Private Equity Insights: Strong Industries, Emerging Sectors, and Revitalizing Iconic Brands
Join us for an exclusive fireside chat with two leading voices in private equity as we delve into the current economic landscape, revealing where private equity sees the most promising investment opportunities. We’ll explore strong and nascent industries, such as data security, AI, cybersecurity, and data centers, and why these sectors are ripe for investment. Additionally, the conversation will uncover strategies for investing in and revitalizing iconic brands that, despite their potential, have underperformed in the past. This session is designed to provide executives with valuable insights into what PE firms are focusing on and what they should be considering as they navigate the market.
Moderator:
Chief Content Officer
Smart Business
Dustin is an award-winning business journalist, bestselling author, and the chief content officer of Smart Business. Over the past 30 years, he has interviewed thousands of business and civic leaders, and helped more than 50 CEOs and entrepreneurs transform their ideas into books. A trained investigative politics reporter and former digital media entrepreneur, Dustin joined Smart Business in 1997 after serving as an editor at several daily newspapers.
Panelists:
Founder & Managing Partner
ACON Investments
Jonathan Ginns is a Founder and Managing Partner of ACON Investments. Prior to co-founding ACON in 1996, Mr. Ginns was a Senior Investment Officer at the GEF Funds group. Previously, Mr. Ginns was a Management Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. Mr. Ginns often serves on the board of ACON fund/investment vehicle portfolio companies. Among his current positions, Mr. Ginns serves on the board of Sequitur Energy Resources.
Mr. Ginns has also previously served on the Board of Directors of several public companies including Mariner Energy (NYSE:ME) and Northern Tier Energy (NYSE:NTI), each realized ACON fund portfolio companies and Optimal Group (NASDAQ:OPMR). In addition, Mr. Ginns served on the Board of Directors of ACON S2 Acquisition, a strategic sustainability-focused special purpose acquisition company that was publicly traded (NASDAQ: STWOU) prior to completing a business combination with ESS Inc. (NYSE: GWH).
Mr. Ginns received a B.A. in History from Brandeis University and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Principal
The Carlyle Group
Allison Wisniewski is a Principal focused on digital infrastructure opportunities globally. She is based in Washington, D.C.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Ms. Wisniewski was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where she focused on helping clients deliver large capital projects. Her experience includes serving as restructuring advisor to a renewable energy company.
Ms. Wisniewski received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Southern California.