7cb1c5a30aa1fda40841d3b07456e3f163c09693

December 1 - 2 2026
Los Angeles, United States
Independent Sponsors Summit: West Coast

Plan your two days

From8:30 AM to8:40 AM

Opening Remarks

Opening Remarks: Welcome & Agenda Overview

Our Summit Chair, CohnReznick, kicks off the morning with a brief welcome address to map out the day ahead. This quick orientation ensures you know exactly how to navigate the sessions, meet the right capital providers, and get the most out of your time at the summit.
Opening Remarks
Opening Remarks: Welcome & Agenda Overview

Tuesday 01 December 8:30 AM - 8:40 AM

Speaker (1 confirmed)

Panellist

Claudine Cohen

CohnReznick

Managing Partner
From8:40 AM to9:10 AM

Keynote
All IS, Capital Providers

Keynote: Inside a Multi-Billion Family Office: What Family Capital Now Looks for in Independent Sponsors

Want to know how a multi-billion-dollar empire backs independent sponsors?
Keynote
Keynote: Inside a Multi-Billion Family Office: What Family Capital Now Looks for in Independent Sponsors

Tuesday 01 December 8:40 AM - 9:10 AM

Topics

Deal Sourcing

Meet Warren Woo, Co-Founder and Partner of Breakaway Capital, the private equity investment platform of the Cherng Family Trust (Panda Express Restaurant Group). With a career spanning over $25 Billion in structured finance and deal volume, Warren oversees the direct deployment of permanent family capital into lower-middle-market buyouts and structured transactions. He joins us to reveal exactly how his team evaluates, structures, and funds direct deals, bridging institutional underwriting with flexible, long-duration family wealth.

The Focus: A tactical evaluation of deal structure. Drawing from Warren's experience managing one of the most prominent consumer fortunes in the world, this session breaks down the underwriting benchmarks and terms required to clear family office investment committees.

We will discuss
The First Filter: the primary hurdles a multi-billion family office evaluates first when reviewing a sponsor-led deal.
What Matters Most: how capital allocators weigh sponsor experience versus structural protection versus underlying asset quality.
Comparing Options: how family offices benchmark independent sponsor deals against traditional private equity fund commitments.
Deal Killers: the non-negotiable structural and operational red flags that trigger immediate passes regardless of valuation or pricing.
Long-Term Backing: the execution and alignment patterns that separate one-off transactions from long-term, multi-deal partnerships.

Speaker (1 confirmed)

Warren Woo

Breakaway Capita

Co-Founder & Partner
From9:10 AM to9:40 PM

Keynote
All Attendees, All IS

Keynote: $1B+ in Institutional Family Wealth: How Family Offices Allocate Across Buyouts & Direct Deals
Keynote
Keynote: $1B+ in Institutional Family Wealth: How Family Offices Allocate Across Buyouts & Direct Deals

Tuesday 01 December 9:10 AM - 9:40 PM

Topics

Private Equity

Growth Investing

Managing a $1 Billion+ private equity and direct investment portfolio requires a crystal-clear framework. Meet Vishal Verma, Managing Partner of Edgewood Ventures, a premier Silicon Valley single-family office managing in excess of $1 Billion in private assets. For over two decades, Vishal has directed family office asset allocation across mid-market buyouts and direct investments. He joins the summit to detail exactly how institutional family offices benchmark deals, what moves the needle from initial interest to a funded transaction, and how independent sponsors can secure a slice of a $1B+ pipeline.

The Focus: Allocation strategy and relationship equity. This session examines how a $1B+ family office manages its deal pipeline, benchmarks competing direct investment opportunities, and values a sponsor's network in finding deals.

We will discuss

Portfolio Construction: the real-world mechanics of how family offices balance capital allocations between mid-market buyouts and direct transactions.

The Turning Point: the specific data points and qualitative factors that move a deal from initial review to a funded capital commitment.

The Power of Access: how deep-rooted networks and exclusive deal access change risk assessment and final investment decisions.

Why Good Deals Get Rejected: why sophisticated family offices pass on transactions where the numbers look great but other key variables fail to align.

Pipeline Decisions: the framework used to rank and select between multiple strong buyout opportunities competing for the same pool of capital.

Speaker (1 confirmed)

Vishal Verma

Edgewood Ventures

Managing Partner

Tables

Table 1

Building your sourcing engine from scratch

How sponsors without a fund build a pipeline that does not depend on bankers, and what it costs to run.

Moderator

Matt Bodnar

Eidolon Capital

Founding Partner

Table 2

Winning IS deal structures: rollover equity, seller financing and earnout trends

The structures closing deals this year, and where sellers and capital providers are pushing back.

Facilitator

Kenneth Heuer

Kidd & Company

Principal

Facilitator

Casey Minshew

Equity Launchpad

Managing Partner

Table 3

Family offices as capital partners

What a family office wants from a sponsor that a fund does not, and how to find the ones writing cheques.

Facilitator

Andy Baker

Tyrian Capital

Managing Partner

Table 4

Operating partners: when to bring one in

Timing, economics and how the relationship holds up through the first hard quarter.

Moderator

Michael Sommerdorf

LP First Capital

Principal

Table 5

Your first close: the terms to hold

Which concessions capital providers ask for first, and which are worth giving.

Moderator

Douglas Rose

Gardner Webster Capital Partners

Managing Partner

Table 6

Lender relationships through the hold

Keeping credit partners on side when the plan slips, from the first covenant conversation onwards.

Moderator

Michael Trachtenberg

Cedar Elm Capital

Principal

Facilitator

David Acharya

Acharya Capital Partners

Managing Partner

Sponsors
From9:40 AM to10:55 AM

Roundtable

Breakfast Tables: Chatham House Roundtable

A series of small-group interactive discussions designed for tactical peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. Each table operates as its own focused mini-session, bringing together active independent sponsors and premier capital providers to trade playbooks and real-world strategies
Roundtable
Breakfast Tables: Chatham House Roundtable

Tuesday 01 December 9:40 AM - 10:55 AM

Tables

Table 1

Table 1 Proprietary Deal Sourcing: Bypassing the Brokered Market

Strategies for uncovering off-market lower-middle-market assets and building a direct pipeline without relying on competitive investment banking processes. Direct-to-Founder Sourcing: what messaging actually resonates with business owners when you approach them without a broker. Data-Driven Pipelines: leveraging modern tech stacks and industry databases to map out niche sectors before competitors notice them. The First Impression: how independent sponsors can pitch their flexibility as an advantage over traditional private equity funds during initial founder calls.

Moderator

Alidad Damooe

Davis Wright Tremaine

Partner

Table 2

Table 2 Winning Without Overpaying: Capital-Efficient Bidding Strategies

How to win high-quality targets in competitive environments without destroying your returns by overpaying. Non-Financial Levers: using structural flexibility, speed-to-close, and founder alignment to win deals over higher, rigid institutional bids. Earnout Engineering: structuring back-end incentives that bridge valuation gaps while protecting downside risk for your capital partners. The Sponsor Advantage: positioning your hands-on operational focus as a premium value-add that a traditional blind-pool fund cannot offer.

Panellist

John Koeppel

Lippes Mathias

Partner, Private Equity / Independent Sponsor Leader

Table 3

Table 3 Equity Without a Fund: Managing Deal-by-Deal Capital Raising

The mechanics of securing and managing capital partners when working strictly on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Dual-Track Workflows: balancing the asset due diligence timeline with the capital raising timeline to prevent deal slippage. LP Syndication: best practices for combining family office equity, high-net-worth capital, and institutional co-investors in a single stack. Exclusivity Timelines: negotiating realistic letters of intent (LOIs) that give you enough runway to assemble your capital provider group.

Thomas Waldman

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth.

Partner

Shoshana Zimmerman

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth.

Partner

Table 4

Table 4 Seller Psychology: Navigating the Founder-to-Partner Transition

Managing founder emotions, family dynamics, and post-transaction role transitions to preserve business continuity. Legacy Preservation: addressing a founder's anxieties about employee retention, brand identity, and community reputation post-sale. Rollover Equity Alignment: ensuring the selling founder has real skin in the game while establishing clear boundaries for who runs the company on day one. Managing Friction: navigating the critical 90 days post-close when operational changes clash with legacy habits.

Gustav Brown

ECA Partners

Managing Director

Table 5

Table 5 Debt Market Reality: Structuring Leverage in the Current Environment

Navigating current senior and mezzanine lending terms to optimize your capital stack and minimize dilution. Lender Underwriting Criteria: what credit committees are prioritizing today regarding cash flow quality and debt service coverage. Alternative Credit Options: when to leverage non-bank independent lenders and mezzanine providers versus traditional commercial banks. Intercreditor Dynamics: resolving structural bottlenecks between senior lenders and equity backers to accelerate your closing timeline.

Table 6

Table 6 The Broken Auction: How to Salvage and Secure Stalled Transactions

How independent sponsors can step into failed or broken broad processes to secure high-quality assets at a discount. Identifying Stalled Processes: spotting the warning signs of an auction that is falling apart due to buyer fatigue or over-leverage. The White Knight Pitch: re-approaching a frustrated seller with a clean, high-probability structure after their primary buyer backs out. Diligence Remediation: rapidly isolating and pricing the specific risk factor that caused the initial broad auction to break down.
From10:55 AM to11:25 AM

Break
All Attendees

Networking Break

A 30-minute networking interval for informal conversations and coffee before the one-on-one meeting sessions begin.
From11:25 AM to1:00 PM

Networking

1-2-1 Capital Connection: Morning Session

Pre-scheduled, private one-on-one meetings pairing active independent sponsors with qualified institutional equity backers, credit providers, and family offices.
Networking
1-2-1 Capital Connection: Morning Session

Tuesday 01 December 11:25 AM - 1:00 PM

Sponsor
From1:00 PM to2:00 PM

Luncheon
All Attendees

Luncheon: Closing Faster: Removing Friction in Diligence, Data Rooms, and Investor Reporting

A working lunch session analyzing transaction operational efficiency. This discussion breaks down the technology and structural habits that top-performing independent sponsors use to slash time-to-close and reduce deal fatigue.
Luncheon
Luncheon: Closing Faster: Removing Friction in Diligence, Data Rooms, and Investor Reporting

Tuesday 01 December 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Topics

Private Equity

Growth Investing

Leadership

We will discuss

Where deals actually slow down in diligence.

Data room efficiency and transparency.

Investor reporting expectations in 2026.

Reducing friction in closing processes.

Sponsor
From2:00 PM to3:15 PM

Shark Tank
All Attendees, All IS

Shark Tank Live: What Actually Gets Funded, and What Gets Rejected

Three active independent sponsors pitch real, live transactions to an elite panel of single-family office judges. The judges will evaluate the deals in real-time, pulling apart the valuation multiples, equity structures, and downside protections to show exactly what triggers a cash allocation.
Shark Tank
Shark Tank Live: What Actually Gets Funded, and What Gets Rejected

Tuesday 01 December 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM

Topics

Private Equity

Leadership

Speakers (7 confirmed)

Family Office Judge

Cody Church

Clear North

Managing Director

Family Office Judge

Steven Abernathy

Abby Group

Chairman & CEO

Family Office Judge

Tim Huber

Lazard Family Office Partners

Managing Director

Independent Sponsor Pitcher

Jay Vasantharajah

Atlasview

Founder & Managing Partner

Independent Sponsor Pitcher

John Harrison

A111

Managing Partner

Independent Sponsor Pitcher

David Cunningham

VisioCap

Managing Partner

Independent Sponsor Pitcher

Dickson Suit

Environmental Services Investors

Managing Partner

Tables

Table 1

Building your sourcing engine from scratch

How sponsors without a fund build a pipeline that does not depend on bankers, and what it costs to run.

Moderator

Matt Bodnar

Eidolon Capital

Founding Partner

Table 2

Winning IS deal structures: rollover equity, seller financing and earnout trends

The structures closing deals this year, and where sellers and capital providers are pushing back.

Facilitator

Kenneth Heuer

Kidd & Company

Principal

Facilitator

Casey Minshew

Equity Launchpad

Managing Partner

Table 3

Family offices as capital partners

What a family office wants from a sponsor that a fund does not, and how to find the ones writing cheques.

Facilitator

Andy Baker

Tyrian Capital

Managing Partner

Table 4

Operating partners: when to bring one in

Timing, economics and how the relationship holds up through the first hard quarter.

Moderator

Michael Sommerdorf

LP First Capital

Principal

Table 5

Your first close: the terms to hold

Which concessions capital providers ask for first, and which are worth giving.

Moderator

Douglas Rose

Gardner Webster Capital Partners

Managing Partner

Table 6

Lender relationships through the hold

Keeping credit partners on side when the plan slips, from the first covenant conversation onwards.

Moderator

Michael Trachtenberg

Cedar Elm Capital

Principal

Facilitator

David Acharya

Acharya Capital Partners

Managing Partner

Sponsors
From3:45 PM to4:20 PM

Debate
All Attendees

The Great Debate: Operational Turnarounds vs. High-Growth Platforms
Debate
The Great Debate: Operational Turnarounds vs. High-Growth Platforms

Tuesday 01 December 3:45 PM - 4:20 PM

When backing an independent sponsor, capital providers face a critical choice: Do you invest in unpolished, stable companies that need heavy operational remodeling, or do you back high-growth, forward-looking platforms in scaling sectors? Dan Tamkin (Resurgent) and Melanie Santos Grant (2ndGen) square off on which investment playbook delivers the best risk-adjusted returns today.

The Head-to-Head Questions

When a business is broken, do you fix the underlying technology or buy your way out of the problem?

Are you better off targeting sub-$2M EBITDA 'messy' deals, or is that scale a trap for independent sponsors?

Does putting material personal cash into a deal make you a better steward of capital, or does it restrict your ability to scale?

Will the next generation of independent sponsors be forced to accept lower economics to win backing?

Speakers (2 confirmed)

Debater

Dan Tamkin

Resurgent

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Debater

Melanie Santos Grant

2ndGen

Managing Partner
From4:20 PM to5:35 PM

Networking

1-2-1 Capital Connection: Afternoon Session

A second dedicated block of pre-scheduled, private one-on-one meetings. This session pairs independent sponsors with an entirely new group of family offices and capital providers to kick off fresh introductions and discuss new deal flow.
Networking
1-2-1 Capital Connection: Afternoon Session

Tuesday 01 December 4:20 PM - 5:35 PM

Sponsor
From5:35 PM to6:35 PM

Reception

Cocktail Reception

Evening networking focused on capital introductions, deal flow sharing, and relationship development.
From6:00 PM to9:00 PM

Dinner

Private Dinner

An exclusive invite-only seated dinner program for select attendees to wrap up the summit in a private environment.
Dinner
Private Dinner

Tuesday 01 December 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Sponsor

From8:00 AM to9:15 AM

Executive Exchange

Executive Exchange Breakfast: Scaling the Independent Sponsor Model in a More Institutional Market

Select and join one of six interactive, peer-led roundtables. Each session breaks down a real-world bottleneck that independent sponsors and deal-by-deal investors must solve to structure and close deals efficiently.
Executive Exchange
Executive Exchange Breakfast: Scaling the Independent Sponsor Model in a More Institutional Market

Wednesday 02 December 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM

Tables

Table 1

Table 1 Managing the Investor Group: Building Repeat Capital Without a Fund Structure

How independent sponsors transition from opportunistic fundraising to building a repeatable base of family offices and private investors who consistently reallocate across deals. How repeat capital relationships are actually formed after a first transaction. What determines whether an investor becomes a recurring backer or a one-off participant. How sponsors maintain momentum when a key investor unexpectedly steps out of a live deal.

Jay Fuquay

Trinity Investors / TPEG

Executive Vice President

Table 2

Table 2 Sourcing Discipline: Competing for Proprietary Deals in a Competitive Buyer Landscape

How independent sponsors win transactions against fully funded private equity buyers while maintaining disciplined pricing aligned with investor expectations. What actually convinces sellers to choose an independent sponsor over a traditional fund. How flexibility in structure influences seller decision-making in competitive processes. Where sourcing costs and diligence spend begin to erode deal economics.

Stephen Altman

Cornerstone Capital Partners

Partner

Table 3

Table 3 Post-Close Execution: Building Leadership Teams and Operational Infrastructure After Acquisition

How sponsors restructure management teams and integrate operational expertise immediately after closing a middle and lower-middle-market transaction. How executive compensation and equity structures are aligned post-close. When operating partners create value versus unnecessary overhead. How sponsors avoid over-internalizing operating complexity.

Martez Moore

Moore Frères & Company

Chairman & CEO

Jenny Thear

Engage PEO

Senior Vice President

Table 4

Table 4 Deal Architecture: Aligning Economics, Control, and Negotiation Dynamics in Sponsor Transactions

How independent sponsors translate investor expectations, governance requirements, and economic alignment into deal structures that hold under negotiation pressure and real-world execution. How economic alignment is actually negotiated across sponsors, investors, and management teams. Where governance terms become decisive in whether capital commits or steps back. How control, downside protection, and upside participation are balanced in practice. What separates theoretical alignment from structures that survive diligence and closing.

Chase Stuart

Ice Miller

Managing Partner

Table 5

Table 5 Capital Stack Design: What Makes a Deal Investable When Traditional Debt Tightens

How independent sponsors structure transactions that remain attractive to family offices and private capital providers when conventional lending becomes more restrictive. How family offices evaluate seller financing, earnouts, preferred equity, and rolling equity as part of the overall capital structure. Which capital structures increase investor confidence, and which create unnecessary execution risk. How sponsors balance leverage, alignment, and downside protection to make deals financeable. What investors expect to see before committing capital in today's financing environment.

Chair

James Bohannon

Belzberg & Co.

Senior Vice President

Table 6

Table 6 Investment Committee Filter: Why Deals Fail at Final Underwriting

What actually causes family offices and institutional capital providers to reject sponsor-led deals at late-stage diligence. What typically breaks down in final underwriting before capital approval. Which risks are considered unacceptable regardless of return profile. How fee structure, governance, and execution risk influence final decisions.

Steven Insalaco

Calgary Enterprises Inc.

President & Managing Partner
From9:15 AM to9:55 AM

Panel
All Attendees

Family Office Panel: Why We Pass: What Breaks Deals in Investment Committees
Panel
Family Office Panel: Why We Pass: What Breaks Deals in Investment Committees

Wednesday 02 December 9:15 AM - 9:55 AM

A candid, behind-the-scenes discussion with active family office allocators on why otherwise compelling independent sponsor transactions fail at the final stage of diligence. We will examine how sophisticated capital providers actually pressure-test sponsor-led transactions, where underwriting assumptions typically fail to hold, and what separates deals that close from those that stall despite strong initial momentum.

We will discuss

The Rejection Filter: the most common reasons deals fail at investment committee despite strong initial support.

The Valuation Gap: how committees assess return assumptions versus market reality under current conditions.

Governance Risk: which control, reporting, and post-close oversight terms most frequently block approval.

Building Conviction: what sponsors consistently do in diligence that materially increases probability of approval.

Speakers (4 confirmed)

Nelson Irizarry

Sama

Managing Director

Richard de Lima

Leaf

Managing Director

Panelist

Adil Adi

WorldLink / ADI Family Office

Founder & Chairman

Moderator

John Basile

Citrin Cooperman

Senior Account Manager
From9:55 AM to11:05 AM

Debate
Capital Providers

The Great Debate: Build a Fund or Stay Independent
Debate
The Great Debate: Build a Fund or Stay Independent

Wednesday 02 December 9:55 AM - 11:05 AM

Topics

Private Equity

Fundraising

A structured debate on one of the defining strategic decisions for independent sponsors: whether to transition into a committed fund structure or remain deal-by-deal investors operating without permanent capital constraints. The discussion focuses on the economic and operational trade-offs that emerge when firms scale, and whether increased institutionalization improves long-term returns or introduces structural limitations that dilute performance over time.

We will discuss

Fund vs. Independent Structure: whether committed capital improves execution certainty or constrains investment flexibility.

Return Dynamics at Scale: how capital scale impacts pricing discipline, deal selection, and net performance.

Long-Term Strategy: how structure choice impacts wealth creation, team incentives, and firm succession planning.

Speakers (3 confirmed)

Debator

Ben Schneider

BASE

Managing Director

Debator

Rob Bauer

Bassett Creek

Managing Partner

Moderator

Tom Kesoglou

Ice Miller

Partner
From11:05 AM to1:00 PM

Networking
All IS, Capital Providers

1-2-1 Meetings Block C: Capital Introductions

A structured meeting block designed for direct introductions between independent sponsors and capital providers. The focus is on expanding investor networks, identifying potential allocation partners, and broadening relationships across the lower-middle-market ecosystem.
Networking
1-2-1 Meetings Block C: Capital Introductions

Wednesday 02 December 11:05 AM - 1:00 PM

Topics

Deal Sourcing

Sponsor
From1:00 PM to2:00 PM

Luncheon
All Attendees

Luncheon: Bridging the Valuation Gap in 2026
Luncheon
Luncheon: Bridging the Valuation Gap in 2026

Wednesday 02 December 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

A focused discussion on how transactions are continuing to close in an environment defined by persistent misalignment between buyer expectations and seller pricing. The session examines how sponsors and capital providers are adapting deal structures to bridge this gap and maintain execution momentum.

We will discuss

Why valuation gaps persist despite increased market activity.

How structuring tools are being used to reconcile buyer and seller expectations.

What mechanisms are most effective in getting deals across the finish line.
From2:00 PM to4:15 PM

Networking
All IS

1-2-1 Capital Connection: Afternoon Session

A second dedicated block of pre-scheduled, private one-on-one meetings. This session pairs independent sponsors with an entirely new group of family offices and capital providers to kick off fresh introductions and discuss new deal flow.
Networking
1-2-1 Capital Connection: Afternoon Session

Wednesday 02 December 2:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Topics

Deal Sourcing

Sponsor
From4:15 PM to4:30 PM

All Attendees

Event Closing

Closing remarks to wrap the two-day Summit.

Plan your two days

Agenda

Opening Remarks: Welcome & Agenda Overview

Keynote: Inside a Multi-Billion Family Office: What Family Capital Now Looks for in Independent Sponsors

Keynote: $1B+ in Institutional Family Wealth: How Family Offices Allocate Across Buyouts & Direct Deals

Breakfast Tables: Chatham House Roundtable

Networking Break

1-2-1 Capital Connection: Morning Session

Luncheon: Closing Faster: Removing Friction in Diligence, Data Rooms, and Investor Reporting

Shark Tank Live: What Actually Gets Funded, and What Gets Rejected

The Great Debate: Operational Turnarounds vs. High-Growth Platforms

1-2-1 Capital Connection: Afternoon Session

Cocktail Reception

Private Dinner

Executive Exchange Breakfast: Scaling the Independent Sponsor Model in a More Institutional Market

Family Office Panel: Why We Pass: What Breaks Deals in Investment Committees

The Great Debate: Build a Fund or Stay Independent

1-2-1 Meetings Block C: Capital Introductions

Luncheon: Bridging the Valuation Gap in 2026

1-2-1 Capital Connection: Afternoon Session

Event Closing