PE Conference Highlights the Investment Thesis Evolution

The Polsky Center’s annual Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company Private Equity Conference attracted 400 students, alumni, and private equity professionals.

On March 6, the Polsky Center, together with the Private Equity student group at Chicago Booth, hosted the 19th annual Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company Private Equity Conference. This event brought together 400 investors and MBA students to network and share insights into the dynamics of investing in a constantly-changing economy.

This year’s conference was themed, “Investment Thesis Evolution: Growth to Buyout,” and featured a distinguished lineup of speakers and panelists, including: Stuart Porter, MBA ’94, founder and CEO of Denham Capital; Nikhil Thukral, MBA ’98, managing partner at L Catterton; and Paul Finnegan, co-CEO of Madison Dearborn Partners.

Attendees also had the opportunity to hear from Madhav Rajan, dean and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting at Chicago Booth, and Steve Kaplan, Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at Chicago Booth and Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director at the Polsky Center, who were among the featured speakers for the day.

The conference consisted of four breakout panels. The morning sessions were titled “Rise of Alternative Investing,” sponsored by Chicago Booth, and “Finding and Creating

Value in a Highly Competitive Market,” sponsored by Ropes & Gray. The afternoon sessions were “Family Office Investing,” sponsored by McDermott Will & Emery, and

“Forging Your Own Path: Establishing a Private Equity,” sponsored by Kirkland & Ellis.

// Learn more about the annual Private Equity Conference: Contact Megan Fox at megan.fox@chicagobooth.edu.