Thomas Morrison
SR. MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PRIVATE WEALTH SOLUTIONS AT BLACKSTONE
PRIVATE EQUITY KEYNOTE
Tom Morrison is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, and co-President of Blackstone Private Equity Strategies (BXPE), a fund which provides investors with a diversified portfolio of private investments.
Mr. Morrison joined Blackstone in 2011 to lead the firm’s Equity Capital Markets activities across Blackstone’s business globally. In 2020, he joined the firm’s Private Wealth Solutions group to focus on senior relationships with private wealth investment firms, and strategic initiatives focused on expanding access with new products, geographies, model portfolios, co-investments, and capital markets.
He is an Advisory Council Member for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, an Advisory Board Member for the Kellogg Finance Network, and is Co-Chairman of the Friends of Harvard Basketball.
Mr. Morrison received a BA from Harvard College, majoring in Economics. He also received an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, with majors in Management, Finance, and Marketing. Mr. Morrison also studied at the University of London, University College.
rashmi gopinath
GENERAL PARTNER AT B CAPITAL GROUP
VENTURE CAPITAL KEYNOTE
Rashmi Gopinath is a General Partner and Head of Enterprise Investing at B Capital ($6.5B AUM global growth equity fund) where she leads the firm’s global enterprise software practice and focuses on investments in cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, devops, and artificial intelligence and machine learning. She brings over two decades of experience investing and operating in enterprise technologies. She led B Capital’s investments in companies such as DataRobot, FalconX, Clari, Pendo, 6sense, OwnBackup, Innovaccer, Phenom People, Synack, Yalo, Labelbox, Zesty, Perimeter81 (acq. by CHKP) among others.
Rashmi was previously a Managing Director at M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, where she led investments globally in enterprise software and sat on several boards including Synack, Innovaccer, Frame (acq. by NTNX), Contrast Security, Incorta, among others.
Prior to M12, Rashmi was an Investment Director with Intel Capital where she was involved in the firm’s investments in startups including MongoDB (Nasdaq: MDB), ForeScout (Nasdaq: FSCT), Maginatics (acq. by EMC), BlueData (acq. by HPE), among others. Rashmi held operating roles at high-growth startups such as BlueData (acq. by HPE) and Couchbase (Nasdaq: BASE) where she led global business development, product, and marketing roles. She began her career in engineering and product roles at Oracle and GE Healthcare. She earned an MBA from Northwestern University, and a BS in electrical engineering from University of Mumbai in India.
Susan Edwards
OPERATING DIRECTOR OF DEI & IMPACT AT THE VISTRIA GROUP
Private Equity & Venture Capital - ESG: Moving Beyond Performative to Driving Fund Value Panel
Prior to Vistria, Susan made transformative contributions as a Director at Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), where she led the Private Equity Accelerator program. This groundbreaking initiative aimed to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in the alternative investments space.
Before her role at MLT, Susan was instrumental as the Interim Executive Director at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center in Liberia. Under her leadership, the Center successfully launched its flagship program on International Women’s Day in 2020, solidifying its commitment to empowering African women in public service. She had the distinct honor of collaborating directly with Africa’s first democratically elected female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, on these efforts.
Susan received a B.S in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two children.
Wayne moore
VENTURE INVESTOR AT CLEVELAND AVENUE
Private Equity & Venture Capital - ESG: Moving Beyond Performative to Driving Fund Value Panel
Wayne has held positions in both successful startups and thriving tech firms and brings a wealth of operational experience building teams, executing deals, and developing clients. He is committed to the growth of the venture and tech community in Chicago, serves as an advisor to several startups, and is a founding board member of Great Lakes Academy Charter School. He is also a Kauffman Fellow in Class 25. Previously, he was on the global content acquisition team at Netflix. Before that, he was VP of Business Development at Silver Chalice Ventures, a digital media startup owned by the Chicago White Sox. Wayne began his career in the US Navy, serving as a Surface Warfare Officer. Wayne holds a BS in industrial engineering from Stanford and an MBA from Kellogg.
Jessica Patton
PRINCIPAL AT 5TH CENTURY PARTNER
Private Equity & Venture Capital - ESG: Moving Beyond Performative to Driving Fund Value Panel
Jessica is a founding member of 5th Century Partners (“5CP”). She has over 10 years of private equity investing and operating experience.
Prior to founding 5CP, Jessica was a partner at Andreessen Horowitz’ Cultural Leadership Fund where she focused on bridging culture and technology by bringing more black investors, founders and talent into the tech ecosystem. During her tenure she built an ecosystem of greater than 3,000 diverse operators and investors which led to investments, value-add partnerships and talent acquisition.
Prior to Andreessen Horowitz, Jessica worked at a private-equity backed company, Roland Foods, where she led sales operations, contributing to growth in revenue and gross margin. Earlier in her career, Jessica was an associate at Solera Capital, a women-led and women-focused private equity firm, where she focused on consumer growth businesses. Jessica has worked with and advised companies at all stages of growth including starting her own company.
Jessica received an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.B.A in Finance from Howard University where she graduated magna cum laude with honors. Jessica is a proud Detroit native. Outside of the office, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband Andrew, reading historical fiction and non-fiction, spinning, and searching for the best coffee in Chicago.
Sach Chitnis
CO-FOUNDER AND PARTNER AT JUMP CAPITAL
Private Equity & Venture Capital - Machine Learning and AI Disruption, Valuation, and Speculation Panel
A seasoned operator and venture investor, Sach co-founded Jump Capital in 2012, an early-stage venture firm specializing in seed/series A investments. The firm invests $3-10M within the Fintech, B2B SaaS, and IT Infrastructure sectors but extends avid interest toward industries underserved by technology.
Jump Capital is a thesis-driven venture fund focused on Series A investments in FinTech, IT/Data Infrastructure, and vertical B2B SaaS sectors. With offices in Chicago and New York, we offer founders essential resources and unwavering support. Currently investing out of our $350M 7th fund.
CHRIS CHYNOWETH
ASSOCIATE AT COOLEY LLP
Private Equity & Venture Capital - Machine Learning and AI Disruption, Valuation, and Speculation Panel
Chris Chynoweth advises emerging technology companies, and their investors, at all stages of their life cycles from formation to exit on the drafting, negotiation and implementation of technology transactions and commercial contracts. Chris specializes in transactions involving artificial intelligence, and is a member of Cooley’s firmwide AI task force, and a co-author on Cooley’s market-leading guidance and policies on the use of generative artificial intelligence technology.
RYAN MILLIGAN
PARTNER AT PARKERGALE
Private Equity & Venture Capital - Machine Learning and AI Disruption, Valuation, and Speculation Panel
Ryan is responsible for sourcing and monitoring investments. For the eight years prior to founding ParkerGale, he was a Principal at Chicago Growth Partners where he helped manage the technology investment sector.
Prior to CGP, he spent two years at Robert W. Baird where he worked in investment banking. Ryan received a BS from Boston College and an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management. Ryan supports Chicago youth engagement initiatives through his work with boxing charity The Bloc, is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and is on the Board of the Illinois Technology Association.
Brad Morehead
PARTNER AT SHORE CAPITAL PARTNERS
Private Equity - Operations and Fueling Growth Panel
Brad Morehead is a Partner at Shore Capital, a microcap private equity fund focused on partnering with business services companies that have between $1-10 million of EBITDA Brad is responsible for Business Services investment sourcing and valuation, transaction structuring, and corporate development. Brad is on the board of Point C, Assembly Health, and Tandem HR.
Prior to joining Shore, Brad was the CEO of Assembly Health, a tech-enabled Management Services Organization (MSO) focused on clinicians and facilities providing geriatric and post-acute care. Prior to Assembly, Brad was CEO of LiveWatch where Brad and his team built LiveWatch into one of the fastest growing security companies in the country before successfully exiting the business. Prior to LiveWatch, Brad was CFO of Feldco Factory Direct, a fast-growing, entrepreneurial company that is the Midwest’s leading home renewal company. Before joining Feldco, Brad worked in private equity with Friedman Fleischer & Lowe LLC (“FFL”), a San Francisco-based private equity firm and in investment banking with Goldman Sachs (New York) and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (Chicago). He serves on the board, has been a founding investor or was on the startup team for a variety of other companies in industries from financial services to consumer products.
Brad is originally from Huntsville, Alabama, played football at Indiana University and enjoys coaching flag football for his kids, fishing, playing golf, and wakesurfing.
Meranee phing
SENIOR PARTNER AT THE RIVERSIDE COMPANY
Private Equity - Operations and Fueling Growth Panel
Meranee Phing Naaman is a Senior Investment Partner at The Riverside Company, a large global private equity firm focused on the lower end of the middle market, with over $14B of AUM. She has over 20 years of private equity/M&A experience and is responsible for investment selection, due diligence, deal structuring, negotiation and management of private equity investments. She helps lead the global Consumer Products and Services industry specialization efforts and sits on the Investment Committee of the main flagship fund.
Meranee has led and either Chaired or been a Board Director at numerous companies including the Parker Food Group, T3/Radiant Plumbing & HVAC, The Dwyer Group/Neighborly, and Baby Jogger. At Riverside, Meranee has completed over 40 acquisitions and exits. She is the only female investment partner of 35 globally and has been recognized as a top middle market investor by various publications like the Wall Street Journal.
Prior to Riverside, Meranee worked at Deutsche Bank’s AG’s private equity group and in investment banking at Robinson-Humphrey, a subsidiary of Solomon Smith Barney and Citigroup. She holds a BS in Biology and History from Duke University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She resides in Bethesda, MD, with her husband, Charles, and three children.
Michael WAtts
PARTNER AT LINDEN CAPITAL PARTNERS
Private Equity - Operations and Fueling Growth Panel
Michael Watts has been involved in principal investing and investment banking since 2003. Prior to Linden, he was an Associate at Brockway Moran & Partners where he evaluated and executed investment opportunities across a wide range of industries, including healthcare services. Mr. Watts began his career at Stephens, Inc. where he focused on M&A advisory and capital raising transactions.
Mr. Watts holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History, summa cum laude, from Washington & Lee University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management with a major in Health Enterprise Management.
Danielle TUSTIN
HEAD OF OPERATIONS AT LONG JOURNEY VENTURES
Venture Capital - Operations and Fueling Growth Pane
Dani Tustin serves as the Head of Operations at Long Journey Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm.
At Long Journey, Dani is behind the scenes solving the day-to-day financial, legal, and operational puzzles. She collaborates closely with the investment team on deal flow and investment operations and also maintains LP relationships alongside the GPs. Before joining Long Journey, Dani advised venture capital and private equity firms on all things tax at Andersen.
Dani earned her LLM in Taxation from the University of San Francisco, J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
On the weekends, you can find Dani wine tasting in Sonoma, skiing in Tahoe, or fly fishing in Colorado.
kelsey willock
CO-FOUNDER & CEO OF AURA FINANCE
Venture Capital - Operations and Fueling Growth Panel
Kelsey is the Co-Founder & CEO of Aura - a mindful money management platform designed to help individuals put their money to work and anxiety to rest. She started the company alongside her Co-founder, Courtney Cardin, to solve the financial anxiety epidemic affecting 77% of Americans. After paying off over $150,000 of student debt and overcoming massive financial anxiety, she wanted to create access points for underrepresented investors, so they would not face the journey to financial freedom alone. She is also the author of "Not Your Boyfriend's Investment Advice,” a newsletter that uses humor and storytelling to educate her readers about investing and personal finance. She also founded a literary zine called “Stuck in Notes” with a mission to have women (established creative or novice) feel seen and heard by unveiling what’s been locked in their notebooks.
Kelsey began her career at Goldman Sachs where she was a member of the Prime Brokerage business as a Relationship Manager for the firm’s top hedge fund clients. In addition, she was an Ambassador for Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs’ $1 billion investment strategy grounded in our belief that diverse teams drive strong returns. Through Launch With GS, she aimed to increase access to capital and facilitate connections for women, Black, Latinx & other diverse entrepreneurs and investors. She actively sourced investment opportunities for Launch Lead investors and coordinated West Coast events to grow the ecosystem.
Kelsey is also an active member of WISE (Women Investing for a Sustainable Economy), Women in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), and an executive committee member of Wake NOW (the Wake Forest Network of Women). In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, skiing, camping, and creative writing.
jeffrey b. kaplan
PARTNER AT KIRKLAND & ELLIS
Private Equity & Venture Capital: Building Firms to Last: Founding Days, Human Capital, and Succession
Jeffrey Kaplan is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading private equity attorneys, advising private equity firms for over 20 years in all aspects of their business and operations, with a particular emphasis on the formation and operation of investment funds, as well as the organization, structuring, and operation of their management companies.
Clients routinely turn to Jeffrey for his legal advice, commercial judgement and creative solutions in connection with their most important complex matters, including with respect to the formation of private equity funds and SPVs, product and strategy expansion, fund restructurings, continuation fund transactions, co-investment programs, investment warehousing, seed capital and anchor investor arrangements, cross-fund transactions, investor defaults, strategic GP-level transactions, succession planning and personnel management, investor relations and PR/crisis-management issues, mergers and acquisitions, debt financings, regulatory compliance, conflicts issues and general corporate counseling.
In addition to his practice representing some of the world’s leading established private equity firms, Jeffrey runs Kirkland’s market leading private equity emerging manager program, advising emerging managers in all aspects of their business, from the initial start-up phase through a successful fund launch and beyond.
reeve waud
FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER OF WAUD CAPITAL PARTNERS
Private Equity & Venture Capital: Building Firms to Last: Founding Days, Human Capital, and Succession
Reeve Waud is the Founder and Managing Partner of Waud Capital Partners, one of the leading middle-market private equity firms in the United States. Over his 38-year investment career, he has acquired more than 500 companies. Before founding WCP in 1993, Mr. Waud worked at the private equity firm Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner and was a founder of the venture capital group at Salomon Brothers Inc.
Mr. Waud serves as the Chairman of Acadia Healthcare Company (NASDAQ: ACHC), the largest pure-play behavioral company in the United States. Acadia was previously a WCP portfolio company. He also serves on several company boards, including Ivy Rehab and Lifelong Learner Holdings.
He is a member of the finance committee of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and is on the Board of the Northwestern Memorial Foundation. In addition, he is a Trustee and member of the Finance Committee and Photography Committee of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Mr. Waud holds a B.A. in Economics from Middlebury College and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.