Columbia Business School

Emerging Markets

Amidst rapid change and political/social uncertainly, emerging markets continue to be a source of questions as well as investment opportunity. This panel will discuss what regions and strategies are currently in favor, as well as what best practices they are employing to successfully invest in this changing environment. Panelists will focus on trends in fundraising, capital deployment, valuation, and overall interest of the investment community in emerging market investing. In addition, the panel will explore future growth markets and whether the focus should continue to be on the BRIC economies.
 

Moderator

Nadiya Satyamurthy - Director, Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA)

Nadiya Satyamurthy is a Director in EMPEA's Research Department where she is lead manager for a number of EMPEA's publications including the EMPEA Insight Series and the EM PE Review. Nadiya authors content on behalf of the organization by leveraging EMPEA's data program and engaging with EMPEA members and other industry stakeholders. Nadiya is a frequent contributor to industry research and a speaker at major industry conferences.

Prior to joining EMPEA, Nadiya worked as a Public Finance Fixed Income Associate, both at UBS Investment Bank and Merrill Lynch, where she assisted numerous not-for-profit organizations in evaluating their financial management strategies and accessing the tax-exempt bond market. Additionally, Nadiya previously served as a Senior International Business Associate for MASA, Inc., an international consulting firm focused on structuring strategic international partnerships and devising solutions for startups interested in raising capital. Nadiya holds a B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University's School of International & Public Affairs with a concentration in International Finance.

Panelists

Philip Bass - Partner, Global Private Equity, Ernst & Young

Philip is Ernst & Young’s Global Private Equity Markets Leader with more than 30 years of experience providing financial, tax and transaction services to private equity and multinational clients. He is responsible for the development and execution of the firm’s private equity go-to-market strategy, as well as driving the execution of client strategies to private equity funds and their investees across all geographies, including emerging and frontier markets. Philip works closely with private equity account teams to provide pursuit guidance and connect them with global industry resources and leaders.He also serves as Americas Client Service Partner for various private equity funds. With a deep understanding of clients’ business imperatives and needs, Philip integrates the firm’s assurance, tax, advisory and transaction services to serve these clients. Philip is the Senior Advisory Partner for various clients, meeting with senior management and key stakeholders and ensuring clients have the commitment of firm leadership and access to global resources.

Philip provides sector insights that position the firm as a private equity industry thought leader and leads various thought leadership programs, including Dynamic growth: value creation in Latin America andBranching out - How do private equity investors create value? A study of 2011 European exits. He also led the firm’s efforts in the development of the Corporate Development Officer Study and Global Transaction Leaders Study.

Previously, Philip served as Americas Markets Leader for Ernst & Young’s Transaction Advisory Services practice, integrally involved in the development of Ernst & Young’s transaction strategy. In this role, he provided leading insights related to corporate development functions and other deal-related processes. 

Zin Bekkali - CFA - Chief Executive Officer, Silk Invest

Zin Bekkali is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Silk Invest, a specialist fund manager focused on frontier markets in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Silk Invest is one of the leading frontier markets managers with staff from over 10 different frontier markets and it manages a range of products, including an African private equity fund and pan-African equity fund. Before creating Silk Invest, Zin worked for ING Investment Management, Bain, Ahold and Fortis Investments. Zin has a M.S. in applied Econometrics from the University of Amsterdam, completed his MBA at London Business School and is CFA Charterholder.

Brian Feinstein - Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners

Brian Feinstein focuses on internet, software, and financial services opportunities and leads BVP's investment practice in Brazil and Russia. Brian has been involved in the firm’s investments in Playdom (acquired by Disney), Zoosk, Mindbody, United Capital, Knewton and KupiVIP. Before joining BVP, he worked at Blackstone, where he focused on technology, financial services, and energy and was involved in the firm’s Emdeon and Geosouthern transactions. Prior, he co-founded Opera New Media, an online advertising agency. Brian holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University.

Thomaz Malavazzi - Investment Officer, Tarpon Investimentos

Thomaz Malavazzi joined Tarpon in 2009 and is currently an investment officer. Prior to joining Tarpon, he was a strategist at HSBC Investments, in São Paulo, an associate at the Principal Investments desk at Merrill Lynch NY, and also an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Thomaz majored in Economics at Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado (FAAP), in São Paulo, and holds an MBA from The University of Chicago.

Andrew Rice - Senior Vice President, The Jordan Company

Andrew Rice is Senior Vice President of International Business at The Jordan Company ("TJC"), a leading global middle-market private equity firm with $5 billion in assets under management. Mr. Rice joined TJC in 1989.  Prior to joining TJC, Mr. Rice held various corporate development, strategy and marketing positions at Ameritech, IC Industries, and The Pillsbury Company.

Mr. Rice has traveled extensively assisting TJC companies expand overseas. Since 1990, he has helped coordinate over 45 acquisitions, joint ventures and wholly-owned start-up operations in China, Russia, India, Brazil, Mexico, Czech Republic, Western Europe, and other countries. Mr. Rice is currently focused on China where he travels every 1-2 months. Since 1995, TJC has completed 26 investments in China, including the acquisitions of both private companies and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). 

In 2006, TJC established International Mining Machinery Limited (“IMM”) to acquire two leading SOE manufacturers of underground coal mining equipment in Heilongjiang Province, China.  These high profile landmark deals were the first SOEs in Heilongjiang acquired 100% by a foreign firm as part of China’s Northeast Region Revitalization Program. TJC subsequently completed 7 add-on IMM acquisitions and JVs.  In February 2010, TJC successfully listed IMM on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.  This was the first time a foreign firm had acquired control of an SOE and later taken the business public offshore.  In December 2011, TJC sold its shares in IMM to Joy Global.

Mr. Rice earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an M.S. in Engineering Administration, both from New Mexico State University. In 1978, Mr. Rice was named The Outstanding Industrial Engineering Student in the U.S. by the Institute of Industrial Engineers. He also completed one year of graduate studies in international economics at the University of Melbourne, Australia, where he studied as a Rotary Foundation Graduate Fellow.

Mr. Rice is a 2011 recipient of the M&A Advisor International M&A Leadership Award. He currently serves as Immediate Past Chairman of the Board of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG Global). Mr. Rice is also on the board of the US-China Chamber of Commerce, ACG Chicago and several community service organizations. Formerly, he was on the board of the Illinois Finance Authority and the Washington, D.C. based Small Business Exporters Association. Mr. Rice is also a member of the Executives’ Club of Chicago, the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago, and the American Chamber of Commerce-China (Beijing).