Private Equity Fast Pitch

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.

Chris Burbach is a Co-Founder, Partner and the Chief Executive Officer of Fundamental Income. Chris is a member of the Board and jointly leads the Company's Investment Committee. Before founding Fundamental Income, Chris served as Executive Vice President of Underwriting for STORE Capital Corporation (NYSE: STOR) for seven years. In that role, he led the underwriting of approximately $12 billion in net lease investments, including over $7.5 billion in closed transactions. Chris also served as both a member and chairman of STORE's Investment Committee. In addition to his investment and management responsibilities, Chris co-led numerous aspects of STORE's capital markets activities, including corporate capital strategy, corporate credit ratings, the issuance of $725 million in investment grade corporate unsecured notes, and the issuance of over $2 billion in asset-backed notes, including A+ and AAA-rated notes. Before joining STORE, Chris spent six years at Spirit Finance Corporation, where he served as the Vice President of Investment Management responsible for managing the company's $3.5 billion real estate investment portfolio, in addition to managing the underwriting group. He also previously served as CEO of VM Management, Inc., an owner and manager of private charter schools, and as a consultant for Navigant Consulting working with construction and government industry groups. Chris earned his B.S. in Finance from Santa Clara University and his M.B.A. from Arizona State University. Chris is also a CFA® charterholder.

Jeff serves as Managing Partner of Cloverlay and is a member of the Firm's Investment Committee and Board of Directors. Prior to founding Cloverlay, Jeff was a Managing Director with Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (AIP), a division of Morgan Stanley's institutional asset management business. While at AIP, Jeff was a member of the Executive and Business Committees and served on AIP's Private Markets Investment Committee as a Portfolio Manager responsible for leading primary fund, co-investment and secondary transactions focused on special situations globally and North American buyouts. Prior to AIP, Jeff advised and traded equity options and futures with U.S. hedge funds in Morgan Stanley's Equity Derivatives Group in New York. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Jeff was on the investment team at Petra Capital Partners, where he was responsible for screening, researching, structuring and monitoring private equity investments in health care and information services companies. Prior to Petra Capital, Jeff was an investment banker at Robertson Stephens, where he executed a variety of public and private equity, debt and convertible offerings along with mergers and acquisitions in financial services, health care, and business services.

As president of EGI, Mark oversees all aspects of the business. He focuses on maximizing and sustaining the value of the firm's investment portfolio and applies his 20+ years of board and CEO experience inside and outside the organization by actively engaging with the investment team and portfolio companies to improve business strategies and operating capabilities. In addition, Mark is the chair of the Chai Trust Company, LLC (Chai) investment committee as well as the executive vice president of Chai, which serves as the corporate trustee for the Zell family trusts. He also serves as board chair for Ardent Health Services, East Coast Warehouse & Distribution, Lanter Delivery Systems, Paper Transport, and an agricultural equipment dealer. Mark joined EGI in 2006 as a managing director and has held temporary in-house assignments within EGI portfolio companies to accelerate and increase the effectiveness of turnarounds, including stints at Tribune Interactive and Exterran Holdings, Inc. Prior to joining EGI, Mark was the chief executive officer of Sunburst Technology Corporation and on the company's board of directors. He also served as the president of Budget Group, Inc. (Budget Rent A Car and Ryder Truck Rental) and was on the company's board. Earlier in his career, Mark worked at The Coca-Cola Company in senior brand management and sales roles. Mark holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Amherst College.

Head of Secondary Investments Private Equity Responsibilities at Schroders Capital Christiaan van der Kam is the head of Schroders Capital's secondary investment program, responsible for all secondary investment activities globally. Background Prior to joining Schroders Capital in 2020, Christiaan spent more than 12 years at Unigestion, where he co-lead the global secondary investment program and was responsible for all secondary investments in North America and Asia. Prior to that, he worked at New Amsterdam Capital, a hedge fund based in London, where he provided financial and advisory services to companies. Christiaan started his private equity career at ATP Private Equity from 2001–2006. ATP is the largest pension fund in Denmark and one of the largest private equity investors globally. Education Christiaan holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business and a Master degree in Applied Economics and Finance from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.

Marc J. Leder, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., has been engaged in leveraged buyouts, investment banking, and business operations for more than 30 years. In addition, Mr. Leder is a member of the Sun Capital Executive Committee which oversees and manages the overall strategy of the firm. Mr. Leder received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Leder is a Member of the International Counsel for the Museum Berggruen in Berlin and also sits on the Board of the Institute of Contemporary Arts at the University of Pennsylvania.

Today's special episode isn't simply "advice". It provides deep insight into life's journey, successes, and failures from top private equity and investment banking professionals. We've compiled a video of college photos from our speakers to connect the past with the present. To explore the journey and look at what it takes to achieve your dreams. Want to listen to a particular guest, see below: Kurt Haras - Cowen (5:20) Jay Jester - Plexus Capital (7:45) Charlie Gifford - New Heritage (12:04) John Huhn - Compass Group (17:58) Doug McCormick - HCI Equity Partners (20:11) Ken Firtel - Transom Capital (24:30) Brandon Knapp - Evercap Advisors (36:18) Jim Mahoney - Huron Capital (40:49) Julia Buthman - Prudential Private Capital (44:44) Connor Mitchell - Solomon Partners (48:13) Vikram Agrawal - American Resilience Partners (51:28) Paul Hobby - Genesis Park (54:51) Alex Western - Terminus Capital Partners (58:47) Tom O'Rouke - Baypine (1:05:00) Jeffrey Armbrister - Hamilton Lane (1:07:49) Caroline Stevens - MPK Equity Partners (1:14:36) Stephen Vaccaro - Hirtle, Callaghan, & Co (1:16:59) Ganesh Rao - Thomas H. Lee Partners (1:21:13) Jeff Eaton - Eaton Partners (1:22:51) Arthur Hollingsworth - Lone Star Investment Advisors (1:26:01) Dave Tayeh - Investcorp (1:27:55) Brian McGee - New Water Capital (1:31:35)

Brian McGee, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at New Water Capital, shares insights on investment focus, deal sourcing, and the importance of relationships. They discuss the team composition and operational approach, emphasizing gradual implementation. The chapter also explores McGee's journey into private equity, challenges of starting a business, and offers advice for young professionals.

Dave Tayeh, Partner in the Private Equity team at Investcorp, discusses Investcorp's focus in North American Private Equity and their evaluation process for partnering with CEOs and founders. He shares his journey from playing Division III football to his current position and highlights the value of different experiences as a CEO and advisor. The podcast also covers factors to consider when choosing a private equity partner.