Mergers & Acquisitions has been identifying the next generation of leaders in private equity since 2017. In 2021, we'll turn a spotlight on this group to hear their views and how they are driving the EVOLUTION of the asset class.
The M&A SPEAK Series conference platform is designed to provide you a great networking experience throughout the day. Schedule private video meetings with other delegates. Enter our Match Making Room to be introduced to others who share the same investment interests. Join a group discussion with professionals who share your sector interests. At the end day, pull down all the contacts you've met throughout the day into a csv file to upload to your CRM. It's an experience unlike any other virtual event you've attended.
The Mergers & Acquisitions Most Influential Women SPEAK conference was the best I've attended all year. I loved the one-on-one networking. -- Marilyn Adler, Mizzen Capital
A limited number of sponsorship opportunites are available for this event. Please inquire here and we will be in touch shortly to discuss options.
Partner, Co-Chief Executive Officer
Bio:
Justin steers businesses from dysfunctional to efficient and leads that
same continuous improvement effort within the four walls of
Monomoy.
Don't be fooled by his easy smile or his strong aversion to wearing
neckties; Justin has plenty of experience guiding management teams
through strategic decisions and he lives for buying middle-market
companies.
Prior to founding Monomoy, Justin was with KPS Capital Partners,
and before to that, he worked at the mezzanine lending platform of
Prudential Capital Group.
Justin holds a B.S. in Finance from Boston College. Unsurprisingly,
his fellow Eagles have been known to dominate the associate squad.
Justin has never met a chocolate chip cookie he didn’t like; however,
his larger passion is to visit every country in the world with his wife
and two daughters (and he’s more than halfway there!).
Managing Director
Bio:
Jason helps lead investments for TA’s Business and Financial Services group, focusing on technology-
enabled and other services companies in North America.
Jason joined TA in 2012 and has more than 13 years of experience in private equity and financial
services. His current investments span information services, integrated payments, entertainment,
insurance and travel. With domain experience across industries, Jason looks to partner with
management teams and founders with a customized approach and a clear strategy for growth and
transformation.
Managing Director
Bio:
Shoshana M. Vernick is a co-founder and managing director of Avathon Capital, a $400
million investment fund launched in 2016 to foster innovation and impact in the
education and workforce management markets. Avathon is a part of Sterling Partners, a
multi-billion investment management platform, which Shoshana joined in 2003.
Prior to that, Shoshana was an associate at global private equity firm One Equity
Partners; a senior strategist at Razorfish, a digital solutions provider; and an investment
banking analyst at Merrill Lynch.
While Shoshana’s current focus is dedicated to the education and workforce sectors,
over her career she has worked across a broad range of industries and has served on
over a dozen boards as a caring and powerful thought partner to executives. Currently
she sits on the Boards of Academic Programs International, Shorelight Education,
EdCast, and SusieCakes. She also serves as a strategic advisor to Strada Education
Network’s Board of Trustees. Previously Shoshana served on the boards of The
National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA), MetroGroup,
Atlantic Industrial, Smarterville, School of Rock, SAVO, Livingston, SecureNet, and
Progressus Therapy.
In addition, Shoshana is a member of PEWIN and Chief, Co-Chair of the Illinois Venture
Capital Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship program, on the Steering
Committee of KPMG / University of Chicago’s Economic Forum, 2020 Most Influential
Women in Mid-Market M&A, 2019 Crain’s Chicago Most Notable Women in Finance,
and frequent participant in University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Indiana
University mentorship and guest lecturer programs.
Shoshana earned a BS with honors from Indiana University in accounting, finance, and
international studies and studied abroad in Maastricht, The Netherlands. She grew up in
Munster, Indiana and was one of two children raised by a schoolteacher and an
entrepreneur. Currently, Shoshana and her family live in downtown Chicago.
Principal
Bio:
Justin leads the Teacher Retirement System of Texas’s direct and co-investment activities in Europe,
in
addition to wider initiatives for TRS’s European private equity program, and has general leadership
responsibilities for the private equity team in London.Previously, he worked at Peak Rock Capital,
an
operationally-focused middle-market private equity firm concentrating on opportunistic,
underperforming and distressed situations. Justin began his career at Credit Suisse in the
Investment
Banking Division. He holds a BBA in Finance, with honors, from The University of Texas at Austin.
President and Managing Director
Bio:
Willie E. Woods is the president and managing director of ICV Partners, a
leading private investment firm with over $700 million in capital which partners
with management teams of companies in the lower end of the middle market.
ICV boasts a special partnership with ICIC, an institutional co-sponsor which
provides invaluable resources such as deal flow, institutional expertise, back-
office support, best practices and industry connections.
Prior to co-founding ICV, Willie was a Vice President in investment banking at
Deutsche Bank Alex Brown where he was responsible for deal origination and
execution of merger and acquisition, leverage loan, high yield bond and equity
transactions with a focus on financial sponsors in the basic industries.
Willie has also worked in private equity at Levmark Capital, investment banking
at Lehman Brothers Inc. and corporate banking at NBD Bank. Along with
serving on the ICIC board, he also serves on the board of directors of the Apollo
Theater Foundation.
Willie has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in accounting from
Morehouse College.
