Premier Sponsor
DealFlow Events welcomes the most concentrated group of investors, corporate governance specialists, advisory firms, proxy solicitors, and corporate board members to The Activist Investor Conference 2024.
This is your chance to engage and network with a targeted audience of highly specialized professionals working in the areas of corporate governance and activist investing.
The Activist Investor Conference delivers, as it did in 2010, when we first launched the conference to an audience of over 300 attendees.
The Activist Investor Conference is a forum for discussing governance-related issues raised by savvy finance professionals seeking to improve the fortunes of the companies in which they’ve invested.
This is an unparalleled opportunity for professional education as well as networking with colleagues and forging new business relationships.
At all times, the focus is on providing the highest quality content, innovative ideas, and exceptional networking opportunities.
The Activist Investor Conference will address hot-button topics and cutting-edge content that attendees have come to expect from a DealFlow Event.
VP of Capital
Wisetack
Katya Baron is VP of Capital at Wisetack, where she leads the Company’s capital and lending partner relationships.
Katya has over 15 years of experience in asset finance through capital markets, investment banking, structuring and sales & trading roles at sell-side and buy-side financial institutions. Prior to Wisetack, Katya was head of capital markets for Mosaic’s $1+BN portfolio of residential solar loans, establishing the company’s warehouse and whole loan sales facilities and launching a successful de novo securitization program.
Katya began her career at JPMorgan Securities and holds a BA in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College.
Co-Founder and Co-CEO
Ragnarok
I’m one of the Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Ragnarok, a full-service marketing + MarTech implementation agency. My background in television, advertising, and management has afforded me ample experience working with capstone institutions like the BBC, CBS, and National Geographic, knowledge which helps me oversee the creative, client management, and operations departments.
As a leader of Ragnarok’s seasoned professionals, I’m versed in a holistic approach to cross-channel marketing. This means maintaining a dexterous team that’s as comfortable with an ESP migration or data attribution reboot as they are with writing an entire post-sale sequence or redesigning a site. In short: we have a big wheelhouse and are always adding new abilities.
I continually push myself and Ragnarok to evolve and stay ahead of the competition: that’s why I ensure that all our team members are trained and certified in best-in-breed marketing tools. With amazing people at the helm of our creative, strategic, and engineering teams, Ragnarok has earned its reputation as a full-service solution.
Principal
Trilogy/ESW Capital
Brent is has been M&A Principal for Acquisitions & Debt Originations for Trilogy and ESW Capital since May of 2022. Prior to Trilogy and ESW he was at Cadence Bank as a Senior Vice President and Credit Executive from August 2021 to November 2021. Brent spent time from December 2002 to March 2020 at JPMorgan Chase Bank as a Vice President Senior Banker, Senior Vice President - Technology Banking, Executive Director and Credit Executive - Leveraged and Investment Grade North America Corporates. In April 1995 to December 2002 he worked as a Commercial Banking Officer and Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager for Wells Fargo. He received his M.B.A in Banking and Corporate Finance at the Southern Methodist University. He also received his BBA in accounting at the University of Texas of San Antonio.
Managing Director
Decathlon Capital
John Borchers is the Co-Founder and Managing Director at Decathlon Capital Partners, the largest revenue-based financing investment firm in the United States. Borchers founded Decathlon in 2011, to advance the mission of democratizing access to growth-stage capital. Borchers saw that current equity-based funding models were inherently misaligned with the interests of business owners, and that too few companies were able to access growth funding on reasonable terms, with reasonable expectations.
Prior to joining Decathlon Capital, Borchers was a General Partner at Crescendo Ventures, playing a leading role in developing the firm’s international presence in Europe. Borchers also worked in the data warehousing and predictive analytics fields where he held various operational roles including a two-year posting to Sydney, Australia, where he opened the first Asia Pacific office for a U.S.-based data warehousing firm.
Borchers holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. from the University of Richmond.
Founder and Managing Partner
Alpha Partners
Steve Brotman, an entrepreneur, investor, and fund manager, is the founder and Managing Partner at Alpha Partners. Steve also serves as a Strategic Advisor to the Pritzker Group‘s venture arm, Pritzker Group Venture Capital.
Prior to Alpha Partners, Steve was the co-founder and Managing Director of Greenhill SAVP, Greenhill & Co’s venture capital unit (which was spun out as Tribeca Venture Partners), a technology- and business information services-focused venture capital fund with $100 Million under management. Prior to GSAVP, Steve founded Silicon Alley Venture Partners with $15 million assets under management. At his prior funds, Steve invested in 30 portfolio companies and was among the first institutional investors in LivePerson (Nasdaq: LPSN) and Medidata Solutions (Nasdaq: MDSO).
Steve was also the co-founder of a venture-backed company, AdOne, the pioneer online classified advertising platform. AdOne was Steve’s first entrepreneurial effort, which started life as an assignment in an Entrepreneurship class at Columbia Business School. AdOne signed over one third of the newspaper industry, 500 newspapers, and was acquired by a newspaper consortium led by Hearst. During his entrepreneurial and VC firm career, Steve has been recognized a few times: as a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award as well as being named in Crain’s Tech 100, Top 25 Players Shaping Silicon Alley and Top 40 under 40 among New York business leaders.
Steve has previously served on the boards of the MIT Enterprise Forum, Critical Mention, DataSynapse (Observer), Medidata (Observer) and Truveris, among others. Steve has been a mentor with the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, Blueprint Health, Startup Health, Columbia Business School Lang and Greenhouse Funds. Steve received a joint M.B.A. / J.D from Washington University / Columbia and a B.A. in economics from Duke University.
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Investment Officer
Horizon Technology Finance
Dan Devorsetz co-founded Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: HRZN), a public, externally-managed business development company in March 2008 and is its Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Investment Officer, and also serves as a member of the investment committee. Dan joined the manager and investment adviser of Horizon in 2004 and has more than 25 years of credit and portfolio management experience including more than 20 years in venture lending.
Previously, Dan held positions with General Electric Capital Corporation’s Life Science Finance Group, GATX Ventures, Inc., the venture lending subsidiary of GATX Corporation, and Citigroup. Dan serves on the Board of Finance for the Town of Brookfield, Connecticut, and is the Chair of the town’s Audit Committee. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Clark University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Founder, Managing General Partner & Chief Investment Officer
Applied Real Intelligence
Zack Ellison, CFA, CAIA, is the Founder and Managing General Partner of Applied Real Intelligence (“A.R.I.”). A.R.I. is a Los Angeles-based venture debt investment manager focused on providing financing solutions to innovative, high-growth, venture-backed companies in recession-resistant sectors and underserved regions.
Mr. Ellison leads A.R.I.’s investment activities, including sourcing, due diligence, structuring, execution, and portfolio management.
Previously, Mr. Ellison was a loan underwriter, bond and CDS trader, and portfolio manager at three firms with over $1 trillion in assets – Scotia Bank, Deutsche Bank, and Sun Life.
Currently, Mr. Ellison is a Board Member of CFA Society Los Angeles, a Board Member of the Southwest Chapter of the CAIA Association, the West Coast Regional Director of the Hedge Fund Association (HFA), and a member of the Milken Institute’s Young Leaders Circle (YLC).
Mr. Ellison holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an MS in Risk Management from NYU Stern. In his personal time, Mr. Ellison is working towards completion of a Doctorate in Business Administration at the University of Florida (Gainesville).
Managing Director
i80 Group
Peter is a Managing Director on the investment team at i80 Group, an investment firm designed to propel the innovation economy forward by empowering growth through bespoke credit solutions. Prior to i80 Group, Peter worked as an investor with a focus on the fintech and proptech sectors with Partners Group, CKC Partners and MicroVest Capital Management. Peter holds an MIB from The Fletcher School.
237 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10017
Convene at 237 Park Avenue has been called the “venue of the future.” Unlike other event spaces in New York City, this location is purpose-built for professional education and networking.
Our sponsors are thought-leaders in the industry. Corporate sponsorship provides unmatched exposure during a lengthy promotional campaign and the conference itself. Benefits include pre-conference publicity, logo and literature placement, exhibit space, online ad placement, and complimentary registration.
To become a sponsor, contact Charlie Napolitano at (516) 876-8006 extension 20 or charlie@dealflowevents.com.
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