Peter Costello was elected to seven terms as a Member of the Australian House of Representatives and was Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest term of any Treasurer in Australian history.

Mr Costello delivered twelve federal budgets including ten surpluses. During this period Australia’s Sovereign Credit Rating was updated twice to its current AAA rating.

He set up Australia’s system of financial regulation establishing the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and established the Takeovers Panel.

In 2006, after Government debt was eliminated in net terms, Mr Costello established the Australian Future Fund. From its original deposit, the Future Fund has grown to over $260 billion invested in diverse asset classes.

Mr Costello served as Chairman of the Future Fund for 10 years.

Mr Costello has served on the IMF Committee, and as Chairman of the Global Group of 20 Finance Ministers & Central Bankers (G-20).

After leaving politics in 2009, Mr Costello joined a number of international and domestic boards and was chair of the Independent Advisory Board to the World Bank.

Mr Costello was Chairman of the Nine Entertainment Corporation the largest Australian owned media company with television, radio, publishing and streaming operations for 8 years.

Jenny Newmarch leads Aware Super’s global private equity program, overseeing a portfolio of more than AUD 10 billion invested across venture capital, buyouts, and co-investments. She leads a global team of 15 spread across Australia and the UK. 

Jenny recently returned to Sydney after successfully establishing Aware Super’s first European office in London, where she expanded the fund’s presence in North America and Europe and deepened relationships with leading private equity managers. 

With over 20 years of experience spanning consulting, funds management, and institutional investment, Jenny has held senior roles at Macquarie Bank, ROC Partners, and Aware Super (formerly First State Super). She is a Fellow of the UK Institute of Actuaries, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Tim is a founder of Pacific Equity Partners and is a member of the firm’s Operating Committee. Prior to founding PEP, Tim was the Chairman and Managing Director of Bain & Company’s Australasian and African operations and a member of Bain & Company’s Global Executive Committee. Tim has also served on a number of government committees and led national strategy projects. Tim received a BA/MA from Oxford University where he was a Mitsui European Scholar and an MPA from Harvard where he was a Kennedy Scholar. In 2019, Tim was made a member in the general division of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the community through philanthropic initiatives.

Pradeep is a partner and Head of Deloitte Access Economics.  He has a long and successful career in public policy, with deep expertise in economics and proven leadership experience.  Pradeep has been a senior bureaucrat working at the highest levels of public policy, across three jurisdictions in Australia.  He is a national Board member of CEDA and a member of the Advisory Board of the Melbourne School of Government at the University of Melbourne.

Pradeep’s experience includes being the Director of Policy in the Prime Minister’s office, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria, CEO of LaunchVic – a company established by the Victorian Government to promote start-ups and entrepreneurship – and Associate Director General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Queensland. He holds a PhD in Economics and Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from the University of Queensland.

Brooke Zhou is Partner of LGT Capital Partners, she co-leads LGT CP’s private equity business in Asia. LGT Capital Partners is a leading institutional alternative asset and fund of funds manager, currently managing over USD 100 billion AuM on a global basis and over 600 private equity professionals worldwide. The firm is headquartered in Pfäffikon, Switzerland (near Zurich) and has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney, New York, Raleigh, Dublin, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Vaduz and Dubai.

Prior to joining LGT Capital Partners in 2010, Ms. Zhou was with CDH Investments, a leading Chinese private equity manager, based in Beijing. Prior to CDH Investments, Ms. Zhou spent her career at Bain & Company in Shanghai, as well as Oracle Corporation in Redwood Shores, California.

Ms. Zhou earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ms. Zhou grew up in Shanghai and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Chloé is Head of Private Equity & Unlisted Assets at Colonial First State, where she oversees CFS’s unlisted assets program. Chloé has 18 years of combined experience in investing, mergers and acquisitions and asset governance, including at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (La Caisse) and AustralianSuper. Prior to this, Chloé spent six years in Paris, France, where she worked at a global infrastructure contractor focussing on PPP bids, execution and delivery across Northern Europe. Her expertise is in leading teams in private markets transactions as well as bringing strategic, financial and governance principles to broader asset management. Chloé is also an experienced company director and has held directorships on the boards of Westconnex, Plenary, Port of Brisbane, Sydney Metro and Transurban Queensland. 

Erwin Afinidad is a Senior Investment Manager at the A$63b Australian Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC), which manages the pension assets of Australian Commonwealth Government civilian employees and members of the Defence forces. Erwin’s primary responsibility is the management of CSC’s private equity investments, which include the due diligence and monitoring of funds and co-investments. Erwin also represents CSC on various Limited Partner Advisory Committees. Prior to joining CSC in 2018, Erwin worked with AMP Capital, with his final role as Portfolio Manager of the global private equity program.

Erwin has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Technology Sydney, where he was a co-operative scholarship recipient. Erwin has also obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Gillian joined JBWere in May 2019 and is Head of Alternative Investments and Responsible Investing (RI), in addition to being an Executive Director of the firm. As Head of Alternatives, Gillian leads the Alternatives strategy, investing selection and execution across Private Equity, Private Debt, Real Assets including Infrastructure and Property and Uncorrelated Assets.  Gillian also leads the further expansion of JBWere’s approach to Responsible Investing spanning ESG, ethical/impact investing, and stewardship of capital. Prior to joining JBWere, Gillian held senior multi-asset global investment and structuring roles on trading floors, working across Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, within Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and Bank of Montreal (BMO) Capital Markets.  Gillian was also the global structuring sustainability lead for capital markets in both SCB and BMO. Gillian’s roles have included leading sales and structuring for SCB’s Alternative Asset Group (AUM +USD 2bio) in London, in addition to leading and designing multi-asset investment solutions across Fixed Income, Equities, FX, Alternatives, Credit, Commodities and Responsible Investments (RI) for Institutional, Private Bank and High Net Worth clients.

INSEAD Executive Education (TGM, 2022)Bachelor of Commerce, University of QueenslandBachelor of Business (Management), University of QueenslandCertified Practicing Accountant (CPA) AustraliaCapital Markets Programme, Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments (CISI)UK Diploma of Investment Advice (Qualified UK Financial Adviser), Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments (CISI)

Glenn Smith is a Director in the Private Equity team at Cbus, which manages more than $110bn of funds on behalf of 925,000 members. Glenn is responsible for manager selection and co-investment execution globally.

Prior to joining Cbus in 2023, Glenn worked in the Investment Banking Division of Jefferies and before that at Highbury Partnership. He primarily advised public and private corporations on mergers and acquisitions.

Glenn has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Adelaide.

Hemal Mirani leads the firm’s efforts in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. As Head of APAC, she is the lead executive responsible for our business in the region. Hemal also works closely with the firm’s regional leaders in the Americas and Europe and the Middle East (EMEA). Together, they ensure global alignment on key initiatives and the continued delivery of excellence across our business around the globe.

Hemal first joined HarbourVest in 1997 and spent 11 years developing relationships with leading Asian private equity managers. She also worked with our investors and consultants across the region to advance and optimize their private market investment programs. She then spent six years with CVC Capital Partners in Hong Kong, where she was head of investor relations in Asia and Chief Administrative Officer. She rejoined HarbourVest’s senior management team in Asia in 2015 to focus on investments and investor relations across the Asia Pacific region.

Hemal received a BA in Commerce from Sydenham College (Bombay) in 1989, an MA in International Studies with a Japanese language concentration from the Joseph H. Lauder Institute, and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School in 1997. The latter two were part of a joint degree program at the University of Pennsylvania. Hemal speaks fluent Japanese.

James Lilico is the Senior Portfolio Manager – Head of Private Equity at Australian Retirement Trust, a $350 billion profit-for-members superannuation fund, of which private equity represents a $23 billion portfolio. His role encompasses management of ART’s internal private equity team and global private equity portfolio.

ART’s private equity portfolio consists of primary funds, secondary funds and direct co-investments across the buyout, venture/growth and distressed/special situations areas. James represents Australian Retirement Trust on various advisory boards in Australia and overseas.

James has over 20 years’ experience in investment management and financial markets. Prior to ART, he was at RMB Capital Partners and Grant Samuel. He has a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Master of Science in Decision and Information Sciences from the University of Florida.

Marina is current the Acting Head of Private Markets at Rest, looking after private equity, alternatives, infrastructure and property, and also the Head of Growth Alternatives at Rest, covering private equity and alternatives. She joined Rest in 2020 to build out the Private Equity capability and investment portfolio. More recently Marina has reshaped the Rest Alternatives strategy to a thematic completion portfolio and is building out that strategy investing in themes such as food and sustainability, natural capital and climate.

Prior to joining Rest, Marina worked in the private equity team at the Future Fund for 9 years, where she invested in private equity funds and co-investments.

Marina previously worked in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, where she advised Australian corporations on mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions.

She has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree from the University of Melbourne.

Nick has over 20 years’ experience in the investment industry and joined Wilson Asset Management in 2025 as the Portfolio Manager for WAM Alternative Assets. Prior to joining, Nick spent 12 years at Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in Sydney where he was Asia Pacific Head of Private Markets. Nick held other senior leadership roles at WTW including being a member of the Australian Portfolio Management Group and Head of Growth for the Australian investment business. Prior to WTW, Nick spent eight years with PwC as a senior manager within their risk advisory practice in Sydney.

As Koda Capital’s Chief Investment Officer, Norman leads the $14+ billion investment program and strategy, including oversight of all investment portfolios and programs. Norman is actively involved with investment governance & processes, asset allocation, portfolio construction and investment manager selection. He also works closely with Koda Capital’s advisor teams and clients to deliver bespoke solutions that generate outstanding investment outcomes.

Prior to Koda Capital, Norman was most recently the Chief Investment Officer at Legal Super (Australian superannuation fund), overseeing assets worth $5.5+ billion and delivering top-quartile performance. His expertise includes developing investment strategies, building high quality investment programs & teams, asset allocation, portfolio construction, manager research & selection.

Previous roles included the Chief Investment Officer at Media Super ($7bn Australian superannuation fund), Asset Consultant at Frontier Advisors, and Consultant in the corporate finance and management consulting teams at Ernst & Young Australia. Norman is a CFA Charterholder, and also holds the following qualifications/achievements:

• Executive Program, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK,
• Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting, Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand,
• Bachelor of Commerce (Finance & Accounting), The University of Melbourne, Australia
• Recipient of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees Rising Star Award (2018).

Rachael is Head of Australia Private Equity at MLC Asset Management, leading primary investments and co-investments in the Australian region and representing MLC on Limited Partner Advisory Boards and corporate boards. MLC is one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds with over $150bn under management, and its private equity program has been investing in private equity globally over 28 years. Prior to joining MLC in 2021, Rachael spent almost a decade as a GP investing in the mid-market at Ironbridge Capital and L Catterton including operating roles within portfolio companies to accelerate growth. Rachael was formerly an investment banker at Macquarie Bank in New York and Auckland, and at Credit Suisse in Sydney. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and holds Commerce and Law degrees.

Rishi is a Portfolio Manager in Aware Super’s Private Equity team covering primary and co-investment activity. 

Prior to Aware Super, Rishi worked in the Private Equity team at the Future Fund, and at KPMG in the Mergers and Acquisition team. 

He holds a Bachelor of Laws and Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accounting.

Scott is a Principal and Head of Private Wealth Solutions for Australia. He is responsible for the firm’s high-net-worth investors in the region.

Prior to joining Hamilton Lane, Scott was Director of Investment Strategy at Invesco Australia. He focused on being an expert in investment strategies of focus and launching new business initiatives in the Australian marketplace.

Scott has over 20 years of experience in funds management. He has worked in an Absolute Return Multi Asset investment team as a bridge between investments and global sales, marketing, and client service functions. He has also worked in senior distribution roles across both wholesale and institutional channels, providing clients with an array of investment solutions ranging from the more traditional to both open-ended and closed-ended alternative solutions.

Scott holds Bachelor of Business degrees from the University of Western Sydney and Simon Fraser University, as well as a Diploma of Financial Services from Deakin University. He is also a member of the CAIA Association and Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA).

Sian is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Equity team at the Guardians of the NZ Superannuation Fund (NZSF). NZSF is New Zealand's sovereign wealth fund, established to partially pre-fund the future cost of New Zealand universal superannuation.

Sian joined NZSF 6-7 years ago and in her role as a Portfolio Manager she is responsible for driving the implementation of active strategies across the global portfolio, with a focus on private equity. This includes researching, originating and onboarding new investments/co-investments, optimising existing investments and developing and maintaining key industry relationships. Sian is the lead Portfolio Manager responsible for the new design and implementation of the firms global buyout program.

Sian has governance responsibilities and holds numerous LPAC board seats for the NZ Superfund’s investments. She was also the Investment Committee secretary in 2021 and has sat on the IC as a voting member as part of the firms rotational membership scheme. She also currently Chairs the firms External Investments Private Markets Committee and sits on the organisation-wide Risk Committee.

Prior to her role with the NZSF, Sian was a Manager with PwC’s Treasury Advisory team in London, where she was based for ~4 years. She has also held finance based roles with the New Zealand Treasury and Deloitte Australia.

Sian has a Masters in Finance from Macquarie University (Australia) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Victoria University of Wellington (NZ).

Stephen has been working in investments markets for over fifteen years, with a focus on investment research. After completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Canberra and then obtaining a postgraduate Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification, Stephen moved to London, where he took up an opportunity to join HSBC Alternative Investments as an investment research analyst, concentrating on alternative investments. After five years with that HSBC division, Stephen relocated to Asia to set up the firm’s dedicated Asian-based alternatives investment research program. As a member of the five-person global alternative investment policy committee, Stephen evaluated and invested in assets across multi-strategy and single-strategy fund of funds. Following more than a decade with HSBC, in 2015 Stephen joined BT Financial Group as Senior Research Analyst, responsible for conducting due diligence and monitoring investment managers on a wide array of investments and asset classes. Stephen joined Escala in 2021 as an Investment Analyst focused on alternative investments and now serves as Head of Managed Funds.

Sunil leads the Primary Investment Team’s practice in Asia and specializes in fund selection, due diligence, negotiations, and monitoring of Asian investments ex-China, specifically in India, Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Korea. He also actively participates in all fund investment decisions and is involved in the sourcing, screening, execution, monitoring, and exiting of growth and buyout co-investments.

Prior to joining Adams Street, Sunil worked for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore performing financial and business analyses of local and regional companies. Previously, he worked in India as an Investment and Strategy Associate in Tacogroup, the automotive technology and engineering investment arm of the Tata Group of India, where he worked on business planning, feasibility studies, and localization plans for new ventures. 

Sunil manages relationships with several of Adams Street’s managers and sits on advisory boards of more than a dozen private equity firms within the Adams Street Partners portfolio. He is currently Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA) and has been a member of the SVCA Board since 2016.

He is a member of Adams Street’s Impact Investment Committee.

Ms. Tavill is the global head of responsible investment across all asset classes and investment strategies. She leads the firm’s corporate sustainability efforts. She is chair of the Responsible Investment Committee, a committee member on the Enterprise Risk Committee and Co-Chair of StepStone 'sCharitable Giving Oversight Committee. StepStone is responsible for $771bn of total capital, with $209bn aum as at Sept 2025. With 31 offices and a team of over 1240, StepStone aims to be the trusted partner of choice for sophisticated investors globally in building private markets programs.

Prior to StepStone, Ms. Tavill was Head of Alternatives at AMP capital, responsible for the private equity, infrastructure and real assets programs. Before that, she spent five years at Van Eyk Research in Sydney, the last four as head of research. Before moving to Australia, she was an executive director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, London, where she covered small and mid caps across Europe and was the portfolio manager for the UK small- and mid-cap portfolios.

Ms. Tavill received an MSc in finance and economics from the London School of Economics, in addition to a BBS with honors in economics and honors in finance from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Alister is the founder and Managing Partner of Folklore Ventures, an Australian venture capital firm with three top-decile funds under management that invests in ANZ founders building global technology companies. Alister has over 20 years of experience as an investor, advisor and founder of technology companies, with software at their core.

Andrew Gray is the Founder and Managing Director of Potentia Capital, the regions leading software focused private-equity firm with A$2 billion in committed capital, 29 investments across the  software landscape having already returned a 3.0x DPI for Potentia’s 2019 Fund I. He founded Potentia to invest in technology that multiplies what people and organisations can achieve, building a firm defined by integrity, accountability, ownership, and excellence. Andrew previously held senior leadership roles at Archer Capital, Francisco Partners and Genstar Capital, and holds degrees from the University of Sydney and Harvard Business School.

Angus Killian is the Director of Sales & Go-To-Market for private funds at Carta, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Carta is the ERP for private capital, connecting the entire ecosystem–from GPs and LPs to CEOs, CFOs, employees, and advisors. Its fund administration platform supports over 8,500 funds and SPVs, representing more than $182B in assets under administration, with tools designed to enhance the strategic impact of Fund CFOs.   

During his 7 years with Carta based in San Francisco and Sydney, he has focused on incubating and scaling new products and entering new markets. Notably, he led the go-to-market strategy for a pioneering financial reporting product tailored for the Private Equity industry, successfully driving the product from inception to $25 million in ARR within just four years.  

Prior to joining Carta, Angus honed his expertise in enterprise sales at LinkedIn, following a career as a corporate lawyer at the global law firm DLA Piper. His diverse background in law, sales, and testing product-market fit position him as a valuable advisor to the private markets ecosystem.

Antoine is a Partner at Park Square Capital, and Head of France based in Paris.

Prior to joining Park Square in 2006, Antoine worked on private equity investments at PAI partners in Paris, and in M&A at Lehman Brothers in London. Antoine graduated from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering from McGill University in Montreal.

Beau Dixon joined Advent in 2024 and is a Partner / Managing Director and Head of Australia / New Zealand, leading Advent's Sydney office. He advises on investments in the business & financial services (BFS) and healthcare sectors. Beau has advised on 14 investments during his career across the BFS, consumer, healthcare, industrial, and technology sectors. 

Prior to joining Advent, Beau was a Managing Partner and member of the investment committee at Anchorage Capital Partners.

Beau received a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney. He also completed the General Management Program, Executive Development Program, and Global Strategic Leadership Program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Brad McCarthy is a Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific for Carlyle Global Wealth. He is responsible for expanding Carlyle’s wealth platform across the region. He also oversees the institutional wealth channel for Carlyle in Australia and New Zealand. He is based in Singapore.

Mr. McCarthy has more than 25 years of experience in wealth and asset management, where he has led sales and client servicing teams, product launches, and distribution strategies. He joined Carlyle from Citi Private Bank and Global Wealth, where he was a Managing Director and Asia-Pacific Head of Alternative Investment Sales.

Before Citi, Mr. McCarthy was Head of Asia at Permal, where he was responsible for growing the firm’s regional business as an alternative investment provider. He has also held various investment and wealth management roles at ABN AMRO Asset Management and BT Financial Group.

Mr. McCarthy holds a Bachelor of Business from Queensland University of Technology in Australia and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Chester Moynihan is the Founder and Managing Director of Allegro Funds, an independent fund manager with over 35 years of experience in private equity investing, turnaround, and restructuring across Australasia, Europe, and South Africa, Under his leadership, Allegro has established a track record for managing complex, dislocated businesses and executing landmark financial restructures,

Key Allegro Achievements & Fundraising

Chester has been the driving force behind the firm’s significant growth and its unique position in the Australian market:

• Record Fundraising: He led the raising of Allegro Fund IV, which reached a final close of approximately AU$750M in May 2022, after being oversubscribed.
• Pioneering Fund Management: In 2008, Allegro became the first fund manager to be unanimously backed by institutional investors to replace an incumbent manager for an Australian private equity fund (the $300M Allegro Fund I).
• Strategic Distressed Acquisitions: In 2012, Chester partnered with KKR to purchase a $333M face value portfolio of distressed commercial loans, marking the first commercial loan book sold in Australia.
• Consistent Portfolio Execution: He has overseen the successful investment of Allegro Fund II (8 businesses) and Fund III (7 businesses) across Australia and New Zealand.

Notable Transaction Highlights

Chester’s career is defined by high-stakes turnarounds and high-yielding exits:

• I-MED Network: He led the largest financial restructure in Australia in 2011, partnering with 40 hedge funds to replace the financial sponsor. This resulted in doubling the EBIT within three years and achieving a 6.4x multiple of money.
• Discovery Parks: He guided this investment through its growth phase to a successful sell-down to Sunsuper (now Australian Retirement Trust), which subsequently appointed Allegro as the ongoing investment manager.
• Major Advisory Successes: Prior to Allegro, through his firm Quay Capital, he advised on the $2B+ acquisition of Coates Hire by Carlyle Group and led the public-to-private MBO of Global Television.
• High-Yield Performance: During his tenure at Gresham Private Equity, he led the MBO of Eroc, achieving a final realized gross IRR of 51% and over 4x money. He also contributed to high-performing deals such as Repco (146% IRR) and Virgin Active (32% IRR).

Background and Professional Standing

Before founding Allegro in 2004, Chester held senior roles at Gresham Private Equity, Schroder Ventures (Permira) in London, and KPMG,. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with advanced certifications in Insolvency Law & Practice.

Chester is the newly appointed Chair of the Australian Investment Council (AIC), the national peak body for private capital, where he is responsible for leading the Council’s strategic direction and industry advocacy. He has also held numerous chairmanships for companies including Gull NZ, Pizza Hut Australia, and Questas Group.

James has over 25 years of experience providing Transaction Services advice to clients on a range of transactions, initially in the UK before transferring to Australia in 2004. He has been a Partner in KPMG’s Transaction Services team for 16 years and has been leading KPMG’s Private Equity sector coverage team for the last 2 years.  

Jeremy Samuel is the founder and Managing Director of Anacacia Capital.

Anacacia manages >$1B investing into leading small-medium enterprises. This includes five series of private equity funds focused on Australasian lower mid-market growth buyouts. Anacacia has won numerous awards including the Australian Investment Council Firm of the Year.

Jeremy is a non-executive director of Anacacia portfolio companies: Sureway, MGI Golf and Opteon. He was the former lead director for Anacacia's successful investments including: Appen, Big River, Home Appliances, Lomb Scientific, Rafferty's Garden and Yumi's Quality Foods.

Jeremy holds an MBA from Yale University School of Management and Arts/Law degrees from the University of NSW.

Kelly is the Founder of Skye Capital Advisory, she is one of the most progressive and respected senior debt advisory professionals in the Australasian market, having raised ~$100bn of debt capital in Australian and international markets.

Kelly is considered a market leader in developing funding solutions and providing financial advice to corporates and private equity firms, including specialist advice on business transformation strategies to effect change, drive profit and stimulate growth. Recent market leading transactions include Allegro funds acquisition of Toll, acquisition financing of Gull NZ, first social loan in Australia for APM employment services and the recent acquisition of retail zoo (boost/Betty’s burgers).

Ken Licence joined Principle in 2009 and was appointed to the role of Managing Director in December 2010. Mr. Licence has over 25 years’ financial services experience across a range of investment strategies including property, private equity and infrastructure. He has held senior management positions with Lend Lease, Deutsche Asset Management, and CP2, assisting major domestic and international institutional clients.

Mr. Licence has been a Board Member of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (NSW) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Griffith University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Queensland.

 Mark Chiba is Group Chairman and Partner of The Longreach Group. The Longreach Group is an established independent private equity firm with offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo. The Firm focuses on Japan related control buyouts in the mature industrial and technology, consumer related and business services sectors. The Firm manages four Funds which have accumulated approximately US$2.7 billion of committed limited partner and co-investment capital. 

Mark co-founded The Longreach Group in late 2003. Mark's lead responsibilities at Longreach include firm management, senior relationship driven investment sourcing and execution, and building the firm's global capital base and networks. 

Before co-founding Longreach, Mark served as Chief Executive Officer of UBS Securities Japan, Member of the Global Investment Banking Management Committee and Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Investment Banking Management Committee, Head of Japan Investment Banking and as a member of the UBS Global Investment Bank Board. Previous to these roles, Mark headed the UBS Asia-Pacific Financial Institutions Group. 

Mark is an Australian citizen, resident in Hong Kong. He holds First Class Honours Bachelors degrees in Economics (University of Melbourne) and Law (University of Sydney). Mark is a Rhodes Scholar with a Masters degree in International Relations (with Distinction) from Oxford University.

Mark Chudek is a Partner of Affinity Equity Partners and Head of its Australian and New Zealand investment team.

Mark is a member of Affinity’s investment committee and first joined Affinity in 2013. Prior to rejoining Affinity in 2023, Mark spent 2 years at Quadrant Private Equity within Quadrant’s flagship buyout fund between 2021 and 2023.

Before Mark’s private equity career commenced in 2013, he spent 3 years at Credit Suisse within their investment banking team in Sydney.

Mark’s private equity career spans 7 completed platform investments, serving on 14 investee company boards, completing 20 financings across his portfolio of investee companies and exiting 4 platform investments.

Martin Kaplan is an Investment Director with Anacacia Capital. Martin is responsible for a range of activities including assessing investment opportunities as well as supporting and serving on boards of investee companies. 

Martin is a Non-Executive Director of Anacacia portfolio companies including Big River Industries, a leading manufacturer and distributor of timber and building products in Australia; Florabelle, a wholesaler of homewares and furniture; and Direct Couriers, an asset-light B2B logistics provider. Martin is a former Non-Executive Director of K Care Healthcare Equipment,  NW Group and an alternate NED of Muir Engineering.  Martin brings over 30 years of international business experience. 

Prior to joining Anacacia, Martin led the private business corporate advisory team within Deloitte, focusing on SME’s facing a transitional event involving succession, growth or divestment options.  Previously, Martin worked with Investec in London providing transitional event funding for entrepreneurs and privately held corporations.  Martin also led a private equity and corporate advisory company whilst in South Africa.  Martin spent his early career as a Partner of Arthur Andersen heading up their business consulting practice that included working with mid-market SMEs.

Martin has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Cape Town and previously qualified as a Chartered Accountant (South Africa & Canada).

Matt joined Pacific Equity Partners in 2009. Prior to joining PEP, he was a consultant with Bain & Company in Australia. Matt was an Innovation Scholar at Macquarie University where he received a Bachelor of Commerce (Actuarial Studies) and was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Commendation for Academic Excellence.

Michael Blickstead is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group based in Sydney and Head of Australia / New Zealand Private Equity.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Blickstead was a Division Director / Managing Director and Head of Principal Finance Asia Pacific for Macquarie Group where he invested across the capital structure. Prior to that, he was an Investment Director at Archer Capital, one of Australia’s leading domestic private equity firms. Mr. Blickstead started his career in the Private Equity Group at Goldman Sachs in New York and London.

Mr. Blickstead received a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude in Economics, from Harvard University as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Michelle is the Founding and Managing Partner of OneVentures, one of Australia’s first venture capital firms, founded in 2010 and now managing over $1 billion in funds under management.

With over 25 years of experience building and investing in high-growth technology companies in Australia and the US, she has a proven track record in global business expansion and Australian R&D.

Michelle serves on the boards of Employment Hero, Vaxxas and Buildkite, and previously Phocas Software, and is a member of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Payments System Board. Prior to founding OneVentures, she was a serial entrepreneur who built several businesses, including E Com Industries, one of Australia’s first fintech companies. She holds a PhD in Applied Science and is the co-founder of WinVC, a non-profit supporting women in venture capital. 

Navleen Prasad is the CEO of the Australian Investment Council, a role she has held since November 2022. As the peak body for private capital, the Council represents private equity, venture capital, private credit, institutional investors such as not for profit superannuation funds and family offices, and the broader ecosystem supporting the industry.

Private capital invests economy wide. As CEO of the Council, Navleen represents an industry that contributes three per cent to Australia’s GDP, is responsible for 600,000 full-time jobs and backs 900 businesses, mainly start-ups and growth businesses. On behalf of members, Navleen and her team advocate for the private capital industry with stakeholders, and provides the platform for building capacity, capability and connection across the industry.

Since joining the Council, Navleen has led: a significant expansion of the Council’s advocacy with stakeholders including government and regulators, the creation of deeper links between Australian fund managers and Asian investors; and a strategic focusing of the Council’s services to members.

Prior to the Council, Navleen spent 19 years at Macquarie Group. Most recently, she led Macquarie’s government engagement function and also held senior corporate affairs roles, specialising in media and reputation.

Navleen started her career in tax advisory, initially with Deloitte and then PwC.

Navleen is also on the board of Sydney Youth Orchestras and Bundanon Trust. In 2022, she was appointed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers as a core member of the Investor Roundtable, advising the Australian Government on meeting nationally significant investment needs.

Nicole has been leading the Corval Avenue business, a leading real estate fund manager, since August 2023, including the period from August 2023 until September 2025, under the brand Schroders RF.

Over a three decade career in finance, Nicole has specialised in private debt markets, and her prior roles include Head of Private Debt APAC at Schroders Capital, Managing Director and Head of Corporate Banking Australia at RBC Capital Markets, portfolio management roles at AMP in Australia and London and a variety of roles in wholesale and institutional banking at National Australia Bank.

Real estate private credit has become a key pillar of the Australian private assets landscape and Nicole is focused on achieving attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors and ensuring rigorous credit analysis and risk management underpins every investment decision.

Richard Kunzer is a Founding Partner of Integrum Holdings and member of the Investment Committee.

Previously, Richard was a Partner and Co-Head of Investor Relations for the transatlantic private investment firm BC Partners, based in New York, which he joined in 2009. Whilst at BC Partners, Richard spearheaded and was involved in the raising of over $33 billion in equity and debt capital across funds, co-investments and separately managed accounts.

Richard has led or was involved in the syndication of almost $10 billion in equity and debt co-investment in over 20 companies across the TMT, business and financial services, healthcare, consumer and retail and industrial sectors.

Other companies he previously worked at include Credit Suisse in New York and London, Paribas, and Singer & Friedlander in London, where he helped facilitate the sale of the bank to another financial services institution.

Richard has strong links across the global investor and financial sponsors community globally where he is close to senior decision makers to these organizations.

Before working in finance, Richard spent four years in the British Army as a Captain in an Armored Reconnaissance regiment. Postings included Canada and Germany, as well as an active-duty tour of Bosnia.

Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne in the north of England, Richard is a U.S. and British Citizen and has lived in New York since 2004.

He holds a B.A. Honours degree from University College London.

As a sector lead, technology on the Late-Stage Growth Team, Rob leads the investment activity for late-stage private companies in the technology sector and covers private companies in the fintech sector.

 Prior to joining Wellington Management in 2023, Rob was a partner at TrueBridge Capital Partners (2014 – 2022), a venture capital fund-of-funds and direct investor. At TrueBridge, he sourced and led investments into mid and growth stage private technology companies in addition to investing in leading venture capital funds. He started his career as part of the Private Investments Team at UNC-Chapel Hill’s endowment before joining TrueBridge as an early team member.

 Rob earned his MBA with honors and concentrations in entrepreneurship, economics and finance from the University of Chicago – Booth School of Business (2014), and his B.S. with honors in business administration from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2005). Additionally, he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Roy Kim is a Partner of TPG NewQuest, based in Hong Kong. Roy joined TPG NewQuest in 2024 and is responsible for the sourcing, execution, and portfolio management of investments across Developed Asia markets. Prior to joining TPG NewQuest, Roy was a Managing Director in CPPIB’s Private Equity Asia group. In that role, Roy helped lead the firm’s private equity investments in APAC across primary fund commitments, co-investments, and secondary investments. He also served on CPPIB’s Asia PE Investment Committee. Prior to that, Roy held various investment roles, covering multiple alternative asset classes at BlackRock’s Alternative Solutions Group, and global PE Secondaries at HarbourVest Partners. Roy started his career in Healthcare M&A at Lazard. Roy received an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. from Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

As Asia Pacific private credit leader, I am focused on connecting clients to KPMG’s breadth of services to assist with fund structuring, deal sourcing, fund performance and the growth of our clients.

I regularly advise on a range of assignments across private credit, including direct lending, distressed and special situations, asset-backed lending, restructurings (including debt-to-equity transactions) and various business turnaround & value creation assignments.

Our deal team are uniquely placed to provide transaction services, debt advisory, tax structuring, turnaround and restructuring services, deal strategy, value creation, M&A, reporting and monitoring, options analysis and compliance services. 

Sam is a Partner at Blackbird, a multi-stage venture capital firm focussed on investing in the best global tech startups being formed in Australia and New Zealand, with $10.4 billion in assets under management. 

Sam raised Blackbird's inaugural $60M New Zealand fund in 2020 and its second $80M New Zealand fund in 2022. Sam has broad investment interest including digital healthcare, robotics and IoT and B2B software, including AI. Sam sits on the boards of Halter, Partly and Vow. 

Sam is passionate about diversity in technology and venture capital and spear-headed the release of the Model Code of Conduct for the Startup Community as well as a venture capital internship program for women. 

Prior to joining Blackbird she was a legaltech startup founder, an e-commerce product and strategy manager, and practiced in corporate and litigation teams at Minter Ellison before career-pivoting into startups in 2010. 

Saurabh Chatterjee is a Managing Director at ChrysCapital where he manages the Fundraising and LP Relations functions, and is also a voting member of the firm’s investment committee. Prior to joining ChrysCapital in 2016, he was with Providence Equity Partners’ investment team in their New Delhi Office. Before Providence, he worked at the Boston Consulting Group and CIVC Partners, a Chicago-based middle market private equity firm. Saurabh received an MBA from Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Economics from Carleton College.

Shane Chesson is a Founding Partner of Openspace Capital, a multi-strategy asset manager with a long-established specialist focus on Southeast Asia. Since 2014, the platform has expanded from Early Stage to Growth Stage, Web3 (Ocular), Credit (Onyx) and Listed Equities (Orbit) investment strategies.

Shane has overseen investments into more than 80 Openspace companies since 2014 and has served on the Board or as an Observer for companies including Gojek (Exit GOTO:JK), HaloDoc, Whispir (Exit WSP:AU), Finnomena, Kredivo, Topica, CXA (Exited), Tradegecko (Exit to INTU:US), Amp, Abacus, CoPilot, Validus, Pluang, Envisso, Neuroglee and BeautyMNL (Exited).

Shane is also Vice-Chairman of SVCA (Singapore Venture & Private Capital Association) which represents the community and interests of over 300 members focused on private markets.

He was previously Managing Director and Co-Head (Technology Investment Banking, of Citigroup Asia-Pacific.

Shane has an MBA with distinction from INSEAD Singapore where he was a recipient of the IAA Asian Campus scholarship and has an LLB/BCom from University of Western Australia.

Shaun Khubchandani is a Partner and the Co-Head of Emerging Markets at Siguler Guff. In this role, he is responsible for spearheading all aspects of the direct investment process as well as managing risk across the Firm’s direct investment portfolios across emerging markets. Mr. Khubchandani serves as a member of the Investment Committees for Siguler Guff’s emerging markets-focused funds.

Mr. Khubchandani currently serves as a Board Member to Verse Innovation (Dailyhunt), Relisys Medical Devices and Luker Electric Technologies. Prior to joining Siguler Guff in 2018, Mr. Khubchandani was a Director at a lower-middle market private equity buyout firm. Mr. Khubchandani was responsible for leading a roll-up of physical therapy clinics across North America under the corporate brand, Alliance Physical Therapy Partners.

Prior to graduate school, Mr. Khubchandani was a member of the emerging markets investment team at Siguler Guff. During graduate school, Mr. Khubchandani worked at Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, the corporate venture capital arm of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Mr. Khubchandani began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Citigroup Inc. Notably, Mr. Khubchandani was a member of Citi’s deal team during the initial public offering of Siguler Guff’s portfolio company, EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM).

Mr. Khubchandani holds a B.A. in Economics with a concentration in Finance from the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Sid Kumar is Head of Acquisition Finance at Challenger Investment Management, where he leads the origination, execution and portfolio management of high-yield corporate credit investments across Australia and New Zealand. Prior to joining Challenger in 2017, Sid spent seven years in Barclays Capital’s Leveraged Finance team across Australia and India, specialising in the structuring, underwriting and distribution of high-yield financings.

Tim Burroughs is managing editor of Asian Venture Capital Journal, having joined the publication in May 2011. He is responsible for all editorial content put out under the AVCJ brand, including Asian Venture Capital Journal, AVCJtv, AVCJ Awards and AVCJ.com. Tim previously spent five years at China Economic Review, serving as editor-in-chief and then editorial director. Located in Greater China since 2003, during which time he has lived in Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong, Tim has been a China-based contributor for publications including The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, BBC and China Daily. Prior to moving to China, he trained and worked as a journalist in the UK. He was honored at the Society of Publishers in Asia awards in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and at the State Street Institutional Press Awards - Asia in 2012.

Vincent Wong is a Partner with TPG and Co-Head of Healthcare for TPG Capital Asia, based in Melbourne. In addition to healthcare, Vincent also focuses on consumer investments for TPG Capital Asia in Australia. Vincent currently has responsibilities for TPG’s investments in Invocare, iNova, Funlab, Greencross, and Novotech, and previously for exited investments including Inghams and Healthscope.

Prior to joining TPG in 2011, Vincent served in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs & Co. Vincent graduated from The University of Melbourne with BCommerce and BLaws (Honors).