Wharton Private Equity & Venture Capital Conference

Yulia Alekseeva

Co-chair, Marketing

Yulia is a second year MBA student at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, with a triple major in finance, entrepreneurship and strategic management. In addition to receiving First Year Honors, she is a teaching assistant for Private Equity in Emerging Markets and Venture Capital classes. Yulia is a chartered accountant with 6 years of experience in financial services sector and a CFA Level II candidate. Prior to Wharton, she was a Manager at PwC in charge of complex assurance engagements of major European banks, investment firms, hedge funds, real estate holdings and other financial institutions. After winning Bank of America Merrill Lynch MBA Diversity Fellowship, Yulia spent her summer at M&A; group in New York. Yulia has a passion for travel, photography and dancing.

Matthew Dunnigan

Co-chair, Panelists & Keynotes

Matthew Dunnigan is a 2^nd year MBA student at the Wharton School majoring in Finance and Strategic Management. This past summer, Matthew was an intern at a hedge fund focused on long/short opportunistic credit investments. Prior to Wharton, Matthew was an Investment Associate at H.I.G. Capital, a global private investment firm with over $10 billion of capital under management. While at H.I.G., Matthew focused on evaluating and executing special situation middle market investments across a wide range of industries. Prior to joining H.I.G., Matthew worked as an investment banking analyst in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications group at Bear, Stearns & Co. in New York. Matthew received a B.S. in Business Administration from Bucknell University in 2006 with a concentration in Finance and minor in Economics.

Le-Quyen Le

Co-chair, Sponsorship

Le-Quyen Le is a second year MBA student at Wharton. Over the summer, she interned at the Asian Development Bank in the private sector operations department, assisting in the due diligence and drafting investment recommendations of infrastructure/energy projects. Prior to Wharton, Quyen worked at CIM Group, a private equity firm with approximately $9.5 billion AUM focusing on real estate and infrastructure opportunities. She was involved in the acquisition, asset management and reporting processes, covering assets in the firm’s various real estate and infrastructure funds. Before joining CIM, Quyen worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging Group. Quyen graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. She enjoys camping, playing badminton and solving Sudoku puzzles.

Brian Peterson

Co-chair, Panelists & Keynotes

Brian Peterson is a second year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Finance, Accounting and Strategic Management. This past summer, Brian was an intern at Sterling Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, to which he will be returning after graduation. Prior to attending Wharton, Brian spent three years as an associate at Metalmark Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, where he focused on healthcare and energy investments. Previously, Brian worked for two years as an analyst at Lazard, where he specialized in Mergers & Acquisitions. Brian graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he received a B.B.A. degree with concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

Anh Tran

Co-chair, Operations

Anh Tran is a 2^nd year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Anh spent two years at DFJ VinaCapital (DFJV), a member of the DFJ Network located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam that invests primarily in the Asia Pacific region. At DFJV, Anh sourced, executed and managed early and growth stage investments in companies in the TMT (technology, media and telecom), consumer Internet and green technology space. Prior to DFJV, Anh spent four years as a management consultant with Lake Partners Strategy Consultants in Seattle, where he worked on strategic initiatives for clients in a variety of industries including private equity, investment management and technology. Anh spent his MBA summer with the Corporate Development team at Symantec in Mountain View, CA, where he analyzed M&A; targets.  Anh is currently the president of the Wharton Boxing Club and enjoys traveling and sports.

Fraz Ahmed

Marketing Director

Before Wharton, Fraz was a Vice President at The GlenRock Group, a New York based growth investing firm. Prior to joining GlenRock, Fraz was a Senior Associate at Equifin Capital, a New York based private equity firm focused on investing in financial services. Before Equifin, Fraz was an investment banking analyst at Lazard Freres & Co. in the Financial Institutions Group and helped provide strategic and capital raising advisory services to global financial institutions.  He graduated from Northwestern University in 2005 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Economics.

Alina Costica

Marketing Director

Alina Costica is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Alina spent two years as an associate at Kohlberg & Company, a New York based private equity firm focused on enhancing the operational performance of middle-market investments. Previously, Alina spent two years as an investment banking analyst at Merrill Lynch where she specialized in Mergers & Acquisitions. Alina graduated from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University, where she received a B.S. degree with concentrations in Finance and Management.

Ishita Mohanty

Marketing Director

Ishita Mohanty is a first year MBA student at Wharton, majoring in Strategic Management and Finance. Prior to Wharton, Ishita worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Technology, Media, Telecommunications Group at Barclays in London. At Barclays, she executed a full spectrum of transactions in the TV broadcasting, publishing, music, cable and mobile telecom space. Ishita graduated from the University of Warwick, UK with an M.Sc. in Economics (2008) and and the University of Delhi, India with a B.A. (Honours) in Economics (2006). In her spare time, Ishita enjoys travelling, reading, art, theatre and cinema.

Yelena Ofengeym

Marketing Director

Yelena Ofengeym is a first year MBA student at Wharton, majoring in finance and healthcare management. She is a chartered financial analyst and had previously worked in asset management, equity research and financial services. Prior to Wharton, Yelena spent two years at Stifel Nicolaus, a full-service retail, institutional brokerage and investment banking firm. She covered specialty pharmaceuticals as an associate analyst on Stifel’s equity research healthcare team. Before joining Stifel, Yelena worked at JP Morgan Asset Management, where she was involved in portfolio management and research for JPM growth strategy mutual funds totaling over $5bn AUM. Yelena graduated from Stern School of Business with a B.S. in Finance. She enjoys playing volleyball, chess and travelling.

Julian Bennet

Operations Director

Julian is a first year MBA student at Wharton, where he is majoring in entrepreneurship and finance. Before he joined Wharton, Julian worked in Mergers & Acquisitions advisory for HSBC and Morgan Stanley, in both London and Dubai, focusing mainly on transactions in the telecoms, media & technology sectors. Julian graduated with a MA in Literae Humaniores from Oxford University, and he enjoys rugby, swimming, and history.

Bryan Bloom

Operations Director

Bryan Bloom is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Bryan spent four years as a public sector Management Consultant at IBM Global Business Services. He supported multiple clients in transforming their business operations, including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Department of Defense (DoD). While consulting for the DoD in Afghanistan, he created vocational training and job programs for ex-insurgents, developed and managed an incubator program to mentor budding entrepreneurs, performed due diligence on multiple portfolio companies, and raised funding for a $30 million multi-sector private equity fund.

Mr. Bloom graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Colgate University. He enjoys playing hockey, football, and poker, as well as reading poetry.

Belinda Chen

Operations Director

Belinda Chen is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Belinda founded a startup in the home decoration space in China. Having successfully secured funding, Belinda led the company to achieve over ten million in annual sales and to reach profitability within eighteen months of founding. Before moving to China, Belinda worked for Jefferies in the Technology Media & Telecom investment banking group. Belinda graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration and B.A. in Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. She enjoys traveling, cooking, and playing with her dog.

Khushboo Jha

Operations Director

Khushboo was a consultant in Delhi, India at Accenture, in its Strategy Consulting practice. She worked on several projects for growth strategy, market entry, customer segmentation, and PE due diligence. She has worked across several sectors such as telecom, consumer products and auto. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Civil Engineering from IIT Kharagpur, India and a business diploma from XLRI, India.

Samiksha Gupta

Corporate Sponsorship Director

Samiksha Gupta is a first year MBA student at The Wharton School. Prior to Wharton, Samiksha worked at J.P. Morgan in the Syndicated & Leveraged Finance group in Houston, Texas. During her four years at J.P. Morgan, Samiksha provided investment banking advisory services to large-cap oil & gas clients and mid-cap clients across diversified industries. Samiksha graduated with a Masters in Accounting and a Bachelor of Business Administration from McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin. Samiksha is a Certified Public Accountant. She enjoys cooking, traveling, dancing and yoga in her spare time.

Neha Mishra

Corporate Sponsorship Director

Neha Mishra is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Neha worked at NBK Capital, a Kuwait-based boutique investment bank for two years. She was extensively involved in all aspects of originating and executing M&A; transactions, including transaction evaluation, due diligence, financial modeling, marketing material preparation, valuation, negotiations and closing. Before joining NBK Capital, Neha worked for two years at Ernst & Young in their Transaction Advisory Services Group. Prior to Ernst & Young, Neha worked for a year at Accenture in their Management Consulting practice. Neha graduated with a B.E. in Electronics and Communication from Gujarat University and an MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University in India, and is a CFA charterholder. She enjoys traveling, painting, dancing and photography.

Aman Rangrass

Media Sponsorship Director

Aman Rangrass is a first year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Finance and Management. Prior to Wharton, Aman was an Associate Director at UBS in Singapore. He spent four years in investment banking, focusing on Corporate Finance and M&A; opportunities across South-East Asia. He was closely involved and executed a full spectrum of transactions including ECM, DCM and M&A; across a broad range of industries including Consumer Retail, Industrials, Technology and Financial Institutions. As an Associate Director, he also helped advise a number of private equity clients on buy-side and sell-side transactions as part of UBS’s M&A; practice. Aman graduated with a B.Sc. in Economics and Finance from the Singapore Management University, Singapore. In his free time, he is an avid golfer and runner, and enjoys traveling, music, scuba-diving and photography.

Jade (Yue) Xiang

Media Sponsorship Director

Jade (Yue) Xiang is a first year MBA student at Wharton, majoring in Finance. Prior to Wharton, Jade spent one year at Primavera Capital Group, a China-based private equity firm that manages both RMB and USD dollar funds. She was involved in the transactions with various companies in healthcare and financial institution sectors. Before joining Primavera, Jade worked as a consultant for more than two years at Roland Berger, a management consulting firm. Jade graduated with a B.S. in Information Management and a B.A. in Economics at Peking University in China. She enjoys swimming and traveling. She loves cats and dogs.

David Gluckman

Panel Manager, Distressed Private Equity

David Gluckman is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, David spent two years at Ares Management, a private investment firm with approximately $54 billion under management focusing on corporate debt and private equity investments. Before joining Ares, David worked for two years at Houlihan Lokey in the Financial Restructuring Group where he constructed financial models and advised creditor groups and corporate clients. David received a B.A. in Business Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Andrew Miller

Panel Manager, Distressed Private Equity

Prior to Wharton, Andrew was a Director in the New York office of Getzler Henrich & Associates, a boutique management consultancy focused on distressed middle-market businesses. During six years with the firm, he specialized in interim management engagements, including roles as interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer across a variety of industries. Prior to Getzler Henrich, Andrew was a Technical Advisor to the Kenya Maize Development Program (an USAID project) while serving as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya; in this role, he worked extensively in agricultural value chains advising Kenyan banks on commodity financing and implementing a grain warehouse receipting system. Prior to his work in Kenya, Andrew worked as a consultant in the Chicago office of Development Specialists. Andrew received his BBA with Distinction from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Jose Escobedo

Panel Manager, Emerging Markets

Jose Escobedo is a first year MBA student at Wharton, majoring in Entrepreneurial Management and Finance. Prior to Wharton, Jose spent four years at Nexus Group, the Private Equity unit of Interbank Group, a Peruvian business conglomerate with revenues exceeding $2.5bn. At Nexus Group, he was involved in the acquisition of and value creation initiatives in portfolio companies in the retail, consumer finance, manufacturing and entertainment industries in Peru and Colombia. Jose holds a BS in Economics from Universidad del Pacifico in Lima - Peru, where he graduated with honors. He enjoys teaching, cooking and playing soccer.

Shawn Li

Panel Manager, Emerging Markets

Shawn is a first-year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Finance and Strategic Management. Prior to Wharton, Shawn worked with EDB Investments, a corporate investment firm headquartered in Singapore with a global reach, where he invested in Internet and digital media companies and helped them expand their operations in Asia. He was previously based in Shanghai with First Alverstone Partners, a pan-Asian private equity firm where he actively managed the firm’s portfolio companies in China and Southeast Asia. Shawn graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, and with Highest Distinction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and a double major in Economics. He enjoys jazz music, playing tennis, and traveling.

Mrinalini Chandra

Panel Manager, Europe

Mrinalini Chandra is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Before coming to Wharton, she worked as the VP of Finance at a solar energy firm, PLG Power, in Mumbai where she raised debt and equity funds for solar power plants. Prior to that, Mrinalini was a Senior Analyst at Merrill Lynch's Technology Investment Banking group in their London and Palo Alto offices where she executed several cross border M&A; transactions. Mrinalini graduated summa cum laude from University of Southern California with a B.Sc. in Business Administration.

Serdar Turkmen

Panel Manager, Europe

Serdar is a first year MBA student in Wharton. Previously, he worked in Mediterra Capital Partners, a middle market private equity fund in Turkey with €135 million AUM. He took various responsibilities in deal sourcing and deal execution steps as well as some sectoral coverage. Prior to Mediterra, Serdar spent six years in strategy consulting namely in Booz&Co; and the Boston Consulting Group. During his tenure in consulting he was involved in commercial due diligences for strategic buyers financial sponsors. Serdar has B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent Univesity, Ankara. He is a member of Wharton Boxing Club and Wharton Rowing Club.

Saurabh Bhansali

Panel Manager, Leveraged Buyouts

Saurabh Bhansali is a first year MBA student at Wharton in the Health Care Management program. Prior to Wharton, Saurabh spent about two years in New York City at Pfizer, a global pharmaceutical company, in the business development group focusing on licensing and M&A; opportunities. Before joining Pfizer, Saurabh worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Financial Sponsors group where he covered middle market and large cap private equity firms. Saurabh graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University. He enjoys playing flag football, actively following New York sport teams and improving his photography skills.

Michael Staub

Panel Manager, Leveraged Buyouts

Michael Staub is a first year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Finance and Strategic Management. Prior to Wharton, Michael spent two years at Fortress Investment Group, a New York based private equity firm, where he focused on investing across a variety of sectors including leisure/lifestyle, financial services and infrastructure. Previously, Michael spent two years at Falconhead Capital, which is a New York based private equity firm that invests exclusively in the consumer, leisure/lifestyle and media industries. Michael started his career as an investment banking analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co., completing mergers, acquisitions, and debt & equity financings for clients in the power & utilities space. Michael graduated summa cum laude from Ithaca College in 2006 with a B.S. in Business Administration concentrating in Finance and Accounting.

Ashley Ciaburri

Panel Manager, Limited Partners Perspectives

Ashley Ciaburri is a first year MBA student at the Wharton School where she is pursuing a double major in finance and strategic management. At Wharton, Ashley was elected to the Wharton Graduate Association and is a member of the PEVC and the Wharton Women in Business clubs. Prior to Wharton, Ashley spent four years at Blackstone in the Park Hill Group, which provides fund placement services for alternative investment managers, including private equity funds, real estate funds, venture capital funds and hedge funds. At Park Hill, Ashley advised private equity clients on all aspects of the fundraising process including competitive positioning and market assessment, marketing materials, and partnership terms and conditions. Prior to Park Hill, Ashley was an investment banking analyst at Citi.  Ashley received a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

Vivek Jain

Panel Manager, Limited Partners Perspectives

Vivek Jain is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Vivek spent three years at H.I.G. Capital, a middle market private equity firm with approximately $10 billion under management. Before joining H.I.G., Vivek was an analyst in the investment banking division of Citigroup. He holds a B.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Cornell University.

Emma Wang

Panel Manager, Limited Partners Perspectives

Emma Wang is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Emma spent five years at L’Oreal as a regional senior manager in Asia Pacific. She built the momentum for the Kiehl’s brand between 2009 and 2012, raising Kiehl’s from a virtually unknown brand in the region to a phenomenal top 5 position in 2011 and 2012. Before this, Emma had catapulted Garnier to being one of the most popular brands in China.

In addition, Emma also gained valuable experience from starting up a retail luxury jewelry business and turning around a declining 4 year-old organic products company in Hong Kong.

Emma graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree at Nanjing University. She enjoys dancing, wine tasting, golfing, and traveling.

Aamir Amdani

Panel Manager, Middle Market

Aamir Amdani is a first year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurship. Prior to Wharton, Aamir was an Associate for two years at H.I.G. Capital, a private equity firm with over $10.0 billion AUM focusing on credit, distressed debt and special situation opportunities. While at H.I.G., Aamir focused on evaluating and executing distressed middle market investments across a wide range of industries. Prior to joining H.I.G., Aamir worked as an investment banking analyst for over two years in the Healthcare group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Aamir graduated from New York University’s Stern Undergraduate School of Business in 2007 with a B.S. in Finance and Accounting. He is an avid fan of Chicago sports teams and enjoys playing basketball and traveling.

Mark Turner

Panel Manager, Middle Market

Mark Turner is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Mark spent over three years with the Behavioral Health Group (“BHG”), a private equity sponsored outpatient substance abuse treatment services provider. While at BHG, Mark oversaw Corporate Development, including identifying, assessing, and negotiating acquisition opportunities and opening new facilities.

Prior to joining BHG, Mark worked in the private equity group of Highland Capital Management, LP, an alternative asset manager with $20B AUM, and spent over two years with Booz and Company working with energy companies and foreign governments. Mark graduated with a BBA in Finance and a BS in Management Science (Industrial Engineering) from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He enjoys computers, live music, soccer, and squash.

Michael Graham

Panel Manager, Secondaries

Michael Graham is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Michael spent three years in Atlanta, GA with Arcapita Inc., a Bahraini based alternative investments manager with over $8.0 billion AUM focusing on U.S. middle market private equity. At Arcapita Michael was responsible for origination, diligence, and execution of new deals as well as all aspects of portfolio management for eight portfolio companies. Prior to joining Arcapita, Michael worked for a year at PODS (Portable On Demand Storage) leading the company through a $230 million financing and two years at Merrill Lynch in the Global Healthcare Group. Michael graduated with a B.A. in Economics, Summa Cum Laude, from Vanderbilt University. In his free time he enjoys golf, tennis, rugby, Americana music, scuba diving, and sailing.

Aditya Sharma

Panel Manager, Secondaries

Aditya Sharma is a first year MBA student at Wharton, majoring in Management and Finance. Prior to Wharton, Aditya spent four years in private equity at TA Associates, and two years in investment banking at Lehman Brothers (M&A; - TMT) in London.

At TA Associates, Aditya initially started in their London office. In February of 2009, he moved to India as one of three founding members of TA’s India office. He has helped TA close a total of five investments across sectors and geographies. Over the last two years, Aditya has been responsible for end-to-end deal execution, and for training and mentoring associates and analysts.

Aditya holds a Bachelor of Science degree, with first class honours, from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He enjoys playing football, listening to music and travelling.

John Harroff

Panel Manager, Value Creation

John Harroff is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, John spent a couple years at Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private investment firm that invests in growing middle market healthcare and technology oriented companies and is currently investing a $561 million equity fund. He focused on due diligence on new investments and portfolio management. Before joining Riverside, John worked for two years at BMO Capital Markets in the Healthcare Group. John graduated with a B.A. in in Economics and International Relations at Brown University.

Daniel Hung

Panel Manager, Value Creation

Daniel Hung is a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to Wharton, Dan spent two years at Riverside Partners, a private equity firm that invests in technology and healthcare oriented companies. He was involved in evaluating and executing transactions and portfolio company support. Before joining Riverside, Dan worked for two years at BlackRock Kelso Capital, a provider of senior and junior financing solutions to middle-market companies across diverse industries. Dan graduated with a B.S., cum laude, in Chemical Engineering at Columbia University.

Carolyn Deng

Panel Manager, Venture Capital

Carolyn Deng is a first-year MBA student at Wharton majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management. Prior to Wharton, Carolyn was an Investment Associate at Teachers’ Private Capital, the $12 billion private investment department of the $117 billion Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). Carolyn was responsible for identifying and executing a variety of PE & VC direct and funds transactions globally, primarily in technology, healthcare, consumers, and energy sectors. Previously, she was an associate at Mercer’s investment consulting practice and a management consultant at the financial services practice of Oliver Wyman. Carolyn received a Bachelor of Commerce (First Class Honours) from McGill University, and is a CFA charterholder.

Samantha Gordon

Panel Manager, Venture Capital

Samantha Gordon is a first year MBA student at The Wharton School concentrating in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management.  Prior to Wharton, Samantha spent three years at Zynga, a San Francisco-based social gaming company, where she held a number of positions in the Recruiting and Business Development divisions.  Most recently, Samantha was an International Relationship Manager on the Consumer Products and Revenue team, where she was responsible for the marketing and distribution of Zynga's prepaid Game Cards in 45 international markets.  Samantha graduated with honors from the University of Chicago with an A.B. in Art History.