuell heads up the Australian Equity team at AustralianSuper. AustralianSuper is Australia’s largest superannuation fund managing $180 bn on behalf of its 2.1 million members. He joined the fund in 2013. Prior to this he worked in funds management in Australia for a decade and stockbroking in the UK for 6 years. He commenced his career as a lawyer in Melbourne.
Sunil Mishra
Partner
ADAMS STREET PARTNERS
Sunil Mishra specializes in the sourcing and execution of Asian investments ex-China, specifically in India, Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Korea.
Prior to joining Adams Street, Sunil worked for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore performing financial and business analyses of local and regional companies. Previously, Sunil worked in India as an Investment and Strategy Associate in Tacogroup, the automotive technology and engineering investment arm of the Tata Group of India, where he worked on business planning, feasibility studies, and localization plans for new ventures.
Sunil manages relationships with several of Adams Street’s managers and sits on advisory boards of more than a dozen private equity firms within the Adams Street Partners portfolio.
Sunil is a member of Adams Street’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee.
Ian Moss
Portfolio Manager
OPTRUST
Ian Moss joined OPTrust in 2013 and is responsible for private equity and infrastructure investments in Australia and the APAC region.
Sitting on various boards, Ian focuses on sectors such as transportation, power generation and renewable energy.
Prior to OPTrust, Ian worked at Deutsche Bank, specialising in private equity, infrastructure and real estate M&A.
Rune Munk
Partner
COLLER CAPITAL
Rune Munk is a Partner responsible for origination and execution and is based in the firm’s London office.
Prior to joining Coller Capital in 2007, Rune was a Senior Management Consultant with the Corporate Strategy team at Deloitte.
Rune has a BA (Hons) in Economics and Japanese from SOAS in London and an MSc in Economics and Technological Innovation from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is a Chartered Management Accountant.
John Peterson
Alternatives Portfolio Manager
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUPER
John Peterson has over 40 years of experience in the investment industry, with roles in investment management, asset consulting and superannuation fund investment.
His focus has been in the areas of risk management and portfolio construction where he has a long-standing interest in the role of manager skill in investments.
One of John’s current roles is Alternatives Portfolio Manager for Local Government Super in Sydney, where he is responsible for Private Equity, Infrastructure, Hedge Fund and other illiquid investments.
Sam Robinson
Managing Partner
NORTH-EAST PRIVATE EQUITY ASIA
Sam Robinson is Managing Partner of North-East Private Equity Asia, which focuses on Asia private equity funds. Mr. Robinson is based in Singapore and has worked in private equity since 1998, initially joining Schroder Ventures in the UK. In 2001, he was one of the founder members of SVG Advisers, a fund of funds business, where he managed the global investment team. SVG Advisers was acquired by Aberdeen Asset Management in 2013, whereupon Mr. Robinson became Head of Asia Private Equity Fund Investment until his departure in 2015.
Lars Aagaard
Head of M&A, Asia Pacific and Head of Financial Sponsors, Asia Pacific
BARCLAYS
Lars Aagaard is a Managing Director and Head of Mergers and Acquisitions and the Financial Sponsors Group, Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong.
In his role as Head of the Asia Pacific M&A business, which he assumed in January 2019, Lars is responsible for driving and overseeing the Firm’s M&A activity across the region.
As Head of the Asia Pacific Financial Sponsors Group, Lars is responsible for leading all Banking relationships and transactions in the Financial Sponsor sector. Lars was appointed to this position in 2015.
Lars is a member of the Asia Pacific Banking OpCo, Chair of the Firm’s Regional Citizenship Council and Banking representative of the BAF committee. He joined Barclays in 2010 in Sydney, as Head of Financial Sponsors Group, Australia.
Lars has 20 years of investment banking experience. Prior to Barclays, he was at Morgan Stanley for 10 years, in London and Sydney in a variety of roles, including Operations Officer for IBD Australia. Prior to his banking career, Lars worked for two years as assistant and interpreter to the Defence Attaché at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Moscow.
He graduated from Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in 2000 with a Master of Science in Finance and holds a university degree in Russian Language from the University of Bergen. Lars also graduated from the Norwegian Defence School for Intelligence and Security in 1993 and is a First Lieutenant (reserve) in the Norwegian Army.
Andrew Ashman
Head of Loan Syndicate - Asia Pacific
BARCLAYS
Andrew Ashman runs the APAC Loan Syndicate team, based in Singapore, with over 15 years’ experience covering the European, Asian and Australian Leveraged and structured finance markets.
Andrew currently focuses on the underwriting and distribution of loans across Asia and Australia. The syndicated lending team at Barclays delivers financing solutions to the bank’s corporate and sponsor relationship clients with a focus on event-driven situations. The team is also responsible for all bridge financing, working closely with the bank’s broader product teams to tailor integrated debt solutions to meet specific client requirements.
Prior to Barclays, Andrew has held positions at Citigroup in London and Frankfurt, AMP in Sydney and Capco in London.
Andrew holds an M.Eng in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College, University of London and a MBA in Finance (Deans List) from London Business School.
Rick Baker
Co-Founder
BLACKBIRD VENTURES
Rick Baker is a co-founder of Blackbird Ventures, a venture capital firm focussed on investing in the best global tech startups being formed in Australia. Prior to Blackbird, Rick ran MLC’s venture capital portfolio with investments of over half a billion dollars. Prior to MLC, Rick co-founded two successful software companies: IDC Global and Right Party Connect.
David Bluff
Managing Director
THE CARLYLE GROUP
David Bluff is a Managing Director and leads Carlyle’s buyout business in Australia and New Zealand.
Since joining Carlyle in 2008, Mr. Bluff has been actively involved with Carlyle’s investments in iNova Pharmaceuticals, Accolade Wines, Healthscope, Qube Logistics and Coates Hire.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Bluff worked with SABMiller plc, where he was responsible for acquisitions in Europe and the Americas, and J.P. Morgan's M&A teams in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Mr. Bluff graduated from The University of Queensland and was awarded the University Medal.
Brett Brewer
Co-Founder and Managing Director
CROSSCUT VENTURES
Brett Brewer is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at CrossCut Ventures. Prior to co-founding Crosscut Ventures, Brett was a serial entrepreneur who has built, operated, and sold a number of Internet media companies. In 1998, he co-founded Intermix Media, which launched several online businesses including Myspace.com. Brett sold Intermix to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in 2005 for $680M. After leaving News Corp, Brett became President and Vice Chairman of Adknowledge, and helped grow the business from $40M to $300M in revenue over the span of seven years. Brett is an active angel investor and a pillar in the SoCal tech community. He has been a featured speaker at numerous industry events including Bear Sterns Internet Roundtable, Goldman Sachs Internet Conference and the Montgomery Technology Conference. Brett received a B.A. in Business and Economics from the University of California Los Angeles.
Tim Burroughs
Managing Editor
ASIAN VENTURE CAPITAL JOURNAL
Tim Burroughs is managing editor of Asian Venture Capital Journal, having joined the publication in May 2011. He is responsible for all editorial content put out under the AVCJ brand, including Asian Venture Capital Journal, AVCJtv, AVCJ Awards and AVCJ.com. Tim previously spent five years at China Economic Review, serving as editor-in-chief and then editorial director. Located in Greater China since 2003, during which time he has lived in Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong, Tim has been a China-based contributor for publications including The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, BBC and China Daily. Prior to moving to China, he trained and worked as a journalist in the UK. He was honored at the Society of Publishers in Asia awards in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and at the State Street Institutional Press Awards - Asia in 2012.
Alan Butterfield
Fund Manager, Credit Opportunities Fund
FC CAPITAL
Alan Butterfield is the Fund Manager for FC Capital’s Credit Opportunities Fund which provides $2-20M facilities on a predominantly senior-secured, non-property focused, basis to the Australian and New Zealand SME and mid-market sectors. The Fund targets net 8-11%+ returns to investors.
Alan is a Chartered Accountant and banker with over 30 years’ experience in financial services, focussed on corporate lending and event-based financing. Previously Alan led the Australasian structured and acquisition finance teams for GE Capital and Bank of Scotland International, building lending books of over $1 billion at both. Earlier in his career he specialised in insolvencies, turnarounds and recoveries with Coopers and Lybrand for over 10 years.
Shane Chesson
Founder and Partner
OPENSPACE VENTURES
Shane Chesson is Founder and Partner of Openspace Ventures (formerly NSI Ventures), a Singapore-headquartered VC focused on Series A and B investments in Southeast Asia-based technology companies. Selected Openspace investments overseen by Mr. Chesson include Go-Jek, Chope, Tradegecko, CXA, Topica, Oway, HaloDoc, Sale Stock and Pathao. Mr. Chesson was previously Managing Director and Co-Head (Technology Investment Banking, of Citigroup Asia-Pacific.
Mr. Chesson has an MBA with distinction from INSEAD Singapore where he was a recipient of the IAA Asian Campus scholarship.
Michelle Deaker
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
ONEVENTURES
Dr Michelle Deaker is a Managing Partner of OneVentures and has been primarily responsible for the foundation of OneVentures firm and capital raisings of OneVentures Funds. The firm now has almost $400M in funds under management. Michelle serves on the investment committee of OneVentures three main Funds, leads the technology practice within the firm and is responsible for investor relations managing the supervisory boards of OneVentures funds.
Michelle has over 20 years experience in the development of high growth technology companies in Australia and the US, has served on the boards of large and small listed and unlisted companies and has a strong background in Australian R&D and expertise in global business expansion. She has negotiated technology transfer contracts with research institutions; established financing syndicates with Australian, Asian and US investors; chaired the boards of several high growth companies; supported early breakthrough commercial contracts; leveraged her extensive networks for the benefit of OneVentures companies; and negotiated both financing and exit transactions.
Michelle established OneVentures in late 2006, coming into the venture capital industry as a successful IT industry business owner, entrepreneur and subsequently angel investor. The Company she founded in 1999, E Com Industries (www.giftvouchers.com), became the leading prepaid card and electronic voucher provider in Australia, servicing over 100 major retail brands including Coles Myer and Woolworths, managing $700m in Australian retail liability and eventually expanding operations into the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand. E Com was acquired by UK publicly listed company, Retail Decisions, in 2005, in a transaction returning to investors 4.6xcapital and an average IRR of 70%. Notably, E Com industries was one of only a handful of Australian companies that successfully migrated the dotcom boom and crash through to a successful outcome for investors. Prior to E Com Industries, Michelle established IT enterprise business, Networks Beyond 2000.
Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours 1st class), Master of Science and a PhD (Applied Science). She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Chief Executive Women (CEW).
Ryan Eagle
Lead Partner Distressed Debt and Special Situations
KPMG
Ryan Eagle has over two decades of deal advisory experience assisting clients across a wide variety of matters. Ryan’s expertise include providing debt advice to a range of stakeholders, he has specific experience on complex financial restructurings where he leads KPMG’s distressed debt and special situations team.
His experience includes funding options analysis, arranging and execution, capital structuring and benchmarking, debt restructuring and covenant negotiations.
Simon B. Feiglin
Managing Partner and RAF Fund Manager
RIVERSIDE ASIA PARTNERS
Simon B. Feiglin joined Riverside in 2007. leads the RAF transacting and operating teams in the acquisition, growth and sale of portfolio companies, as well as the development of the strategic direction of the fund. Prior to Riverside, he was a founding Partner of Silver Oak Services Partners, a private equity fund focused on investing in the services sector. He also served as the Vice President of Corporate Development at CBIZ Inc., where he managed the merger, acquisition and divestiture effort for a $600 million publicly traded company. His earlier career includes four years at Morgenthaler Partners, a private equity firm. He holds a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Nick Gainsley
Principal
ONEVENTURES
Nick Gainsley is an investor at OneVentures and heads up its new venture credit fund. OneVentures is one of the Australia’s leading venture capital firms, with over $400 million in funds under management. It specialises in technology and healthcare, and uniquely has both equity and debt funds. Investee companies include Shippit, Employment Hero, Edrolo, Phocas, Vaxxas and HomeTime.
Nick has over 13 years of debt experience both in direct lending and advisory, in Europe and Australia. Prior to OneVentures, Nick was based in the UK and was a Principal at Kreos Capital, Europe’s largest growth debt fund where he completed a significant number of transactional for a wide range of tech companies across European markets.
Prior to this, Nick was a Manager at KPMG in London within its Debt Advisory team, where he was involved in managing and advising on a range of debt transaction from mid-market to large cap. Transaction experience covered leveraged finance, corporate refinancing, capital market issuance and strategic financing advice.
Raj Ganguly
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
B CAPITAL GROUP
Raj Ganguly is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at B Capital. He is based in B Capital’s Los Angeles office, and currently serves on the boards of Lanetix, InTurn, and Evidation Health. In addition, Raj is a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group.
Previously, Raj was a Managing Partner of Velos Partners, a global venture growth firm with offices in Los Angeles, Singapore, and London. He led investments in a number of companies and sat on the boards of SurfAir and Silvercar (acquired by Audi AG).
Before his career in venture capital, Raj spent six years at Bain Capital, with a focus on conducting operational due diligence and driving growth and operational improvements in portfolio companies across the United States and Asia. During his time at Bain Capital, he had significant involvement in the diligence and boards of numerous investments, including Skylark, Genpact, and Burlington Coat Factory. He also served as the co-leader of the firm’s global technology initiative.
Raj also spent time at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he was a Senior Engagement Manager in the Technology, Media, and Telecom Practice of the firm. He has experience as an interim executive with British food and beverage giant Diageo, and was part of the early team of Miradiant, one of the first internet payments startups, which was acquired by Bank One Corporation, that later merged with J.P. Morgan Chase.
Raj earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, and summa cum laude honors as a BSE and BAS from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he graduated from the Management & Technology Program as a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and Joseph Wharton Scholar.
Tony Holt
Co-Founder and Partner
SQUARE PEG
Tony Holt is a Co-founder and Partner of Square Peg Capital. From inception in 2012, Square Peg today is a venture capital fund that invests in Australia, Israel and Southeast Asia with a focus on Series A and Series B.
Tony has deep experience in technology, media and telecom investing and advising and has worked and lived in Melbourne, New York, Sydney and Asia. From 1991 through 2006, Tony was with Merrill Lynch in the Investment Banking division. From 2006 through 2008, Tony was a Managing Director at Citigroup’s Sydney Investment Banking Group and Head of its TMT business in Australia and New Zealand. In 2008 Tony joined Macquarie Capital where he worked until co-founding Square Peg Capital. While at Macquarie Tony held a variety of roles including co-head of TMT for Asia and Head of Principal Investments for Macquarie Capital Asia.
Anthony Kerwick
Managing Director
ADAMANTEM CAPITAL
Anthony Kerwick is a Managing Director of Adamantem Capital. He has extensive experience in private equity, company directorships and management consulting.
Mr. Kerwick was a Managing Director at Pacific Equity Partners from 2004 to 2014, having joined the firm in 1999. Prior to this, he spent three years at Bain & Company as a global strategy consultant. Mr. Kerwick is currently Chairman of peer-to-peer lender SocietyOne.
Mr. Kerwick is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He received a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from University of Queensland.
David Kirk
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
BAILADOR TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS
David Kirk is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bailador Technology Investments [ASX:BTI], an investment fund targeting private expansion stage information technology companies. David is Chairman of BTI companies Rezdy and SMI, and a director of DocsCorp and Viostream.
David is Chairman of Kathmandu Holdings, Forsyth Barr, The Sydney Festival, KiwiHarvest and the NZ Rugby Players’ Association, and a director of the Lord Howe Island board.
David was CEO of Fairfax Media from 2005-08, and captained the All Blacks from 1986-87. He is a Rhodes Scholar with degrees in Medicine from Otago University and Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University.
T.J. Kono
Partner
UNISON CAPITAL
T.J. Kono joined Unison Capital in 2002. He has managed a number of investments in Japan since Unison’s first fund, then led Unison’s expansion to Korea as its founding member. Today, he serves as a member of both Japan and Korea Investment Committee. He has been involved in Unison’s investments in Drug Eleven (Japan), Mine-Mart (Japan), UCOM (Japan), Nexcon Technology (Korea), Gong cha (Korea)/Royal Tea Taiwan (Taiwan), and Forbes (Japan). In addition to investment role, he oversees Unison Group’s investor relations functions. Prior to Unison Capital, he worked at Merrill Lynch Japan.
Mr. Kono has a B.S/B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.
Sheridan Lee
Founder and Principal
SHED ENTERPRISES
Sheridan Lee is the founder and principal of Shed Enterprises, a specialised financial services public relations and third-party marketing consultancy. As a journalist she launched Super Review in the early days of occupational superannuation.
As a business development manager she worked with Swiss Bank Corp (now UBS) and Alliance Capital. Ms. Lee pioneered third party marketing in Australia in 1996. Clients have included Adveq Management AG, Neuberger Berman LLC, Bridgewater Associates, Old Mutual plc, CDC Ixis Asset Management, Standard Life Group,GAM, Axa Rosenberg Investment Management Ltd., Acadian Asset Management and Challenger International.
Ms. Lee holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney. She is a board member of Shed Media and of the charity SecondBite, as well as sitting on the Artbank Advisory Board.
Ken Licence
Managing Director
PRINCIPLE ADVISORY SERVICES
Ken Licence joined Principle in 2009 and was appointed to the role of Managing Director in December 2010. Mr. Licence has over 25 years’ financial services experience across a range of investment strategies including property, private equity and infrastructure. He has held senior management positions with Lend Lease, Deutsche Asset Management, and CP2, assisting major domestic and international institutional clients.
Mr. Licence has been a Board Member of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (NSW) and holds a Bachelor\ of Commerce from Griffith University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Queensland.
David Odgers
Executive Director, Private Equity
IFM INVESTORS
David Odgers is responsible for sourcing, structuring and negotiating new private equity investments, managing existing investments, as well as fundraising. David has more than 20 years of experience in private equity, consulting and business leadership roles. He joined IFM Investors from Bain Capital, where he was an Operating Partner with responsibility for investments in MYOB, Retail Zoo and Camp Australia. Prior to joining Bain Capital, David held senior management roles at eBay (Sales and Marketing Director) and The Nuance Group (COO). Earlier in his career, David spent 10 years as a management consultant, chiefly with Bain & Company, working in Europe, the United States and Australia on a range of industries and strategic issues for private equity and corporate clients.
Tushar Roy
Partner
SQUARE PEG
Tushar Roy joined Square Peg in January 2015. From inception in 2012, Square Peg today is a venture capital fund that invests in Australia, Israel and Southeast Asia with a focus on Series A and Series B.
Tushar has more than 10 years advisory experience in various industries including tech, media and telecommunications (TMT); financial services; and travel. He has advised on all facets of business, including domestic and international growth strategies, M&A, go-to-market, leadership development, organisational design and process improvement.
Tushar was a Principle at Boston Consulting Group, specializing in growth and TMT. Prior to that Tushar spent 5 years in legal practice in TMT at Baker & McKenzie. Tushar holds an MBA degree from INSEAD.
Justin Ryan
Managing Partner
QUADRANT PRIVATE EQUITY
Justin Ryan joined Quadrant Private Equity in February 2011 and has been on the Investment Committee for 30 Quadrant investments of which he has led or co-led 14, 6 of which have been successfully exited. Prior to this Mr. Ryan was Chief Executive Officer of Alesco Corporation Limited, an ASX 200 industrial company and before that a Director of Catalyst Investment Managers. Mr. Ryan was Chairman of AVCAL in 2003 and is currently Chairman of GraysOnline, Adore Beauty and Modibodi and is a Director of Love to Dream and Arq.
Jeremy Samuel
Managing Director
ANACACIA CAPITAL
Jeremy Samuel is the founder and Managing Director of Anacacia Capital, leading one of Australia's largest investments teams focused on the middle market.
The firm manages >$600million investing into leading Australasian small-medium enterprises. Anacacia Capital have won numerous awards including the 2019 Australian Investment Council Firm of the Year.
Jeremy is a non-executive director of Anacacia portfolio companies: Duncan Technologies and Direct Couriers. He was the former lead director for Anacacia's successful investments into: Appen, Big River, Rafferty's Garden, Lomb Scientific, Home Appliances and Yumi's Quality Foods.
Jeremy holds an MBA from Yale University School of Management and Arts/Law degrees from the University of NSW.
Steven Shirtliff
Partner
KPMG
Steven Shirtliff joined KPMG in September 2018 after 22 years with another Big 4 firm in Australia and Canada. Mr. Shirtliff has worked exclusively as a partner in M&A Transaction Services since 2005, where he has focussed extensively on Private Equity and Capital Markets transactions. Mr. Shirtliff has led due financial due diligence and advisory engagements for a number of Australian and international based private equity firms on both entry and exit. With a prominent audit background (including two years as an audit partner), Mr. Shirtliff specializes in accounting for complex M&A transactions and structures.
Tim Sims
Managing Director
PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS
Tim Sims is a Managing Director and Founder of Pacific Equity Partners (PEP). He was previously Chairman and Managing Partner of Bain & Company’s businesses in Australasia and Africa. He was an elected member of Bain’s World Wide Executive Committee. Prior to joining Bain, Mr. Sim was a Founding Partner of the LEK Partnership in London and Managing Partner of their Australasia practice.
Mr. Sim has also led or served on a number of National Strategy issues, The Karpin Committee, The Nuclear Research Program and the National Service Export Strategy. He was selected to participate in the Prime Minister’s Climate Change Summit and 2020 initiative. He was a Founder of the Australian Charities Fund Work Place Giving Program and has served on the Boards of the Garvan Foundation, Sharelife / Outcomes Australia and Ravenswood School.
He has a BA / MA from Oxford where he was a Mitsui Scholar and an MPA from Harvard where he was a Kennedy Scholar. Tim was made a member in the general division of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the community through philanthropic initiatives.
Gary Stead
Managing Director
HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC
Gary Stead is a Managing Director at HPS Investment Partners, LLC, and is responsible for leading the Australian business. HPS is a leading global private investment firm with approximately US$42 billion of capital under management in both private and public credit strategies, with the ability to invest across the capital structure. His prior experience was as Co-Head of Olympus Capital Asia Credit, a regional structural credit investment company, and before that Managing Director and CEO of Fortress Investment Group Australia, where he established and led the Australian office which focused on investing for the Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund. Prior to joining Fortress, Mr. Stead spent twenty years in Investment Banking, primarily at Merrill Lynch, where he served in various business building and leadership roles, including Head of M&A for Australia and the Asia Pacific region, Co-Head of Investment Banking Japan, Management Committee Member Merrill Lynch Japan Securities, and Vice Chairman of Investment Banking Australia. Prior to that Mr. Stead was with Salomon Brothers in New York, where he was a Vice President in the M&A Group.
Mr. Stead has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of New South Wales and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Jeremy Stevenson
Managing Director, Legal & Risk
CPE CAPITAL
Jeremy Stevenson joined CPE Capital (CPEC) in July 2016. He oversees legal affairs for the Group and its investee companies, with a focus on transactions, risk management and governance.
Previously, Jeremy was General Counsel and Company Secretary at Accolade Wines, one of the world’s largest global wine businesses and part of the CHAMP III portfolio. In this role, he managed the legal, compliance, company secretarial, external affairs and government relations functions globally.
Jeremy qualified as a lawyer in 1997 and is admitted to practice in New South Wales, South Australia and the United Kingdom. He has broad legal experience, gained in corporate environments across the wine and finance industries, and from leading law firms in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Jeremy is a board member of the Australian Investment Council and had held directorships in the private and not for profit / industry association sector. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
James Viles
Partner
BAIN & COMPANY
James Viles is a partner in Bain & Company's Sydney office, where he leads Bain’s Sydney PE advisory practice and specializes in Healthcare. He has 17 years of consulting experience across Australia, London and Africa mostly focused on working with PE sponsors.
James has deep experience in advising local and global private equity companies across the ownership life cycle, with a particular focus on diligence (>100 diligences completed and counting) and PE portfolio company value creation.
James has deep experience across all major healthcare provider segments, from allied health to hospitals, with a particular focus on rapid performance improvement / transformation.
Outside of Bain James is on the Board of Life Circle, a charity that assists corporate decision makers and carers avoid regrettable deaths for those in their care, and Thud, a direct to consumer sports nutrition company.
He holds an MBA with distinction from INSEAD France / Singapore and an MA (Oxon) from Oxford University.
Melissa Widner
General Partner
NAB VENTURES
Melissa Widner is a General Partner at NAB Ventures. Through direct experience, she has a deep understanding of both the entrepreneur’s journey and the role of a Venture Capitalist. As CEO she led two companies to successful acquisitions that provided over a 10X return to investors. She co-founded and was the CEO of Silicon Valley based enterprise software company, 7Software (acquired by Concur Technologies NASDAQ: CNQR, acquired by SAP). Melissa was a general partner at SeaPoint Ventures, a US based venture capital firm focused on mobile technologies and SaaS enterprise software solutions. In 2009, Melissa relocated to Sydney with her Australian husband. She is the Chair of Heads Over Heels, an organisation she co-founded that works with high growth companies led by women. She serves on the boards of the AIC (AVCAL) and The Shore Foundation as well as several US and Australian technology companies.
Melissa holds a BA from the University of Washington and an MA from Stanford University. She is the proud mother of four boys.
Rohan Wolfers
Director
PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS
Rohan Wolfers joined Pacific Equity Partners in 2010. Before joining PEP, Rohan was with Navis Capital Partners and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity in Australia, Asia and North America. Rohan received a PLD from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney.