October 28 & 29, 2020

This prestigious annual conference assembles corporate development leaders, in-house M&A counsel, board members, and private equity investors to discuss current challenges impacting complex transactions and learn about innovative methods to improve deal performance.

The cross-disciplinary agenda draws on experienced M&A professionals from various industries and regions to share first-hand experiences, best practices, and recommendations for navigating deals through both internal and external challenges.

This conference will be streamed live online in 2020.

---

DAY ONE AGENDA: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

8:55am - 9:00am (Eastern Time)
Opening remarks: William Jefferson Black, Managing Director, Finance Information Group & Publisher, Transaction Advisors

---

9:00am - 9:50am
M&A strategy: repositioning transactions The opening keynote discussion will look at methods for allocating capital between core horizontal acquisitions and adjacent growth segments to respond to changes in consumer behavior, supply chains, and market dynamics.

Jelena Guzenko, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Americas, Siemens Energy 
Eileen Kamerick, NACD Leadership Fellow and Director; AIG Funds, Associated Banc-Corp, Legg-Mason Closed-End Mutual Funds, and Hochschild Mining 
Gregg Albert, Managing Director - Corporate Strategy and M&A, Accenture

               

---

10:00am - 10:50am
Competing on risk allocation and closing conditions This lively session will provide perspective on the techniques that are commonly employed by private equity firms to compete with strategic acquirers. 

Alison Heyden, Senior Counsel, Warburg Pincus
Brad West, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Pritzker Private Capital
Matthew Gemello, Partner, Orrick 

      

---

11:00am - 11:50am
Diligence methods: Growth forecasts This session will look at the challenging diligence obligations associated with demand sensing, product efficacy, and rapidly shifting industry dynamics. The participants will discuss the negotiation of specific deal terms that may be employed to address a range of diligence discoveries related to a target's value drivers.

Diwakar Rao, Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy, Zynga
Nicolas Moiseeff, Global Head of Corporate M&A, Bunge
Chandradev Mehta, Director, Mergers & Acquisitions, LyondellBasell
Jesse Silvertown, Senior Manager, Ernst & Young

         

---

12:00pm - 12:50pm
Human capital diligence: Financial risks This session will provide a detailed look at how effective dealmakers approach HR due diligence to identify people-related financial challenges and look at specific deal terms that may be employed to impact the future state operating model. 

Sarah Arendsen,Senior Director Corporate Development & Strategy, Kellogg Company 
Siran Tanielyan, Vice President, Corporate Development, ViacomCBS 
Christina Ungaro, Executive Vice President, Director of Corporate Development, JLL
Eric Warren, Partner, Global M&A Advisory Services, Mercer

         

---

1:00pm - 1:50pm
Cross border joint ventures: Governance The participants will discuss board structures, management incentives, dispute resolution mechanisms, and other governance considerations.

Doug Barnard, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, CF Industries
Michael Hartman, Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, AT&T and General Counsel, Vrio 
Scott Petepiece, Partner and Head of Americas M&A, Shearman & Sterling

      

---

2:00pm - 2:50pm
Negotiating risk allocation: Transactional insurance for tax liabilities This session will look at the increasing use of transaction insurance to address uncertainty around known, but uncertain, tax liabilities.

Thomas Griffin, Principal, Associate General Counsel, Ares Management Corporation
Michael Kelchen, Director, M&A, Tax Planning, Controversy and Global Transfer Pricing,  Keysight Technologies
Sheldon Elefant, Director of Tax Insurance - M&A Practice, Willis Towers Watson

      

---

3:00pm - 3:50pm
Ask the M&A Leadership Council This interactive session will provide an opportunity for conference participants to ask members of the prestigious M&A Leadership Council questions on a range of deal-related topics.

Sergio Letelier, Chair of the M&A Leadership Council and Vice President, Deputy General Counsel - Corporate, Securities and M&A, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Ken Bond, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, AON Corporation (former)
Hugo Dubovoy, Vice President, Corporate Secretary & Chief Corporate, Securities & Litigation Counsel, W.W. Grainger
James Harris, Principal, Corporate Development Integration, Google
Felipe Heiderich, Senior Counsel, Moderna
Nichelle Maynard-Elliott, Board Member, Element Solutions 
Brett Shawn, Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Warburg Pincus 
Michael Wolf, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Baxter International
 

         

         

---

DAY TWO AGENDA: THURSDAY OCTOBER 29, 2020

8:55am - 9:00am (Eastern Time)
Opening remarks: William Jefferson Black, Managing Director, Finance Information Group & Publisher, Transaction Advisors
Recognition of the M&A Leadership Council

---

9:00am - 9:50am​
Global merger control and antitrust challenges: Nascent competition risk This session will provide guidance on the shifting environment for competition reviews in the United States, Europe, and other jurisdictions. The participants will comment on specific deal terms that anticipate protectionist views and antitrust challenges associated with nascent competition risk and the merits of negotiating prospective remedies or remaining silent.

Stacy Frazier, Executive Counsel, Competition Law and Policy, General Electric
Gil Ohana, Senior Director, Antitrust and Competition, Cisco Systems  
Ben Gris, Partner, Shearman & Sterling

      

---

10:00am - 10:50am
Developments in deal structuring: Working capital adjustments and closing conditions This discussion will examine current negotiation points and deal terms that may be employed to allocate risk and bridge gaps between buyers and sellers.

Dawn Bartholomew, Head of Corporate Development, Spencer Stuart
Sanil Padiyedathu, Counsel - M&A and Strategic Transactions, Verizon
Linda Sharaby, Managing Director, General Counsel - Corporate and Assistant Corporate Secretary, Neuberger Berman
Matthew Soran, Partner, Fried Frank

               

---

11:00am - 11:50am
Carveout transactions: Structuring divestitures This session will look at the strategic and operational considerations associated with divestiture transactions including specific guidance on the disposal process and unique considerations when financial pressure drives the transaction structure and timing.  

Noni Ellison, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary, Carestream Dental
Anders Rajka, Global IT Head of Strategy & Innovation, Acquisitions & Divestiture, Johnson & Johnson
Rhonda Rein, Director, Corporate Development, Thomson Reuters
Stuart Gleichenhaus, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting

         

---

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Lunch Break

---

1:00pm - 1:50pm
Navigating regulatory hurdles: Avoiding closing delays The regulatory impact on timing to close will be considered in this session, which will look at specific deal terms, coordinating issues, and methods for balancing U.S. securities laws with changing and conflicting requirements in other jurisdictions.

Stephen Diamond, Assistant General Counsel, Business Transactions (M&A/Late Stage Licensing), Pfizer
Rob Sieland, Associate General Counsel - M&A, Securities and Compliance, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company
Bob Zapata, Managing Director and General Counsel, Corporate Strategy & Development, TIAA
Aly El Hamamsy, Partner, Freshfields

         

---

2:00pm - 2:50pm
Integration and change management: Leadership retention This session will look at strategies for retaining an acquisition target's key team members, including the structure of financial incentives and retention agreements for key executives that align with critical cultural and performance objectives.

Chad Klutts, Director, M&A Integration, Walmart
Gina Sandon, Director, Global Merger & Acquisition Synergy, IBM
Dana Hughes, Head of Integration Management, Pfizer
Julie van Waveren, Principal, M&A Advisory Services, Mercer

      

---

3:00pm - 3:50pm
Acquisition metrics and transaction communications The participants in this session will discuss current M&A dynamics and perceptions, while considering methods for addressing a wide range of stakeholder expectations on the merits and rationale for a transaction. 

Todd Manley, Senior Director, M&A Integration and Business Transformation, Marvell Semiconductor
Bashar Nejdawi, Chief Strategy Officer, Head of M&A & E-Commerce, PCS Wireless
Sonalee Parekh, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
David Roady, Senior Managing Director, Head of Merger & Acquisitions in the Americas, Strategic Communications, FTI Consulting