Private Equity US Leadership Summit - Hosted by Private Equity Wire

As the private equity sector moves into a new phase of development Private Equity Wire is pleased to introduce an event created by GPs-for-GPs.

Informed by in-depth industry consultation, our gathering for senior leaders at PE firms - from across operations, finance, legal, back-office, sales, IR and technology - will help your business evolve via big picture presentations and a series of detail orientated roundtable sessions designed for small groups.

After our industry's long absence of in-person gatherings, there will also be time for networking and informal conversations with close peers and colleagues.

Impact of inflation and interest rates on the sector – is the death of cheap cash, supply chain issues and increased pricing going to impact deal flow and valuations?
With equity markets volatile and a likely drop in IPOs will we see less exits and a greater reliance on continuation funds (and their associated problems), take-privates and secondary market transactions
New products that appeal to a wider audience – are we seeing the ‘democratisation’ of PE via retail/mass affluent platforms, the increase of evergreen structures and concepts like tokenization?
Expectations re: LP allocations v. uncertainty in the macro environment
What operational trends and best practices will GPs employ to make the most of opportunities and to help with problems?

Outsourcing, now a strategic imperative for the private markets’ fund back-office – what are the current drivers and trends?
Valuations and compliance outsourcing are currently the most outsourced functions after fund administration – examining the scope, challenges, models and strategies adopted in each
Pushing the boundaries of outsourcing to other higher value activities – where to next? Are you even examining the ‘fraction-lisation’ of once key staff – e.g. CTO…and even the COO/CFO?
What are the benefits risks here? What other areas of your ops could be outsourced?

For so long, IR and capital raising have relied on manual processes – how is this changing?
What solutions are adding this and how is the wider PE space adapting to the potential of new tech?
How do LPs feel about these shifts – has a sometimes bumpy and delayed experience become more positive?
How has the documentation that underpins the process changed? In the past there was a huge and cumbersome paper trail. How is this now moving online?
Change is necessary – how do managers tackle the cost and change management that underpins this process?
Do these changes extend the reach of managers to a wider and more global audience?

Creating the ‘digital’ fund – what does it look like now, where do we go to next and making the most of technology, automation and outsourcing while avoiding the pitfalls?
Building consistency in business operations and digitalization, without creating headaches for staff and sacrificing the experience of allocators
More outsourcing – more risk? How to guard against insolvency of service providers and a longer tail - via more service providers (and their service providers...) of cyber-attacks and smaller service providers going out of business in more uncertain times

Current hiring trends – what roles (new and old) will be prominent and prevalent in 2022?
How has the remote working changed the staff dynamic and your approach to recruitment?
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I): Are private equity managers making progress in focus…and fact?
Are your LPs starting to track DE&I metrics in the same way they approach ESG?
How to reflect DE&I in senior hires?
Is money enough – the emerging benefits that will attract the best in talent
How to create a global work force and find - and manage - international talent

With the increasing role of AI and machine learning tools – which aspects of the PE operating model might best benefit?
What technology trends do you anticipate coming to the fore, over the next five years?
How are private equity firms prioritising new technologies to adjust their investment strategies to today’s market dynamics?
How can we use alternative data and integrations to better analyse portfolio companies and new acquisitions?
Has the last 24months led to a new resolve to do more with tech – what have been the key lessons here?
If LPs had a magic wand, what do they want to see on their dashboard in terms of data & analytics?
What data will be more critical for fund managers to share with LPs
What things in the future will continue to augment workflows and what should be completely automated?
What is one major lesson that you learned (either personal or professional in 2022?
Integrating ESG reporting and benchmarking using technology
How can technology help to solve and clarify the current LP and regulatory focus on ESG?
Current trends in ESG technology

How are technology platforms re-shaping the capital raising model?
What types of technology are IR teams introducing, as a result of the pandemic, to connect with investors?
How is the IR role evolving in line with tech innovation, and how is this helping improve investor communication/reporting?
What kind of best practices should managers be mindful of, when doing virtual fundraising, and what are some of the main risks to avoid?
Using digital tools for onboarding
Will we see a hybrid approach to fundraising, on a permanent basis, going forward, combining the human element with the machine?
Changing approaches to ODD via tech