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2025 WSB Private Capital Conference
Friday, November 14 | 9:45am – 3:00pm
Over the past two decades, private capital has experienced significant growth and transformation, driven by increasing global demand for alternative investments. Private equity, venture capital, and private credit have expanded as investors seek higher returns and diversification outside of traditional public markets. Institutional investors, such as pension funds, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds, have poured capital into private markets, fueling the rise of mega-funds and expanding investment into sectors like technology, healthcare, and infrastructure. Regulatory changes, increased access to technology, and a shift toward more flexible capital structures have also played a key role, enabling private capital firms to take a more active role in company growth and operational improvements. As a result, private capital has become a more prominent and influential part of the global financial ecosystem.
The Second Annual WSB Private Capital Conference
WSB is honored to host the 2025 Private Capital Conference on November 14. This gathering of top industry experts will explore the sectors of private equity, private credit, and venture capital. Please join us as we discuss the latest sector insights and trends with industry leaders.
Featured Speakers
Mark Attanasio, Director-Alternative Investments, General Motors Asset Management
Mark Attanasio is a Director at General Motors Asset Management (“GMAM”). He currently oversees a team responsible for managing GM’s allocation to Absolute Return Strategies, Real Estate, and Private Equity across several GM domestic and international pension plans. Mark has been a member of the Absolute return Strategies team since inception and has added the responsibilities of private equity and real estate more recently. His primary responsibilities include due diligence, risk management and portfolio construction. Mark also sits on a several internal committees (Investment Management and Operational Risk Management) and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for an international pension plan.
Additionally, while at GM, Mark has managed GM’s Equity program, a Global Tactical Asset Allocation program and the trading room. Mark joined GMAM in 1999, where his initial responsibilities were in risk management until his transition into the Absolute Return Strategies Group. Prior to joining GMAM, Mark worked at Bankers Trust Company in their Investment Consulting and Risk Management Groups.
Mark received a BA in Economics and an MBA from Rutgers University. Mark is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Anna Burckhardt, Vice President, Oak Hill Advisors L.P.
Anna Burckhardt is a Vice President on the US Credit team at Oak Hill Advisors. Prior to joining Oak Hill in 2021, she was a High Yield Credit Analyst at Barclays. Anna started her career in 2018 as an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse.
Joseph Buss, Managing Director, TPG Capital
Joseph Buss is a Managing Director at TPG Capital based in Chicago, where he focuses on fundraising as part of the Client and Capital Formation group. Prior to joining TPG in 2020, Joe was at PJT Park Hill where he focused on private equity, credit and infrastructure fundraising. Before Park Hill, Joe was a member of the Credit Suisse Private Fund Group, and prior to that had spent nine years at Goldman Sachs. Joe received his BBA from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and his MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
Brad Charchut, Partner, Bain Capital
Mr. Charchut has over 30 years of experience in leveraged lending. He is a Partner at Bain Capital in the $54B Credit business where he is responsible for private debt capital markets and new business origination in North America, including private equity sponsor coverage. Previously, Mr. Charchut was a Senior Director at Cerberus Capital where he originated, underwrote, and syndicated senior and subordinated financing for private equity sponsors. Prior to Cerberus, Mr. Charchut was a Vice President in Merchant Banking Syndications at Heller Financial and structured leveraged loan transactions at BT Alex. Brown and First Chicago NBD. Mr. Charchut received his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. from Northwestern University.
Tom Dircks, Private Equity Associate, One Rock Capital
Tom Dircks is an Associate of One Rock Capital Partners, LLC. Prior to joining One Rock, Mr. Dircks was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Financial Restructuring Group at Houlihan Lokey. Mr. Dircks earned a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
AJ Ervin, Associate, Falfurrias Management Partners
Mr. Ervin joined Falfurrias Management Partners as an Associate in 2025. Previously, Mr. Ervin served as an Analyst at Evercore in New York. While at Evercore, Mr. Ervin focused on GP-led advisory and secondaries transactions as a member of the Private Capital Advisory group. Mr. Ervin is a 2023 graduate from the University of Wisconsin, and received a BBA in Finance, Investment & Banking.
Max Gantman, Private Equity Associate, Altamont Capital Partners
Max Gantman is a Private Equity Associate at Altamont Capital Partners, where he focuses on investments in industrials and business services. He recently leveraged his private equity experience to acquire a small business in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Max serves on the Advisory Board of Access Distributed, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to careers in finance, and remains an active advocate for the Badger community. He earned a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he majored in Finance and Insurance and minored in Computer Sciences.
Darryl Lewis, Operating Partner, Banneker Partners
Darryl Lewis is an Operating Partner at Banneker Partners, focusing on driving operational excellence and value creation. Mr. Lewis was previously the Chief Technology Officer at STATS, a Vista Equity Partners portfolio company. Prior to STATS, he was the Managing Director of Product & Technology for Vista Equity Partners, where he led technology due diligence and portfolio-wide value creation, collaborating closely with management teams to implement best practices across Vista’s entire portfolio of companies, including Websense, Tibco, Mitratech, Lanyon, DealerSocket, ACTIVE Network, Omnitracs, Newscycle (now Naviga), Aptean, Greenway, Social Solutions, and STATS.
Mr. Lewis started his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a software engineer, and spent the bulk of his career at Microsoft where he was a development lead on Excel, a program management leader on Encarta and MSN, the lead for a Microsoft cable television joint venture, and a member of the founding team for the Xbox. Mr. Lewis holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin and is currently a board member for the University of Wisconsin School of Business. He is also a board director of N-able, Inc. (NABL) and chairman of the N-able cybersecurity committee. Mr. Lewis resides in Seattle with his wife and three sons.
Scott Parrish, Head of Private Equity, State of Wisconsin Investment Board
Scott joined the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (“SWIB”) in 2005 and has over 29 years of experience working in Private Equity. SWIB is one of the largest U.S. Pension Funds with over $150 billion in assets. Scott leads the Private Equity portfolio, with a market value of over $22 billion. Prior to joining SWIB, Scott was a Private Equity Investment Officer for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, where he spent ten years. Scott received a B.S. in Finance, cum laude, from Eastern Illinois University and an MBA from the University of Illinois.
Michael Skelly, Managing Director, Lexington Partners
Michael Skelly is a Managing Director of Lexington Partners primarily engaged in the evaluation of secondary purchases of private equity and alternative investments.
Prior to joining Lexington in 2010, Mr. Skelly worked at Brevan Howard and prior to that he was an analyst in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Skelly graduated from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) with a B.B.A. in finance and political science.
Halle Sterling, Private Equity Associate, Berkshire Partners
Halle Sterling was most recently a Private Equity Associate at Berkshire Partners, where she focused on investments in the technology and communications sectors, including global data center platforms and IT managed services. She previously worked as a Private Equity Associate at Siris Capital, and prior to that, she was an Investment Banking Analyst at Rothschild & Co. Halle is passionate about mentorship, serving as a Wisconsin Investment Banking Club alumni mentor and previously a co-chair of Access Better Learning and Education (ABLE). She earned her B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently pursuing her MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Matthew Teichner, Managing Director, Co-Head of Golub Capital Credit Opportunities
Mr. Teichner joined Golub Capital in 2015 and is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Golub Capital Credit Opportunities. He was previously a Managing Director on the Capital Markets team. Prior to joining Golub Capital, Mr. Teichner was in the Financial Sponsors group at Deutsche Bank, where he covered large cap and middle market private equity clients across various products, including debt, equity and M&A. He was responsible for transaction origination and execution, with a significant focus on leveraged finance. Mr. Teichner earned his B.B.A. degree with honors in Finance, Investment and Banking from The University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Jen Wilson, Vice President-Head of Private Investments, Thrivent
Jen has 21 years of professional experience and has been involved with middle market private equity for most of her career. At Thrivent, she is involved in making all private equity fund commitments and equity co-investments. Before joining Thrivent in 2006, she worked at ING Investment Management focusing on private debt investments. Jen began her career at Arthur Andersen in its Transaction Advisory Services department.
Jen earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. Jen completed her CPA designation and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.
Jen is a board member of Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Additionally, she is a member of the University of St. Thomas Investment Committee, the Investment Advisory Council for the Minnesota State Board of Investment, several fund advisory boards, and is co-chair of PEWIN’s Twin Cities Chapter.
Jen chairs and serves on Thrivent’s Private Equity Investment Committee.
Jon Ziebarth, Managing Director, Sixth Street
Jon Ziebarth is a Managing Director at Sixth Street. Prior to joining Sixth Street, Mr. Ziebarth was a Senior Vice President with Golub Capital from 2009 to 2017. While at Golub Capital, Mr. Ziebarth was responsible for underwriting, executing and monitoring leveraged finance investments for middle market private equity sponsors. Prior to 2009, Mr. Ziebarth was an Associate at Saybrook Capital, where he executed private equity investments in middle market companies. From 2005 to 2007, he worked at Deutsche Bank in the M&A Group of the Investment Banking division, where he advised clients on mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Ziebarth began his career in the Investment Banking division at Robert W. Baird. Mr. Ziebarth received a BA in Finance and Political Science from University of Wisconsin – Madison and an MBA in Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Agenda and Venue
| Time | Session |
| Morning Session: | |
| 9:45 am – 10:00 am | WSB Opening Remarks |
| 10:00 am – 10:45 am | Junior Private Equity Panel |
| 11:00 am – 11:45 am | Limited Partners Panel |
| Afternoon Session: | |
| 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm | Senior Private Credit Panel |
| 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm | Senior Private Equity Panel |
| 2:45 pm – 5:00 pm | Open Networking |
The event will be held in Gordon Event Center (2nd floor).
Registration
Please use the button at the top of this page to register for the conference. Note that you may register to attend: (i) both the morning and afternoon sessions (recommended), (ii) the morning session (Junior Private Equity and Limited Partners), or (iii) the afternoon session (Private Credit and Private Equity).
Sponsors
The 2025 WSB Private Capital Conference is sponsored by the Wisconsin School of Business Department of Finance, Investment, and Banking and the Wisconsin Private Equity Club.
