New York Venture Capital Association: M&A Roundtable: The New Environment and Pursuing Growth

M&A Roundtable: The New Environment and Pursuing Growth
April 21st, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
TriBeCa Conference Room | SNR Denton | 1221 Avenue of the Americas

Agenda 5:30pm Cocktails & Networking
6:15pm Roundtable with Moderator and Audience
7:15pm Post-event Networking

Event Overview
With unprecedented funding and many, many start-ups entering the investment funnel, how do these companies grow and position themselves for later stages of the investment funnel? And, how do corporate development executives evaluate (and value) companies that are seeking private exits?

What is attractive to corporate development executives? How should an entrepreneur prepare him / herself?

During the past ten years, the average private company exit is $70 million dollars. Conventional wisdom says that no company should consider an IPO with revenues below $250 million.

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Distinguished Speakers

Alan Patricof, founder and managing director, Greycroft LLC
Alan Patricof is the founder and managing director of Greycroft LLC. A longtime innovator and advocate for venture capital, Alan entered the industry in its formative days with the creation of Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc., a predecessor to Apax Partners – today, one of the world’s leading private equity firms with $35 billion under management. He stepped back from the daily administration and operational aspects of Apax Partners, LP in 2001 to concentrate on a group of small venture deals on its behalf.

Over the course of his 40 year career in private equity, Alan has been instrumental in growing the venture capital field from a base of high net-worth individuals to its position today with broad institutional backing, as well as playing a key role in the essential legislative initiatives that have category_ided its evolution. He has helped build and foster the growth of numerous major global companies, including, among others, America Online, Office Depot, Cadence Systems, Cellular Communications, Inc., Apple Computer, FORE Systems, NTL, IntraLinks, and Audible. He was also a founder and chairman of the board of New York magazine, which later acquired the Village Voice and New West magazine.

Alan is active in the New York community as a board member of both the New York Small Business Venture Fund and New Jobs for New York Association, and he currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Columbia University Graduate School of Business. His philanthropic activities also include service on the boards of TechnoServe, Trickle Up Program, and the Global Advisory Board of Endeavor, Inc. In 2007, he was appointed to the board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation by the President of the United States.

Andrew Siegel, Sr. Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development, Advance.net
Andrew Siegel was named to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development for Advance Publications, Inc. in January 2011. Advance Publications, Inc. is a diversified media company with leading positions in national and international magazines through Condé Nast and Parade Publications, daily and weekly newspapers, business journals through American City Business Journals, internet sites, cable television systems through Bright House Networks, and a significant interest in Discovery Communications.

Mr. Siegel joined Yahoo!, Inc. in October 2009 to lead its 14-person corporate development team, which is responsible for M&A, large partnerships and investments. During the period Mr. Siegel was with Yahoo!, the company divested Hot Jobs and Zimbra, and acquired Koprol, Citizen Sports, Maktoob, Associated Content and Dapper.

Prior to joining Yahoo!, Siegel was an executive of the General Electric Company, serving as General Manager of Global Business Development at its headquarters in Fairfield, CT and most recently as Senior Managing Director for Sponsor Business Development at GE Capital in Norwalk, CT and New York City. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at InVision Technologies in Newark, CA, a maker of advanced homeland security technology that GE acquired in December 2004. Siegel was previously a member of Merill Lynch’s technology investment banking group in Palo Alto, CA and an M&A lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York.

Siegel graduated from the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University and has a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Richard Wendell, VP, Global Strategy & Business Development, American Express
Richard Wendell is the Vice President, Global Strategy & Business Development of the Global Payment Options group at American Express. In this role, Mr. Wendell leads the global team responsible for strategy, partnerships, and M&A to accelerate growth in prepaid, alternative and mobile payments. Mr. Wendell sits on the group President’s Senior Leadership Team of GM’s that oversee the US Gift Card, Travelers Cheques, General Purpose Reloadable & Prepaid Travel Cards, FX International Payments, Airport Currency Exchange and Wholesale Currency Services.

Prior to joining American Express, Mr. Wendell’s twelve years of experience include co-founding several technology start-up companies, driving the successful turnaround of an IT services firm, and management consulting to Fortune 100 telecommunications clients. Mr. Wendell holds an MBA from the Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Mathematics, Summa Cum Laude, from Brandeis University.

Scott English, Senior Vice President, Strategic Investments, Hearst Interactive Media
Scott English oversees Hearst’s Strategic Investments group and pursues acquisitions for the corporation in digital media. He acts as a director or observer on the boards of a number of Hearst’s portfolio companies including Gazillion, BuzzFeed, The NewsMarket, Wide Orbit, Brightcove and Pandora.

English joined Hearst Interactive Media in 1995 and ran business development and strategy for Hearst’s HomeArts.com network of magazine websites. He moved into his current role at HIM in 1999 after helping orchestrate the merger of HomeArts.com and Women.com (now iVillage). Prior to Hearst, English worked in the magazine division at Condé Nast. English graduated with a BA from Trinity College and earned his MBA from Columbia Business School.

Rachel Lam, SVP and Group Managing Director, Time Warner Investments group
Time Warner Investments group targets non-control strategic investments in digital media and technology companies that have a clear fit with Time Warner’s operating divisions. She has been head of the Investments group since 2003.

Before returning to Time Warner in 2001, Ms. Lam was a principal at Quetzal/Chase Capital Partners, a venture capital group focused on the communications industry, and before that was VP, U.S. private equity at CSFB Equity Partners, a $2.75 billion private equity fund investing in a broad range of industries. Prior to that, she was director, office of the president at Time Warner Inc., where she worked directly for former Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons on corporate transactions and strategic initiatives. In addition, Ms. Lam spent several years in investment banking, focusing on the media sector at Credit Suisse First Boston and on mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley.

Ms. Lam received a B.S. degree in industrial engineering and operations research from U.C. Berkeley and an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School.

To Register, please to to:
http://www.nyvca.org/events/leading-edge-roundtable-series-new-environment/register/