23rd Annual M&A and Economic Forum

Nicole is global head of Consumer and Consumer Services in Private Equity within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. She also has oversight of the firm’s US Healthcare and Business Services Private Equity Investing platforms. Nicole serve as a member of the Asset & Wealth Management Corporate Investment Committee, Asset & Wealth Management Private Sustainable Investing Group Investment Committee and Asset & Wealth Management Private Credit Investment Committee. She is also a member of the Firmwide New Activity Committee. Previously, Nicole served on the steering committee of the Goldman Sachs Women’s Network from 2008 to 2010. She joined Goldman Sachs as a n associate in the Merchant Banking Division in New York in 2005. Nicole became a vice president and relocated to Tokyo in 2006 and returned to New York in 2007. She was named managing director in 2010 and partner in 2016.

Prior to joining the firm, Nicole worked at Onex Corporation in private equity from 2003 to 2005, and at Merrill Lynch in investment banking from 1999 to 2003.

Nicole serves on the board of Aptos, MDVIP, Visual Comfort and Zaxby’s. She previously served on the boards of Bass Pro Cabela’s, Flynn Restaurant Group, Hearthside Foods, Michael Foods, myeyedr, Sensus and Suja. Nicole currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Jersey Shore University Medical Center and was a founding board member of Bronx Success Academy 1, a charter school in the Bronx that serves underprivileged students in the community.

Nicole earned an AB in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1999.

A respected journalist, political strategist, and award-winning ad maker, David Axelrod was the sage architect of President Barack Obama’s improbable four-year march from the Illinois State Senate to the White House. As senior advisor to the President, he was a key figure in shaping—and selling—the administration’s agenda and its significant legislative victories, including the economic stimulus program, health care reform and financial regulatory reform. From his unique vantage point, Axelrod shares the leadership lessons he learned working in the West Wing and analyzes the major issues of the day.

He is a senior political commentator for CNN and host of The Axe Files podcast, a series of interviews with key figures in the political world. Axelrod was inducted into The American Association of Political Consultants’ Hall of Fame in 2013. His New York Times best-selling memoir, BELIEVER: My Forty Years in Politics (February, 2015), spans 40 years which include corruption and transformation, turmoil and progress—offering a look behind the closed doors of politics while issuing a thrilling call to democratic action. This powerful, inspiring memoir is enlivened by the charm and candor of one of the greatest political strategists in recent American history.

Leonardo Bursztyn is the Saieh Family Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He is also an Editor of the Journal of Political Economy, the co-director of the Becker Friedman Institute Political Economics Initiative, and the founder and director of the Normal Lab.

His research uses field experiments, often combined with observational data, to better understand how individuals' main economic decisions are shaped by their social environments. His work has examined educational, labor market, financial, consumption, and political decisions, both in developing and developed countries.

Leonardo is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a fellow at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), and an affiliate at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and at the Pearson Institute. He is also the recipient of a 2016 Sloan Research Fellowship. He received his PhD in economics at Harvard University in 2010.

Jack Daly is the owner and CEO of TRX®, the market leader in Suspension Training—the iconic black and yellow straps in gyms and homes. Founded by former SEAL Team Six squadron commander Randy Hetrick, TRX has certified over 300,000 trainers and is trusted by pro athletes, pro trainers, and physical therapists, with a loyal community of millions of fitness enthusiasts around the world.

Jack is the Managing Partner of JFXD Capital LLC, a private investment firm based in Delray Beach, Florida. Leveraging decades of global investment experience, the firm partners with innovative business leaders investing across the consumer, industrials, health/wellness and business services sectors, often alongside unique founders building companies with special cultures and ability to impact the world in a positive way. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to New North Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund investing in teams who advance innovation (AI, cyber and critical infrastructure) in the national interest.  
Prior to establishing JFXD Capital and acquiring TRX in 2022, Jack was a Partner at TPG Capital based in San Francisco, where he led TPG’s control investments in Industrials and Services. Prior to joining TPG in 2016, Jack served as a Partner at Goldman Sachs & Co. as the Head of Industrials Private Equity in the Americas. Prior to his seventeen years at Goldman Sachs, he spent six years on the faculty of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) teaching classes on product development, design and manufacturing.  He also briefly served as a Visiting Professor at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand.

Jack has served on a number of private, public and non-profit boards of directors and currently serves on the boards of TRX, Newlight Technologies and the Navy SEAL Foundation (Treasurer).  Jack received BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from CWRU and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Tim is cochairman of Global Mergers & Acquisitions in the Investment Banking Division (IBD). He serves on the IBD Client and Business Standards Committee.

Prior to assuming his current role in 2011, Tim served as head of Mergers & Acquisitions in the Americas. From 2002 through 2008, he was global head of the Consumer Retail Group in Investment Banking. Before that, Tim was co-chief operating officer in the Communications, Media and Entertainment Department in New York. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1986 as part of the two-year analyst program and worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions Department until 1997. Tim was named managing director in 1996 and partner in 1998.

Tim serves as chair of the Jefferson Scholarship Foundation at the University of Virginia (UVA) and as a member of the Board of Managers at UVA. He also sits on the Endowment Trust Board at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Tim earned a BA from the University of Virginia in 1986.

Claire is responsible for Rivian’s financial planning and analysis, accounting, treasury, taxes, investor relations, consumer financing and insurance, facilities, and capital expenditure procurement.  Her team leverages data and insight to inform strategic decision making and is working to create a strong financial foundation and the processes and systems needed to help Rivian scale globally. Her team is also responsible for designing, developing and procuring the equipment and construction for Rivian’s manufacturing, service, sales, product development and workplace facilities. 

Before joining Rivian in early 2021, Claire was a Managing Director in Investment Banking and co-head of the Disruptive Commerce Group at J.P. Morgan. In addition to working in financial leadership roles at Fairway Market and Credit Suisse, she spent a period of time as a professional pastry chef in the South of France. Claire graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Visual Art from Duke University and earned her Master of Business Administration at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. 

Dr. Robert Playter is CEO of Boston Dynamics, the world leader in advanced mobile robots. Under his leadership, Boston Dynamics has launched two commercial products: Spot, the first commercial legged robot targeting the market for industrial inspections, and Stretch, a box-moving robot that unloads trailers for more efficient warehouse operations.

Playter has spent more than three decades in leadership positions at Boston Dynamics where he launched and led the company's early work on humanoid robots culminating in the creation of Atlas, the world's most advanced humanoid robot. Playter also instigated the company's development of a robot for the warehousing industry, resulting in the creation of Stretch. Prior to his role as CEO, he served as Boston Dynamics’ chief operating officer and VP of Engineering where he helped grow the company and prepare for the transition from a pure research organization to a commercial producer of advanced robot products.

A former NCAA Division I National Champion gymnast at The Ohio State University, Playter’s athletic career highly influenced his work in robotics. He received his PhD in aeronautical engineering from MIT in 1994, where he worked under Marc Raibert, founder of Boston Dynamics, at the MIT Leg Lab to develop his thesis on robot gymnastics and program a bipedal robot to do the world's first 3D robotic somersault. His most rewarding experiences are those that come as a teammate, whether in sports or business.

Madhav Rajan joined the Chicago Booth faculty on July 1, 2017, as Dean and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting.

Before joining Booth, Rajan spent 16 years on the faculty of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business where he was the Robert K. Jaedicke Professor of Accounting, with a courtesy appointment in the Law School. He served as senior associate dean for academic affairs from 2010-2016, overseeing the school’s MBA program. From 2002-2010, he was area coordinator for the accounting faculty group. Previously, he served on the faculty at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, from 1990-2001.

While at Stanford, Rajan received the Robert T. Davis Award for Lifetime Achievement and Service (2017), and the Notable Contribution to Management Accounting Literature Award (2004). He also was the recipient of the David W. Hauck Award for Outstanding Teaching at Wharton (2000) and the Alexander Henderson Award for Excellence in Economic Theory (1990).

As Dean of Booth, Rajan has focused on deepening the school’s ties to The University of Chicago, attracting and retaining the best faculty, completing the new Hong Kong campus, and sustaining positive momentum in the University campaign during its final year.

His primary area of research interest is the economics-based analysis of management accounting issues, especially as they relate to the choice of internal control and performance systems in firms. He has carried out analytical, empirical, and field-based research on the role of information in incentive contracting, the value of nonfinancial and subjective performance measures, and the structural properties and usefulness of common financial ratios.

Rajan has served as editor of The Accounting Review, as well as Associate Editor for both the Accounting and Operations areas for Management Science. He has twice been a plenary speaker at the AAA Management Accounting Conference. He is coauthor of Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, whose 16th edition was published by Pearson Prentice Hall in January 2017. He is also co-author of Managerial Accounting, whose first edition was published by Pearson in January 2013.

He is a Director of iShares, Inc. and a Trustee of the iShares Trust.

Rajan received his Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Madras, India, and an MS in Accounting, an MS in Industrial Administration, and a Ph.D. in Accounting from Carnegie Mellon University.

Raghuram Rajan is the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth. He was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between September 2013 and September 2016. Between 2003 and 2006, Dr. Rajan was the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund. 

Dr. Rajan’s research interests are in banking, corporate finance, and economic development. The books he has written include Breaking the Mold: Reimagining India's Economic Future with Rohit Lamba,  The Third Pillar: How the State and Markets hold the Community Behind 2019 which was a finalist for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year prize and Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, for which he was awarded the Financial Times prize for Business Book of the Year in 2010. 

Dr. Rajan is a member of the Group of Thirty. He was the President of the American Finance Association in 2011 and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In January 2003, the American Finance Association awarded Dr. Rajan the inaugural Fischer Black Prize for the best finance researcher under the age of 40. The other awards he has received include the Infosys prize for the Economic Sciences in 2012, the Deutsche Bank Prize for Financial Economics in 2013, Euromoney Central Banker Governor of the Year 2014, and Banker Magazine (FT Group) Central Bank Governor of the Year 2016. Dr. Rajan is the Chairman of the Per Jacobsson Foundation, the senior economic advisor to BDT Capital, and a managing director at Andersen Tax. 

Recent publications include “Sovereign Debt and Economic Growth when Government is Myopic and Self-interested” with Viral Acharya and Jack Shim, forthcoming, Journal of International Economics, “Liquidity, liquidity everywhere, not a drop to use: Why flooding banks with central bank reserves may not expand liquidity”, with Viral Acharya, forthcoming, Journal of Finance,  “The Decline of Secured Debt”, with Efraim Benmelech and Nitish Kumar,  Journal of Finance Jan 2024; “Secured Credit Spreads”, with Efraim Benmelech and Nitish Kumar,  Journal of Financial Economics, Oct 2022; “The Relationship Dilemma: Organizational Culture and the Adoption of New Technology in Indian Banking”, with Prachi Mishra and R. Prabhala, Review of Financial Studies, June 2022; “Going the Extra Mile: Distant Lending and Credit Cycles”, with Joao Granja and Christian Leuz, Journal of Finance, Apr 2022. 

Karl Rove, an iconic political strategist and one of the most sought-after political pundits of our time, is best known for his provocative and robust knowledge of major political issues.

Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. At the White House, he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and was Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, coordinating the White House policy-making process. He was the architect of President Bush’s 2008 and 2004 White House victories.

Before the White House, he ran Rove + Co. a Texas based public affairs firm that consulted on over 75 GOP campaigns for Senator, Governor, Congress and statewide offices in 24 states.

Rove was described by author and columnist Michael Barone as “…unique…no Presidential appointee has ever had such a strong influence on politics and policy, and none is likely to do so again anytime soon.” Washington Post Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Broder wrote that Rove was a master political strategist whose “game has always been long term…and he plays it with an intensity and attention to detail that few can match.” Conservative editor and columnist Fred Barnes, called him “the greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation… He knows history, understands the moods of the public and is a visionary on matters of public policy.”

Mr. Rove writes a weekly op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, appears frequently on the Fox News Channel, and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Courage and Consequence. His latest book is The Triumph of William McKinley. A Colorado native, Rove lives in Austin, Texas where he teaches at the University of Texas and serves on the Texas State History Museum and McDonald Observatory boards.

Bret Stephens is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times and editor-in-chief of Sapir (sapirjournal.org), a new quarterly dedicated to exploring issues of Jewish concern. He has previously worked as foreign-affairs columnist and deputy editorial-page editor for The Wall Street Journal and as editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post. Among his many prizes and distinctions are the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and three honorary doctorates. His 2014 book, "America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder" correctly predicted many of the events of our day. In 2022 he was permanently banned by the government of Russia from visiting that country.

Bret was raised in Mexico City and educated at the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics He and his wife, Corinna, have three children and live outside of New York City.

Shoshana M. Vernick is a co-founder and managing partner at Avathon Capital, an investment platform launched in 2016 to foster innovation and growth in the education and workforce markets. Avathon typically takes a control equity position in founder-owned or led companies and provides strategic and human capital support.

Before establishing Avathon in 2015, Shoshana was a Managing Director at Sterling Partners, a middle market private equity firm focused on education, healthcare, and business services. Prior to Sterling, Shoshana served as an Associate at One Equity Partners LLC, where she worked on direct private equity transactions including venture and management buyouts, and at Razorfish, a digital solutions provider. She began her career at Merrill Lynch in the Global Industries Group.

Shoshana is a member of PEWIN (Private Equity Women Investor Network), Illinois Venture Capital Association (“IVCA”) Board member and Chair of their summer fundraiser supporting Diversity awareness and programming, on the Steering Committee of KPMG & University of Chicago’s Economic Forum, 2021 Kayo Midwest Dealmaker, 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, 2019 Crain’s Chicago Most Notable Women in Finance, and frequent participant in University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Indiana University mentorship and guest lecturer programs. 

Shoshana earned a BS with honors from Indiana University in accounting, finance, and international studies and studied abroad in Maastricht, The Netherlands. She grew up in Munster, Indiana and was one of two children raised by a schoolteacher and an entrepreneur.

Nicole is global head of Consumer and Consumer Services in Private Equity within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. She also has oversight of the firm’s US Healthcare and Business Services Private Equity Investing platforms. Nicole serve as a member of the Asset & Wealth Management Corporate Investment Committee, Asset & Wealth Management Private Sustainable Investing Group Investment Committee and Asset & Wealth Management Private Credit Investment Committee. She is also a member of the Firmwide New Activity Committee. Previously, Nicole served on the steering committee of the Goldman Sachs Women’s Network from 2008 to 2010. She joined Goldman Sachs as a n associate in the Merchant Banking Division in New York in 2005. Nicole became a vice president and relocated to Tokyo in 2006 and returned to New York in 2007. She was named managing director in 2010 and partner in 2016.

Prior to joining the firm, Nicole worked at Onex Corporation in private equity from 2003 to 2005, and at Merrill Lynch in investment banking from 1999 to 2003.

Nicole serves on the board of Aptos, MDVIP, Visual Comfort and Zaxby’s. She previously served on the boards of Bass Pro Cabela’s, Flynn Restaurant Group, Hearthside Foods, Michael Foods, myeyedr, Sensus and Suja. Nicole currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Jersey Shore University Medical Center and was a founding board member of Bronx Success Academy 1, a charter school in the Bronx that serves underprivileged students in the community.

Nicole earned an AB in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1999.

Mark Copman is currently the President of the Stationery and Office Supplies Division at 3M Company located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Previous roles at 3M included President of 3M Brazil, and Vice President and General Manager of the Renewable Energy Division. Prior to 3M, he worked at Piper Jaffray as a Managing Director and served on active duty in the US Navy. He has a MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Orchestra.

Mr. Cramton is an Executive Partner at HCI Equity Partners, a private equity firm headquartered in Washington DC. Presently, he serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Partner of Tribar Technologies, a leading designer and manufacturer of automotive components. Mr. Cramton also serves on the Board of Helmerich & Payne, a publicly traded (NYSE: HP) leading oil and gas drilling company.

Previously, he served as Executive Chairman of the Board of Atlantix Global Systems, a leading reseller of IT hardware and services. Mr. Cramton also served as the Chief Executive Officer of CARDONE Industries, the largest remanufacturer of automotive aftermarket components, leading the Company to record results over his tenure.

Before that, he served as Managing Director of RHJ International (Ripplewood Holdings), a publicly traded, investment holding company, where he was responsible for overseeing portfolio companies with global operations. During his tenure at Ripplewood, Mr. Cramton served as Executive Chairman of the Board of Niles, an Asian electronics company with global operations, leading a major turnaround to record profits and a successful sale. He also served on the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Asahi Tec, a Japanese publicly traded metal components company, Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Metaldyne, a Global automotive metals component company and on the Supervisory Board of Honsel AG, a European based light-weight aluminum casting company.

Prior to joining RHJI, Mr. Cramton worked in various management positions during a 20-year career at the Ford Motor Company including assignments in Ford’s manufacturing, marketing, sales & service, distribution, product development and financial services operations. He last served as Director, Corporate Business Development, with global responsibilities for Ford’s Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activities. During Mr. Cramton’s career, he has executed around 50 M&A transactions with an enterprise value of about $25 billion.

Mr. Cramton has extensive international business experience, including assignments in the Asian and European regions and has worked in four world capitals. He has served on the Boards of over 25 companies in various markets and industries. Mr. Cramton has served on several non-profit Boards in both the U.S. and Europe.

Mr. Cramton has an MBA degree in finance and a BA degree in business administration from Michigan State University. He is an alumnus of the London Business School Executive Management Program (ADP).

Jack Daly is the owner and CEO of TRX®, the market leader in Suspension Training—the iconic black and yellow straps in gyms and homes. Founded by former SEAL Team Six squadron commander Randy Hetrick, TRX has certified over 300,000 trainers and is trusted by pro athletes, pro trainers, and physical therapists, with a loyal community of millions of fitness enthusiasts around the world.

Jack is the Managing Partner of JFXD Capital LLC, a private investment firm based in Delray Beach, Florida. Leveraging decades of global investment experience, the firm partners with innovative business leaders investing across the consumer, industrials, health/wellness and business services sectors, often alongside unique founders building companies with special cultures and ability to impact the world in a positive way. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to New North Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund investing in teams who advance innovation (AI, cyber and critical infrastructure) in the national interest.  
Prior to establishing JFXD Capital and acquiring TRX in 2022, Jack was a Partner at TPG Capital based in San Francisco, where he led TPG’s control investments in Industrials and Services. Prior to joining TPG in 2016, Jack served as a Partner at Goldman Sachs & Co. as the Head of Industrials Private Equity in the Americas. Prior to his seventeen years at Goldman Sachs, he spent six years on the faculty of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) teaching classes on product development, design and manufacturing.  He also briefly served as a Visiting Professor at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand.

Jack has served on a number of private, public and non-profit boards of directors and currently serves on the boards of TRX, Newlight Technologies and the Navy SEAL Foundation (Treasurer).  Jack received BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from CWRU and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jamie Garrett is a top-performing M&A and corporate development executive, recognized for turning strategy into measurable growth. Equally comfortable reading a spray chart and a balance sheet, she believes winning deals is dependent on training, tenacity, motivation, discipline, mentoring and inspiration.

Her career has spanned 3 decades, 3 continents and some of the most recognized names in commodities: Enron, Bunge, Air Liquide, Halliburton, Direct Energy and Accenture.

Jamie holds an MBA (Finance) from The Wharton School, an MA (International Studies – Latin America) from the University of Pennsylvania and BA (Political Science & Spanish) from Tufts University.

She also lives the athletic life in Houston, Texas, participating in or cheering on her husband, two children and many friends in their numerous sporting pursuits.

Leigh is responsible for Strategy and M&A for the International Division of Walmart Stores Inc.  

Leigh graduated from Oxford University in the UK with a degree in Oriental Studies. He then worked as an investment banker for 17 years, with two firms, working for London and Tokyo. He specialized in Retail and Consumer sector Mergers and Acquisitions, with advisory work for various clients including Walmart. 

 In January 2009 Leigh joined Walmart in Hong Kong, looking after M&A activity in the Asian region. In June 2011, he relocated to the Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters to perform the same role for the International Division, with this subsequently expanding to incorporate Strategy.

Joining CVC in 2016, Tom is a Partner and the US head of industrials and energy. Prior to joining CVC, Tom was a partner at One Equity Partners, where he worked since 2002. He previously worked at Citigroup CIB (Salomon), Wasserstein Perella and Ernst & Young. Mr. Kichler received a BSE from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mark is Director of Executive Education at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He leads the finance portfolio which is the largest revenue producing portfolio for the department. The portfolio includes programs in Accounting, Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, Investing, Private Wealth Management, and Association programing for financial advisors and private equity professionals. He is also responsible for customized programs and Latin America. Additionally, he is responsible for relationship management in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Ohio. Mark brings 28 years of experience in executive education, custom programs, and organizational development.

Prior to Booth, he worked at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business in Executive Education and the School of Dentistry. At Ross, he was an Assistant Director and served as the school’s Quality Initiative Coordinator. At the School of Dentistry, he led 4 departments: the Dental Faculty Practice, Dental Stores, Central Sterilization, and Dispensing. He also chaired the School of Dentistry’s M quality program. In addition, Mark served as the Director for Organizational Development at the University of Akron’s School of Business and was principal in his own consulting firm M B Lewis and Associates LLC.

His extracurricular activities and affiliations include:
Three year starting defensive tackle and captain of the Fighting Maroon Tiger Football Team, Student Director NCAA Volunteer for Youth, PepsiCo Intern, Vestry member for multiple Episcopal Churches, Kellogg Foundation KYDS Fellow, Life Member Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, and Board Member Virginia Park Community Investment Association. He and his wife served as mentors to University of Michigan students as well as many football and basketball players who became professional athletes and had careers in the NFL and NBA.

He has a B.A. in Accounting from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia and a M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Michigan State University.

Dawn Manley is VP of Go-to-Market Strategy and Programs at Klaviyo. Klaviyo is an intelligent marketing automation and customer data platform that enables businesses to centralize and use every piece of their customer data. Dawn previously led research & development efforts at Owl, focusing on bringing unbiased data to claims monitoring. She also served as Head of Data Science at Splunk, where her team focused on using data and ML/AI to understand how customers buy, use, and adopt products & services to inform Splunk business decisions and improve customer experience. 

Prior to Splunk, Dawn was Chief of Staff for the President and Chief Strategy Officer at Samsung Electronics and also served in strategy and business development roles for emerging business areas including smart mobility, advanced materials, and data centers. She spent over sixteen years in a variety of leadership roles driving R&D and analytics in transportation & energy and chemical & biological defense at Sandia National Laboratories. She has served as an advisor to multiple organizations, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Academies Transportation Research Board, and the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Dawn holds Ph.D. and M.A. degrees from Princeton University and a B.S. from Stanford University.

Stephen McKenna is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Consonance Capital Partners. Prior to founding CCP, he was a Managing Director at JPMP, where he focused on making growth equity and buyout investments. Mr. McKenna serves and has served on numerous boards, including KEPRO, Generac Power Systems, Jetro Holdings, National Waterworks, and PQ Corp.  Prior to joining JPMP in early 2000, Mr. McKenna worked in the Investment Banking Group of Morgan Stanley and the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of JPMorgan. Mr. McKenna holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Accomplished senior financial executive who specializes in close, financial reporting and business intelligence automation, capital management, SOX compliance, and building best-in-class finance teams. Key skills and competencies include leadership, coaching and developing staff, strategic and financial planning, corporate governance, enterprise risk management, SOX, mergers and acquisitions/joint ventures/strategic partnerships, policy and procedure development, US GAAP/SEC/external financial reporting, regulatory compliance, audit committee interface, project management, and external auditor alignment. Industry experience comprises financial services, leasing, aviation, transportation and aerospace, insurance and utilities.

Don McLellan is a Managing Director of BDT & Company.  BDT & Company is a Chicago-based merchant bank that combines long term capital and advisory services to address the long-term strategic and financing needs of family and/or founder controlled companies.  Prior to joining BDT, Don directed the US Department of Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program from October 2008 until January 2009.  Don also has more than 23 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, including previously as Senior Vice President for Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategy for Motorola, Inc.  Prior to joining Motorola, Don was a corporate attorney.  Don received an AB and AM from the University of Chicago in 1987, and a JD from its Law School in 1990.

Don is married to fellow University of Chicago alum Martina Keller AB ’87 and they reside in Lincolnwood, Illinois, with their two sons.  Don and Martina are both on the Visiting Committee of The College.  Don is also on the Visiting Committee of the Harris School of Public Policy, is a council member of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a board member of the Old Town School of Folk Music.

Madhav Rajan joined the Chicago Booth faculty on July 1, 2017, as Dean and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting.

Before joining Booth, Rajan spent 16 years on the faculty of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business where he was the Robert K. Jaedicke Professor of Accounting, with a courtesy appointment in the Law School. He served as senior associate dean for academic affairs from 2010-2016, overseeing the school’s MBA program. From 2002-2010, he was area coordinator for the accounting faculty group. Previously, he served on the faculty at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, from 1990-2001.

While at Stanford, Rajan received the Robert T. Davis Award for Lifetime Achievement and Service (2017), and the Notable Contribution to Management Accounting Literature Award (2004). He also was the recipient of the David W. Hauck Award for Outstanding Teaching at Wharton (2000) and the Alexander Henderson Award for Excellence in Economic Theory (1990).

As Dean of Booth, Rajan has focused on deepening the school’s ties to The University of Chicago, attracting and retaining the best faculty, completing the new Hong Kong campus, and sustaining positive momentum in the University campaign during its final year.

His primary area of research interest is the economics-based analysis of management accounting issues, especially as they relate to the choice of internal control and performance systems in firms. He has carried out analytical, empirical, and field-based research on the role of information in incentive contracting, the value of nonfinancial and subjective performance measures, and the structural properties and usefulness of common financial ratios.

Rajan has served as editor of The Accounting Review, as well as Associate Editor for both the Accounting and Operations areas for Management Science. He has twice been a plenary speaker at the AAA Management Accounting Conference. He is coauthor of Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, whose 16th edition was published by Pearson Prentice Hall in January 2017. He is also co-author of Managerial Accounting, whose first edition was published by Pearson in January 2013.

He is a Director of iShares, Inc. and a Trustee of the iShares Trust.

Rajan received his Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Madras, India, and an MS in Accounting, an MS in Industrial Administration, and a Ph.D. in Accounting from Carnegie Mellon University.

John Suh is vice president and founding director of Hyundai CRADLE, the Silicon Valley based business and hub for Hyundai Motor Company’s global network of corporate venture capital and innovation centers. In this role he is responsible for CRADLE’s three main functions: strategic venturing, open innovation, and special projects. The areas of interest for CRADLE include robotics, artificial intelligence, eco-friendly technologies for transportation, smart mobility, smart cities, and materials and manufacturing technology.

Prior to joining Hyundai Motor Company, he worked at General Motors, Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), and several Silicon Valley startups. John has a BS degree in electrical engineering from Kettering University and an MS and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. John has numerous technical publications and has six patents and patents pending in the fields of robotics, artificial nose technology, and location based services.

Stellar Kim Tucker is Head of Technology Corporate and Investment Banking at Truist Securities (NYSE: TFC). With over 25 years of experience, Stellar spent most of her career in investment banking at firms such as Goldman, Sachs & Co. and UBS Investment Bank where she led the firms’ efforts in the services sector globally. Stellar was most recently, Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Development & Strategic Initiatives at HCL Technologies Ltd., where she managed a global corporate development team and SMEs across functional, horizontal and vertical businesses. She also has significant experience in financial management having been the Chief Financial Officer of a hedge fund seeded by Julian Robertson of Tiger Management.

Stellar earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Northwestern University and her MBA from The Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. She is a member of Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences Board of Visitors.

Shoshana M. Vernick is a co-founder and managing partner at Avathon Capital, an investment platform launched in 2016 to foster innovation and growth in the education and workforce markets. Avathon typically takes a control equity position in founder-owned or led companies and provides strategic and human capital support.

Before establishing Avathon in 2015, Shoshana was a Managing Director at Sterling Partners, a middle market private equity firm focused on education, healthcare, and business services. Prior to Sterling, Shoshana served as an Associate at One Equity Partners LLC, where she worked on direct private equity transactions including venture and management buyouts, and at Razorfish, a digital solutions provider. She began her career at Merrill Lynch in the Global Industries Group.

Shoshana is a member of PEWIN (Private Equity Women Investor Network), Illinois Venture Capital Association (“IVCA”) Board member and Chair of their summer fundraiser supporting Diversity awareness and programming, on the Steering Committee of KPMG & University of Chicago’s Economic Forum, 2021 Kayo Midwest Dealmaker, 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, 2019 Crain’s Chicago Most Notable Women in Finance, and frequent participant in University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Indiana University mentorship and guest lecturer programs. 

Shoshana earned a BS with honors from Indiana University in accounting, finance, and international studies and studied abroad in Maastricht, The Netherlands. She grew up in Munster, Indiana and was one of two children raised by a schoolteacher and an entrepreneur.