The people in the room
who set the tone.

Ian founded Thesis Capital Partners in 2017 and leads firm strategy, capital formation, and investment oversight across the platform. He has advised on more than $10 billion of M&A and restructuring transactions over the course of his career and is the architect of the T.H.O.R. framework, the proprietary system that governs how the firm sources, acquires, and builds lower middle market businesses. Prior to founding Thesis Capital, Ian served as Head of Venture Partners at Golden Section Venture Capital. His earlier career included energy finance, commodity trading, and strategic advisory roles across crude oil and petroleum products markets. He serves as Chairman of the Board at The Ridge Ohio, Board Chair at NEMA Enclosures, and Board Member at Prosupplyr and Cadillac Services.

Noah J. Kroloff is founder and Managing Director of Black Granite Capital. Mr. Kroloff has been helping innovative healthcare and technology companies grow for over 30 years, as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co., a senior operating executive at i-STAT Corp., and an investing partner at NGN Capital and Black Granite Capital. At Black Granite Capital, Mr. Kroloff leads the firm's growth equity stage investing in healthcare and technology, with a focus on software for the healthcare sector. Prior to founding Black Granite Capital, Mr. Kroloff invested in healthcare companies at NGN Capital for 11 years, with a focus on medical devices and diagnostics. Prior to NGN Capital, Mr. Kroloff served as an executive officer at i-STAT Corp., a publicly-traded medical device and diagnostics company where he was Vice President for International Sales & Marketing and Corporate Development. He led the creation of global alliances with Abbott Laboratories and Hewlett-Packard Medical Products Group and created i-STAT's international distribution network. He was actively involved in the sale of i-STAT to Abbott for approximately $450 million. Prior to i-STAT, Mr. Kroloff was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Co. where he advised leading pharmaceutical, diagnostics, and tech companies on R&D management, portfolio strategy, and alliance formation. Mr. Kroloff also worked in international business development at Merck & Co.

Richard is the Managing Partner of Consumer Growth Partners (CGP), an Independent Sponsor with an exclusive focus on middle-market specialty retail and non-perishable branded consumer products companies. Prior to co-founding CGP in 2005, Richard spent 16 years as a top ranked sell-side equity research analyst at Sanford Bernstein, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, covering the specialty retail and discretionary consumer products sectors. Previously, he spent 6 years in the merchandising organization at Bloomingdale's and began his career as a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. Richard currently serves as Chairman of the Retail Marketing Society, a not-for-profit organization that focuses on bringing leading edge topics of interest to the broad retail community via a series of monthly webinars and in-person events. He also serves as a Board Director for Chair King/Fortunoff Backyard Stores, Factory Connection, Inc., and Rolla Coster, Inc. He served as a board director of Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) for nine years before stepping down in 2020. In 2023 he was selected by iGlobal Forum as their inaugural recipient of the Independent Sponsor Lifetime Achievement Award.

Morris F. DeFeo, Jr. is a partner and a co-chair of Herrick's Corporate Department, where he focuses on domestic and international capital markets, corporate finance and M&A transactions, and corporate governance and compliance counseling for boards, committees and directors of public and private companies and not-for-profit entities. Morris also leads the Firm's fund practice. For over 40 years, Morris has advised public and private corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), private equity firms and funds, venture and hedge funds, private investment funds and other clients in U.S. and cross-border joint ventures and strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, consolidations, asset and stock acquisitions and dispositions, all aspects of private equity and venture capital fund transactions and public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, including initial public offerings and shelf-registered offerings, Rule 144A high-yield debt offerings and exchange listings. Morris provides counsel to fund sponsors and investors on a range of investment activities including fund formation, structuring arrangements, senior and mezzanine debt, distressed investments, syndications, leveraged buyouts, majority and minority stake investments, sales and divestitures as well as exit strategies.

Joe Camberato is the CEO and Founder of National Business Capital, a private lender that provides companies with fast, efficient access to bridge and growth capital. Since founding the firm in 2007, Joe and his experienced team have financed more than $3 billion for businesses nationwide, becoming market leaders in transactions ranging from $250,000 to $15 million. Driven by his vision to simplify access to capital, Joe grew National Business Capital from his spare bedroom into a leading fintech-powered platform, pioneering access to private credit for small and mid-sized companies without raising venture or private equity funding. A recognized authority on business financing and growth, Joe is frequently featured in Forbes, CNBC, Fast Money, and Business Insider. He shares actionable insights for entrepreneurs on YouTube, LinkedIn, and X at @GrowByJoe.

With over 20+ years of experience, Ronelle is a seasoned transactional attorney who focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, joint ventures, and general corporate representation. She counsels and advises private equity funds, independent sponsors, venture funds, private and public companies on complex business transactions in a variety of industries, including industrial technology, sports, and energy. Ronelle collaborates with her clients to understand their strategic and financial priorities beyond any particular transaction and works closely with them to ensure that their identified objectives are continuously considered not only in larger strategic matters but also in day-to-day business decisions. In addition to her corporate practice, Ronelle is a member of the firm's Diversity Committee. She is also a past co-chair of Loeb & Loeb's New York Women's LEAD Network.

Alex Ulbrich is VP of Technology at VTG (Virtual Technologies Group), a private equity-backed IT services company sponsored by Jacmel Growth Partners. He leads technology strategy across AI Adoption & Enablement, Observability, Automation, and VTG's ValueFirst practice, working across the platform's operating companies and directly with clients on pre-sales and solution architecture. Over the past year, Alex has focused on treating AI as a design partner rather than a chatbot, rebuilding internal tools from the ground up instead of bolting AI onto old workflows. In this session, he shares a concrete playbook for spotting which of your own processes are ready for that kind of rebuild, and where the real limits are, drawn from his experience standing up technology functions inside a sponsor-backed platform. Alex is based in the Raleigh, NC area and has spoken previously on practical AI adoption.

Tyler has spent the past six years working in the people technology space, with a particular focus on understanding complex business needs and identifying opportunities for technological innovation to deliver meaningful impact. For the past two years, he has worked at HiBob, partnering with Enterprise clients to understand their strategic priorities and helping them leverage technology to radically transform their businesses across the human capital domain. Prior to joining HiBob, Tyler worked at UKG.

Kelsey Thomas is a Partner in Withum's Transaction Advisory Services team with nearly 20 years of experience in public accounting and advisory. She advises private equity firms, strategic acquirers, and business owners on buy- and sell-side transactions, providing financial due diligence, quality of earnings, EBITDA normalization, working capital analysis, and deal negotiation support. Kelsey also hosts the M&A Empow'her'ment video series, spotlighting women leaders while fostering mentorship, visibility, and meaningful connections for the next generation of professionals.

Dave is an enterprising, forward-thinking, and growth-oriented executive with over 25 years of experience providing commercial leadership across SaaS, Healthcare and private equity-backed portfolio companies, including Thoma Bravo, Riverside and Pamlico. He has led the development of targeted growth strategies, entry into new markets, strategic alliances, organic growth, and new product launches and has taken two portfolio companies to successful exits. He cultivates top-performing and collaborative teams that ensure organizational excellence and maximize efficiencies. Dave is a broad-minded leader who empowers an organization to enhance business growth and drive increased profitability.

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.

Konstantin Mehl is the Founder and CEO of Daneel, a transaction-focused accounting firm built for PE investors, independent sponsors and roll-up operators acquiring service businesses. He previously co-founded Kaia Health, a digital health company that sold to Sword Health for $285m, and Foodora, which he scaled to 5,000 employees across 16 countries before selling to Delivery Hero. He holds master's degrees from Columbia University and the Technical University of Munich. He built Daneel to solve the financial diligence problems he experienced firsthand as both a serial acquirer and a founder, across more than $1bn in combined enterprise value.

Claudine Cohen is Managing Partner of CohnReznick's Value360 Advisory practice, leading multidisciplinary teams that help organizations unlock and maximize value across the business and transaction lifecycle. She oversees integrated capabilities spanning transaction advisory, valuation, and restructuring, delivering practical, results-driven solutions from strategy through execution. She also leads the firm's Independent Sponsor practice, partnering closely with sponsors throughout the deal lifecycle.

David Zawitkowski is a partner with the firm's Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) Practice. He has worked with strategic buyers (both public and private) and private equity firms on asset purchases, stock purchases, carve-outs, and growth-equity investments. He also provides post-closing assistance.

Bill focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, general corporate and commercial transactions, private equity, and debt and equity finance. Bill has been involved with the founding and growth of new ventures, has taken companies public, and has acquired, sold, financed and combined many others along the way. Bill's transactions have also included cross border elements. His diverse industry experience includes advertising and digital media, wealth management and financial services, technology consulting, business services, cannabis industry, direct marketing, manufacturing, distribution, food, health care services, medical devices, retail and transportation.

Jennifer has 20 years of experience as a lead lawyer and strategic partner who uses sound legal judgment, smart business acumen, and deep operational expertise in counseling public corporations, privately held companies, large private equity platforms, and venture capital firms through complex, high stakes, multidimensional business transactions. Jennifer’s expertise includes advising and leading cross-functional in-house, client, and third-party teams in structuring, negotiating, and executing high-profile international mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, financings, restructurings, bankruptcy proceedings, venture capital initiatives and equity co-investments for U.S. and international clients. Her experience spans numerous industries including financial technology, healthcare, real estate, manufacturing, and transportation, as well as early-stage, high-growth companies where she advises on the full business life cycle from formation, capitalization, and acquisition through operation and ultimate exit. Jennifer advises clients and C-suite executives on a range of corporate matters, including governance, legal strategy, risk management and mitigation, and ongoing operations for subsidiaries and portfolio companies. She also has prior experience serving in the in-house legal function role for a large international manufacturer and distributor as well as a high growth electric mobility manufacturer.

Kevin Christmas is an experienced private equity attorney and the co-head of both Holland & Knight's Independent Sponsors and Search Funds teams. Mr. Christmas has substantial experience representing domestic and international independent sponsors, search funds and private equity funds in connection with capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, financing, equity structuring, general corporate advisory work and related matters.

Rick Lazio is a nationally recognized leader in public policy, financial services, and corporate governance, with experience spanning government, banking, housing finance, and business strategy. An attorney, he practices in the Corporate Practice Group at Jones Walker, one of the largest commercial law firms in the Southeastern United States. Lazio served in the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, where he held a leadership role as Assistant Majority Leader, chaired the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, and helped shape major housing policy reforms, including authoring the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) and leading efforts on the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act. He was also a prolific legislator on the Securities Subcommittee and the Financial Services Committee of the House of Representatives. In the private sector, Lazio served as Executive Vice President of JPMorgan Chase and was a member of the firm's Executive Committee. He previously served as President and CEO of the Financial Services Forum, a policy and research organization comprising the CEOs of the twenty largest U.S.-headquartered global financial services firms. Lazio currently serves as Senior Vice President of alliant group, where he advises businesses on policy, growth and strategic issues. Lazio has served on and held leadership roles across numerous public and private company boards. He currently serves on the boards of Bellwether Enterprise and NAPCO Security Technologies and chairs the Board of Trustees of Enterprise Community Partners.

Asher Friend is a senior partner in the Jones Walker LLP Corporate Practice Group, a member of the firm's M&A and private equity teams, and co-chair of its Independent Sponsor practice. Asher has developed significant experience in the hospitality, healthcare, energy, manufacturing and technology industries, including representing clients in myriad acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and related corporate transactions involving hotels, casinos, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, food service businesses, industrial and consumer products, healthcare systems, practices and ancillary assets, energy and oil-field service assets, and other related core intellectual property assets. Throughout the course of his professional career, Asher has represented clients at each stage of the growth cycle: from emerging, start-up, privately owned companies to mature, publicly traded companies, with a concentration in M&A, public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, and advising and assisting clients through the entire spectrum of related corporate and transactional matters.

Zach advises private equity firms and their portfolio companies, public companies and private businesses on acquisitions, dispositions, complex investments, joint ventures and other strategic transactions. His work includes matters involving clients operating in health care and life sciences, consumer products and services, chemicals and manufacturing, technology, national defense, transportation, education, staffing and business services, and renewable energy. His experience spans the full investment life cycle, and he is often called on to represent private equity clients and portfolio companies in multiple transactions from acquisition through exit.

Steven focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture and growth capital, private investment funds, founder and family owned companies and emerging and growth company representation. Private equity funds and their portfolio companies regularly turn to Steven for strategic guidance on a wide range of transactions, including platform acquisitions and exits, add-ons, and early-stage and growth investments. Family- and founder-owned businesses rely on his deep market knowledge and his practical, collaborative approach in handling their strategic transactions, such as growth equity financings, recaps and exits. Steven is also active in the private investment fund area, representing both financial sponsors and institutions in fund formation matters, primary and secondary investments, and co-investments. Steven also advises early and growth stage companies and investors in venture and growth capital financings and serves as outside general counsel to emerging growth and established operating companies.

John Koeppel is a Partner and the Team Leader of Lippes Mathias’ Private Equity and Independent Sponsor Practices. He is one of top lawyers nationally focused on “direct deals”, and has successfully structured, negotiated, and closed over 250 transactions in the past 25+ years, which typically involve mergers and acquisitions, fund / SPV formations, and private equity / independent sponsor transactions. He also works with clients on reviewing / structuring their Qualified Small Business Stock investments. Mr. Koeppel acts as counsel to a number of leading private equity firms, independent sponsors, holding companies, middle market companies, institutional investors, family offices, and high net worth investors focused on buy-out, growth, venture, real estate, intellectual property, energy, debt, fund-of-funds, co-investments, secondaries, and other strategies. He also often acts as US counsel to non-US clients on their US private equity and M&A transactions. He also serves as a director for several private equity-backed companies. On the transactions side, Mr. Koeppel has advised on deals from $5 million to $250 million+ in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, technology, consumer goods, food, distribution, business services, cleantech, and medical / health care. Mr. Koeppel and his team take a pro-active and practical approach to helping clients make connections and successfully navigating the various legal challenges in any direct deal. Mr. Koeppel has received several awards for excellence, including The Best Lawyers in America©; Chambers USA, Leading Corporate/M&A/Private Equity Lawyers; and Upstate Capital, Dealmaker of the Year; and Leading Independent Sponsor Lawyer. In addition, he is a frequent speaker at a number of leading private equity / independent sponsor and M&A events / podcasts (including: iGlobal Independent Sponsor Summit, US Emerging Manager Institute, Association for Corporate Growth, Expert Webcast, SBIA: Independent Sponsor Forum, Family Office Enterprise).

John S. Ehlinger is a seasoned investor, executive and M&A growth strategist with extensive experience in the healthcare and service sectors. As a partner with Astria Elevate, John leverages his broad operational expertise (which includes complex revenue cycle management, financial strategy and product development) to drive value creation in lower- and middle-market companies. Prior to Astria Elevate, John held multiple leadership roles at Great Elm Capital Group, Inc., a publicly-traded investment holding company, where he was an operating partner and led value-creating strategic planning for its portfolio companies. As operating partner and executive leader of one of those subsidiaries, Great Elm Healthcare, LLC, he executed initiatives that grew revenue by over 37% during the global pandemic, turned the company cash flow positive, and completed six acquisitions and integrations. This work culminated in the company's sale to a strategic buyer. In Great Elm's investment subsidiary, John led Chapter 11 and out-of-court corporate restructurings and achieved positive return outcomes in high-stakes financial scenarios. John's career also includes roles as an Investment Officer at Ajax Partners and as the COO and CFO at Wellsense Technologies, where he commercialized an innovative medical technology in the U.S. and Europe. Prior to these roles, John was a partner at a special situations and distressed-debt focused hedge fund, where he managed special situations investments that drove above-market returns and enabled the firm to grow AUM over six-fold to approximately $2B.

Chris assists clients with private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), growth equity financings, and management incentive structuring, as well as general corporate law. He represents middle and lower-middle market private equity funds and their portfolio companies in buyout transactions, add-on acquisitions, divestitures, and general corporate matters. Chris represents portfolio companies, private equity investment funds, hedge funds, family offices, fundless sponsors, management teams, and institutional investors. Chris has worked with nearly 100 fund portfolio companies, serving as outside counsel and guiding them in corporate governance, M&A, divestitures, equity and debt financings, restructurings, stockholder agreements, LLC agreements, commercial contracts, executive compensation and employment arrangements, joint ventures, and recapitalizations. In his guidance of private equity, family offices and other investment funds, Chris advises in such areas as leveraged buyouts, rollups and buildups, equity financings, divestitures, reorganizations, industry consolidations, and related formation documents. He has been engaged in more than 400 M&As of private companies and has been engaged by more than 40 clients to conduct rollup transactions, primarily in business services, software, IT, and industrial transactions. Chris' high level of deal activity includes cross-border transactions and occurs across a range of industries, such as business services, healthcare services, consumer products, technology, software, energy, government contracting, manufacturing, and logistics.