2025 Private Markets Annual Meeting
February 24 - 26, 2025 | Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale Arizona
Speakers
Charlie Cook
Founder of The Cook Political Report
Political Analyst for the National Journal
Charlie Cook is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading authorities on U.S. elections and political trends. Charlie founded the independent, non-partisan Cook Political Report in 1984, serving as Editor and Publisher until August 1, 2021 when Amy Walter took over those roles, ownership and management of the venerable newsletter. Charlie will remain as a contributor to the renamed “Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.”
In addition to lecturing, Charlie will continue to write his weekly column for National Journal and serving as a political analyst for both National Journal and for NBC News. Cook is also a co-author of the 2020 and 2022 editions of The Almanac of American Politics.
Al Hunt in the Wall Street Journal has referred to Charlie as “the Picasso of election Analysis” while the New York Times has referred to the Cook Political Report as “a newsletter that both parties regard as authoritative.” In 2010, Charlie was the co-recipient of the American Political Science Association’s prestigious Carey McWilliams award to honor “a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics.” In 2013 Charlie served as a Resident Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Brooke Coburn
Capital Meridian Partners, Co-Founder and Partner
Brooke Coburn is a partner and co-founder of Capitol Meridian Partners, a middle market private equity firm based in Washington, DC that invests in Aerospace, Defense & Government Technology companies. Brooke previously spent 25 year with The Carlyle Group in PE investing roles in Carlyle’s flagship U.S. buyout and middle market/ & growth teams and, more recently, in a senior management role as Deputy CIO and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Prior to these responsibilities, he was a founding member of Carlyle’s Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) practice and Carlyle’s U.S. Middle Market & Growth Private Equity Group, where he served as a Fund Head for more than a decade. Brooke has more than 25 years of experience investing in middle market companies with deep expertise in technology, government services, and technology-enabled business services. Mr. Coburn played a leadership role with a number of Carlyle’s investments including Gemcom Software, ECI Software, Coalfire Systems, Wyyerd Broadband, Worldstrides, Bredbandsbolaget, Prime Communications, Sonitrol, WCI Cable, Genesis Cable, Core Location, NetMotion Wireless, Catapult Learning, Neptune Communications, Pacific Telecom Cable, and a number of foundational data center assets that were combined to form Coresite (NYSE: COR). Brooke serves on the investment committee of the Washington National Cathedral and also serves on the boards of Altumint, Wyyerd and TDF Ventures. He is a recovering ice hockey coach (USAH Level 4) and endurance sport athlete (Clydesdale division). He received an AB with honors from Princeton University and was a 2021 Harvard ALI fellow.
Seth Harvey
Bluestaq, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Seth Harvey is the Co-Founder & serves as Chief Executive Officer at Bluestaq. He serves as Managing Partner, Technology & Member of Investment Committee at One funds. Dr. Harvey obtained his bachelor’s degrees in computer science and mechanical engineering from the Montana School of Mines in 2003. He went on to earn his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming in 2007, and in 2008, he successfully completed his PhD focused on satellite attitude control using adaptive control theory, also from the University of Wyoming.
Daniel Jaffe
9Yards Capital, Partner
Daniel is a Partner at 9Yards Capital, a $1B+ venture and growth fund focused on foundational industries including security, supply chain, and fintech. He helps lead the team’s investment coverage of supply chain technology, national security, and defense sectors, with notable investments in companies such as Anduril, OneBrief, Deliverr, and Motive, to name a few. Prior to joining 9Yards Capital, Daniel worked in the investment banking division at Piper Jaffray and on the valuations team at Duff & Phelps.
General Jack Keane
Chairman of the Institute for the Study of War
General Jack Keane, a born and raised New Yorker, son of an immigrant mother, and a WWII Marine father is a recognized foreign policy and national security authority who provides nationwide analysis and commentary in speeches, articles, congressional testimony and through several hundred television and radio interviews annually. He serves as an influential advisor to presidents, cabinet officials, members of congress, international leaders, CEOs and business leaders. He is the Chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, a member of the prestigious Secretary of Defense Policy Board, having advised four Defense Secretaries and a member of the 2018 and 2022 Congressional Commission on the National Defense Strategy.
A four-star general, he completed 37 years of public service, culminating in his appointment as acting Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. General Keane was in the Pentagon on 9/11 and provided oversight and support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In late 2006 President Bush invited General Keane to the Oval Office among others to discuss Iraq. Alone among them, General Keane brought the president a concrete strategic concept, later to be known as the troop “surge” which he helped develop, to change American strategy for the war and improve its execution. He is a career infantry paratrooper, a combat veteran of the Vietnam War decorated for valor, who spent much of his military life in operational commands, including command of the famed 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the legendary 18th Airborne Corps, the Army’s largest warfighting organization.
He was commissioned an infantry 2nd Lieutenant from Army ROTC as a Distinguished Military Graduate at Fordham University receiving a Bachelor of Science degree and received a Master of Arts degree from Western Kentucky University. He is a graduate of the Army War College and the Army Command and General Staff College.
Among his awards, General Keane was the first military leader to be honored with the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award at the Reagan Library and in March of 2020 General Keane was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House.
Melissa S. Kearney
Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland
Melissa S. Kearney is the Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland. She is also director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group; a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research; and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of MDRC and on the Board of the Notre Dame Wilson-Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities. Kearney previously served as Director of the Hamilton Project at Brookings and as co-chair of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative. Kearney’s research focuses on poverty, inequality, and social policy in the United States. Her work is published in leading academic journals and is frequently cited in the press. She is an editorial board member of the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy and the Journal of Economic Literature; she was previously co-editor of the Journal of Human Resources and a Senior Editor of the Future of Children. She is the author of The Two-Parent Privilege (University of Chicago Press, 2023.) Kearney teaches Public Economics at both the undergraduate and Ph.D. level at the University of Maryland. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT.
Barry Kirby
Union Credit, Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer
Barry Kirby is a highly accomplished professional in the fintech and credit union industry. He currently serves as the Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Union Credit. Before joining Union Credit, he held the position of Senior Vice President and Managing Director at CuneXus, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TruStage. Barry’s career journey spans various areas of the fintech and credit union sector. He has successfully contributed to business development, the introduction and growth of credit union fintech products, the management of strategic channel partnerships, client relations, marketing, underwriting, and risk assessment. Notably, prior to his roles at Union Credit and CuneXus, Barry was an integral part of the original team that built the DecisionLender platforms and managed TCI for 15 years, a company later acquired by MeridianLink.
Steve Magami
Agrovision, Co-Founder, CEO and Executive Chairman
Through innovation and vertical integration, Steve has built Agrovision into the produce industry’s first unicorn, setting a new standard for growth in agriculture. Mr. Magami has led a career building companies and developing projects. He has generational roots in agriculture and has been active in agri-business, land acquisition, water, and infrastructure in Peru since 2007 when he co-founded his first Peruvian company (sold to a $3 billion private equity firm and later to British Petroleum). Mr. Magami previously served as a Principal of Lovell Minnick Partners, the private equity arm of Putnam Lovell Jefferies, responsible for $1 billion in Private Equity partnerships focusing on executing buyouts of middle-market financial services companies. Mr. Magami has served on the boards of numerous private equity, hedge fund, and venture capital-backed companies.
Shawn McAllister
Solace, Chief Technology Officer & Chief Product Officer
Shawn McAllister is responsible for the strategy and delivery of the Solace PubSub+ Event Streaming and Management Platform. He leads a team of incredibly talented engineers and architects in this endeavor Shawn has worked with many of our clients to help them adopt event-driven architecture and to learn first-hand their needs as input to the innovation built into the PubSub+ Platform. He has participated in the definition of various OASIS messaging protocol standards, including MQTT 3.1.1, MQTT 5.0, and AMQP1.0. Before joining Solace, Shawn led software, hardware, and test engineering teams at Newbridge Networks (later Alcatel Canada), where he was responsible for developing features on ATM and Ethernet switches as well as the 7750 Multiservice IP Router. Shawn holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, with majors in both Computer Science and Combinatorics/Optimization.
Tad Mielnicki
Larx, Founder and CEO
Tad Mielnicki is a defense technology entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Larx, a geospatial, drone, and remote sensing analytics company serving national security agencies and commercial sector customers. At Larx, he leads the development of an intelligence fusion platform that streamlines complex data workflows, enabling mission-critical decision-making. Before founding Larx, Tad co-founded Second Front Systems and Overwatch Data, taking the later through Y Combinator. Prior to his entrepreneurial career, Tad spent over a decade in the U.S. Department of Defense, focused on counterterrorism and counter-IED initiatives. His deep expertise in intelligence, security, and emerging defense technologies continues to shape his work in bridging the gap between the commercial and government sectors. Tad began his career in the political realm, working on Capitol Hill in the Office of the Majority Whip in the House of Representatives. Beyond Larx, Tad is actively involved in fostering innovation within the defense ecosystem as an advisor and investor in multiple early-stage start-ups. He also advises larger financial organizations and foreign governments on security and technology issues.
Lee Thomas Miller
Songwriter/Producer
Lee Thomas Miller is a songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. Since moving to Nashville in 1991 he has had 20 top 20 singles with 7 reaching #1. His songs have reached radio play in excess of 25 million spins with streaming numbers reaching into the hundreds of millions. He won both a CMA and an ACM award for Song of the Year with “In Color” as recorded by Jamey Johnson. “You’re Gonna Miss This” won Song of the Year at both the ASCAP and NSAI awards and single of the year at the CMA awards. His accomplishments include 3 Grammy nominations, a teen choice award, 13 BMI awards and he has had 4 different songs nominated for ‘Song of the Year’ at the major industry awards. (CMA, ACM and/or Grammys). Miller has also been given 4 “Songs I Wish I Had Written” trophies as voted on by the professional membership of NSAI (the Nashville Songwriter’s Association).
Miller has had success also as a record producer producing a pair of top 20 hits on recording artist Steve Holy including his #1 record “Brand New Girlfriend.” He cowrote the most recent Scotty McCreery top 5 hit “It Matters To Her.” Lee is currently serving in his second stint at President of the NSAI board.
Wendell Mobley
Singer/Songwriter
Multi platinum Grammy nominated singer songwriter Wendell Mobley has had 10 number one songs parked at the top of the charts for a combined 26 weeks and sold over 60 million records and countless BMI awards. He continues to create refreshing lyrics and melodies for the biggest acts and brightest newcomers. Since making his way from his hometown of Celina, Ohio, Wendell has had huge success with acts including Rascal Flatts “Take Me There,” “Fast Cars and Freedom,” “I Melt” and “Banjo” – Kenny Chesney’s ACM song of the year nom “There Goes My Life,” ASCAP song of the year “How Forever Feels,” ASCAP song of the year “How Country Feels” for Randy Houser – Jason Aldean’s number one songs “Tattoos On This Town” and “A Little More Summertime,” 15 other cuts by Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan “Shut It Down,” Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Dustin Lynch, Brantley Gilbert, Rodney Atkins, Alabama, Carrie Underwood, Trace Adkins, Lonestar, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Montgomery-Gentry, Andy Griggs, Julianne Hough, John Michael Montgomery, the legendary Kenny Rogers and pop star Edwin McCain among many others. He is the writer / singer and voice of the national ad campaign “Napa Know How.”
This decorated songwriter is also one of Nashville’s finest vocalist. Yes, he’s written a lot of songs that you’ve blasted through your speakers but if you’ve not heard him sing then you’re missing out.
Kevin O’Neil
ONE Bow River, Chief Investment Officer
Hailing from Colorado Springs, Kevin is a driven and fearless serial entrepreneur who is dedicated to achieving success and making a positive impact on the community. His entrepreneurial journey began in the textile industry and distressed multifamily real estate, and later expanded into aerospace and defense private equity in 2008 with the acquisition of Braxton Technologies. Since then, Kevin has been the CEO of the O’Neil Group, which he founded in 2008. He has also been a managing broker for Paramount Group, a property management company owned by the O’Neil Group, since 2011. In 2015, Kevin founded Catalyst Campus in downtown Colorado Springs. In late 2020, alongside Ken O’Neil and The O’Neil Group, Kevin managed the asset liquidation to Parsons Corporation. Since exiting BSTG, Kevin has managed various additional investments in the Aerospace and Defense sector. Kevin graduated with a B.A. in Communication from the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs in 1990. In recognition of his accomplishments, he was honored as the 2019 Business Citizen of the Year by the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC.
Forrest Richmond
Arctos Partners, Director
Mr. Richmond is responsible for all aspects of transaction evaluation and execution. Prior to joining Arctos Partners, Mr. Richmond was a Senior Associate at HarbourVest Partners, a global private equity firm, in their Boston office. Mr. Richmond joined the firm as an Associate and was responsible for the evaluation, structuring, execution, and monitoring of private equity transactions. At HarbourVest, Mr. Richmond executed transactions representing over $1 billion of equity deployment and played an integral role in building out the firm’s Technology, Media, and Telecom investing framework. Mr. Richmond’s deal experience spans preferred equity, fund restructuring, and single-asset direct investments including several large, industry shaping transactions. Prior to joining HarbourVest, Mr. Richmond was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Technology, Media, and Telecom group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Mr. Richmond spent time in the firm’s New York and Palo Alto offices where he provided strategic M&A advisory to clients and executed transactions representing over $5 billion in value. Mr. Richmond graduated with honors from Carnegie Mellon University, where he received a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Global Systems and Management.
David Siegel
Nationwide Medical, Chief Executive Officer
David Siegel helped transform Nationwide Medical, Inc., from a small family-owned company into a national sleep and respiratory company. David has primarily focused on the company’s strategic direction, payer contracting expansion, and manufacturer relationships. David currently sits on several industry boards and committees including the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, & Respiratory Committee at AAHomecare, the Board of Directors of the California Association of Medical Providers, the Brightree Advisory Board, and the Board of Directors for Connecting a Caring Community. David holds an Exemptee license and has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Systems Management from California State University, Northridge.
Jean M. Twenge
Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University and Author
Jean M. Twenge, Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University, is the author of more than 180 scientific publications and seven books, including Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future and iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood. She holds a BA and MA from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She writes the Generation Tech substack.
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