Preeti Singh was until recently an LP reporter in the private equity area at the Wall Street Journal. She graduated from the Graduate School of journalism at Columbia University, and has worked in a range of roles and financial journalism. She has spent time as a Content Manager for publishing company in executive search prior to entering journalism, and is known for her ability to cultivate deep relationships across the industry, and to get the first scoop and industry moves. 

David Hutchings recently retired from Albourne Americas where he was most recently Partner Emeritus having spent over 14 years at the firm where he founded the private equity research practice when he joined. He previously held a range of senior private equity roles in a career that spanned over 50 years.

Stephan Breban is Head of Research at Renewity, the Founder of Giants Shoulders Capital and a consultant to a number of different firms. He is known as one of London’s original (and legendary) private equity investors and advisors and has witnessed some of the good, the bad and the ugly of that the sector presents. We had the pleasure of working together, side by side in our own entrepreneurial ventures, for over a decade.

A vast discussion that touches on the African investment opportunity as well as the challenges of private equity today and how to address the diversity problem.

Michiel Timmerman is founder and managing partner at Mbuyu Capital Partners, which is an Africa focused investment boutique focused on financial services and agriculture, as well as Equity for Africa and EFTA, both focused on equipment leasing in Tanzania. He previously held a series of CIO roles across various asset management businesses in the City of London, including Ignis Asset Managemnent, where we met.

A deep dive into the SME investment opportunity in Africa, how Michiel himself discovered it and why investors outside Africa often fail to perceive the opportunity.

Cathie Wood is CEO of ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”). Prior to ARK, Cathie spent twelve years at AllianceBernstein as Chief Investment Officer of Global Thematic Strategies where she managed $5 billion. Cathie joined Alliance Capital from Tupelo Capital Management, a hedge fund she co-founded which, in 2000, where she managed $800 million in global thematic strategies. Prior to her tenure at Tupelo Capital, she worked for 18 years with Jennison Associates as Chief Economist, Equity Research Analyst, Portfolio Manager and Director. She started her career in Los Angeles, California at The Capital Group as an Assistant Economist.

Caroline Lovelace is Founding Partner at Rose Hill Park Alternative Asset Managers, as well as Preserver Partners as CIO and Co-Portfolio Manager. Preserver is diverse-owned and Memphis-based. It runs a multi-strategy fund that invests through external managers. She has had an extensive career in researching and investing in hedge funds and in promoting emerging private equity and hedge fund investment programs.

Colin Robertson is an independent advisor to two LGPS funds – London Borough of Tower Hamlets and London Borough of Harrow, within a portfolio career that he has had since 2013. He previously held the role of Global Head of Asset Allocation for Aon Hewitt and previously at Mercury Asset Management. He has extensive experience in working with a wide range of institutional clients. 

Jennifer Barry is an investment advisor at Aaron Wealth Advisors in Chicago. She previously spent over 26 years at Citi, where she held a series of roles and focused on institutional equity sales most recently.