Speakers
Mehreen Khan
Mehreen Khan is the Economics Editor for The Times of London and a former Europe correspondent for the Financial Times in Brussels. She has written extensively about the European Union, the political economy of the eurozone, populist politics, climate policy, taxation and economics.
Mehreen spent five years in Brussels from 2017-2022 breaking exclusive agenda-setting news on the EU’s Brexit talks, budget negotiations, environmental regulation, pandemic policy response, and foreign policy.
She authored the daily Brussels Briefing newsletter for the Financial Times and is a regular contributor to the BBC, Al Jazeera, EUScream podcast, In Our Times, and Times Radio.
Her more recent coverage focuses on the challenges facing the global economy, from de-globalisation, international monetary policy, and financial markets. In addition to economics and international diplomacy, Mehreen is a regular commentator on issues of racial and religious discrimination and diversity in the EU and UK. She is also a very experienced moderator and panelist.
Mehreen has a BA in History and Politics and MPhil in European Politics from Oxford University. She began her journalism career at the Daily Telegraph and has written for Bloomberg, The Guardian, and Sky News.
Mehreen recently contributed to BBC Radio 4 - The Briefing Room's discussion on Inflation.
Erika Cheung
Erika Cheung is the Executive Director of Ethics in Entrepreneurship, a non-profit organization with the mission to embed ethical questioning, culture, and systems in start-up ecosystems worldwide.
Erika began her career working as a medical researcher in the biotechnology industry and is most famously known for being a key whistle-blower reporting the medical-diagnostic company Theranos to health regulators.
Erika went on to help launch a technology accelerator in Hong Kong supporting early-stage technology investments across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. She continues to advise and support the development of biotechnology and healthcare initiatives across the APAC region.
Paul Merson
Paul started his career at Arsenal, joining the club as an apprentice in 1984. After a stint at Brentford he made his debut for the Gunners in November 1986 and gradually established himself in George Graham’s successful Arsenal side of the late 1980’s.
By the 1988-89 season Paul was a regular on the right wing, at the end of Arsenal secured the First Division title. He scored ten times that season, made his debut for the England U21 side, and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year. Over the next few years more winners medals were added to his collection asArsenal bagged another league championship in 1991, both the FA Cup and League Cup in 1993 and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994 and he also made his debut for the full England side. In 1995-96 Paul remained regular first team player under Arsenal’s new manager Bruce Rioch and continued to play regularly in 1996-97 following the appointment of Arsene Wenger.
At the end of the 1996-97 Premiership campaign, in which Arsenal finished third, he was sold to relegated Middlesbrough in a £5 million deal making him the most expensive
player ever signed by a non Premiership Club. In total he played 425 times for Arsenal, scoring 99 goals. Paul was a key player for Middlesbrough’s promotion success as Division One runners-up in 1997-98. He also held the distinction of being the only player in England’s 1998 World Cup
squad not to play for a top flight club. ln the 1998 World Cup he played in England’s famous second round match against Argentina, scoring in the penalty shootout.
In the autumn of 1998 Paul was sold to Aston Villa for. He quickly established himself as a fans favourite due to his creative and flamboyant brand of football. He remained at
the club for nearly five years, helping them reach the 2000 FA Cup Final. He was finally given a free transfer at the end of the 2001-02 season, signing for Division One Club Portsmouth, and was instrumental in the club’s promotion to the Premiership in
2002-03.
Scotty Mills
Scotty Mills is the highest-ranking black officer in the history of the Royal Marines and led Britain’s Commandos around the world. He shares his lessons of leadership and resilience working as a performance coach in the world of elite sport and business. As an advisor to the FA, he worked closely with Gareth Southgate, Harry Kane, and the England Football Team to help them reach the World Cup semifinal. Growing up in South London with many hardships, Scotty joined the Royal Marines by chance after ducking into their recruitment office to avoid a downfall.
He worked his way up to become a Commando ‘Green Beret’ Officer, leading the Marines on operations around the world. He also acted as Head of Rehab, and Head of Performance throughout his time, supporting recruits who needed retraining, rehabilitation and reintegration and guiding them to peak performance.
Scotty has an international reputation for his ability to use his experience to inspire others and help them overcome their limitations. He continues to work with the nation's top sports teams and Olympic teams to develop innovative leadership, team cohesion and peak performance. His compelling journey highlights the power of human inspiration and his lessons on how to achieve impossible results and how to make a winning team are transferable to any organisation. His book Never Give In draws on his experiences in the Marines and shares how the ‘commando’ way of thinking provides elite performance and helps anyone reach targets and transform their way of thinking. A world record breaker for leading the Marines to break a long-standing Endurance Marathon World Record, Scotty was selected as an Olympic Flag Bearer at the London 2012 Olympic Games and has dined at Buckingham Palace with the late Queen. He was also the recipient of a national award to honour him as the most inspirational serviceman across the entire Armed Forces community.
Workshops
Workshops
Accessing Opportunities in Private Credit and Equity Via Semi-Liquid Open-Ended Funds
The objective of the session is to illustrate the benefits that the integration of Alternatives can bring to traditional 60/40 portfolio.
Speaker
Jonathan Orr
Managing Director and Client Portfolio Manager, Apollo Private Markets
Mr. Orr joined Apollo in 2023 in The Client and Product Solutions team as a Managing Director responsible for client portfolio management across international wealth. Prior to joining Apollo Mr. Orr spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs in both London and New York. His most recent role was head of product strategy and market intelligence for Goldman Sachs Asset Management and prior to that he held fixed income portfolio management positions within asset management and risk management positions within the global markets division. Mr. Orr graduated from the University of Bath with a degree in Business Administration and is a CFA charterholder.
Representatives
Alexander So
Wealth Distribution Global Wealth Management Solutions, Apollo
Alex So joined Apollo in 2022 in Client and Product Solutions and is primarily responsible for coverage of UK intermediaries. Prior to that time, Alex worked at UBS Wealth Management from 2006 to 2022 in various roles across Australia, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom, and was most recently Head of Private Markets Distribution UK.Mr. So is a CFA Chartholder and CAIA Chartholder, and holds a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University, Australia, and a Bachelor of Business (Banking & Finance and Accounting) from Monash University, Australia.
Francesca Pittaccio
Wealth Distribution Global Wealth Management Solutions, Apollo
Francesca Pittaccio, Associate, joined Apollo in 2023 on the Global Wealth Management Solutions team based in London. Prior to joining Apollo Francesca spent 5 years at BlackRock, most recently she was part of the BlackRock Alternatives Specialists team where she focused on Private Markets distribution and strategy for EMEA, with a focus on Wealth.Francesca earned a Master of Science Degree in Finance from Bocconi University as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics and Finance from John Cabot University.
Exploring the Opportunities in European Direct Lending
Interest in European Direct Lending has increased substantially in the last 12 months as global interest rates have risen on the back of higher inflation. Retrenchment by traditional lenders has left a significant void that asset managers have filled to provide corporates with a stable source of capital. As one of the leading Direct Lenders in Europe, Ares is ideally placed to provide insight into the key drivers within the asset class and where we see the most attractive risk-adjusted opportunities.
Gain insight into the key drivers within the private credit market and the opportunities that exist for investors in European direct lending.
Company Profile: Ares Wealth Management Solutions’ mission is to provide advisors and their clients access to innovative, solutions-oriented investment opportunities, across the Ares platform of industry-leading credit, private equity, real estate and secondaries strategies. Through our range of institutional and retail structures, coupled with excellent client service and educational resources, we help investors diversify their portfolios with private market solutions that seek to deliver consistent, long-term growth.
Speaker
Daniel Sinclair
Partner
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Mr. Sinclair is a Partner in the Ares Credit Group, where he focuses on European direct lending. Additionally, Mr. Sinclair a is a member of the Ares Credit Group's European Direct Lending Investment Committee. Prior to joining Ares in 2007, Mr. Sinclair was an Associate Director in the Financial Sponsors Group at Barclays, where he focused on originating and transacting mid-market leveraged financings. Mr. Sinclair holds a diploma from Leicester University in Management and an M.B.A., with merit, from Imperial College London.
Representatives
Omar Rauf
Principal, Private Wealth Partnerships
Mr. Rauf is a Principal within Ares Wealth Management Solutions, which oversees Ares' client management activities in the global wealth channel. Prior to joining Ares in 2022, Mr. Rauf was a Director at AllianceBernstein in London, where he focused on business development within the financial intermediaries group. Previously, he was a Business Development Manager at Robeco in London and Abrdn in London and Zurich, where he covered key global financial institutions and wealth managers. Mr. Rauf holds a B.Sc. (Hons) from University College London (UCL) in Geography.
Nick Votier
Senior Associate, Private Wealth Partnerships
Mr. Votier is a Senior Associate within Ares Wealth Management Solutions, which oversees Ares' client management activities in the global wealth channel. Prior to joining Ares in 2023, Mr. Votier was an Associate Director at HSBC Asset Management, where he focused on investor relations activities for the business' alternative investment capabilities, including infrastructure debt, private credit, private equity and venture capital. Mr. Votier holds a B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Bristol in Economics. Mr. Votier is a CFA Charterholder.
Federated Hermes GPE Innovation Fund: European technology-enabled growth investing
The pace of business innovation is accelerating in Europe as companies adapt to be more resilient and efficient against the economic backdrop. The region, often overshadowed by the US, provides an untapped opportunity to back mature technology businesses at their international expansion. Many of the companies we back originate in Europe but as leaders in their field address global markets with c.40% of the portfolio revenues generated outside of Europe, predominantly in the US.
- European capital dislocation in growth equity, opportunity or threat?
- Growth equity minority vs. majority investments and corporate governance implications
- Underwriting a growth equity investment – why is the risk/return similar to buyout
Company Profile: Federated Hermes is guided by the conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create long-term wealth. We provide specialised capabilities across equity, fixed income and private markets, in addition to multi-asset strategies and liquidity-management solutions. Through pioneering stewardship services, we engage companies on strategic and sustainability concerns to promote investors’ long-term performance and fiduciary interests. Our goals are to help individuals invest and retire better, help clients achieve better risk-adjusted returns, and to contribute to positive outcomes in the wider world
Speaker
Fidel Manolopoulos
Partner, Co-Head of EMEA, Private Equity
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Fidel joined Federated Hermes Private Equity’s in London in 2017 and focuses on growth investment activities in the EMEA region. He is a member of the Federated Hermes GPE Investment Committee in respect of investments made by the Federated Hermes GPE Innovation Fund. Fidel has a strong background in technology-enabled growth investing, gained over several years at Kennet Partners and ViewPoint Capital. Latterly he was at Mojo Capital where he led direct investments.
Representatives
Michael Kalenberg
CEO, Barclays
Michael Kalenberg joined in October 2014 and is responsible for business development and relationship management with Swiss financial institutions. Prior to joining, Michael acted as a consultant advising asset managers on their distribution and marketing in Switzerland, after serving as CEO and board member at Pioneer Investments Switzerland SA and Banco Inversión SA, Madrid. Michael has an MBA from Nuremberg University and is registered with the Spanish, UK and Swiss regulators.
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Unlocking Infrastructure: Investing in the Building Blocks of Society
When most people think of infrastructure, they think of the basic things you need to keep society functioning. But the definition of “need” changes over time, and the complexity of today’s global infrastructure matches that of modern society. From wind farms to data centers, the long-term shifts shaping society will demand new and upgraded infrastructure. Private institutional investors have been investing in infrastructure assets as a potential inflation hedge and source of stable long-term returns for decades. While most individual investors cannot directly own an electricity distribution network or water treatment facility, they still have several options for investing in infrastructure.
Over the past 15 years, KKR has developed a leading infrastructure franchise that benefits from global exposure and expertise across multiple sectors, managing over $50 billion in AUM.
During this session, Daniel Valladares - a Director at KKR - will help define the asset class and its potential benefits within the context of a "traditional portfolio," explain KKR's history in the space and discuss opportunities we see in the market today.
Speaker
Daniel Valladares
Director
Daniel Valladares (New York) joined KKR in 2020 and is a member of the Client and Partner Group. He is involved in the Firm's global capital raising activities as a product specialist focused on Infrastructure. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Valladares was a senior associate at Brookfield Asset Management in the project management team assisting in the development, launch and ongoing capital raising for their open-end super-core infrastructure strategy. Mr. Valladares started his career at J.P. Morgan Asset Management assisting in the ongoing capital raising and investor relations functions across J.P. Morgan's open-end infrastructure fund. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Lafayette College.
Representatives
Made Odutola
Director, Client and Partner Group
Odumade Odutola (London) joined KKR in 2022 as a Director in the Client and Partner Group, where he is a member of the European Private Wealth team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Odutola was a senior vice president at PIMCO, where he was responsible for the growth of PIMCO’s business in London, focusing on wealth managers, multimanager, and financial advisers. Previously he worked for BlackRock within the strategic partnership and DC investment sales team. Mr. Odutola holds an MBA from Imperial College and an undergraduate degree from Bristol Business School. He is a CAIA holder.
Lucy Anstice
Associate, Private Wealth Client and Partner Group
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Lucy Anstice (London) joined KKR in 2022 and is a member of the European Private Wealth team within the firm's Client and Partner Group. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Anstice worked for Evercore and was a member of the general advisory M&A team as well as the private capital advisory team. She received a B.A. in French and Spanish from Cambridge University.