Samantha Adams, Managing Director, Talent – Berkshire Partners

Sam Adams joined Berkshire Partners in 2012 as director of talent management and became a Managing Director in 2016. In her role at the firm, Sam oversees all aspects of the talent formula for private equity and Stockbridge including talent strategy, human capital planning, recruiting, DEI, staffing of teams, learning and development, performance management and key strategic human capital initiatives for the firm. She sits on the governance and policy committee, the operating committee and the compensation committee for the firm.

Prior to joining Berkshire, Sam was the senior vice president of enterprise brand strategy for Bank of America. Before that, she worked at Hill Holliday, Discovery Health Channel and Bain & Co.

Scott Aldsworth, President - The Bowdoin Group

Scott brings more than 25 years of industry experience, with a proven track record of building and overseeing professional services teams in high-growth organizations. Joining The Bowdoin Group in 2016 as the chief revenue officer, Scott currently serves as president and directs long-term strategy around Bowdoin’s sales initiatives and go-to-market approach, overseeing marketing, sales, and business development.

Prior to joining The Bowdoin Group, Scott had an extensive career running sales organizations at several Boston-based companies and supporting financial and operational growth with VC-backed and PE-backed startups. Before joining the firm, Scott served as vice president of sales at Radius Worldwide (formerly High Street Partners) where he helped build the global growth firm from a small start-up to a PE-backed company with nearly 1,000 employees. Prior to Radius, he served as vice president of mergers & acquisitions at Interliant, where he completed 28 acquisitions of internet service companies in just three years, and helped the infrastructure solutions company to its IPO.

Michael Barriere, Senior Partner – CEO.works

Michael Barriere is a former McKinsey partner and four-time chief HR / talent officer (Walmart, Alcoa, NY Life, Citigroup) who knows how to build the leadership capabilities that enable global businesses to create value and increase profitability. For 25+ years, he has combined the formulation and execution of innovative growth initiatives with a disciplined process for increasing the number of exemplary performers in critical value-driving roles.

Michael comes to CEO Works after leading McKinsey’s global platform for linking talent to value. For five years, he oversaw the alignment of top teams with the value agenda, the identification of critical roles, and the filling of those roles with best fit talent at over 50 companies spanning retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services.

Previously, while chief talent officer for Walmart, Michael coached and advised high-potential executives and accelerated the development of the top 100 NextGen leaders, enabling the enterprise’s business strategy while effectively improving the slate of “ready now” candidates for the top 50 critical roles. As CHRO at Alcoa, he developed and applied predictive analytics that linked the compensation of executives to employee engagement, diversity, workplace safety, and sustainability goals. As senior VP of HR at New York Life Insurance, he prepared the company for entering into more complex business markets by designing and implementing a talent assessment and planning process that closed key gaps in the top 100 critical roles.

In various senior executive positions at Citigroup, including that of CHRO for Citi Private Bank, Michael translated factors that differentiate top-tier performance in critical roles into competency-based processes which became the criteria for talent selection, development and rewards that were lauded across the global Citi organization for their impact on the bottom line. Early in his career, Michael created an assessment process for determining critical business success factors and leadership practices for PepsiCo, which drove their talent acquisition, development, and retention strategies.

Jordan Brugg, Global Head of Private Equity – Spencer Stuart

Jordan Brugg is the global head of private equity for Spencer Stuart. In this capacity, he oversees a team providing a comprehensive suite of leadership advisory services and human capital consulting to private equity firms and their portfolio companies. This includes due-diligence support, identifying, assessing and recruiting the right leadership to accelerate performance, and ensuring culture and organizational design align with portfolio company operating agendas to drive value creation.

Jordan is also a member of the firm’s CEO, board, and industrial practices. He has led more than 300 CEO search and CEO succession plans for both publicly traded and investor-backed enterprises, ranging from Fortune 100 companies to middle-market businesses. He also advises families and founders transitioning leadership.

In addition to his client work, Jordan was part of the founding team of the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. He later played key operational roles in the development of the firm’s private equity practice and the inception of the firm’s succession consulting business. He also founded the industrial services specialty practice, launched the industrial technology coverage team and subsequently led the firm’s broader industrial practice in North America for five years.

Will Busch III, Managing Director, Growth Strategies – FMG Leading

Will Busch III leads the private equity practice at FMG Leading, where he brings over 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and leading strategic human capital initiatives that accelerate profitable growth.

Prior to joining FMG Leading, Will held a variety of executive roles at Korn Ferry and Gallup, where he developed a unique approach to business transformation that incorporated strategy execution, behavioral economics, change management, and customer analytics to create and capture value. Specializing in growth-focused firms and investors, Will’s expertise leverages human capital and organizational growth levers to drive revenue generation and enhance operational efficiency.

Charlotte Cederwall, Partner – Acertitude

Charlotte Cederwall is a private equity specialist, partner, and co-lead for the consumer & retail practice at Acertitude. She partners with best-in-class management teams and world-renowned private equity investors and their portfolio companies across North America and Europe, critically contributing to value creation.

Her extensive experience includes both building and assessing executive teams and boards and facilitating people-related diligence on upcoming deals. She has personally led numerous high-profile private equity-backed CEO, CFO, chair and board searches internationally and across all consumer & retail related sub-sectors, including e-commerce and digital. Along with her hands-on role within the consumer & retail practice, Charlotte leads and supports the coordination of global private equity relationships firmwide.

Charlotte brings over 15 years of executive search and leadership advisory experience to her role as a partner at Acertitude. Prior to joining the firm, Charlotte spent eight years at Skill Capital, a leading global executive search and advisory firm dedicated to private equity operating across executive search, strategic advisory, and capital raising. Charlotte was a partner and led the consumer & retail practice alongside establishing and co-leading the firms executive search focus and training. Before focusing on consumer & retail, Charlotte spent a number of years within the firm’s healthcare & pharmaceutical practice.

James Cherubim, Head of Talent Acquisition – The Carlyle Group

James Cherubim is a principal and head of talent acquisition within the human resources group at The Carlyle Group. He is based in Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining Carlyle, James was a principal and head of talent acquisition at Ares Management, based in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Prior to that, he was a director at Sheffield Haworth, a global executive search firm, where he focused on senior-level engagements across global banking and private equity and was based in New York.

Kit Cooper, Partner – Signal Partners

Kit Cooper has spent the last 15 years working with private equity sponsors to build great companies, both as a founder & CEO and as an executive search professional. Kit brings invaluable operator experience to recruiting, allowing him to calibrate quickly and empathize with CEOs and investors alike.

Kit has executed a wide range of search assignments, helping companies where the needs are most urgent, regardless of whether there is a “C” in the title. He has unique experience leading CEO searches for companies facing founder transitions during and after a change of control and has partnered with sponsors that include CI Capital, New Mountain Capital, Parthenon Capital, Anchorage Capital, and Serent Capital among others.

Prior to executive search Kit started, ran and sold two BPO companies, including Hispanic Teleservices Corp (HTC), which was backed by both JPMorgan Partners and CVC. Kit helped HTC grow to over 3,000 employees and position the company for a sale to The Carlyle Group. In recognition of his team’s accomplishments, Kit received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Business Services.

Raj Das, Partner and Global Transformation Practice Leader – Buffkin/Baker

Raj Das serves as partner and global transformation practice leader at Buffkin/Baker, a national retained executive search firm, and part of the global consortium Panorama with 50 offices around the world. He runs the firm’s New York City office along with responsibility for its private equity practice. He focuses on senior level executive and board talent placements in digital, marketing, and technology roles. In his role, Raj brings over 25 years of experience and relationships advising organizations at corporate, investment banking, and entrepreneurial levels.

Previously Raj was the founder and CEO at POM Partners, a global digital media incubation and acceleration firm. Prior to POM Partners, he was CFO and chief strategy officer at a $500 million revenue publicly traded direct marketing company (5,000 employees) with operations in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Raj has executed over $20 billion of transactions during his investment banking career at Citigroup, ING Barings, and Bear Stearns.

Kathy Gallo, Founder and CEO – Goodstone Group

Kathy Gallo is founder and CEO of Goodstone Group LLC, a highly vetted network of executive coaches working with leaders, teams, and boards of large, mid-market, and early-stage businesses across sectors and geographies.

Over the past five years, nearly half of Kathy’s coaching has been focused in the private equity sector – both within PE firms and across their portfolios. Kathy’s coaching of senior leaders includes several board-directed succession assignments, both for publicly held companies and for those with PE sponsors.

Previously, Kathy was an SVP for Fannie Mae, where she led a transformation of the human resource function and partnered closely with the Board on culture, executive assessments, compensation, and on C-level succession planning.

Kathy was a partner with McKinsey & Company where she worked for sixteen years, leading global programs to help recruit, develop, excite, and retain 12,000 consultants operating in 44 countries.

Gemma Gucci, Managing Director and Global Head of Talent Acquisition – Apollo Global Management

Gemma Gucci is managing director and global head of talent acquisition at Apollo Global Management where she is responsible for leading the firm’s recruitment efforts, setting our global talent acquisition strategy, and ensuring that we bring in top talent from a range of diverse backgrounds. She also sits on the firm’s human capital leadership team.

Prior to joining the firm in 2021, she was the Americas head of executive talent acquisition at BlackRock. She was previously the recruitment lead for alternative investments. Prior to her role at BlackRock, Gemma was a senior associate at Korn Ferry, a leading global executive search firm, where she spent five years as a member of the global financial markets practice, focused on the asset management and alternative investments sectors.

Prior to joining Korn Ferry, Gemma was an associate in the corporate equity services group at Jefferies & Company, Inc. where she worked closely with public companies on stock repurchase plans, and with private equity and venture capital firms on large block sales. She began her career with Credit Suisse where she was a sales assistant in private banking.

Dan Hawkins, Founder & President – Summit Leadership Partners

After a successful corporate career, Dan Hawkins founded Summit Leadership Partners to help growth-oriented companies and business leaders improve organization performance. Since forming Summit, he has advised numerous boards, investors, CEOs and senior leaders in a myriad of industries across the globe.

Dan brings 25+ years of proven success as a chief human resources officer, top talent and organization development executive, global HR vice president, and other senior leadership roles with high-performing global companies. Dan has deep expertise in leadership, strategy, assessment, executive, and organization development. He is practical, insightful, and focused on outcomes.

Dan’s corporate experiences include well-known companies such Asurion, Ingersoll Rand, MagneTek, and Hoechst Celanese. He has worked in the public and private arena, including private equity and venture capital. His industry experience includes life sciences, chemicals, technology, consumer products, retail, industrial, and financial services. Dan has significant global experience and has coached senior level leaders and organizations in most regions of the world. He has authored and presented numerous topics on leadership, organization change, strategy, leading in global contexts, and strategic talent management.

Richard Herman, Managing Partner, Global Private Equity Practice Leader – ZRG

Richard Herman brings a strong track record of successful senior level search engagements to the Private Equity Practice at ZRG. His focus is building world-class management teams and helping investors maximize returns by recruiting transformational senior leaders. He has worked across a variety of industries, including industrial manufacturing, food and ingredients, consumer goods, professional and consumer services, as well as healthcare and life sciences.

Richard focuses on supporting chief executive and chief financial officers to build best-in-class teams by recruiting for all senior-level finance positions. The core of his practice revolves around recruiting chief financial officers, chief accounting officers/corporate controllers, treasurers, internal audit leaders, tax management and other division finance executives.

Prior to joining ZRG, Richard led recruiting and portfolio talent management at American Capital, a premier middle-market private equity fund and alternative asset manager based in Bethesda, MD with over $24 billion in assets under management. In this role, he partnered with investment leaders and portfolio company executives to drive senior level hiring and talent management for American Capital’s varied portfolio companies.

Richard got his start in executive search at Christian & Timbers (now CTPartners) working with Venture Capital and Private Equity funds to recruit senior level talent. He began his career as a marketing associate at The Advisory Board Company, a strategic research firm focused on healthcare and hospital systems.

Jimmy Holloran, Partner – ParkerGale Capital

Jimmy Holloran is a partner at ParkerGale Capital. He is responsible for working with portfolio companies on talent strategy focusing on organizational design and development as well as communication both within each company and across the portfolio.

Prior to joining ParkerGale, Jimmy worked on talent strategy at Home Chef, a venture-backed meal kit company, and Bain & Company working with clients on a variety of engagements including growth strategy and organizational re-design. Earlier in his career, Jimmy worked in sales at Nortel Networks and as a teacher with Teach For America.

Jasvinder Khaira, Senior Managing Director – Blackstone

Jasvinder Khaira is a senior managing director and founding member of the tactical opportunities group at Blackstone. He has led Blackstone’s investments in a number of sectors and areas including digital infrastructure, consumer and asset-backed transactions.

Prior to joining tactical 0pportunities, Mr. Khaira was a member of Blackstone’s private equity group and Blackstone Credit and has been involved in the execution of the firm’s initial public offering and the firm’s investment in GSO Capital partners.

Dell Larcen, Operating Partner, Human Capital – Gryphon Investors

Dell Larcen is an operating partner of human capital at Gryphon Investors. Dell leads organizational development initiatives that help Gryphon and its portfolio companies achieve their long-term goals. She helps organizations improve their performance by assessing and coaching individuals and teams to improve their leadership and management capabilities. Dell currently serves on Gryphon Company Board: Jensen Hughes.

Prior to Gryphon, Dell’s experience included serving as CEO of Larcen Consulting Group  – a network of professionals and independently- contracted human capital specialists that work with a wide range of companies in the financial sector, as well as with major blue-chip companies such as General Electric and FedEx. She was founder and CEO of Overlook Center – a 33-site behavioral health care company which eventually was acquired by a major integrated health care system. Dell was also a founding member of Mental Health Risk Retention Group – a risk retention insurance company for behavioral health malpractice coverage. She also served as an adjunct faculty professor at The University of Tennessee.

Johnathan Medina, Global Head of DE&I – Macquarie Asset Management

Aaron Miller, Partner – Apollo Global Management

Aaron Miller join Apollo in 2019 as a partner leading the Apollo Portfolio Performance Solutions (APPS), where he oversees efforts to help the management and deal teams drive more successful investment outcomes by maximizing value, reducing leakage, and accelerating value capture. He has served on the board of Apollo portfolio companies including McGraw-Hill Education and TechData Corporation

Immediately preceding Apollo, Aaron was the chief operating officer of Catalina Marketing where he was responsible for innovation & customer delivery, which included product, technology, analytics, operations and solutions in Europe, Japan and the US.

Prior to Catalina, Aaron was an operating director at Berkshire Partners where he collaborated with deal teams and portfolio company executives to set the strategic agenda and drive value creation plans, senior talent acquisition, and operational performance improvement including salesforce effectiveness, org restructuring, productivity improvement.

He also spent 12 years at Bain & Company most recently as a partner, including several years as a leader in the Bain Corporate Renewal group where he held both interim chief operating officer, chief transformation and advisory roles focused on preserving equity value for the distressed and underperforming investments of private equity firms and other financial institutions. He also spent time in Bain’s core advisory business helping companies drive growth, performance improvement, transformation, and deal diligence across a broad range of sectors, business situations and geographies.

Earlier in his career also held key product and operations leadership roles with General Mills and Cereal Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between General Mills and Nestle, in the US and Latin America.

Michelle Nasir, Chief Talent Officer – Arsenal Capital Partners

Michelle Nasir is Arsenal Capital Partners’ chief talent officer (CTO). Michelle’s expertise includes M&A due diligence, executive coaching, succession and transition planning, senior team effectiveness, organization assessment, and diversity strategies across a variety of industries.

Prior to Arsenal, Michelle was the CTO at United States Steel Corporation where she was responsible for developing and delivering critical aspect of their People Strategy inclusive of succession planning, digitization of talent processes, and the design and implementation of inaugural talent to value and capability building programs. She also led and delivered core element of the Company’s global efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Prior to US Steel, Michelle was a partner at Heidrick & Struggles. During her eight-year tenure, Michelle advised Fortune 100 C-suite executives at the intersection of business strategy and leadership. Prior to Heidrick, she held a senior leadership role at Google. Before working in the human capital area, Michelle held senior strategy and operating roles at AOL/Time Warner and at Pfizer. Michelle also worked as a consultant at McKinsey, E&Y and Accenture. Throughout her career, Michelle has prioritized talent and has been a mentor and sponsor to many.

Annie Paydar, Global Head of Human Capital – General Atlantic

Annie Dahle Paydar is the global head of human capital at General Atlantic and leads the firm’s human capital and talent development initiatives. Annie has a track record of success designing and implementing strategic change initiatives that help organizations achieve their mission and strategic goals. Before joining General Atlantic in 2018, Annie spent 14 years at The Carlyle Group where she held several human resources leadership roles in North America and EMEA. Annie began her career in human resources at The Blackstone Group.

Gary Pinkus, Chairman of North America – McKinsey & Company

Gary Pinkus is chairman of North America for McKinsey & Company. He was previously the managing partner for the firm in North America, and before that led McKinsey’s office for the Western United States. Gary is also the former global leader of McKinsey’s private equity & principal investors practice, which he helped co-found more than two decades ago. He has been a long-time member of McKinsey’s Shareholders Council (our global governance board), including historically chairing the finance and infrastructure committee and the risk, audit, and governance committee. His client work spans multiple industries with a particular focus on private equity and principal investors.

Gary joined McKinsey in Los Angeles in 1987 as a business analyst and came to the firm’s San Francisco office in 1992. Over the course of his career, he has worked for Dole Food Company in Honduras, Bear Stearns’ M&A group in New York, and in McKinsey’s Houston, Mexico City, Sydney, and Zurich offices.

Gary currently serves on the boards of Wake Forest University and US Ski and Snowboard Association. He is a prior member of the boards of San Francisco Opera, California Academy of Sciences, Menlo School, California Business Roundtable, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, ReSurge International (formerly Interplast), and the investment committee for Woodside School Foundation.

Smooch Repovich Rosenberg, Founder & CEO – SmoochUnplugged

Smooch Repovich Rosenberg is the founder & CEO of SmoochUnplugged. Smooch’s work is more than just a career — headhunting is in her DNA. She defines her success by the achievements of her clients and the candidates whom she has placed. “I have spent my life focused on doing the right things, which is vastly different from those who do things right. In the recent decade alone, by placing the right IRO talent, our client companies’ valuations have increased by more than $750 Billion.”

After more than 25 years as a globally recognized executive search consultant, Smooch has her finger on the pulse of the global investor relations officer profession and has had tremendous success leveraging human capital strategies to create high-octane, superior performing investor relations functions. She has the unique ability to see around corners and readily identify solutions to human capital challenges that advance company valuation. Her work spans pre-IPO companies to the mega-cap entities across all industry sectors.

A true innovator in her field, Smooch effectively pioneered investor relations executive search when she was catapulted into the field by a former CEO for whom she worked at an international IR and communications consultancy. Now she is considered a key catalyst in evolving the profession to the level of respect it commands today. She is known as a leading authority on the intangible leadership traits that define the top 20% of Investor Relations Officers globally.

Smooch is the only executive search consultant in the world who exclusively solves investment community challenges through IRO talent placement and addresses corporate brand dilemmas through chief communications officer talent advisement and placement. Her specialization in this field results in a competitive advantage for clients and candidates that cannot be found elsewhere.

Today, she utilizes her sharp business acumen to serve clients ranging in size from pre-IPO startups to Fortune 100 corporations, and companies around the world, as a C-suite executive search consultant, talent acquisition strategist, and leadership coach.

Amanda Roberts, Operating Partner of Talent Acquisition – L Catterton

Amanda Roberts is an operating partner of talent acquisition at L Catterton. Prior to joining L Catterton, Ms. Roberts was a consultant at Egon Zehnder, where she led the U.S. consumer practice and partnered with clients in board consulting, talent assessment and recruitment of senior executives across multiple industries. Amanda also brings operating experience from Blinkbox, Young & Rubicam Brands and Management Leadership for Tomorrow, along with consulting experience from The Parthenon Group.

Tim Russell, Managing Partner – The Tolan Group

Having started his recruitment career in 1997, Tim Russell has worked for two of the nation’s leading healthcare staffing firms which culminated into his co-owning an Atlanta based physician recruitment firm for five years prior to joining The Tolan Group team. Tim is an expert in all facets of the healthcare ecosystem in both the provider and hospital sector and has always had a focus on new business development and client acquisition.

Today, Tim is managing partner equity owner and leads all business development activities for The Tolan Group with a primary responsibility in private equity growth and procurement for the firm.

Sumeet Salwan, Co-Founder & CEO – CEO.works

Sumeet Salwan has spent the last 30+ years working on connecting human capital with business value. As co-founder and CEO of CEO.works, he leads the business with a vision towards the future of human capital management. He is passionate about working with CEOs, founders, and PE firm partners to deliver their value agenda with a talent edge while inventing new HR 3.0 models, methodologies and practices along the way.

Sumeet Salwan served as global head of HR for two of Johnson & Johnson’s business units: first, their worldwide consumer business and then their medical device company.

Previously, he spent over 20 years with Unilever, rising through the ranks from intern to director to leader of the global program office of HR in Rotterdam. He helped build Unilever’s talent strategy for emerging markets and then led its execution as head of HR in the Asia Pacific region. In his final role, he moved to the US as the Head of HR and drove a significant transformation for Unilever.

He formerly sat on the advisory boards of Lee Hecht Harrison, a firm that specializes in talent development and transitions management, and of HR people + strategy, the executive network of the Society for Human Resource Management. Currently, he sits on the advisory board of Strategic Value Partners (SVPGlobal), a global investment firm with more than $18B assets under management, focused on distressed debt and private equity opportunities.

Andrew Thompson, CEO and Founder – Notch Partners

Andrew Thompson is the CEO and founder of Notch Partners, a preeminent provider of CEO-level talent to private equity firms seeking competitive advantage through proprietary deal flow, industry insight, and superior management teams.

Prior to founding Notch Partners, Andy was managing director of Primedia Ventures, where he co-managed two private equity investment funds. In that capacity, he served on several boards of directors, providing strategic oversight and helping to build top-caliber management teams for the portfolio companies. Previously, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and has been involved as an executive, board member, and/or investor in a number of private companies.

Andy serves on the board of trustees for New Jersey SEEDS, an academic and leadership program for high-achieving, low-income youth.

Adam Zellner, VP Enterprise & Corporate Development – Business Talent Group (BTG)

Adam Zellner has worked at Business Talent Group (BTG) for 10 plus years and currently leads corporate development and BTG’s enterprise business. Adam focuses on building on-demand talent (ODT) solutions that address near-term business opportunities and create long-term strategic value —including through partnerships and the development and launch of new products/services.

To do this, Adam works closely with corporate and private equity leaders to understand where and how they are using on-demand talent (ODT) to drive impact within their businesses. Adam also spends time with other companies in the ODT space to understand their businesses and the evolution of their offerings and value proposition.