Calendar

 

 

 

7:30 - 8:30 am

 

8:30 - 9:30 am

Keynote Introduction
Mark Oakey, Vice President of Global Market Development, SAP
 

Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times Tom Friedman is the writer the public looks to for the straight talk and reliable information it needs about the world — especially when events seem too menacing to comprehend and policy discussions are clouded in a smokescreen of politics and posturing. Covering many of the monumental stories of recent decades, he has won three Pulitzer Prizes and been called “the country’s best newspaper columnist” by Vanity Fair.

 

His new book, "Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How It Can Renew America" (Sept. '08), is a #1 New York Times bestseller. His previous bestseller, "The World is Flat", has sold more than two million copies. His other bestsellers include, "Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism", "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" and "From Beirut to Jerusalem", which serves as a basic text on the Middle East in colleges and universities nationwide and won the National Book Award.

 

Friedman appears in his own segment, “Tom’s Journal,” on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and is a frequent guest on programs such as Face the Nation and Charlie Rose. His TV documentaries, Searching for the Roots of 9/11, The Other Side of Outsourcing and Addicted to Oil, have aired on the Discovery Channel.

 

9:30 - 9:45 am

 

Concurrent Panels

9:45 - 10:45 am - Concurrent Panel A

All equity deals, joint ventures, foreign capital partners: How are transactions getting done in this tough market? What strategies exist for corporate investors? Are LPs stepping up for private equity deals? Just what are the middle-market growth implications?
Moderator:
John C. Bintz, Vice President, Valuation Research Corporation
Panelists:
Martin S.A. Beck, Senior Vice President, Macquarie Capital Advisors
Bruce L. Gelman, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Francesco Gianni, Partner, Gianni, Origoni, Grippo & Partners
John A. LeMay, Partner, Blue Point Capital Partners
Guohua Wu, Of Counsel, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

 

9:45 - 10:45 am - Concurrent Panel B

Gain the insights of senior executives who have run through the trenches, battled market changes and understand how to stay alive - even thrive - during tough times.
Moderator:
John A. Kolada, Chicago Office Managing Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon, LLP
Panelists:
Nicholas I. Fink, Associate General Counsel, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. 
Douglas J. Knoch, Principal, Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC
Arthur J. Malin, Director of New Business Development, Illinois Tool Works
Richard J. Parker, Deputy General Counsel, Wolters Kluwer North America
 

10:45 - 11:00 am

 

11:00 am - noon - Concurrent Panel A

The current state of global macroeconomic conditions and credit markets has created a unique opportunity for international distressed (“special situations”) investors.  For the first time in almost a decade, investors can make control-oriented investments in financially distressed companies with viable core businesses at bargain prices. Once-in-a-generation outsized investment returns are currently available to focused special situations investors who possess the ability to source, purchase and turnaround qualified acquisitions during the current depressed economic environment, and manage and sell these acquisitions at significant multiples when the macroeconomic environment returns to a more normalized state.  Join this panel of internationally renowned special situations investors and their professional advisors for a roundtable discussion of the current trends in distressed investing for targeted countries, industry sectors, companies and transaction structures.
Moderator:
Frank R. Mack, Principal, Project Special Situations
Panelists:
John R. Buck, Director, Versa Capital Management, Inc.
Tiffany Kosch, Managing Director, Bayside Capital Opportunity Fund
Alan R. Tilley, Principal,  Bryan Tappy & Tilley, LLP
David W. Wirt, Partner, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP

 

11:00 am - noon - Concurrent Panel B

What is the current appetite of foreign investors for US deals and what industries most appeal to them? What is their rationale and how might it be different for that of US investors?
Moderator:
Susan E. Boedy, Director, Thunderbird Global Private Equity Center
Panelists:
Jan Borgonjon, President & Co-Founder, InterChina Consulting
Didier J. Choix, President & CEO, DDA & Company, LLC
Marleen Groen, CEO, Founder, Greenpark Capital Limited
Robert Theleen, Chairman & CEO, ChinaVest
 

noon - 2:15 pm

A moderated panel of Middle-Market Executives exploring their company’s international experience and strategies - What matters the most in building a great twenty-first century company amidst the current global volatility?
Moderator:
Michael H. Moskow, Vice Chairman and Senior Fellow on the Global Economy,
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Panelists:
James R. Bazet, Chairman & CEO, Cobra Electronics Group
Donna L. Belusar, Senior Vice President & CFO, CTS Corporation
Craig Petray, CEO, The NutraSweet Company

 

2:15 - 2:30 pm

 

2:30 - 4:30 pm

The Inbound Capital Road Show
Beyond the statistics, senior executives from soverign wealth funds, private equity funds, and corporations from around the world provide ten to fifteen minute quick dives into their criteria, operations, and expectations about US investments. This broad view from Asia to Europe provides a unique view into the investment opportunities today’s markets provide.
Presenting Companies Include:
•    Greenpark Capital Limited - United Kingdom
•    Unistar International Inc. - China
•    UIB Capital - Bahrain
•    Moons Industries (America) Inc. - China
•    CSM Bakery Supplies North America -  The Netherlands
•    Plastic Trim International - China
•    ChinaVest - China
•    Silverfleet Capital Inc. - United Kingdom
•    SG Technologies, Inc. - China
•    Halma p.l.c. - United Kingdom
•    OnCap Management Partners, L.P. - Canada
•    GE / Mubadala Development Company - United Arab Emirates

 

4:30 - 6:00 pm