Technology M&A Conference

Jonathan Brill is an expert on strategic foresight and technology innovation. He writes, speaks and advises startups, the Fortune 50 and the Secret Service on how to create and take advantage of uncertainty. His warm style, compelling stories, and intellectual rigor inspire visionaries and open even the most hard-boiled executives to new ways of thinking and doing.

Harvard Business Review recently called Brill, “The world’s leading transformation architect.” and is Forbes’ top ranked futurist. His visionary, yet pragmatic approach to the future is based on years as the Global Futurist at HP where he directed long-term strategy and planning. He is the Senior Fellow at HBR’s China New Growth Institute and Board Advisor at Frost & Sullivan, one of the world’s largest market intelligence firms, with offices in 46 countries.

He is the author of Rogue Waves, Future-Proof Your Business to Survive and Profit from Radical Change (McGraw-Hill), the #2 selling economics book in China. The Economist called it, “A very important book for managers.” and Adam Grant called it, “An actionable framework for driving change instead of being blindsided by it.” He has taught the techniques in it to over 27,000 executives, ranging from startups to the Fortune 500 to the United States Secret Service.

Inc. magazine called Brill “A Silicon Valley legend.” because his innovation consultancies developed over 350 products and generated over $27B USD for clients like Samsung, Microsoft, Verizon, PepsiCo and the US government. These projects have ranged from AI, search engines, and metaverse technologies to theme park rides and design of the US Pavilion at the 2015 World's Fair (Expo Milano) to Taco Bell’s Gordita.

He is a frequent thought leader, speaker and contributor to HBR, TED, Global Peter Drucker Forum, SCMP, SXSW, J.P. Morgan, Singularity, Forbes, Korn Ferry, The Economist Global Business Report, Bloomberg, Sirius XM, Fast Company, The Project Management Institute, Brightline and Thinkers50. He has educated corporate leaders at Harvard and Stanford Universities.

He holds a degree in industrial design from Pratt Institute, spent years as a research consultant to the MIT Media Lab and in management training at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Erik Brynjolfsson is the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Professor and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), and Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. He also is the Ralph Landau Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), Professor by Courtesy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford Department of Economics, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). 

One of the most-cited authors on the economics of information, Brynjolfsson was among the first researchers to measure productivity contributions of IT and the complementary role of organizational capital and other intangibles. He has done pioneering research on digital commerce, the Long Tail, bundling and pricing models, intangible assets and the effects of IT on business strategy, productivity and performance.

Brynjolfsson speaks globally and is the author of nine books including, with co-author Andrew McAfee, the best-seller The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies, and Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital Future, as well as over 100 academic articles and five patents. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from Harvard University in applied mathematics and decision sciences and a PhD from MIT in managerial economics. His papers can be found at https://www.brynjolfsson.com/research

Surojit is the founder and CEO of Ema. Previously, he guided Coinbase through a successful 2021 IPO as its Chief Product Officer and scaled Google Mobile Ads and Google Shopping into multibillion dollar businesses as the VP and Head of Product. Surojit holds 40 US patents and has an MBA from MIT, MS in Computer Science from SUNY at Buffalo, and B. Tech from IIT Kharagpur.

Dan was appointed to the role of CFO and executive vice president in October 2021 and leads the Finance, Technology, Security and Operations organization. Dan is applying his years of technology and finance knowledge and experience to oversee Adobe’s company-wide operations with rigor and ongoing excellence, drive enablement at scale, and power innovation across the organization. Dan brings extensive expertise in global strategy, financial planning and operations and mergers and acquisitions, and decades of experience in the technology industry.

Dan received his M.B.A. in Finance from the Columbia Business School and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Control Systems Engineering. He served in the Navy for several years, reaching the rank of lieutenant.

J Jeff Epstein is an operating partner in the Silicon Valley Office where he leads Bessemer’s CFO Council and helps portfolio company CEOs and CFOs share best practices.

Arianna Evers helps clients navigate privacy, cybersecurity and AI-related challenges in an increasingly complex and fluid legal environment. Ms. Evers represents clients in high-stakes enforcement actions with regulators, including the FTC, state attorneys general, and the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, as well as in litigation in state and federal courts, concerning alleged privacy and consumer protection violations. A significant portion of Ms. Evers’s practice involves advising clients on their development and use of AI and other emerging technologies. Ms. Evers provides clients with a thoughtful but practical approach to managing legal and reputational risks in an area with a tremendous amount of legal uncertainty. She has advised clients building foundation AI models as well as those looking to leverage AI in their products, services, and day-to-day operations on implementation concerns, data privacy risks, cybersecurity, governance and appropriate policies, risk management, fairness, and discrimination.

Gina Mastantuono is ServiceNow’s chief financial officer, a position she has served for nearly four years.

As CFO, her global organization spans all aspects of finance, including accounting, risk & compliance, payroll, tax, investor relations & treasury, real estate & workplace services, and more. In addition, Ms. Mastanuono spearheads ServiceNow’s global impact strategy, in support of environmental, social, and governance initiatives across the enterprise. Keeping with ServiceNow’s peoplecentric company values, Ms. Mastantuono focuses on developing and leading world-class teams that drive customer success. She is a member of ServiceNow’s Executive Leadership Team and is committed to helping ServiceNow continue to deliver exceptional value to customers, employees, and shareholders.

From December 2016 to January 2020, Ms. Mastantuono served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Ingram Micro Inc., a provider of global technology and supply chain services with revenues north of $50B, and as its executive vice president, finance, from April 2013 to December 2016. From June 2007 to April 2013, Ms. Mastantuono served as senior vice president, chief accounting officer, controller, and international chief financial officer of Revlon, Inc., a cosmetics, skin care, fragrance and personal care company. Prior to Revlon, Ms. Mastantuono held various executive finance roles at InterActiveCorp., a media and internet company. She began her career at Ernst & Young in the entrepreneurial services group.

Ms. Mastantuono holds a B.S. degree in Accounting and Business Administration from the State University of New York at Albany. She serves on the boards of directors of Gong and Roblox. In September 2023, Ms. Mastantuono was named CFO of the Year, Public Company, Large, by the San Francisco Business Times. She has also been honored as one of CRN's “Power 100” and twice listed on the National Diversity Council's Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology. She is a native of Long Island, NY and enjoys fitness, travel, and raising her two sons and puppy with husband Luke.

Mark McKinnon is a political advisor, reform advocate, columnist, and television producer. He was the creator and co-host of Showtime’s Emmy-nominated hit documentary series “The Circus” — the longest-running, most-watched unscripted show in the history of the network which ran for eight seasons. 

McKinnon has worked for many causes, companies, and candidates, including President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, late Governor Ann Richards, and Bono. He was the chief media advisor for five winning presidential primary and general election campaigns. Dedicated to bipartisanship, McKinnon helped start No Labels, an organization dedicated to bringing our parties together to problem solve and heal the partisan divide in our country. 

According to Broadcasting and Cable magazine, McKinnon is one of “a handful of players behind every big decision, consensus or roadblock in Washington . . . putting a unique, sometimes hidden stamp on the outcome of today’s debates.” Politics Daily writes: “He’s known for his originality in a field typified by copycats, a mellow personality in a world populated with high-strung brutes and ecumenical urges in a profession dominated by its unadulterated partisans.” 

Umi is Morgan Stanley’s Global Head of Technology Private Equity and Venture Capital Investment Banking. With over 20 years of experience, Umi has advised some of the most disruptive technology companies and investors on their financial and strategic objectives.
 
He drives the firms relationships with the most important and active technology Private Equity, Growth and Venture Capital firms. Umi has also advised on M&A, IPO, and capital markets transactions for many leading global software and Internet companies including Amazon, AppLovin, Carvana, Chewy, Cvent, eBay, Facebook, Fiverr, Glu, GoodRx, Google, King.com, LinkedIn, Playtika, Roblox, Smartsheet, SNAP, Twitter, Wayfair, Wix, Uber, UKG, Yahoo, Zoom, and Zynga. Umi serves on the Committee for Morgan Stanley’s Inclusive Ventures Lab, a startup accelerator for early-stage technology companies led by underrepresented entrepreneurs.
 
Umi earned his BS from Northeastern University and an MBA from UCLA Anderson. He currently resides in San Francisco with his wife Ashi and their two boys, Qais and Saif.

Anton Otaner integrates his technical background with a passion for private equity to deliver quantifiable outcomes, driven by his affinity for solving complex challenges.

Victor Peng is on the board of KLA and the National Semiconductor Technology Center Steering Committee. He retired from AMD in August of 2024 as President responsible for the AI and embedded businesses. Mr Peng was the CEO of Xilinx from 2018 to 2022. He has over 40 years of experience in the semiconductor industry and has held senior leadership positions at ATI, MIPS, SGI, and DEC.

Ezra Perlman is a Co-President of Francisco Partners. Based in San Francisco, he joined the firm in 2003. Ezra serves on the board of directors of Avalon, bswift, Edifecs, Merative, QGenda, and Renaissance. His former board service includes Aconex, AdvancedMD, Aesynt, API Healthcare, Attachmate, Atteni, Availity, Connecture, CoverMyMeds, eSolutions, HealthcareSource, Healthland, Kyruus, Landmark Health, LYNX Medical Systems, myOn, Nextech, QuadraMed, RedPrairie, Smart Modular, T-System, and TRC Healthcare.
Ezra has an A.B. in Applied Mathematics at Harvard College as well as an MBA from Stanford GSB.
He previously worked at Battery Ventures, Advanta, and Oliver Wyman.

Scott Rosenberg is Axios’ managing editor for technology, working from the San Francisco office. Before joining Axios he was an editor for Wired’s Backchannel and executive editor at Grist. In 1995 he cofounded Salon.com with a group of like-minded refugees from the San Francisco Examiner, and went on to serve as Salon’s managing editor and senior vice president for nearly a decade. He is the author of Dreaming in Code and Say Everything.

Amit leads the Global Platforms Engineering team across Meta's AI & Metaverse products focused on delivering key APIs and cross platform SDKs working from initial stage developers to scaling it to broader ecosystem. His team's mission is to increase the adoption of Meta's core AI platforms by making it simpler to access, configure and deploy - providing value to our developers, partners & users.

Stephen Gillespie advises public and private companies on a wide range of strategic partnerships and technology transactions. He focuses his practice on structuring, drafting and negotiating a variety of complex agreements, including procurement and licensing; distribution, sales and marketing; and strategic alliances. Mr. Gillespie regularly counsels clients on the development and commercialization of technology and products and arrangements involving software, data and services.

Mr. Gillespie represents clients across the full spectrum of technologies, including blockchain, FinTech, software-as-a-service (SaaS), security, open source and hardware. He also has experience representing financial institutions and international corporations. Mr. Gillespie’s clients span the full corporate life cycle, from emerging companies and startups to established entities and large commercial enterprises. His clients have included many of the leading domestic and international corporations.

Hemant Hebbar is Vice President of Corporate Development at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). He is a seasoned executive responsible for accelerating growth and innovation via acquisitions, carve-outs and strategic investments. Hemant has closed over 50 transactions with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $10B. Having led both Corporate Development and Integration teams at HPE, Hemant brings unique experience in managing transformative transactions through the deal life cycle from strategic alignment and planning to diligence and execution. Prior to HPE, Hemant was an Investment Banker with a focus on the technology M&A, debt and equity transactions. Hemant holds an MBA with a specialization in finance and strategy from U.C. Berkeley, and a Bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay.

Jeff is currently Vice President of Corporate Development at AMD, overseeing M&A and AMD Ventures activities.  Jeff joined AMD from Xilinx in 2022, which was acquired by AMD, where he worked in both Corporate Development and Finance. Previously Jeff was a vice president in Bank of America’s technology investment banking group where he advised public and private clients on numerous corporate transactions. He started his career as an engineer at Intel Corporation. 

Alarisse Lam is a Vice President at Francisco Partners (“FP”), where she is responsible for evaluating and executing on investments made by FP’s latest funds, which total nearly $17 billion. Prior to joining FP in 2020, Alarisse worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Julie is a senior M&A Executive at HP. Her team is responsible for planning and delivering Merger & Acquisition integration programs for finance workstreams, including trading structure, order management, procurement and supply chain operations, interim accounting activities, and finance team on-boarding.

Previously, Julie served as the Global Contra Revenue Controller, providing oversight of $12B in channel partner programs and ensuring compliance with ASC606 revenue recognition standards.  She served as HP North America Controller, representing $35B worldwide revenue with oversight of accounting, tax compliance and financial reporting responsibilities.  She has advised HP’s SAP ERP Transformation Program in the areas of revenue recognition and legal entity accounting.  Julie served as HP’s Internal Audit Senior Director for the Global Functions and the SOX compliance program during HPI/HPE separation. 

Julie has led large and small internal audit departments over her 15-year career in Big Four firms and for 4 years as a HP Senior Audit Director, in Technology, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, and Manufacturing/Retail

Julie has been an active leader with the Institute of Internal Audits for the past 15 years.  She has held roles in the Global Board, the North American Board and the Professional Certification Board.  She was an active supporter of the IIA’s Digital Transformation and Certification task force programs. 

She is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, serving as a mentor for HP’s Finance High Potential (HiPo) and Catalyst development programs. She holds BS-Finance from University of Southern California and Accounting Certification from University of California, Los Angeles.  Julie is a California Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor and holds Certificate in Risk Management Assurance.

Todd Manley joined Intel as Vice President, M&A Integration in September 2022. He is an expert in M&A, strategy, and business operations with over 18 years of experience in corporate development delivering deals with a total value of approximately $55B and cost synergies of $5B. Todd has also been instrumental in post-merger Integration, from creating integration management office playbooks and aligning integration deliverables, to building an employee experience for onboarding acquired employees and driving top-line growth and capturing cost synergies. His business operations and transformation experiences span accelerating time-to-market for new products and pricing, leading privacy readiness for GDPR, and delivering operational efficiencies and process streamlining.

On top of his corporate experience, Todd has also served as an adjunct lecturer at Santa Clara University and holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Shrey joined Meta in 2014 shortly after the Oculus acquisition to help stand up the Reality Labs Finance function. After a few years, he moved over to work on M&A Integration and has been instrumental in leading some of Meta’s most complex integrations and divestitures. Most recently, he worked on the Meta’s acquisition and subsequent divestiture of Kustomer. He holds a BA from the University of Southern California.

Sarah has been a key member of Uber's M&A Integration team since 2020, helping to build it from the ground up. Previously, Sarah was on Uber's Tax team where she led finance transformation and business advisory projects. Prior to that, she worked at Williams-Sonoma Inc and Ernst & Young.

Jason Rothstein is currently Head of M&A Integration at Netflix, where he built and leads the M&A integration practice. He has M&A and operational experience in Asia Pacific, Europe and the US, successfully driving transactions and managing partnerships across sectors including media, tech, automotive, renewable energy and resources. Working at market leading companies in each sector -- including Microsoft, Goodyear and Macquarie -- he's managed every phase of the deal lifecycle from M&A strategy and origination through integration and monitoring. Jason holds an

MBA from the London Business School and a BA in Economics from University of California, San Diego.

Victoria is the Head of M&A Acceleration at Intuit. She is a results-oriented executive with 20+ years of diverse experience in Strategy & Business Operations, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Chief of Staff leadership positions in high tech organizations. She has a unique blend of experience in leading cross-functional teams through numerous complex projects/integrations, overseeing business operations for several large-scale businesses, and spearheading corporate strategic initiatives.

Peter Sizgoric has closed over $55 billion in transaction value across 30+ deals and a wide range of types / structures. Currently Mr. Sizgoric is responsible for Mergers and Acquisitions at Okta with previous experience at Salesforce, RPX, and Morgan Stanley. Mr. Sizgoric has a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and multiple Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Justin serves as Director, Corporate Development-Integration at Google. In this role, he is responsible for integrating acquisitions and helping to accelerate new business ventures at Google/Alphabet. He has been involved in managing integrations, joint ventures, divestitures and other new business incubation activities since 1999, and has served on both the McKinsey Integration Council and the Conference Board Council for Integration Executives. Prior to joining Google in 2012, he was Vice President, Corporate Development at Healthways (2006-2012) and Director of M&A Integration at Intel Capital and other capacities (1984-2006).

He has an MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

Donald currently serves as the Head of Corporate Development and Ventures at Dropbox. In this role he oversees M&A activities and has also spearheaded the launch of Dropbox Ventures, a $50 million fund focusing on early-stage AI investments. Prior to joining Dropbox, Donald held senior roles within the Corporate Development functions at DocuSign and Cisco Systems, where he led over 20 acquisitions and divestitures totaling over $5 billion in value. Donald's career also includes experiences as an equity research analyst at Jefferies, as well as a private equity analyst for Liberty Mutual Investments. In addition to his roles within these companies, he has served as a board member and observer for several early-stage startups. Donald holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

Brita Turner is a digital and marketing executive with 20 years of experience at firms including IBM, Amazon, Godiva, and eBay. She has an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler with a concentration in corporate strategy and luxury goods, and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Lehigh University. She is currently the Global Head of M&A Integration at eBay, and sits on the Advisory Board for Omni Bioceutical Innovations, a female-led medical-grade skincare company, and Lehigh University’s Advisory Council. She is also the Global President of Women@ eBay, an active member in both CHIEF and Women in Technology International, and a volunteer for organizations including NY Cares and Covenant House.

Brian leads Microsoft’s M&A Diligence & Integration Management, with deals ranging in value from $15M to $70B and spanning across the company’s Cloud & AI, Security, Experiences & Devices and Gaming businesses.  He and his team of Integration Leads drive cross-functional Due Diligence, Close/Day 1 Planning, Integration/Separation Execution and Post-close Governance.  Brian’s remit also includes a Strategy & Operations team, responsible for M&A practice engagement and capability advancement.  Prior to Microsoft, Brian held a similar role leading M&A at Arm and spent much of his career in Strategy & M&A at Deloitte Consulting, focused in the Tech, Media and Telco sectors.  His depth is in Global and Cross-border Transactions, Integration Strategy and Planning, Business Unit Stand-up and New Operating Model Design.  A strong people developer and team builder, Brian enjoys working closely with his team of leaders in advancing M&A capabilities and delivering successful deal outcomes.