Meet the Speakers

David Acharya is the Managing Partner of ACP where he oversees all aspects of the firm’s investing, management, and strategic activities. He brings over 25 years of investing and transacting experience to ACP. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and is recognized by his peers for his expertise in private equity, capital markets, and portfolio value creation.

Before establishing ACP, Mr. Acharya was a partner of AGI Partners, LLC, a private equity firm, and played a key role in the development of the firm including strategy, hiring, and fundraising. He served on the board of directors for Impact XM and On Location until its successful exit to a global private equity firm. 

Earlier, Mr. Acharya was a Director of an NYC-based private equity firm where he was responsible for investment sourcing and execution. Among other accomplishments, he sourced and executed Revolution Dancewear, co-sponsored with Incline Equity Partners, and was sold to Audax Group.

Previously, Mr. Acharya was a Vice President with Apprise Media, a private equity firm focused on niche media investments, where he worked with the founders of PRIMEDIA, a former KKR founded portfolio company. Mr. Acharya invested over $200 million in niche media companies across digital, events, and print products in North America, Europe, and Asia. He made significant contributions to Apprise Media’s largest portfolio company Canon Communications, a B2B media company. Canon was successfully sold to United Business Media in 2010.

Mr. Acharya spent 10 years as an investment banker in the highly ranked leveraged finance groups of JP Morgan Chase and Toronto Dominion Securities. He advised, structured, and raised over $18 billion of capital for leading financial sponsors, telecommunications, media, and consumer product companies across the globe. He also advised clients on debt tender/consent transactions that affected over $4 billion of debt. While at Toronto Dominion and as part of its merchant banking initiatives, he was involved in numerous equity investments including Rural Cellular Corporation (sold to Verizon), T-Mobile, Bresnan Communications, and Intermedia Communications (Leo Hindery’s Cable Venture).

In 2020, after completing his term as President of the New York Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Mr. Acharya was elected as Chairperson. Additionally, he was elected to the ACG Global Board of Directors. In recognition of his years of leadership and volunteerism, he was honored with the ACG Meritorious Award. In 2024, Mr. Acharya’s contributions to the finance industry were celebrated by being named to Crain’s New York Business’ 2024 List of Notable Leaders in Finance.

Adam is a Principal in H.I.G.’s Miami office. He is responsible for all aspects of the investment process including sourcing and transaction execution, as well as working with portfolio companies and their management teams to improve growth and profitability.

Adam has more than a decade of experience in private equity and M&A and has worked with companies in a variety of industries, with a focus on technology, industrials and business services sectors. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital in 2011, Adam worked for Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Investment Banking group, where he advised clients on M&A transactions, capital raises and other strategic initiatives.

partner with founder-led businesses to achieve transformative growth, drawing on over $2 billion in completed capital transactions across my career. Through NewOrigin Investments, we focus on the health, wellness, and aging sectors — combining equity ownership with active board-level involvement to drive strategic clarity, operational progress, and valuation impact. Beyond investing, I speak and collaborate across the private equity community to uncover overlooked opportunities, align founders’ vision with capital partners, and help companies scale with purpose and measurable results.

Mike is the managing partner of CHIEF Capital (Chartwell Investments Entrepreneur &
Founder Capital) and has over 30 years of experience in all facets of private equity
investing and has participated in the purchase or sale of businesses with transaction
values exceeding $4 billion.
In Chief Capital’s most recent vehicle, Mike has closed 5 new platform investments,
successfully exited two portfolio companies, closed 20+ portfolio company add-on
acquisitions, while also entering into a Joint Venture with a publicly-traded company,
representing over $900+ million in total aggregate transaction value.
Mike focuses on deal sourcing, relationship building, strategic planning, recruiting
management teams and operating executives, capital raising, and post-closing portfolio
company development. As a hybrid family office/independent sponsor, Mike supports
the management owners he partners with to accelerate growth and realize their visions
for their companies.

Prior to founding the predecessor to CHIEF Capital, Mike worked for Goldman Sachs
(mergers & acquisitions department) and was a SVP of a private NYC-based
investment firm.
Mike currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors across multiple
organizations: World Water Works, Guardian Fleet Services, Rohrer Aesthetics,
Contract Datascan Holdings, PPC Holdings, and Pinnacle Processes Inc. and serves as
a Director of Richard Childress Racing.
Mike has previously served as a Director of multiple private companies including TTG
Imaging Solutions, RQM+, Carey International, Bell Sports, Petro Stopping Centers, and
SunPark. Mike graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
with a B.S.E.

CHIEF CAPITAL
CHIEF Capital provides flexible private equity for entrepreneurs and family-owned
businesses. We partner with management owners to help realize their visions and
provide long-term capital, resources, and expertise to accelerate growth and provide
generational liquidity. With 40+ years of experience, $300MM in equity deployed, 7
platform companies and 20+ recent add-on acquisitions, we focus on niche lower
middle market companies that out-compete their peers. We primarily invest in
businesses with $10-100MM+ in revenue, $2-20MM in EBITDA and 10%+ EBITDA
margins.

John joined CVC in 2025.  John is the Global Head of the CVC Operating team and is based in New York. 

Prior to joining CVC, he was a Senior Partner and Global Opco member at McKinsey RTS, where he was an in-house interim CEO, CXO, and Chief Transformation Officer, and co-led McKinsey’s sponsor-backed portfolio company work globally. He also co-founded Private Equity CEO Alpha with Harvard Business School, the first global executive education program to train private equity CEOs for peak performance. Earlier, John served as CEO of several PE-backed firms, was a senior member of the PE operations group at Brookfield Asset Management and co-founded a middle-market PE firm. He also worked at Goldman Sachs in New York.

John holds an Honours BA from Western University’s Ivey School of Business (Gold Medalist), a Master in Public Administration from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.

Chase Stuart is a partner in Ice Miller's Business Group and the Office Managing Partner in New York. He represents a variety of private equity funds, family offices, independent sponsors, privately-held businesses, private credit funds, and mezzanine funds. He provides strategic and legal advice in their investment and general corporate strategies, including on leveraged buyouts and other M&A, financings, minority investments, growth capital transactions, and early and late stage private equity investments. He represents family, founder, and entrepreneur-owned businesses as general corporate counsel and as a sell-side advisor. He has represented a variety of companies in sectors such as aerospace and defense, technology, manufacturing, consumer products, business services, gaming, and health care.

Grant is a seasoned investment professional with years of both deal and operating experience. Over the last few years, Grant has honed his operating skills by founding several innovative companies such as MoneyToGo, HelpMeToBuy and Vuru. Grant’s leadership and these companies have been profiled in numerous national media outlets including an appearance on CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. Grant was also Director of Business Development at Isadra, an enterprise software company that was acquired by VerticalNet (NASDAQ: VERT).

Prior to rolling up his sleeves and running companies, Grant spent years investing in operating companies and real estate. He was the Florida Development Partner for The Lane Company, one of the largest multifamily development companies in the U.S. In that role, Grant focused on acquiring and developing apartments and condos that ranged from $15 million to $50 million in project size. Grant began his career as an associate at Sterling Partners, a private equity firm with over $4 billion under management. At Sterling, Grant structured investments in numerous companies and spent considerable time advising senior management teams on their growth and capitalization strategies.

Mark Sinatra is the CEO of Aspen HR, where he leads the strategic direction and growth of the company. Prior to Aspen HR, Mark was CEO of Staff One HR, where he led the company through a period of substantial growth highlighted by achieving the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for four years in a row, and culminating in Staff One HR’s sale to its largest privately-held competitor, Oasis Outsourcing, in December 2017. Mark oversaw the Western half of the country for Oasis Outsourcing until its sale to Paychex for $1.3bn in December 2018. Prior to his leadership experience in the HR industry, Mark worked as a consultant and investment banker.

Actively involved in his community and industry, Mark has served as a Board director for NAPEO and ESAC and two non-profit organizations. He is also an active member of Young Presidents’ Association.

Elie P. Azar is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of White Wolf Capital and its affiliates. Prior to founding White Wolf Capital and its affiliates, Elie worked at Cerberus Capital Management, Ernst & Young’s M&A Transaction Advisory group and Arthur Andersen. Elie has an MBA from Cornell University and a BA from the American University of Beirut. Elie holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter and has also passed the U.S. Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Examination as well as the Chartered Alternative Investment Association (CAIA) Level I Examination. Elie manages the overall business of White Wolf Capital and its affiliates.

Burt Francis is a Managing Director of Business Development at ECA. He works with clients to fill permanent and project based roles. Burt has wide-ranging experience in engineering, business leadership and management consulting in various industries including aerospace, software, financial services, and manufacturing. This includes notable tenure with Oliver Wyman, The Boeing Company, General Dynamics and Starbase Technologies Inc.

Claudine Cohen leads a dynamic team specializing in transaction advisory, valuation, restructuring, project finance, dispute resolution, performance improvement, merger integration, carve-outs, M&A insurance advisory, and sustainability advisory. With a keen eye for identifying opportunities and navigating challenges, Claudine helps her clients achieve optimal outcomes, safeguarding and enhancing stakeholder value throughout their business lifecycle.

Tim Van Mieghem is an Operating Partner at The Peakstone Group, where he is responsible for deal evaluation and execution. Tim is also a Partner of The ProAction Group, an operational consulting firm which he co-founded in 1995.

Tim has 20 years of experience helping middle market companies improve operations. Tim has particular experience in manufacturing, sourcing, logistics, inventory management, and related operational areas. Tim is also the author of Implementing Supplier Partnerships and numerous articles on sourcing and logistics.

Prior to forming The ProAction Group, Tim worked in operational consulting at Arthur Andersen and a boutique supply chain consulting firm.

Kavita joined MUUS from MIT Sloan in 2021, and became Portfolio Manager in 2025, now overseeing MUUS’s investments in ~35 venture capital investments in sustainability-focused companies.

Kavita earned her MBA at MIT Sloan, as well as the Sustainability Certificate from the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative. While at Sloan, Kavita worked to enable a carbon-neutral future with Closed Loop Partners, International Finance Corporation’s Climate Finance group, and cleantech platform Station A. She has also worked with Women of the World Endowment to empower women who play a crucial role in mitigating climate change.

Kavita’s career has been rooted in her passion for sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and she began exploring the intersection of finance and sustainability while in college. After earning her B.S. in Business & Political Economy from NYU Stern, she joined BlackRock’s Financial Institutions Group.

At BlackRock, Kavita focused on sustainable investing initiatives across various topics, including climate change, the rise of ESG, and stranded asset analyses of investment portfolios. Her work helped clients understand ESG risks and opportunities, develop policies for sustainable investing, and allocate capital in line with impact objectives.

In her free time, Kavita enjoys exploring the NYC food and speakeasy scene, long walks in the park with her Westie, Tofu, and performing South Asian dance. She looks forward to snowboarding, scuba diving, and adventure travel whenever she can get away from the city.

Mr. Abdelhalim joined Littlejohn in 2021 as a Value Creation Director to support Littlejohn portfolio companies on designing and executing against their value creation plans. ​He has supported IWS, Valcourt, and Hiller across a variety of topics to drive organic and inorganic growth. As a Senior Director, Mr. Abdelhalim is also responsible for onboarding new Value Creation Directors and sharing best practices across the portfolio.

Prior to joining Littlejohn, Mr. Abdelhalim spent four years working at Carrier and Bloom Energy where he held a variety of corporate strategy, operations, and product management roles. He also spent five years working as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company where he advised clients globally on strategy, operations, and M&A topics.

Mr. Abdelhalim holds a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida and MIT, respectively, and he also completed minors in Business Administration & Sales Engineering.

Scott Graham is an Operating Partner at Diversis and an expert on growth and marketing strategy. For over a decade, he has led and consulted technology companies and brands in designing products, experiences, and campaigns that grow their customers and revenues. Scott helps teams develop customer-centric, data-driven strategies and processes by leveraging cross-collaboration, rapid iteration, and continuous discovery methodologies. Throughout his career, he has led product, marketing, and growth teams for multiple technology companies including as VP of Product & Marketing at Carjojo (Sold in 2018), Co-Founder & COO of CommonGenuis (Named a Top Startup by Forbes, Collison, and Startup Grind Global), and VP of Marketing at Pinger (Backed by Kleiner Perkins and DAG Ventures). Scott is a frequent guest lecturer and a key contributor to the Growth Hacking curriculum at Berkeley's Haas School of Business. He also serves as a growth advisor for Carnegie Mellon's VentureBridge program, where he has helped consumer, textile, AR/VR, and travel industry companies hone their brands, products, and go-to-market strategies. Scott holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business and a BBA with triple majors in Marketing, Finance, and Entrepreneurship from Emory University, Goizueta Business School.

Massimo Marinelli is the Founder of Berkida Ventures, a specialist investment and advisory firm, and an Operating Partner at Corrum Capital, an independent private investment platform focused on the Sports, Media, and Entertainment sectors. Through Berkida, he partners with private credit investors and family offices on strategic investments, financings, and acquisitions across professional sport, content, gaming, and IP-driven businesses. Recent work includes football club acquisitions and financings, as well as advising entrepreneurs on the sale of video gaming and gaming-related companies.

Previously, Massimo was CEO and a board member of Aser Ventures, overseeing a portfolio that included Leeds United Football Club, Eleven Sports (now part of DAZN Group), Gen-Z music agency Creed Media, and production company Neo Studios. He also served on the Board of Leeds United during its time in both the English Championship and the Premier League.

Earlier in his career, Massimo spent 15 years in investment banking in London and New York, most recently as Managing Director and Head of EMEA Media & Internet at UBS. He has led transactions for clients including Formula 1, Dorna/MotoGP, Sky, Viacom, ATG Entertainment, and Perform (now Stats Perform

Dickson is an Operating Partner at Terramont Infrastructure Partners. He was previously a General Partner at Ironwood Capital, where he spent 21 years, from its inception until 2023. At Ironwood, Dickson led deal origination, due diligence, underwriting, deal structuring, execution, and portfolio management and served on the investment committees.

He also headed the firm’s environmental investment strategy, overseeing 14 investments in the sector, including companies such as Action Environmental, Denali Water Solutions, and VLS Recovery Services.
Dickson holds a BA from Brown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Originally from Hong Kong, he is an accomplished marathon runner, having completed 11 consecutive Boston Marathons, most recently in 2023.

Ricky runs the independent sponsor efforts at Alliant Insurance Services – coordinating
due diligence for insurance/risk/employee benefits, reps & warranties and insurance
brokerage. In 2019, Bouchard Insurance sold to the world’s largest insurance broker and gave
Ricky an earlier liquidity event than imagined. Since then, he has invested in 15 sponsor
led deals and a few funds that deploy into the space – some as a GP, some as a board
seat and some silent. Today, Ricky’s focus is on helping sponsors create value and avoid missteps that could
affect their outcome.

Robert Connolly is a Partner in LP's Corporate Practice Group. He leads Levenfeld Pearlstein’s Independent Sponsor team, co-leads its Private Equity team, and previously served as the Corporate Practice Group Leader. His practice focuses on M&A, private equity, and corporate transactions in the middle market and lower middle market across multiple industries throughout the United States. He has extensive experience leading a wide spectrum of complex transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, minority investments, joint ventures, recapitalizations, restructurings, securities offerings, and other business transactions.

Ryan Ochs is the Founder and Managing Partner of RDP Advisory, an independent, full-service investment and merchant bank, that he started with Dean Hoxholli in 2024. Before founding RDP, Ryan Ochs led the underwriting and origination activities for Lafayette Square's investment products and sat on the investment committee for its investment advisor. Ryan has decades of experience in credit markets and principal investing across the capital structure, leading or working on deal teams that have directly invested in and/or raised capital for approximately 100 companies totaling over $5B. Prior to joining Lafayette, Ryan held investment professional roles at Brightwood Capital Advisors, Star Mountain Capital, and American Capital. He started his career at RBC Capital Markets in its investment banking division.

Paul Marino is a partner in the Financial Services and Corporate Groups. Paul focuses his practice in matters concerning financial services, corporate law and corporate finance. Paul provides counsel in the areas of private equity funds and mergers and acquisitions for private equity firms and public and private companies and private equity fund and hedge fund formation.

Paul works on a variety of M&A transactions, including leveraged acquisitions, divestitures of business divisions, going-private transactions, and other strategic acquisitions and dispositions, in the following industries: manufacturing, telecommunications, consumer products, hospitality, healthcare, and technology, among others. His practice also includes joint ventures and general company representation matters.

Paul has represented national and multinational corporations, ranging from telecoms to tech companies, as well as real estate syndication and financial investors and investment advisors. He has also negotiated and structured a number of U.S. domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures.

Matthew Martin is a Vice President and Producer at Virtus Insurance, where he co-leads the firm’s Private Capital practice. He works with lower-middle-market private equity firms, independent sponsors, and their portfolio companies across the full investment lifecycle. Matthew has been part of more than 250 transactions from LOI through exit, supporting due diligence and structuring efficient risk programs. That experience positions him to help middle-market businesses navigating brokerage service models increasingly shaped by consolidation. In addition, he facilitates the placement of representations and warranties insurance, along with portfolio-level programs and employee benefits strategies.

John C. Gilson is a private equity attorney in Holland & Knight's Charlotte office. Mr. Gilson is a co-head of both Holland & Knight's Independent Sponsor and Search Funds teams. His practice includes a broad range of corporate transactional matters.

Mr. Gilson's core practice includes the representation of strategic and financial buyers and sellers in a variety of complex business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, carve-out transactions, structured equity products, cross-border transactions, minority equity, growth equity and venture capital investments, and joint ventures. He also advises on Section 1202 qualified small business stock (QSBS) issues.

Mr. Gilson has extensive experience representing independent sponsors, search funds and traditional and self-funded searchers in all aspects of their transactions, including equity structuring and transaction execution. He has authored several articles and lectured on these topics.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Gilson was an attorney at law firms in New York and Charlotte.