The Private Capital Ecosystem:
A Navigational Guide for Business Owners and their Trusted Advisors
Come Learn and Network with Capital Partners and Service Providers for LMM Transactions.
From venture capital to growth capital, from private equity to family offices - there have never been more options available for business owners to capitalize and/or exit their business. But as the lines blur between these entities, it's never been harder for business owners to know which option is best. In this session, XPX members will have an opportunity to learn the differences from these private capital partners themselves. A panel consisting of growth-equity, various sized private equity and family offices will dispel the myths surrounding the kinds of investments they make, when is the right time for them to invest, and the expectations owners should have when meeting them. This is an opportunity for XPX members to make themselves more knowledgeable advisors to owners as they prepare for exit.
Our Panel:
John Willert - Capital Partners
John has a 22 year career in both private equity and investment banking. John joined Capital Partners in 2007. Prior to joining Capital Partners, he was a Principal with Family Capital Growth Partners a private equity firm in Greenwich, CT and was concurrently a Vice President of de Visscher & Co., Family Capital's affiliated investment bank. John received an M.B.A. from Ohio State University and a B.A. from Gettysburg College and is a member of the Family Firm Institute and Attorneys For Family Held Enterprise.
Marek Olszewski - Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Catalus Capital
Marek manages Catalus Capital, a special opportunities focused fund that makes structured equity and debt investments backed by cash flow and/or hard assets. It invests $10m-$40m to support acquisitions, growth, recapitalizations, and special situations. Marek was previously a Managing Director of Corporate Strategy and M&A at Nasdaq, an S&P 500 company with a market capitalization of over $10 billion. In this capacity he led the evaluation of dozens of corporate mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and investments. Preceding Nasdaq, Marek was an Investment Banking Analyst at Fieldstone Private Capital.
Throughout his career Marek has also been involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures and investments. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in Economics and a minor in Urban Real Estate from The Wharton School.
Sean White - Principal, Spire Capital
Sean joined Spire Capital as a Principal at the time of its formation in 2000. At Spire, Sean focuses on sourcing and leading transactions, developing industry and executive relationships, as well as investor relations. Sean spends significant time in the business services, information services, software and media sectors.
Prior to joining Spire Capital, Sean served as a Vice President at Waller-Sutton Media Partners. He was previously at Waller Capital Corporation, providing merger and acquisition advisory services to the media and communications industries. Prior to Waller Capital, Sean spent three years in Arthur Andersen's Valuation Services Consulting Group focusing on media and communications assignments.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Binghamton University and a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University. Sean also received his Chartered Financial Analyst ("CFA") designation in 1996.
Sean is currently the Chairman of Veraction, Inc. and a Director of Lighthouse eDiscovery, Inc. He formerly was a Director of AssetNation, Inc. Carpathia Hosting, Inc., Highline Media LLC, iNNERHOST, Inc., PBR, Inc, SkyMall, Inc. and Velocity Technology Solutions, Inc.
