PRIVATE EQUITY VALUE CREATION
FORUM & AWARDS
20 & 21 March 2024
Claridge’s, London
The Natural History Museum, London
The Forum hosted 158 delegates, across 105 organisations, a highly interactive day replete with industry insights and networking opportunities.
The following day, 200 individuals gathered at The Natural History Museum for the awards ceremony and celebratory dinner hosted by Award-winning comedian, writer, presenter, and actress Katherine Ryan. Winners, runners-up and guests filled the room with high spirits and laughter!
A huge thank you to all of our sponsors and to our guests for their support, positive feedback and suggestions. We hope to see everyone at the Private Equity Value Creation Forum and Awards 2025!
Actum Group
“
Our team had a fantastic evening,
and the event as a whole was utterly scintillating! Great chance to network also and meet others in the PE space –
a full-bodied spectrum of talent in attendance.
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The Actum Group Private Equity Value Creation Forum and Awards
brought together the private equity community to address risks and discuss opportunities, including the lessons learnt from previous economic cycles as well as the unique characteristics of today’s market.
The Actum Group Private Equity Value Creation Forum Awards brought together private equity professionals, including LPs and operational GPs to address the risks and opportunities of PE Value Creation in the current economic and political landscape.
The emphasis of LPs on long-term value creation, ESG considerations, technology adoption, and responsible practices is reshaping the private equity industry and influencing how GPs approach their investments.
Practitioners, advisors and thought leaders shared their views and engaged in discussions covering GenAI, sustainability’s role in value creation, reputational risk, diversity’s transformative power, leveraging technology and data analytics, optimizing operational efficiency, and driving value through pricing strategies and margin optimisation.
There will be ample opportunities for networking with senior LPs and operating partners from leading GPs throughout the event.
The evening awards ceremony celebrated innovative Value Creation strategies, practitioners and more, as nominated by the private equity community. The winners were chosen by our panel of esteemed panel of judges.
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It was the who’s who of operating partners in big funds
Origin of delegates
UK
Rest of Europe
US
Delegates by industry
- GPs 82%
- Consultants/Advisors 15%
- LPs 3%
- Legal 1%
- Other 1%
Primary roles of delegates
Abhinav Trehan
Alessandro Moretti
Head of Operational Value Creation,
Public Investment Fund
Anders Thulin
Partner, Head of Digital & Technology Practice, Triton
Andrew Tarver
Founding Partner & Head of Motive Create, Motive Partners
Andy Burgess
Bridget Walsh
Global Private Equity Leader, EY
Bryan Turner
Partner, Humatica
Didem Ün Ateṣ
Senior Operating Advisor, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Dimitris Staikos
Independent Operating Partner
Dominica Adam
Chief Sustainability Officer, Seven 2
Elizabeth van den Berg
Executive Vice President, Insight Partners
Elsa Palanza
Global Head of Sustainability & ESG, ICG
Gabriele Questa
Managing Director, KKR
Guillaume Genot
Finance Operating Advisor, Towerbrook
Gurpreet Manku
CEO, Level20
Heleen van Poecke
CEO and Co-Founder, KEY ESG
Maria Carradice
Managing Director, Specialist – ESG, Mayfair Equity Partners
Moti Shahani
Managing Director, Blue Ridge Partners
Naresh Kumar
Independent Operating Partner
Nicole Jones
Talent Director, Portfolio Support Group, Advent International
Pia Heidenmark Cook
Senior Advisor, Teneo
Polly Barnes
Operating Partner People & Talent, EQT
Raouf Fria
Co-Founder, Actum Group
Roberto Del-Maschio
CEO & Co-Founder, Siena Partnership
Séverine De Wulf
Portfolio Talent, Leadership & Governance, PAI Partners
Tara Reeves
Managing Director, Eurazeo
Tim Cochrane
PARTNER-HEAD OF FPP, Montagu
Tim Nixon
CEO, Management Consulting, Teneo
Thomas Dixon
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, Blackstone
Ursula Burns
Chairwoman, Teneo and Co-Founder of Integrum Holdings
Veronica Delgado
Independent Operating Partner
Vipin Nair
Technology Operating Partner, KKR
Yohan Hill
Director of ESG and Responsible Investing, Adams Street Partners
Teneo
Teneo is the global CEO advisory firm, with 1,500 staff over 40 offices. Our Private Equity Growth practice area exists solely to accelerate Enterprise Value addition for PE-backed assets. We have 40 fully specialised staff in Europe and the US, and pride ourselves on our track record of real results for our investor clients
Blue Ridge Partners
Blue Ridge Partners is a global management consulting firm exclusively focused on helping companies accelerate profitable revenue growth. We have worked with more than 1,000 companies to improve their strategic understanding of markets and customers, deepen and expand their customer relationships, and enhance marketing and sales performance.
Our clients include over 130 private equity firms and their portfolio companies – supporting them during deal evaluation, due diligence, and post-acquisition. We have a reputation for helping companies grow faster by rolling up our sleeves,working collaboratively, and delivering measurable impact quickly and more efficiently than large consultancies.
EY
Our global private equity team can help you identify, invest in and transform companies to create more value across your portfolio, at every step of your transaction lifecycle. What separates the best private equity firms from the rest is their ability to spot the right opportunities, find profitable paths to growth, execute strategies that create more value, and achieve the best possible exit — again and again.
EY teams can help increase your ability to create value and maximize return on investment by bringing the skills, technical knowledge, and senior industry experience you need. We’re ready to assemble and deploy teams of people to work at your side from day one of an assignment. It’s all part of our commitment to the transformative power of private equity.
Humatica
Humatica helps private equity backed companies achieve outstanding investment returns with minimal risk.
We help sponsors and portfolio company leaders master the challenge of delivering ambitious value creation plans by working collaboratively with all stakeholders to align the organization and activate it for success.
Humatica’s tool-supported services and big-data benchmarks put hard facts around the critical behaviours and management practices that drive value creation for all stakeholders.
Our fact-based transparency, coupled with deep leadership experience, enables rapid consensus on pragmatic improvements to activate organizations and deliver alpha.
KEY ESG
KEY ESG is a UK-based software platform which automates and optimises the collection, reporting and improvement of ESG and carbon accounting data. We work with fund managers across private and public markets and their portfolio companies. Our modular solutions are flexible to meet the needs of different levels of ESG maturity, company size and complexity. As an official technology partner of the ESG Data Convergence Initiative (EDCI), our users can feed their ESG data directly into the EDCI data collection portal seamlessly via our platform.
ESG regulations and frameworks and constantly evolving and there is increasing focus on carbon emissions and ESG practices from governments, regulatory bodies and consumers. Long term value creation for both investors and companies relies on good ESG processes from data disclosure to improvement actions. KEY ESG’s simple, intuitive platform solves the inefficiency and inaccuracy of historic ESG management processes. Our data conversion calculators, framework libraries and reporting functionality empower businesses to make data-driven decisions about ESG improvements and build a more sustainable future.
KPMG
We can help you understand the risks and upside opportunities of a deal and understand where enterprise value can be improved. Ahead of a divestment, we can help you build a compelling plan for change, backed by data. We provide you with end-to-end delivery – from identifying where potential lies to implementing the programmes to release it.
An integrated team working at deal speed
Our team brings together commercial, financial, operational and data science experts. And we give you access to KPMG’s global network of experts on everything from operations and customer experience, to corporate finance and tax.
Next-level insights using advanced analytics and data science
Our comprehensive library of real-time and high-frequency data enables us to uncover key indicators of potential. And our huge bank of analysis enables us to deliver deep insights in weeks rather than months.
A holistic, end-to-end approach to value creation.
Whether you’re buying, selling or holding, we help you identify potential and provide practical hands-on delivery of performance improvement programmes.
Siena Partnership
Siena Partnership is a boutique consultancy providing executive search, interim management, delivery teams and advisory services to Private Equity and their portfolio companies. We connect high-performing transformation and change agents from technology, change, finance and operations across multiple sectors.
JMAN Group
JMAN is a commercial data partner that specializes in maximizing returns for private equity funds and their portfolio companies. We partner with our clients to address the growing need for investment decisions and value creation initiatives to be backed by reliable, real-time data. When companies partner with JMAN, we combine our data science and data engineering expertise with our deep commercial understanding to deliver tangible high value outcomes at pace.
Founded in 2013, JMAN has a global footprint with offices in New York, London and Chennai. Our team of nearly 300 experts partner with more than 80 private equity funds and over 150 portfolio companies. Nearly 85% of our business is from recurring partnerships with our clients.
Coppett Hill Growth Advisory
Coppett Hill Growth Advisory is a technology-enabled advisor to investor-backed businesses, helping them to accelerate customer acquisition and make strategic decisions. Recently launched by Dave Kirby, previously a partner at mid-market investor Livingbridge, Coppett Hill combines its senior team’s experience as both operators and investors with proprietary technology to find insights and inspire change for their clients. They have already worked with some of the UK’s most exciting and impressive companies across a range of B2B and B2C industry sectors.
A key strength of Coppett Hill’s rapidly-growing team is to support investor-backed businesses in the early stages of a new investment period, to develop the customer acquisition inputs for a value creation plan and to bridge any gap in understanding between the board and the marketing leader. The Coppett Hill team regularly share valuable content based on concepts and tools that they’ve found to be consistently helpful when trying to accelerate business growth.
PE VALUE CREATION FORUM INSIGHTS
Featuring an array of LPs, GPs and advisors, the PE Value Creation Forum provided a platform for discussions and networking opportunities centered around private equity deals and value creation, with a focus on driving revenue growth, sustainability, diversity, and operational excellence.
Managing Director,
Blue Ridge Partners
BREAKFAST BRIEFING
Revenue Growth Acceleration
The day kicked off with Moti Shahani, Managing Director of Blue Ridge Partners, setting the tone for morning worksho[ on revenue growth acceleration.
Co-Founder, Actum Group
Actum Welcome
Raouf Fria, Co-Founder of the Actum Group, warmly welcomed the attendees, highlighting the forum’s commitment to addressing key industry trends and challenges.
CEO, Management Consulting,
Teneo
Chair Opening Remarks
Tim Nixon, CEO of Teneo and event chair, provided insightful opening remarks, setting the stage for the day’s sessions, followed by Pia Heidenmark Cook, Senior Advisor at Teneo, who delivered a keynote on driving transformative change in unprecedented times.
Senior Advisor, Teneo
KEYNOTE
Driving Transformative Change In Unprecedented Times
Following the opening remarks, Pia Heidenmark Cook, Senior Advisor at Teneo, delivered a compelling keynote speech focused on driving transformative change during unprecedented times.
PANEL DISCUSSION
The Role Of Sustainability In Value Creation
The day’s first panel dove deep into the role of sustainability in value creation. The session tackled the integration of environmental objectives into private equity strategies, balancing financial returns with broader sustainability goals. Moderated by Heleen van Poecke, CEO of KEY ESG, panelists from Mayfair Equity Partners, ICG, Seven2, and Adams Street Partners, shared best practices and emerging trends in sustainable value creation.
Heleen van Poecke (MODERATOR)
KEY ESG
Maria Carradice
Mayfair Equity Partners
Elsa Palanza
Global Head of Sustainability & ESG,
ICG
Dominica Adam
Chief Sustainability Officer, Seven 2
Yohan Hill
Director of ESG and Responsible Investing, Adams Street Partners
Sponsors & Cfos
Better Alignment For Greater Transformation
The evolving role of CFOs was explored in a panel moderated by Andy Burgess, with insights from KKR, Blackstone, Towerbrook, and Five Arrows Principal Investments on fostering clear communication, data-driven decision-making, and strategic alignment to enhance value creation.
Andy Burgess (MODERATOR)
Gabriele Questa
Managing Director,
KKR
Thomas Dixon
Managing Director, Portfolio Operations,
Blackstone
Guillaume Genot
Finance Operating Advisor, Towerbrook
Abhinav Trehan
MD, Head of Finance Portfolio Operations Group, Five Arrows Principal Investments
Fireside Chat
Delivering Through Diversity
During the event, a fireside chat featuring Ursula Burns, Chairwoman of Teneo and Co-Founder of Integrum Holdings, alongside Gurpreet Manku, CEO of Level20, highlighted the critical role of diversity and inclusion in building resilient and innovative organizations, with more inclusive corporate cultures.
Gurpreet Manku (MODERATOR)
CEO, Level 20
Ursula Burns
Chairwoman, Teneo and Co-Founder of Integrum Holdings
Operational Improvements And Human Capital
The Role Of Technology And Data Analytics
The next panel focused on the role of technology and data analytics in driving improvements. The panel, moderated by Bryan Tyrner, Partner at Humatica, featured speakers from Advent International, EQT, PAI Partners, and the Public Investment Fund. Together, they explored how innovative technologies can enhance efficiency and optimize human capital management.
Bryan Turner (MODERATOR)
Partner, Humatica
Nicole Jones
Talent Director,
Portfolio Support Group, Advent International
Polly Barnes
Operating Partner People & Talent, EQT
Séverine De Wulf
Managing Director
Portfolio Talent, Leadership & Governance, PAI Partners
Alessandro Moretti
Head of Operational Value Creation,
Public Investment Fund
GENERATIVE AI
Pioneering New Frontiers In Value Creation
TA forward-looking session on generative AI, moderated by Bridget Walsh, EY’s Global Private Equity Leader, delved into its transformative potential in the private equity sector. Experts from KKR, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Eurazeo, Triton, and Motive Partners discussed how AI can enhance decision-making processes, improve predictive insights, and identify unique investment opportunities.
Bridget Walsh (MODERATOR)
Global Private Equity Leader, EY
Vipin Nair
Technology Operating Partner, KKR
Didem Ün Ateṣ
Senior Operating Advisor, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Tara Reeves
Managing Director,
Eurazeo
Anders Thulin
Partner, Head of Digital & Technology Practice, Triton
Andrew Tarver
Founding Partner & Head of Motive Create, Motive Partners
PANEL DISCUSSION
In House & Independent Operating Partners – Accelerated Value Creation
The conference also highlighted the critical role of both in-house and independent operating partners in maximizing value creation. The discussions centered on the operational benefits these partnerships can offer, such as expertise, flexibility, and alignment of interests. Moderated by Roberto Del-Maschio, CEO and Co-Founder of Siena Partnership, the panel included both independent operating partners and experts from Montagu and Insight Partners.
Roberto Del-Maschio (MODERATOR)
CEO & Co-Founder,
Siena Partnership
Tim Cochrane
PARTNER-HEAD OF FPP, Montagu
Elizabeth van den Berg
Executive Vice President,
Insight Partners
Veronica Delgado
Independent Operating Partner
Naresh Kumar
Independent Operating Partner
Dimitris Staikos
Independent Operating Partner
Stay tuned for next year’s edition of the PE Value Creation Forum, where we will continue to explore trends and celebrate achievements in the field.
AWARDS
Axel Buchner
Chair of Entrepreneurial Finance and Corporate Finance, ESCP Business School – Berlin Campus
Elena Pantazi Read
Partner, Talent & Portfolio, Northzone
Fiona Cumming
Partner, Global co-head Fund Finance practice, Allen & Overy
Jonathan Goor
Independent Operating Partner, Ex Acuris (Mergermarket, Inframation, SparkSpread)
Jonathan Hosgood
Partner, Ex BC Partners, Barclays, Credit Rubric
Kathleen Van Aerden
Head of Research, Actum Group
Marc Kitten
Partner at Candecic & Visiting Finance Professor at Imperial College,Candecic, Imperial College
Myriam Vander Elst
Chief Engagement Officer, ComEx and Board member, Epic Foundation
Ngowari Adikibi
Partner, Stephenson Harwood
Paul Francis-Grey
Editor, Actum Group
Tanya Tracey
CEO, GAIN – Girls Are INvestors
Virginie Favre
Global Head of Market Data - Global Financial Services, Natixis IM & Natixis CIB - Groupe BPCE
VALUE CREATION DEAL OF THE YEAR
This award is divided into four main categories and is judged on investments realised in 2022. These are deals that have created the most value measured by the percentage increase in EBITDA between acquisition and exit, coupled with value creation metrics delivered.
• Large: The Large Deal category covers deal values more than £500m.
• Upper-Mid: The Upper-Mid Deal category includes deal values in the range of £100m to £500m.
• Lower-Mid: The Lower-Mid Deal category covers deal values in the £20m to £100m range.
• Growth: The Growth category looks at deals with values up to £20m.
BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN VALUE CREATION
In this category, judges explore how private equity firms have deployed technology to identify, develop or execute value creation levers. This could include the use of data or software in ways that had not previously been considered or applied by the portfolio company.
VALUE CREATION TEAM OF THE YEAR
In this category, the judges look for a case study that demonstrates a high degree of collaboration and teamwork between sponsor, executive management, and third-party consultant to successfully deliver a specific value creation goal over the last 12 months.
VALUE CREATION INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
In this category, judges look for a standout initiative implemented in the last 24 months that has had a material impact on the operations of a business. This could include, among other things, complementary or
transformative bolt-on acquisition; new product launches; new pricing models; digital enhancements or implementation; or internationalising a company. The award covers initiatives made in the last two years to allow them to demonstrate value.
VALUE CREATION INNOVATION AWARD
Judges award this to a private equity house that has introduced novel ways of growing a company or applied new or revolutionary value creation strategies and levers that have led to material improvements to a particular business or sector. Judges also take into account innovative R&D within companies that has resulted in new, cutting-edge product development or launches that have made a significant impact and impression on its specific sector.
VALUE CREATION ESG AWARD
The Value Creation ESG Award covers the Environmental, Social and Governance impacts a sponsor has made upon a company.
Judges consider Environmental initiatives that have been introduced to a business such as making a company carbon neutral, reducing the use of travel across the company and making workspaces greener.
The Social element of this award is judged on how proactive a sponsor encourages diversity and inclusion across a company’s workforce and management. Additionally, it looks at the work a company does for its community and charitable initiatives it may champion.
Governance initiatives take into account how a sponsor has ‘professionalised’ a company by installing best practise procedures, creating relevant reporting lines or establishing a Board and ensuring
the company meets all of its sector-specific regulatory requirements.
VALUE CREATION EXPANSION AWARD
This award will be presented to a private equity firm that has successfully guided a portfolio company in expanding into new countries, product lines, or service offerings. The judges will consider the scope of the expansion, its financial impact on the company’s balance sheet, the number of new jobs created, the speed and efficiency of the expansion, and how the expansion has improved the overall business.
GROUP PORTFOLIO COLLABORATION
EXCELLENCE AWARD
Judges look for examples of sponsors that use high levels of knowledge-sharing and cross-pollination of ideas throughout its various portfolio companies. This could include annual or quarterly events attended by CEOs and centralised online portals where management teams can make contact with investment managers and fellow management teams for advice
VALUE CREATION ADVISORY FIRM OF THE YEAR
This advisory firm award is separated into categories that cover Revenue & Growth; People and organisational strategy; Digital transformation; Operational Process Improvements; and ESG.
Submissions made by advisors in each category demonstrate the achievements that have been made during value creation projects for private equity backed businesses and the success they have since earned for the company.
VALUE CREATION SOFTWARE SOLUTION AWARD
This will be awarded to a software company in the private equity sector that excels in fostering value creation through innovation, efficiency, and significant impacts on operational and financial outcomes. The judging process will center on evaluating the software’s effectiveness in strategic alignment, enhancing investor and company transparency, and its novel development approaches. Key areas of focus are streamlining data management, embedding ESG metrics, and promoting technology and innovation, all aimed at underlining the software’s role in driving revenue growth, operational improvements, sustainable practices, and overall value creation.
LIMITED PARTNERS
This award celebrates LPs in the private equity sector for their outstanding role in driving value creation. The judging criteria include strategic involvement in promoting growth, innovation, operational improvements, and ESG practices, the introduction of innovative and value-adding initiatives, impactful collaboration with General Partners (GPs), and the LP’s overall influence in setting industry standards and enhancing the private equity ecosystem.
VALUE CREATION RISING STAR AWRAD
This is awarded to an individual who has worked in the private equity sector for no longer than two years and demonstrated an outstanding talent in identifying and executing value creation and growth strategies, which have proven to deliver exceptional results across one or more investments during their short time in the industry.
