2009

December 1, 2009

Portfolio Company Operations and Private Equity Returns
On December 1, 2009, The Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York hosted a panel discussion on private equity firms and operations excellence: "Portfolio Company Operations and Private Equity Returns." The credit crisis and recession have put a renewed spotlight on the operational performance of private equity portfolio companies. The Panelists, Jim Smith, Partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers Consulting, Andrew C. Taub ('96), Partner, Catterton Partners, and Alan Wilkinson ('84), Managing Director, AEA Investors, discussed steps to improve that performance. Professor Laura B. Resnikoff ('76), Director of Columbia Business School's Equity Program, moderated the event.

November 24, 2009

Survival Tactics for 2010 In Madrid, on November 24, 2009, The Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Spain presented:
"Survival Tactics for 2010 - a Restructuring Roundtable Discussion."In attendance: Laura Resnikoff ('76), Associate Professor, and Director, Columbia Business School's Private Equity Program, Maite Ballester ('89), Partner and Managing Director, 3i Group Spain, and Aurelio Garcia-Miro ('01), Director and Co-Head of Restructuring, Alvarez and Marsal, Spain.

October 15, 2009

On October 15, Columbia Business School's Private Equity Program presented the panel discussion: Changing Gears: Shifting the Global Auto Industry from "Push" to "Pull"

Panel I:
Wendy Fields-Jacobs, Top Administrative Assistant to Vice President Bob King, UAW
Al Koch, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, AlixPartners LLP and CEO, Motors Liquidation Company, the “old” General Motors
Thomas F. McLarty III, Chairman, McLarty Companies
Durc Savini, Managing Director, Miller Buckfire
Moderator: Paul Ingrassia, Author and Journalist

Panel II:
Corinne Ball, Partner, Jones Day
Steve Girsky, President, SJ Girsky and Co.
Tim Leuliette, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, DURA Automotive Systems, Inc.
Stephen Toy, Managing Director, WL Ross & Co. LLC
Moderator:Peter Brown, Vice President/Associate Publisher, Automotive News Group

Presentation:
"The Future Automotive System: The World That Changed The Machine" Prof. Daniel Roos, Japan Steel Industry Professor of Engineering Systems, MIT

June 11, 2009

As part of the university's June 11 Worldwide Alumni Club Event Day, the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of London presented a panel discussion: "Secondary Private Equity: A Growing Source of Returns and Liquidity in Private Equity"

Panelists:
Mark Burch ('83) , Partner, Arcis Capital
Geoff Kittredge ('92) , Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton
Carlo Pirzio-Biroli ('90) , Managing Director, Head Secondary Investing, RREEF - Deutsche Bank Group
Andrew Sealy , Partner, Campbell Lutyens

Moderator:
Laura B. Resnikoff ('76) , Director Private Equity Program, Columbia Business School

June 9, 2009

The Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Benelux held an alumni dinner on June 9 with guest speaker, Laura B. Resnikoff ('76) , Associate Professor and Director of the Private Equity Program at Columbia Business School. Professor Resnikoff was joined by fellow alumnus, Age Hollander ('82) , founding partner of H2 Private Equity Partners. The theme of the round table discussion was "Restructuring in Private Equity," an interesting topic given the current economic climate.

May 19, 2009

Columbia Business School's Alumni Club of New York offered a panel discussion on the Secondary Private Equity market: "Secondary Private Equity: A Growing Source of Returns and Liquidity in the Private Equity Ecosystem"

Panelists:
Michael Brandmeyer ('94) of Goldman Sachs; Managing Director and Co-Head of Secondary Private Equity
Carlos Pirzio-Biroli ('95) of RREEF Private Equity / Deutsche Bank; Managing Director and Head of Global Secondary Investing
Bill Murphy ('90) of Cogent Partners; Managing Director in the New York office
Michael D. Belsley of Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Partner with the Private Equity and Fund Formation Corporate Practice
Laura B. Resnikoff ('76) , Director, Private Equity Program, Columbia Business School, moderator

For a copy of the introductory presentation given by Bill Murphy of Cogent Partners, please click here (PDF file, used with permission).

April 29, 2009

On April 29th, Columbia Business School faculty, alumni and other prominent business leaders gathered at the Capital Club at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

The reception was held as part of a new Executive MBA course taught at Columbia Business School by Professor Laura B. Resnikoff ('76): "Investment Evolution and Opportunities in the MENA Region." The course is among the electives offered in Columbia Business School's Executive MBA program, and covers private equity and sovereign wealth fund investments issues in the MENA region. One of the highlights of the course is the opportunity for interaction between the Executive MBA students and Columbia Business School alumni based in North Africa and the Middle East.

Professor Resnikoff said, "We are pleased to introduce a course designed to understand the investment opportunities and challenges associated with the unprecedented wealth transfer and accumulation in the dynamic and resource-rich economies of the MENA region. Our visit to Dubai provided a fantastic opportunity for our students to gain insights into the Middle East marketplace."

This reception allowed Columbia Business School students to engage with some of the leading businesspeople in the region and was graciously hosted by Amwal AlKhaleej in Dubai.

February 4, 2009

Venture Capital Investment Competition

VCIC is a competition in which students from the world's top MBA programs compete as venture capitalists analyzing real business plans from entrepreneurs currently seeking venture funding. For more information about the competition, please refer to www.vcic.org.

February 4, 2009

The 5th Annual Alumni in Restructuring Event took place on Wednesday, February 4, 2009. The theme was "Welcome to the New Era of Deleveraging: Which Shareholders Will be the Winners?"

At this panel, audience members had the opportunity to both listen to and engage with some of the most thoughtful, experienced and influential people engaging with the now overlooked and beaten down capital structure players - the shareholders. Yet, with the massive deleveraging and opportunities for reallocation of asset ownership, there is the potential for a new cohort of shareholder groups to become the next generation of "masters of the universe." We aimed that this discussion would give insight to this movement in its many manifestations. We assure you that this movement will affect all of us.

Guests included Rob Cox, Founding Editor and Director of Breakingviews.com, Leon G. Cooperman '67, Chairman of Omega Advisors Inc. New York, and Howard O. Godnick, Partner, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. This event was moderated by Professor Laura Resnikoff '76, Director, Private Equity Program, Columbia Business School.

January 30, 2009

The 15th Annual Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference, "Today's Uncertainty, Tomorrow's Opportunity," was held on January 30, 2009 at Lerner Hall.