Welcome

On behalf of Columbia Business School’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Club and The Private Equity Program, we are delighted to welcome you to our 16th annual Private Equity & Venture Capital Conference.

This year, our conference will draw some 750 alumni, professionals, and students to Lerner Hall, for informative discussions on emerging trends in the private equity and venture capital communities. The purpose of our conference is to educate and provide a forum for interaction among those active in private equity and venture capital. In addition, as the club’s largest annual event, the conference seeks to highlight Columbia Business School’s commitment to private equity and venture capital and its position as one of the leading mentors to the next generation of industry talent.

We are pleased to be offering two keynote discussions, one luncheon dialogue and six panels featuring private equity and venture capital sponsors, their third party advisors, as well as academic professionals from Columbia Business School and other leading academic institutions. By including representatives from a variety of backgrounds, our goal is to present an interesting breadth of perspectives from industry professionals and academics.

Since last year’s conference, the macro environment has shown signs of recovery, and the credit markets have begun to stabilize. We feel that this year’s speakers will offer unique insights into the opportunities that currently exist and will exist in the future in this new environment, lending credence to our theme of “Private Equity 2010: Looking Back to Shape the Future.” We are extremely grateful for the participation of each of our speakers and for the guidance from Professor Laura Resnikoff, Director of the Private Equity Program.

Regards,

If you would like to view podcasts from last year's conference, please visit the 2009 conference webpage.

Keynotes

Kevin J. Conway

Managing Partner, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Inc.
discussion led by
David MacKinnon
Partner, Ernst & Young LLP

Wesley R. Edens

Founder and Co-Chairman of Fortress Investment Group LLC