sixth annual beecken petty oâ€™keefe & company private equity

Sixth AnnualBeecken Petty O’Keefe & Company Private Equity ConferenceScaling New Heights

February 16, 2007Chicago Cultural Center

The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business

Agenda

Time Event Location*

8:00–8:45 a.m. Registration and networking breakfast G.A.R. Rotunda

9:00–9:10 a.m. Welcome and introductions G.A.R. Hall

Ken O’Keefe, Partner,

Beecken, Petty, O’Keefe & Company

9:10–10:10 a.m. Morning Keynote Speaker G.A.R. Hall

Andrew Studdert, Chairman, President,

and CEO, NES Rental Holdings, Inc.

10:15 – 11:25 a.m. Panel: Making Control Investments G.A.R. Hall

in Distressed Situations

11:30 a.m.–12:50 p.m. Lunch Preston

Bradley Hall

11:40 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Luncheon Keynote Speaker Preston

Howard Marks, Chairman Bradley Hall

Oaktree Capital Management

1:00–2:10 p.m. Panel: Differentiation Tactics G.A.R. Hall

in the LBO Business

2:20–3:30 p.m. Panel: Challenges Caused by G.A.R. Hall

Untested Capital Structures and

Non-Traditional Lenders

3:30–3:45 p.m. Break G.A.R. Rotunda

3:45–4:55 p.m. Panel: International Investing: G.A.R. Hall

Current Strategies, Trends, and Outlook

5:00–6:00 p.m. Cocktails and networking reception G.A.R. Rotunda

*The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Hall and Rotunda

are located on the second floor.

Sixth Annual Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company Private Equity ConferenceScaling New Heights

February 16, 2007Chicago Cultural Center

Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship

Steven N. KaplanFaculty Director Neubauer Family Professor of Entrepreneurship & Finance

Ellen A. Rudnick, ’73Executive DirectorClinical Professor of Entrepreneurship

Linda DarraghDirector of Entrepreneurship ProgramsAdjunct Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship

Starr MarcelloAssociate Director of Entrepreneurship Programs

Stephanie MarcucciAssociate Director of Marketing and Communications

Anna BishopProgram Manager

Robyn SearlesOffice Manager

Michael P. Polsky Center for EntrepreneurshipThe University of Chicago Graduate School of Business5807 S. Woodlawn Ave.Chicago, IL 60637773.834.4525Fax 773.834.4046ChicagoGSB.edu/entrepreneurship

© 2007 The University of Chicago Graduate

School of Business. All rights reserved.

Printed by AlphaGraphics, Prudential Plaza.

2 | Private Equity Conference

Welcome from the Conference Hosts

Dear Conference Attendees,

The Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital, & Private Equity Group (EVP) and

the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship would like to thank you for joining

us at the sixth annual Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company Private Equity

Conference.

Today’s event is designed to give students and friends of Chicago GSB an

opportunity to hear from successful professionals and alumni in the private

equity industry. The panel participants and sponsors all have been recruited

by students. The issues discussed today reflect the interests of the many

Chicago GSB students who are passionate about private equity. The presence

of our guests speaks volumes about their esteem for Chicago GSB and our

students’ dedication to creating a great conference.

The Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company Private Equity Conference, along

with the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Conference and the Edward

L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge, complements the innovative courses,

research, and guidance expertly provided by exceptional Chicago GSB faculty

in entrepreneurship and finance. We would like to thank all of our sponsors,

panelists, moderators, and volunteers who have made this conference

possible. We also are grateful for the support provided by Chicago GSB

professor Scott Meadow, who recruited our morning keynote speaker.

We hope you enjoy the conference and find the discussion enlightening,

entertaining, and, above all, informative.

Sincerely,

Steven N. Kaplan Ellen A. Rudnick, ’73

Faculty Director of the Polsky Center Executive Director of the Polsky Center

for Entrepreneurship for Entrepreneurship

Neubauer Family Professor of Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship & Finance

Andrew Boswell, ’07 Eric Madry, ’07

EVP Group Co-Chair EVP Group Co-Chair

Ellen A. Rudnick, ’73and Steven N. Kaplan

Andrew Boswell and Eric Madry

Morning Keynote

Andrew StuddertChairman, President, and CEO

NES Rentals

Andrew Studdert joined NES

Rentals as president and

CEO in June 2004 and was

appointed chairman of the

board of directors in August

2005. Since emerging from

bankruptcy in early 2004, the company has completed a

significant restructuring and turnaround while moving

from a decentralized group of acquired businesses to a

centralized, integrated company able to effectively lever-

age its capabilities and resources. NES completed its turn-

around with a sale to Diamond Castle Holdings for $850

million in July 2006.

Prior to joining NES, Studdert served as chief operating

officer of UAL Corporation/United Airlines from 1999–

2002. He also held the posts of senior vice president, Fleet

Operations from 1997–99, and chief information officer from

1995–97. As CIO, he led the airline during the September

11 crisis and testified before the full 9/11 Commission.

Before joining United Airlines, Studdert served as

executive vice president at First Interstate Bancorp, then

the seventh largest American bank holding corporation

and operating in 14 western states. He held executive

positions in retail and mortgage banking, alternative

delivery systems, and technology.

Studdert serves on the Board of Regents of Loras

College in Dubuque, Iowa, and on the Board of Directors

of the Big Shoulders Fund in Chicago. He is a past chair-

man of the Nevada Redevelopment Corporation that

focused on innovative solutions to affordable housing.

Studdert earned a BA from San Francisco State

University.

Lunch Keynote

Howard S. Marks, ’69Chairman

Oaktree Capital Management

Howard S. Marks is a pioneer

in the management of high-

yield bonds and convertible

securities. In the more than

35 years since his entry into

the investment manage-

ment industry in 1969, he has developed the fundamen-

tal investment philosophy that governs all of Oaktree’s

activities and assembled one of the largest pools of

institutional assets under management in these fields. In

cofounding Oaktree in 1995, Marks realized his desire to

build a firm which operates according to his investment

philosophy, beliefs, and standards. His responsibilities

consist of providing leadership to Oaktree’s people,

managing the firm, and communicating with its clients.

Previously, Marks headed a department at The TCW

Group, Inc., which managed investments in high-yield

bonds, convertible securities, and distressed debt. He

also was chief investment officer for Domestic Fixed

Income of Trust Company of the West and president of

TCW Asset Management Company.

Before joining TCW, Marks was with Citicorp

Investment Management for 16 years where, from

1978–85, he served as vice president and manager of the

convertible and high-yield bond portfolios. Earlier, he

was an equity analyst and the bank’s director of invest-

ment research.

Marks holds a BS cum laude from the Wharton School

at the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in

Finance. He also earned an MBA in Accounting and

Marketing from Chicago GSB, where he received the

George Hay Brown Prize. He is a Chartered Financial

Analyst and Chartered Investment Counselor.

Chicago GSB | 3

Keynote Speakers


Panel: Making Control Investments in Distressed Situations sponsored by DLA Piper

Panelists

Stephen PresserPartner

Monomoy Capital Partners

Stephen Presser

is a partner at

Monomoy, the

chairman of the

board of direc-

tors of Barjan,

LLC, and a

member of the

board of directors of Awrey Bakeries,

Inc., Hess Industries, Inc., and

Casting Technology Company. Prior

to founding Monomoy, Presser was

a principal at KPS Special Situations

Fund from 1998–2005 and served as

chairman or member of the board of

directors of several KPS companies.

At KPS, Presser also was the senior

operating professional of an affiliated

financial advisory firm that repre-

sented creditors in the restructuring

of several North American aero-

space and steel companies including

LTV Steel, Bethlehem Steel, United

Airlines, American Airlines, Air

Canada, US Airways, and America

West Airlines.

Prior to joining KPS, Presser was

a partner in the New York law firm of

Cohen, Weiss and Simon, where he

specialized in representing unions

in complex business reorganizations,

and negotiated labor agreements in

business restructurings.

Presser holds an AB from Brown

University and a JD from the Harvard

Law School.

Kevin Prokop, ’95Director

Questor Management Company

Kevin Prokop

has been an

investment

professional

at Questor

since 1998.

Previously, he

was an associate

and engagement manager at McKinsey

& Company. Prior to that, Prokop was

an associate at Kleinwort Benson,

Ltd. and First Chicago-NBD Capital

Markets, where he worked on buy-

outs and middle-market mergers and

acquisitions.

Prokop received his undergraduate

degree with honors from Georgetown

University and his MBA with highest

honors from Chicago GSB.

David RosenManaging Director

Equity Group Investments LLC

David Rosen

is a manag-

ing director at

Equity Group

Investments

LLC, the hold-

ing company for

the interests of

Sam Zell, and is responsible for EGI’s

distressed investments.

Prior to EGI, Rosen headed the

distressed M&A group in the Chicago

office of Houlihan Lokey Howard &

Zukin. Rosen is a cofounder of Dakota

Capital Partners and a general partner

of the Zell/Chilmark Fund.

Rosen holds a BA in Economics

from Northwestern University.

Chicago GSB | 5

Myung YiManaging Director

American Capital Strategies

Myung Yi is

managing direc-

tor in the Special

Situations Group

at American

Capital Strate-

gies. After join-

ing the firm in

February 2000 as an associate in the

Bethesda, MD office, Yi was promoted

to vice president in July 2001 and

became a principal in the operations

team in 2004. Yi serves on the follow-

ing boards of American Capital port-

folio companies: The Algoma Group,

Evans Analytical Group, The New Piper

Aircraft, Pan Am International Flight

Academy, and Warner Power.

Yi began his career at Price Water-

house as an audit associate focusing

on financial institutions. Yi also

practiced tax law at the firm of Caplin

& Drysdale, and he later joined the

Boston Consulting Group as a con-

sultant focusing on corporate devel-

opment, valuation, and strategic

planning.

Yi received his BS in Economics,

magna cum laude, from the Wharton

School at the University of Pennsyl-

vania and his JD, cum laude, from the

Georgetown University Law Center.

Notes

Chicago GSB | 7


Panel: Differentiation Tactics in the LBO Business

sponsored by Mayer, Brown, Rowe, & Maw, LLP

Moderator

James LidburyPartner

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, LLP

James Lidbury

is a mergers &

acquisitions

partner based in

Mayer Brown’s

Chicago office.

He is coauthor

of How to Buy

a US Business: A Guide to Negotiated

and Hostile Acquisitions. He has been

recognized by Chambers USA and

by Global Counsel 3000 as one of

the leading M&A lawyers in Chicago

and was named as an “Illinois Super

Lawyer” by Chicago magazine. At the

time of this writing, Lidbury is rep-

resenting a private equity consortium

consisting of Starwood Capital Group,

Walton Street Partners, and Vornado

Realty Trust that has just made a com-

peting bid to acquire Equity Office

Properties for nearly $40 billion,

making it the largest private equity

transaction in U.S. history.

Before joining Mayer Brown in

1994, Lidbury was an attorney with the

Securities and Exchange Commission

in Washington, DC.

Lidbury graduated from North-

western University Law School in 1990.

Panelists

Nicholas Alexos, ’88Managing Director

Madison Dearborn Partners

Nick Alexos is a

managing direc-

tor at Madison

Dearborn

Partners and

works on trans-

actions across

all of the firm’s

industry sectors. Prior to cofound-

ing MDP, Alexos was with First

Chicago Venture Capital for four years.

Previously, he was with The First

National Bank of Chicago.

Alexos currently serves on the

boards of directors of Pierre Holding

Corp., Boys and Girls Clubs of

Chicago, and Children’s Inner City

Educational Fund and on the advi-

sory board of Sirona Dental Systems

GmbH.

Alexos holds a BBA from Loyola

University and earned an MBA from

Chicago GSB. He is a Certified Public

Accountant.

Nathan Brown, ’02Managing Director

Wind Point Partners

Nathan Brown

joined Wind

Point in 1997

and was pro-

moted to man-

aging director

in 2004. He

currently is a

director of America’s PowerSports,

Marshfield DoorSystems, and United

Subcontractors.

Prior to joining Wind Point, Brown

was an analyst with the Corporate

Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions

departments of ScotiaMcLeod (now

Scotia Capital Markets), a leading

Canadian investment bank.

Brown holds a BA in Philosophy

from Queen’s University and an MBA

from Chicago GSB.

Chicago GSB | 9

Philip A. Canfield, ’96Principal

GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC

Philip Canfield

joined GTCR

in 1992 and

became a prin-

cipal in 1997.

Canfield previ-

ously worked

in the corpo-

rate finance department of Kidder,

Peabody, and Co.

Canfield is a director of vari-

ous companies including CellNet,

netASPx, Solera, Sorenson

Communications, SystemsNet, Triad

Financial, and Transaction Network

Services. In addition, Canfield was

a director and played a key role in

GTCR’s highly successful past invest-

ments in AppNet and DigitalNet.

Canfield holds a degree in Finance

with high honors from the Honors

Business Program at the University of

Texas and an MBA from Chicago GSB.

Eric C. Larson, ’87Managing Partner

Linden LLC

Prior to found-

ing Linden

in 2002, Eric

Larson was

executive vice

president and

managing

general part-

ner of First Chicago Equity Capital

(FCEC). He was a founding partner of

FCEC in 1991 and its senior invest-

ment professional and strategist.

He was previously a partner at First

Chicago Venture Capital, now Madison

Dearborn Partners.

Larson has been a board mem-

ber of more than a dozen public and

private companies, including several

roles as non-executive chairman and

committee chairs. He is a member of

various scientific-related commit-

tees at Harvard University, the Illinois

Biotechnology Industry Organization,

and the Illinois Nature Conservancy.

Larson has an undergraduate

degree in Biology from Harvard

University and an MBA from

Chicago GSB.

Troy NoardManaging Director

Frontenac Company

Troy Noard

is a manag-

ing director

with Frontenac

Company, a

Chicago-based

private equity

fund. Noard

specializes in business services and

marketing services investments. Prior

to joining Frontenac, Noard worked at

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Noard currently serves on the

board of directors of DVC Worldwide,

Nth Degree, The National System,

Inc, TrialGraphix, and Encore Legal

Solutions. He lives in Chicago with his

wife and two children.

Noard graduated from DePauw

University with highest honors and

received an MBA from the Stanford

University Graduate School of

Business.


Panel: Challenges Caused by Untested Capital Structures and Non-Traditional Lenders sponsored by Jenner & Block

Moderator

Catherine L. Steege Partner

Jenner & Block

Catherine L.

Steege is a part-

ner in Jenner &

Block’s Chicago

office and is a

member of the

Bankruptcy,

Workout, and

Corporate Reorganization Practice.

She was lead counsel to Arlington

Hospitality in their Chapter 11 fil-

ing and assisted with the sale of its

assets to Sunburst Hotel Holdings,

Inc. and SJB Equities, Inc. She rep-

resents the Section 1114 Committee

of Retirees of Northwest Airlines and

represented the Section 1114 Salaried

and Management Retiree Committee

of United Airlines in those respective

bankruptcies. Steege handled complex

litigation arising out of bankruptcy

cases, including that of National Steel

Corp. and Consolidated Industries

Corp., and has represented unsecured

creditors committees, bondholders,

and creditors on committees.

Steege earned her BS in Journalism

from Northwestern University’s

Medill School of Journalism and

graduated first in her class from the

DePaul University College of Law,

where she was managing lead articles

editor of the DePaul Law Review.

Panelists

Joshua DavisDirector

Laminar Direct Capital

Joshua Davis

is a director

with Laminar

Direct Capital,

a member of

the D.E. Shaw

Group. Prior to

joining LDC,

Davis was a managing director at

Milestone Merchant Partners—a

Washington D.C.-based boutique

merchant bank, and vice president at

Duke Capital Partners—a merchant

banking subsidiary of Duke Energy

focused on mezzanine, equity, and

senior debt financing in the energy

industry. Davis’s past experience also

includes Arthur Andersen, where he

was a director in Arthur Andersen’s

Global Corporate Finance practice

responsible for the Mid-Atlantic

region, and manager in the Corporate

Restructuring Practice where across a

broad range of industries he advised

clients in financial distress includ-

ing debt restructuring, exchange and

conversion, as well as all phases of the

bankruptcy process.

Davis received his BBA in Finance

and Accounting from Texas A&M

University.

Renee RempeSenior Vice President

GE Antares Capital

Renee Rempe

is a senior vice

president for

GE Antares

Capital, focus-

ing on troubled

account man-

agement.

Rempe has 18 years of commercial

lending experience directing complex

bank group transactions in various

portfolio, origination, and underwrit-

ing positions while at GE Antares and

at Heller Financial. Rempe started her

career at KPMG.

Rempe graduated with honors from

Lewis University. She received her

MBA from DePaul University and is a

Certified Public Accountant.

Chicago GSB | 11

NotesLewis Schoenwetter, ’98Managing Director

H.I.G. Capital

Lewis

Schoenwetter

is a manag-

ing director of

H.I.G. Capital.

Schoenwetter

has over ten

years of pri-

vate equity investing experience in a

broad range of industries including

business services, manufacturing,

distribution, telecom, and healthcare.

Schoenwetter has been involved in

all aspects of the investment pro-

cess including sourcing, transaction

structuring, financing, and execution

of post-closing growth strategies.

He currently serves on the board of

numerous H.I.G. Capital portfolio

companies.

Prior to joining H.I.G., Schoenwetter

was a director with Levine Leichtman

Capital Partners. In this role, he was

responsible for investment analysis

and working with the management of

portfolio companies to create value.

Schoenwetter also has worked in the

private equity group at ABN AMRO

and in Banc of America’s leveraged

finance group.

Schoenwetter earned a BS from

Marquette University and an MBA

from Chicago GSB.

Andrew Turnbull Director

Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin

Andrew

Turnbull is a

director and

the leader of

the Financial

Restructuring

Group in the

Chicago office

of Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin.

Turnbull has 13 years of experience

specializing in assisting companies,

lenders, creditors, and investors in

financially distressed situations. His

experience includes assisting clients

in several industries with acquisi-

tions and divestitures of financially

troubled assets, raising a variety of

forms of financing and negotiations

relating to the restructuring of private

and public securities, both in Chapter

11 and in out-of-court situations.

Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey,

Turnbull was a director of Pricewater-

houseCoopers Corporate Finance LLC

where he led the Chicago restructur-

ing practice. Turnbull is a member

of the American Bankruptcy Institute

and the Turnaround Management

Association and he is licensed through

the NASD as a Registered General

Securities Representative (Series 7 & 63).

Turnbull received a BS in Biology

from the University of Western

Ontario and an MBA with honors

from the Ivey Business School at the

University of Western Ontario.

Chicago GSB | 13

As the only truly international, integrated, independent mid-market M&A advisor, Lincoln International leverages senior-level

expertise and unparalleled industry insight to connect clients with a broader range

of buyers, sellers and investors. With our fi rm’s results-oriented approach and

international presence as a foundation, we consistently deliver the best price and

terms for our clients.

For more information on how

Lincoln International can deliver

results for your company or

your career, call 1-888-580-8328,

or visit www.lincolninternational.com

C H I C A G O F R A N K F U R T L O S A N G E L E S N E W Y O R K P A R I S

Results you can rely on

Internationalresults


Panel: International Investing: Current Strategies, Trends, and Outlook

Moderator

Todd Henderson, JD ’98Assistant Professor of Law

The University of Chicago Law School

Todd Henderson

began his career

as clerk to the

Honorable

Dennis Jacobs

of the United

States Court

of Appeals for

the Second Circuit. He then practiced

appellate litigation at Kirkland &

Ellis in Washington, D.C., and was an

Engagement Manager at McKinsey &

Company in Boston, where he special-

ized in counseling telecommunications

and high-tech clients on business and

regulatory strategy. He also worked

extensively with various private equity

and vulture investors in valuations, due

diligence, and strategic counseling.

Henderson’s research interests

include: corporations, securities reg-

ulation, bankruptcy, law and econom-

ics, private equity, and international

regulation of intellectual property.

Henderson received an engineer-

ing degree, cum laude, from Princeton

University in 1993 and graduated

magna cum laude from the University

of Chicago Law School. While at the

Law School, he was elected to the

Order of the Coif, was an editor of the

Law Review and captained the Law

School’s all-University champion

intramural football team.

Panelists

Bryce FortDirector

EMP Africa

Bryce Fort is a

director of EMP

Africa. Prior

to the forma-

tion of EMP

Africa in 2005,

Fort served as

an investment

officer in Africa Fund I after joining

Emerging Markets Partnership in 2002.

Previously, Fort worked for Deutsche

Bank AG’s European Healthcare

Corporate Finance Group which exe-

cuted M&A, equity, and debt financ-

ings for pharmaceutical, biotech, and

medical device companies in Europe.

Fort received a BS in Computer

Engineering with a minor in

Economics from Lehigh University.

Chris FreundFounder

Mekong Capital

Chris Freund

is the founder

and largest

shareholder of

Mekong Capital,

an employee-

owned

investment

management company focusing on

investing in manufacturing, branding,

and distribution companies in Vietnam.

Mekong Capital has played a pioneering

role in introducing best practices to the

Vietnamese business community.

Prior to forming Mekong Capital

in 2001, Freund was a vice president

and portfolio manager with Templeton

Asset Management, Ltd., the emerging

markets arm of the Franklin/Templeton

Group. Freund joined Templeton in

early 1995 and worked first in Ho Chi

Minh City where he was responsible

for screening and analysis of poten-

tial investments and post-investment

monitoring and later in Singapore

where he covered the technology sector

in emerging markets.

Freund also cofounded Management

Consulting Group Ltd., which owns

VietnamWorks.com, Vietnam’s leading

job recruitment web site, and Navigos

Group, the largest executive search

company in Vietnam. Freund is also on

the board of TMA Solutions, Vietnam’s

largest software outsourcing company,

and is a special advisor to the Vietnam

Association of Financial Investors.

Freund holds a bachelors degree

in Psychology, with honors, from the

University of California at Santa Cruz.

Chicago GSB | 15

Gary GarrabrantCEO and Cofounder

Equity International

Gary Garrabrant

is CEO and

cofounder

of Equity

International.

Garrabrant

oversees all of

the company’s

activities and investment portfolio.

He also is executive vice president

of Equity Group Investments, the

privately-held investment company

founded and led by Sam Zell.

Garrabrant has extensive real

estate, investment management,

and banking experience. He led the

acquisition of California Real Estate

Investment Trust and the creation of

Capital Trust where he served as vice

chairman and director. He also was

involved in the consolidation of the

Zell/Merrill Lynch Opportunity Funds

which led to the creation of Equity

Office Properties Trust. Garrabrant

cofounded and led Genesis Realty

Capital Management, a real estate

securities investment management

firm, and was a senior real estate

investment banker from 1981-94.

Garrabrant is vice chairman and

director of Homex and is a director

of NH Hoteles and Gafisa. He also is

a member of the Kellogg Institute for

International Studies Advisory Board

at the University of Notre Dame and

the Real Estate Advisory Board at

Cambridge University.

Garrabrant graduated from the

University of Notre Dame with a BBA in

Finance and completed the Dartmouth

Institute at Dartmouth College.

Jeff KirbyFounder

European Future Group

Jeff Kirby is

the founder

of European

Future Group

and has 22 years

experience in all

facets of the real

estate industry.

He began his career in Canada after

studying real estate law, finance and

valuation, working first in agency and

then development consulting. Kirby

then lived and worked in Berlin for

four years developing major projects

including the GSW headquarters

through construction phases.

Kirby went on to found his own

business in London. His company,

Brownfield Redevelopment, won

awards and international recogni-

tion for its work and was successfully

traded to a public company. Kirby

was involved in real estate projects of

up to £90m in value and consistently

achieved exceptional returns for its

investors.

Kirby then launched European

Future Group and a private equity

fund for the expansion into Eastern

Europe four years ago, taking a major

UK private equity group as a partner.

Steven Xi, ’04 Managing Director

The Hina Group

Steven Xi is a

managing direc-

tor of The Hina

Group and a

member of the

investment

committee of

The Hina Group

Fund (I). Prior to The Hina Group, Xi

founded and served as managing direc-

tor of Harper Capital, an advisory firm

based in Menlo Park, California, and

was cofounder and CEO of ClubCiti

Inc., one of the leading electronic com-

merce trading companies in China.

Xi’s prior experience also includes

more than six years in investment

banking both in New York and Hong

Kong, completing over $5 billion in

M&A transactions and IPOs, as well as

in private equity.

Xi received a BS in Physics from

Jilin University in China and an MA

in Economics from University of

Southern California. He also spent a

year in graduate studies at the Ford

Foundation Economics Training

Center at the Remin University

of China. Xi earned an MBA from

Chicago GSB where he is a member

of the Chicago GSB Global Advisory

Board Asia Cabinet.

Panel continues on page 16.

16 | Private Equity Conference16 | Private Equity Conference

Special Thanks

Professor

Scott F. Meadow

Clinical Professor

of Entrepreneurship

Professor

Steven N. Kaplan

Neubauer Family Professor

of Entrepreneurship and

Finance

Student Volunteers

Class of 2007

Andy Boswell

Eric Madry

Nathan Richey

Jason Starr

Brett Taxin

Class of 2008

Jessica Bliesner

Nate Chiaverini

Jules Dessibourg

Ivan Fan

Rob France

Kelly Fuller

David Goldberg

Edgar Gonzalez

Paul Hamilos

Eric Held

Andrew Hewlett

Yvon Hopps

Vidya Khetawat

Anna Levchuk

Gary Lewis

Jun Lou

Jon Maschmeyer

Seema Panjwani

Chrissie Chen Pariso

Donald Park

Raj Raval

Nathan Richey

Thomas Schumaker

Teppei Tsutsui

Bill Waelke

Ben Yarbrough

Osamu Yamamoto ’93Partner

Unison Capital, Inc.

Osamu Yamamoto

is a partner of

Unison Capital,

Inc., a pioneer

in the Japanese

buyout market.

Unison Capital

has made ten

Japanese buyout investments since

its foundation in 1998, currently

managing Unison Capital II, L.P. with

total commitment of $1.1 billion.

Yamamoto led five of ten Unison’s

investments and currently serves on

the boards of Cosmos Initia, a leading

Japanese residential developer, and

Toshiba Ceramics, a Japanese premier

high-tech materials company.

Yamamoto started his career at The

Sanwa Bank, Ltd. where he worked

primarily in the Derivatives Products

Group. He moved to McKinsey &

Company in 1995 where he served as

associate principal responsible for

providing strategic consulting services

to financial and communication/

media clients until 2001.

Yamamoto holds a BA in Economics

from Keio University, an MBA from

Chicago GSB, and a PhD from Tokyo

Institute of Technology.

Panel: International Investing: Current Strategies, Trends, and Outlook continued

G o l d

S i l v e r

B r o n z e

EVPEVP Group at the Chicago GSB is very active within the

student community and provides career development,

conferences on current topics in the entrepreneurial

and venture capital

industries, industry-

leading speakers,

and resources for members. EVP’s goals are to educate

student members about career paths in entrepreneur-

ship, private equity and venture capital through confer-

ences, guest speakers, recruiting sessions, and real world

experience; promote the Michael P. Polsky Center for

Entrepreneurship at the GSB; and provide networking

opportunities. Visit student.chicagogsb.edu/group/evp/

Michael P. Polsky Center for EntrepreneurshipThe Entrepreneurship Center was organized in 1998

through a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman

Foundation and became an endowed center in 2002

through the gener-

ous commitment of

Michael P. Polsky, ’87,

a successful entrepreneur and inspiration to our students

and alumni. The Polsky Center’s mission is to create

entrepreneurial leaders through a broad range of experi-

ences, including classroom learning, experiential learn-

ing, leading-edge research, and community outreach.

Visit ChicagoGSB.edu/entrepreneurship

T i t l e S p o n s o r

P l a t i n u m

BEECKEN PETTY O’KEEFE & COMPANY

Sponsors and Supporters

sixth annual beecken petty oâ€™keefe & company private equity

Documents