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New England Chapter Event | Private Company Strategic Alternatives Symposium

Babson College Olin Center
231 Forest Street
Babson Park, MA 02457
United States

Wednesday, June 11, 2025, 11:30 AM - 6:30 PM EDT

Category: New England

Private Company Strategic Alternatives Symposium

Overview

In moments of severe market volatility, growth capital is even more difficult to come by—making it essential for private company decision-makers to explore all strategic alternatives for growth, liquidity, and long-term value creation.

Don’t miss this opportunity to get real-time market updates from top firms supporting private company deal-making. This high-impact, half-day symposium brings together leading voices from the capital markets for one day only.

Featuring Industry-Leading Speakers From:
J.P. Morgan Chase, Nasdaq Private Markets, Kirkland & Ellis, Ernst & Young, Jones Day, Nasdaq, Winston & Strawn

In Collaboration With:
Rose & Co Capital Advisors, Babson College – Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance, C. Dean Metropoulos Institute for Technology and Entrepreneurship

Agenda: (Subject to change)

11:30 am - 12:30 pm	Registration and networking (light lunch served) Sponsored by Boston 128 Companies
12:30 - 12:40 pm	Welcome and Introduction
12:40 - 1:10 pm	Provocation: Balancing Long-Term Perspective with Near-Term Essentials Trond Undheim, Futurist, Executive Director C. Dean Metropoulos Institute, Babson College
1:10 - 2:00 pm	Market Update: M&A, Private & Public Markets Moderated by Karen Snow, Rose & Co Capital Advisors - Mike Blankenship, Winston & Strawn LLP - Tom Callahan, Nasdaq Private Market - Javi Martinez, JP Morgan Chase & Co. - Blair Seideman, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
2:00 - 3:00 pm	Creating the Best Path to Going Public Panel moderated by Karen Snow, Rose & Co Capital Advisors - Mike Blankenship, Winston & Strawn LLP - Brandis DeSimone, Nasdaq - Brian Rohrbach, Ernst & Young, LLP - Blair Seideman, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
3:00 - 3:30 pm	Networking/Coffee Break
3:30 - 4:30 pm	Expert Panel: Financing Alternatives in the Private Markets Panel moderated by Annie Cataldo, Kirkland & Ellis LLP - Tom Callahan, Nasdaq Private Market - Peter Devlin, Jones Day LLP - Javi Martinez, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
4:30 - 5:15 pm	Expert Panel: M&A Insights Panel moderated by Stephen Nasiatka, Private Directors Association - New England / StephenUncorked - Annie Cataldo, Kirkland & Ellis LLP - Brian Rohrbach, Ernst & Young, LLP
5:15 - 6:45 pm	Cocktail Reception and Networking Sponsored by Winston & Strawn, LLP and VENTURETHREE

Registration

$125 Members
$175 Non-members

Register

Speakers

Annie Cataldo

Partner,
Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Annie advises on M&A, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, and private equity transactions. She has deep experience with secondary transactions and clients across tech, healthcare, life sciences, and more.

Blair Seideman
Executive Director,
J.P. Morgan

Blair Seideman is an Executive Director in the Equity Capital Markets Group at J.P. Morgan and is based in the New York office. She is responsible for leading equity transactions in the Technology, Media and Telecom sectors working with corporate, sponsor and venture capital clients to raise capital. Blair previously spent a decade at Goldman Sachs in Equity Capital Markets, leading equity, convertible and corporate equity derivative transactions across various sectors.

Brian Rohrbach
Partner, Ernst &
Young LLP

Brian leads EY’s Atlantic Market FAAS practice. He has deep IPO and transaction experience, including ASC 606, carve-outs, SEC reporting, and internal controls. A licensed CPA in Massachusetts, he formerly served as an EY audit partner.

Tom Callahan
CEO,
Nasdaq Private Market

Tom has 30 years of experience, including leadership roles at BlackRock, NYSE Liffe, and Merrill Lynch. At BlackRock, he led a $700B cash management platform. He holds a degree from Harvard University.

Brandis DeSimone
Head of East Coast
Listings, Nasdaq

Brandis DeSimone is Head of East Coast Listings at Nasdaq, leading new listings and client retention across the Eastern U.S. and Canada. A U.S. Navy veteran and former Surface Warfare Officer, she’s held leadership roles at Nasdaq for nearly 15 years. Brandis has been recognized with multiple industry awards and serves on the Executive Committee of the Financial Information Services Division. She lives in Westchester, NY with her husband and two children.

Mike Blankenship
Partner,
Winston & Strawn LLP

Mike leads Winston’s Houston office. He focuses on securities law, SPACs, IPOs, M&A, and corporate governance. He represents both issuers and underwriters in U.S. and global markets.

Javier Martinez
Executive Director,
J.P. Morgan

Javier is an Executive Director in J.P. Morgan’s Private Capital Markets group where he focuses on raising private capital for private and public companies. He has been involved in all phases of financings including origination, structuring, pricing, and distribution. Prior to joining PCM, Javier worked for J.P. Morgan’s Financial Institutions group in New York where he focused on providing a wide range of advisory services across M&A, debt and equity offerings to FinTech, Wealth and Asset Management companies.

Trond Undheim
Executive Director,
C. Dean Metropoulos
Institute for Technology &
Entrepreneurship,
Babson College

Trond leads the Metropoulos Institute at Babson, driving the integration of AI, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurial thinking into the college’s top-ranked curriculum. A former Research Scholar at Stanford and founding Director of the MIT Startup Exchange, he has worked extensively across academia, industry, and policy. He has authored several books on innovation and tech, and his work has appeared in Forbes, MIT News, and IndustryWeek.

Peter Devlin
Partner
Jones Day

Peter counsels on capital markets, IPOs, convertible debt, SEC reporting, and corporate governance. His clients span biotech, agtech, fintech, shipping, and education. He serves on Manhattan College’s School of Science advisory board.

Moderators

Karen Snow
Chief Executive Officer,
Rose & Co. Capital

Karen brings 30+ years in strategy, investment banking, and capital markets. As former Global Head of Listings at Nasdaq, she led 2,000+ IPOs and built strong C-suite relationships. She serves on advisory boards for Babson, Georgetown, and Springboard Enterprises, and was named to Forbes’ 2024 50/50 list.

Stephen Nasiatka
Stephen Uncorked

Stephen P. Nasiatka is Founder & Chief Wine Officer of StephenUncorked, crafting immersive wine experiences for leaders across sectors. He is also CFO of Firestable and Co-President of the PDA New England Chapter, and serves on the Advisory Board of Five Star Background Checks. Previously, Stephen spent over 20 years in finance with KPMG, Siemens, and Monomoy Advisors, specializing in M&A, capital markets, and strategic advisory.