The Capital Deployment Decision: M&A Technology and Marketplace The Private Equity Program offered an alumni panel at Alston & Bird on April 4, 2012. This is part of the Program's ongoing series for alumni about private equity related topics.View the slideshow of the event, and watch video of the discussion.Video Platform Video Management Video Solutions Video PlayerCome and join us for a discussion for the latest in M&A deal technology as we explore the capital deployment decision for Private Equity firms in today’s market.  The Capital Deployment Decision: M&A Marketplace and Technology. The panel discussion will be moderated by Professor Donna M. Hitscherich 90, Director of the Columbia Business School Private Equity Program with panelists Stewart K.P. Gross 87 Managing Director, Lightyear Capital, Patrick Severson 01, Warburg Pincus LLC, Alexander A. Shahidi 92, Partner and People Leader, Americas Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP and James H. Sullivan, Jr., Partner, Alston & Bird LLP Corporate Transactions and Securities Group.  Featured presenters:Donna M. Hitscherich '90Director, Private Equity Program, Columbia Business SchoolSenior Lecturer in Discipline Finance and EconomicsProfessor Donna M. Hitscherich was appointed as director of the Private Equity Program in October 2010. Professor Hitscherich now serves as Senior Lecturer in the Finance and Economics division, a position she has held since 2008 after a nearly twenty year career in investment banking and law. Professor Hitscherich teaches Corporate Finance, Advanced Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions and Business Law in the MBA and Executive MBA programs. From 1988 through 1990, Professor Hitscherich was an assistant professor of law at St. John's University School of Law, where she taught Federal Securities Regulation and Legal Ethics.Prior to her present position at Columbia, Professor Hitscherich had a career in investment banking, during which she held positions at CS First Boston, J. P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated and Banc of America Securities. Prior to her career in investment banking, Professor Hitscherich was a corporate lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Her research interests include mergers and acquisitions, valuation and fairness opinions. She was a member of the St. John's Law Review, and she is admitted to the Bar in the State of New York.  Stewart K.P. Gross 87 Managing Director, Lightyear CapitalStewart Gross is a Managing Director of Lightyear Capital and a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining Lightyear Capital in May 2005, Mr. Gross spent 17 years at Warburg Pincus, where he was a Partner and member of the Operating Committee.  Mr. Gross began his career as a Financial Analyst in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Gross serves on the Board of Directors of Lightyear Capital portfolio companies Cetera Financial Group, Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Limited, and Higher One Holdings, Inc. Mr. Gross received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.   Patrick Severson 01Managing Director, Warburg Pincus LLCPatrick Severson is a Managing Director at Warburg Pincus.  Mr. Severson joined Warburg Pincus in 2001 and focuses on software and healthcare technology investments. Prior to joining Warburg Pincus, he was a consultant with Booz-Allen & Hamilton and Price Waterhouse, focused on media and technology industries. Mr. Severson’s  current portfolio includes iParadigms, Nuance, Spigit, and CrowdStrike. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Stanford University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He serves as an advisor to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Warburg Pincus is a leading global private equity firm with more than $30 billion in assets under management and an active portfolio of more than 110 diversified companies. It is a growth investor and an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 13 private equity funds which have invested more than $35 billion in over 600 companies in more than 30 countries.   Alexander A. Shahidi 92Partner and People Leader, Americas Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLPAlexander is a member of Ernst & Young's Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) group where he serves as the Global Client Service Partner for two private equity firms in addition to being the Americas TAS People Leader.  He  has extensive experience in complex cross-border M&A transactions and  has led due diligence engagements of companies in a variety of industries, including industrial products, distribution, automotive, education, and technology. Mr. Shahidi is responsible for all areas of human resources for Americas TAS, including hiring, retention, compensation and performance management.  He received his MBAat Columbia University Graduate School of Business and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Colgate University. He is a US Certified Public Accountant, member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and speaker at private equity conferences.   James H. Sullivan, Jr.Partner, Alston & Bird LLPCorporate Transactions and Securities GroupJames Sullivan focuses his practice on advising institutional investors and private investment fund sponsors representing a wide variety of fund structures and asset classes. Mr. Sullivan has significant experience in representing buyout funds, venture capital funds, hybrid funds and real estate funds in their investment and acquisition activity, including investments in and acquisitions of portfolio companies, debt and equity capital raising initiatives, recapitalizations and sponsor exit transactions. He also counsels public and private companies (including companies controlled by private investment funds) in a variety of corporate transactions, including strategic acquisitions and divestures, equity and debt financings and other complex business transactions. This is the third in the series focused on issues in private equity presented by Columbia Business School's Private Equity Program and hosted by Alston & Bird.  View the photo slideshow of last event in November 2011