Join us for a curated evening of topical discussions and a Savor Your Senses® dinner experience, featuring Elaine Kwon and the Piazzolla Trio.

Who is Attending: Select FOs, LPs, GPs, independent sponsors, and deal targets invited by Summit Chairs and other guests.

Summit Chairs & Speakers:
Brett Hickey, CEO & Founder – Star Mountain Capital
Susan Phinney Silver, Mission Investing Director – The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Christian Bjelland, Advisor – Chr. Bjelland & Co. (Family Office)
Dan Ratner, Co-Founder – Hudson River Foods
Brian Mahoney, Chairman & CEO – Pellico, Inc.
Howard Gurvitch, Principal – Gurvitch Family Office
Jim TenBroek, Managing Partner – Growth Catalyst Partners
Marcia Nelson, Managing Director – Alberleen Family Office Solutions
Drew Butler, Managing Director – i(x) Investments

AGENDA

3:30 pm – Registration and Coffee/Tea Reception

4:00 pm panel –“Resolutions, Solutions, and Returns in the Face of a Downturn”
Brett Hickey, CEO & Founder – Star Mountain Capital
Christian Bjelland, Advisor – Chr. Bjelland & Co. (Family Office)
Howard Gurvitch, Principal – Gurvitch Family Office
Jim TenBroek, Managing Partner – Growth Catalyst Partners

4:30 pm – Presentation and Demo
Dan Ratner, Co-Founder – Hudson River Foods

4:40 pm panel – “Achieving Impact in Private Markets Investing”
Susan Phinney Silver, Mission Investing Director – The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Marcia Nelson, Managing Director – Alberleen Family Office Solutions
Drew Butler, Managing Director – i(x) Investments

5:10 pm – Presentation and Demo
Brian Mahoney, Chairman & CEO – Pellico, Inc.

5:20 pm – Networking & Cocktails

6:00 pm – Seated dinner and Savor Your Senses musical/culinary/conversational experience, with live performances by Elaine Kwon & Piazzolla Trio, thoughtfully paired with wine tastings, key concepts, and discussion topics.

SPEAKERS

Brett Hickey, CEO & Founder – Star Mountain Capital

Brett Hickey is the Founder & CEO of Star Mountain Capital, LLC, a specialized U.S. lower middle-market investment firm. Star Mountain employs a data-driven approach to provide value-added debt and equity capital to established small and medium-sized companies leveraging its large market expertise, scale- driven resources, and longstanding relationships.

With approximately 30 full-time people and over 25 operating partners and advisors, Star Mountain brings proven large market expertise to established small and medium-sized businesses. Star Mountain’s team and partners include former senior executives from GSO / Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, and Citigroup. Star Mountain provides flexible capital solutions including debt and equity for business owners and has a strategic primary and secondary fund business through which it invests in over 250 U.S. private businesses.

Star Mountain’s in-house technology team has built proprietary systems to support its data-driven approach to maximize value for investors and business owners alike. Star Mountain is a trademarked brand, including “Investing in the Growth Engine of America ®” and Star Mountain’s unique “Collaborative Ecosystem ®” includes adding value to the local community through hosting and participating in 100+ events per year. Star Mountain’s Charitable Foundation supports career development form women, veterans, and athletes as well as health & wellness initiatives including cancer research.

Prior to being a principal investor starting in the early 2000s, Mr. Hickey was an Investment Banker at Salomon Smith Barney / Citigroup Global Markets in New York City where he covered global Asset Managers and Financial Institutions. In that role, he analyzed asset managers and asset classes, ultimately working on over $20 billion in completed strategic acquisitions and capital raises.

Mr. Hickey’s board memberships include member and former Chairman of Networks for the NYC Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), Global Board of Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs, and Global Board of Help for Children (HFC).

Mr. Hickey received a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction from McGill University (Finance Major and Accounting Concentration) and is an alumnus from Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management executive leadership program. He is a frequent guest lecturer on industry panels and at academic institutions. Mr. Hickey is also a former Canadian national gold medalist and North American medalist in speed skating.

Mr. Hickey is married with two children and lives in New York.

Susan Phinney Silver, Mission Investing Director – The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Susan Phinney Silver is the Mission Investing Director at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where she oversees the Foundation’s $180 million Mission Investing program to deploy a range of loan and equity investments to advance the Foundation’s program areas including: environmental conservation, climate change and oceans; reproductive health access; and children’s health and education. Before joining Packard, Susan was a consultant for a variety of social investment, foundation, and nonprofit clients, and, for 13 years prior to that, was at The Development Fund in San Francisco, where she led the creation of new financing programs that generated over $600 million in private sector funding nationally for affordable housing, community economic development, and environmental clean-up. Earlier in her career, she worked at Catholic Relief Services in Africa, and at McKinsey in New York.

Christian Bjelland, Advisor – Chr. Bjelland & Co. (Family Office)

Christian Bjelland is a Founding Partner of Trident, an investment firm which alongside other family offices invests directly in small cap private equity deals. He also supports his own Oslo-based family office to source and invest in early stage US-based investments, as well as, guide broader investing strategies. Christian is an advisor to several New York-based startups including Hello Alfred which he helped found in 2014 and led all growth initiatives. Prior to this Christian was an investment banker at Lazard and worked at a venture capital firm, BoxGroup, in New York. He has a BA from Harvard College, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Howard Gurvitch, Principal – Gurvitch Family Office

Howard Gurvitch is a New York City-based entrepreneur and private investor. He is the sole managing member of HRG, LLC, a privately-held “family office” investment management company he founded in 2006 that manages a diversified investment portfolio of public and private securities, hedge funds, real estate and venture capital. From 1987 through 2005, Gurvitch was a Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. He began in the Firm’s Investment Banking Group working with middle market companies within a wide range of industries in connection with their M&A, strategic planning and equity and fixed income capital raising activities.  As an investment consultant, and as the founding member of HG Consultants, he worked to identify, quantify and address the unique requirements of high net worth entrepreneurs as well as the owners, employees and financial fiduciaries of private and closely held businesses and organizations as well as numerous public companies.  Prior to that, he was a Vice President of Ivan F. Boesky & Company, a private investment company.  He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from The University of Rhode Island in 1980, and received his JD from The National Law Center of The George Washington University in 1983 and subsequently attended the NYU School of Law LLM Tax Program. He is married and lives in New York City with his wife, Dr. Dana Gurvitch, and their son, Justin.

Brian Mahoney, Chairman & CEO – Pellico, Inc.

Mr. Mahoney is the Chairman & CEO Pellico, Inc., which was formed to execute an integrated roll-up of marketing services businesses focused on experiential live events.  Pellico intends to exploit the opportunity to build a disruptive innovator in the fragmented sector undergoing dramatic transformation in response to developments in digital technology and generational demographic changes.

Mr. Mahoney had a 30-year career in private equity as a control investor successfully building industry-leading companies in partnership with operating managers.  He has served as a partner in several private equity firms, including Calvert Street Capital Partners, Inc. (“Calvert Street”) which he co-founded and managed for nearly 20 years.  Prior to Calvert Street, Mr. Mahoney was a Partner/Vice President at TCW Capital, an affiliate of Trust Company of the West.  He has significant corporate governance experience, having served on the boards of 22 companies.

Mr. Mahoney holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Williams College. He has five children, his proudest “building” achievement.  Besides growing businesses, Mr. Mahoney enjoys travel, golf and collecting Western American Art.  Mr. Mahoney is a dual citizen (United States and Ireland).

Jim TenBroek, Managing Partner – Growth Catalyst Partners

Jim TenBroek is the co-founder of Growth Catalyst Partners (“GCP”), and has been  Co-Managing Partner leading the growth of the firm for the last 5 years.  Prior to GCP Jim was a Managing Director for over 19 years at Wind Point Partners, playing a leadership role in the growth and evolution of that firm over a span of five private equity funds.  Starting when Jim joined in 1997, Wind Point grew from $100 million to over $2 billion of equity capital under management when Jim departed in 2016.  Prior to Wind Point, Jim joined GTCR out of business school, and led successful buyout investments in Marketing and IT services during his 3.5 years at the firm.

Jim has broad experience in all aspects of investing and the management of successful private equity firms.  He has been a Board member of 22 companies, including two public companies, during his 25 years as an investor.   Jim has successfully led the investment of over $500mm of equity capital, generating over $1.4B of return, with five investments returning 5x or more.  Those companies, including growth equity and leveraged buyout transactions, have grown both organically and via over 85 add-on acquisitions.  Jim’s  industry focus has been primarily business, technology and consumer services, including marketing, media, information and tech-enabled business services.

Jim serves on the Boards of Opus Agency, Beachfront Media, Professional Development Academy, Trendline Interactive, CyberRisk Alliance, Truefire Studios and Active Interest Media.  Jim is also the former Chairman and current Executive Committee member of the Illinois Venture Capital Association (IVCA).  The IVCA membership represents 75 of Illinois’ largest private equity and venture capital investment firms ($180B under management) as a lobbyist, information resource and education resource.  

Jim earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master in Engineering from Cornell University, and an AB from Dartmouth College.  He lives in Lake Forest, IL and is married, with twin daughters age 11.  Jim  has a variety of interests and activities in sports, the arts, and charities.

Drew Butler, Managing Director – i(x) Investments

Drew Butler is a Managing Director of i(x) investments. Drew brings his extensive experience as a family office advisor who specializes in real estate and impact investments. In 2012, he formed Butler Global Partners to work directly for select families seeking customized solutions in asset and family management. Prior to that, in London, he served as the Vice President at First Avenue. Previously, Drew worked as an Investment Analyst at New York Life, where he co-managed their $500m Community Investment Program. Earlier, Drew was a Senior Associate at Richman Asset Management in Greenwich and an Associate at Merrill Lynch in New York.

He was awarded a BA from Cornell University, a Certificate in Real Estate from NYU and an MSc in Real Estate Development from Columbia University. After Columbia, he attended the London School of Economics, where he was selected to serve as a Researcher for UK Parliament and earned an MSc in Regional & Urban Planning Studies.

He has served on committees for the Affordable Housing Investor Council and the Urban Land Institute and actively supports the Voices Against Brain Cancer charity in New York. As an author, he has contributed to Urban Land and Family Office Real Estate Magazine.

Dan Ratner, Co-Founder – Hudson River Foods

Dan Ratner, Hudson River Foods Corporation > Cell-nique Corporation
Founded in 2006 to manufacture and marketing of natural and specialty food and beverage brands sold through North American under brands names: Tempt, Living Harvest, Cell-nique, Cherrybrook Kitchen, European Gourmet Bakery, High Country Kombucha, Dancing Deer, and Hodgson Mills. Completed 14 acquisitions since 2011. 
GE Capital and Linc Group/ABN-AMRO Bank 
VP Commercial Finance Health Care
Price Waterhouse
Senior Consultant Litigation Support Group during FIRA 
EDUCATION
University of California, Los Angeles
Grad Studies Programs, Finance
University of Arizona
BS, Accounting and Finance

Marcia Nelson, Managing Director – Alberleen Family Office Solutions

 

Marcia Nelson is Managing Director of Alberleen Family Office Solutions and is responsible for client marketing and development of Alberleen’s network of family offices and private investors. She has a 20-year track record of working with family offices and their advisors, collaborating with other families, and creating thought leadership around impact investing and philanthropic giving. She started her career working for an ultra-high-net-worth philanthropic family and subsequently managed business development and relationship management in the areas of estate planning, finance, and accounting at firms including FMV Opinions, Marcum, and Anchin, Block & Anchin.
Marcia serves as the Executive VP on the board of the NY chapter of The Association for Corporate Growth (ACG-NY) and is a member of the Family Office Committee. She also recently joined the board of VentureCapital.org, a nonprofit association in Utah for mentoring and advising startups and early-stage investors.  She earned her BA from Southern Utah State College and her MBA in finance and tax from Fordham University. She is a Utah native and is very active in the Mormon Church.

ATTENDING FIRMS:
ACE & Company
Adit Ventures
Alberleen Family Office Solutions
Alpha Square
AtlanVest
Aves Capital Management, L.P.
Beninvest & Associates, LLC
Carlyle
Cayre Family Office
CDIB Capital Group
Central Park Group
Chr. Bjelland & Co. / Trident
CITICPE aka CPE
City of Stamford
EA GLOBAL LLC
Empira Global
Evansco LLC
Exelon Corporation
Family Office RPP
Four M Investments
FRANGER LLC
Global Capital Strategies
Global Realty Capital
Growth Catalyst
Gurvitch Family Office
Helios Investment Partners
Herington LLC
Hudson River Foods
i(x) Investments
Morgan Stanley
Nassau Re
NataRock Partners
NPower Ventures
Pellico Inc.
Schroder Adveq
Silvercrest Alternative Solutions
Star Mountain Capital
Stefanie Shelley – SM board
Tamarix Capital
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
The Observatory