Private Equity Fast Pitch

Chris Sznewajs is the Managing Partner, Founder and Investment Committee Member of Pacific Avenue Capital Partners. Mr. Sznewajs is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the firm’s investment activities along with chairing the Boards of the active portfolio companies. Prior to founding Pacific in 2018, Mr. Sznewajs served as a Principal with The Gores Group where he focused on investing in special situations and corporate carve-outs in the industrials sector. Mr. Sznewajs also was a Manager at Bain & Company in the restructuring and turnaround practice. Mr. Sznewajs graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Finance and Accounting. He has an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sey5_87-XWY

Drew Maloney is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the American Investment Council (AIC), an advocacy and resource organization that represents the private equity and private credit industry. Maloney first joined the AIC in 2018 and has since played a critical role helping private equity and private credit tell its powerful story about creating jobs, growing businesses and strengthening millions of Americans’ retirement savings. During that time, he has educated policymakers, the media and the general public about the industry’s importance to the American economy and to American workers, testifying before Congress about the benefits of private equity and launching a sustained education campaign to highlight the industry’s role supporting the economic recovery from COVID-19. Under Maloney’s leadership, the AIC has almost doubled its membership and revenue.     Maloney is recognized as a leading government affairs expert, with more than 25 years of experience in both the public and the private sectors. Prior to joining AIC, Maloneyserved as the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Legislative Affairs, as a corporate officer and Vice President of Government and External Affairs for the Hess Corporation, and as CEO of prominent bipartisan government affairs firm Ogilvy Government Relations. Maloney began his career working on Capitol Hill and later advised several presidential campaigns and transition teams.  

Michael A. Bego is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kline Hill Partners, which he founded in 2015. Mr. Bego sits on the Investment Committee of all of the Kline Hill Partners funds and is a board member of organizations including the American Investment Council and the Greenwich YMCA. From 2005 through 2015, Mr. Bego was a partner at secondary firm Willowridge Partners, where he was instrumental in developing a focused strategy around small-deal secondary transactions. Mr. Bego was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. until 2005, conducted a turnaround at Vincent Longo in 2003, was in venture capital at LGP from 2000 to 2003, and ran projects and sold enterprise software at Numetrix (now part of Oracle) from 1993 through 1998. Mr. Bego founded and runs "THE Secondary Day" since 2006, an annual, collegial event that each year brings together executives across the secondary industry. Mr. Bego received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Cornell University in 1993 and an MBA (Beta Gamma Sigma) from Columbia University Business School in 2000.

Neha Champaneria Markle Head of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Solutions Neha Champaneria Markle is a Managing Director and the Head of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Solutions. Prior to joining the firm, Neha served on the investment teams at Apax Partners and Pomona Capital. She also served on the management team for Springboard Enterprises, Inc., a non-profit organization focused on improving female entrepreneurs’ access to venture capital. Neha started her career as part of the financial analyst program at Morgan Stanley. Neha received a B.S. magna cum laude in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. with honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  

Michael Butler is the Co-founder and Chairman of Cascadia Capital, one of the most active independent investment banks in the country. He has deep capital raising and M&A expertise having been involved in hundreds of transactions worth over $5 billion throughout his career on Wall Street and at Cascadia Capital.  For over twenty years, the firm has strived to deliver the best outcomes for its clients by providing entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses and private equity firms with trusted merger and acquisition advice, capital raising and strategic advisory services.

Pardis Nasseri CEO & President, Palm Tree LLC Pardis Nasseri is a driven entrepreneur and the architect of Palm Tree, the modern M&A advisor. The firm integrates investment banking, strategic finance, and transaction support services for private equity sponsors, business owners, and management teams. Over the course of his career, Pardis has been personally involved in successful M&A transactions with an aggregate value of over $30 billion. Pardis began his career in M&A with the transaction services practice of PwC, as an investment banker with Jefferies, and an investor with Platinum Equity. He founded Palm Tree in 2010 and grew the firm from its roots as a boutique M&A consultancy to a nationwide enterprise offering a suite of integrated financial services. The firm became a registered member of FINRA in 2020 and is led today by a team of accomplished managing directors who execute on engagements worldwide. The Los Angeles Times has recognized Pardis as a visionary leader who prepares organizations for next-level growth, and The Los Angeles Business Journal has recognized Pardis among the most influential private equity advisors in the nation. Pardis is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization, where he serves on the board of its Santa Barbara chapter. He is a recurring guest lecturer at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, has served as a panelist at M&A and entrepreneurship events, and has moderated panels at the annual ACG business conference. Pardis graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara with a double major in Business Economics and Philosophy and is currently attending the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School. He and his wife, Dr. Sherry Nasseri, reside in Montecito, California with their two children.  

Jeffrey Stevenson is the Managing Partner of VSS and has overall responsibility for the management of the firm and each of its funds. Mr. Stevenson joined VSS in 1982, shortly after its formation, and founded its private equity business in 1987. Mr. Stevenson is the Chairman of the investment committee and has served on the boards of over 31 portfolio companies and currently serves as a member of the board of the following VSS portfolio companies: Center for Rheumatology, Ambulatory Management Solutions, Ascent Behavioral Health, BRC Healthcare, Specialty1 Partners, Pacesetter Health, Coretelligent, ITN Networks, MetSchools, Southern Theatres LLC. Previously, he served as a director of Advanstar, Brandshop, Cambium Learning, Canon Communications, Cast & Crew, De Telefoongids, Mediatel, Ebiquity, Hanley Wood, ITE Group, Pepcom, Tax Credit Co., TMP Worldwide, and Yellow Book USA, among others. Mr. Stevenson serves as a member of the finance committee for the not-for profit organization, Fraxa Research Foundation. He is also involved with the following organizations: YPO/WPO, SBIA Board of Governors and Lincoln Center Leadership Committee. He previously served on the board of Dojan TV Holdings, and as the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vencerx Therapeutics. Mr. Stevenson holds a BA from Rutgers College.  

Ross is a Managing Director at Berkshire Partners in Boston. He began his career in private equity over 35 years ago.  Ross joined Berkshire Partners in 1993 and became a Managing Director of the firm in 2000.  During his tenure, Ross has represented the firm’s interests on a wide range of portfolio company boards, including:  Advanced Drainage Systems, Asurion, Bare Escentuals, Carter’s, Inc., CrossFit, Melissa & Doug, Torres Unidas, and Tower Development Corporation.  Prior to Berkshire Partners, Ross worked at a start-up merchant bank, at Bain & Co. and in the Investment Banking Division of Morgan Stanley & Co.  He earned a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Ross enjoys travel adventures with his family, exploring the great outdoors, and a variety of sports including biking, golf, tennis, and skiing.  He is engaged in several non-profit organizations including The Imago Dei Fund, which he cofounded with his wife, Emily, in 2010, Seed a Stanford GSB-led initiative that is working to end the cycle of global poverty, and the Dartmouth College President’s Leadership Council. Ross and Emily raised their three now grown children in Needham, Massachusetts, where they currently reside.

Mr. Merrill is the Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Harrison Street, a real assets investment management firm he co-founded in 2005 that has completed over $65 billion in transactional volume and as of 2Q 2023 has nearly $56 billion in AUM. Mr. Merrill is currently the largest individual shareholder and serves as Chairman of the Board and the Investment and Executive Committees of the Firm. The Firm was a first mover and innovator of a focused investment strategy around the Education, Healthcare, Life Sciences and Storage segments of the real estate market (launching nine closed-end funds as well as industry leading open-end funds). Over 590 investors ($29 billion since inception) participate in Harrison Street funds including U.S., European and Asian pension funds, corporate plans, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and family offices. The Firm is headquartered in Chicago with offices in Berlin, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Tokyo, Toronto, San Francisco and Washington DC. Prior to co-founding Harrison Street, Mr. Merrill was a partner, owner and Managing Director of a large U.S. Pension Fund Advisory firm where he developed the firm’s presence in Europe, creating the first ever real estate funds exclusively targeting the markets of Central Europe. This initial fund was one of the Top 10 performing global funds during vintage years 1996-2000 as noted by Preqin. Throughout his career, Mr. Merrill has been awarded numerous distinctions from leading publications and institutions, most recently being recognized as PERE’s Industry Figure of the Year: Global for the year 2022. Mr. Merrill is a member of YPO, Economic Club of Chicago, and Chicago Commonwealth Club. He serves on the board of the Pension Real Estate Association (“PREA”), Rush University Medical Board (Facilities Committee), University of Wisconsin Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, TCU Center for Real Estate, Roanoke College, the real estate advisory boards of Gore Creek and Kinship Capital, The First Tee of Greater Chicago, Salisbury School, and Chicago Botanic Garden (Financial Committee). He is also an active angel investor in many early-stage companies. Mr. Merrill earned his MBA from the CASS School of Business in London, England.  

Rami Cassis, international investor and founder of Parabellum Investments, discusses his career transition and offers advice for young individuals entering private equity. He shares his personal motto and talks about evaluating new investments, as well as considerations for partnership with an investor.