James Graf
CEO
Panelist
Graf Global
James Graf is CEO of Graf Global Corp., his eighth SPAC as CEO, CFO and/or active director since 2011. He also serves as Interim CFO of NKGen Biotech, his last SPAC target. Previous closed transactions include Global Eagle, Videocon d2h, Williams Scotsman, Target Hospitality, Velodyne Lidar, Crown LNG and NKGen.Prior to SPAC life, Jim was an investment banker for two decades, including roles as President of Deutsche Bank’s investment bank in Hong Kong and managing director at Merrill Lynch. He later founded enterprise software company Praedea Solutions and served as a financial consultant to MGM Studios.
Topic
9:35am - 10:15am
June 18, 2025 June 18, 2025
Addressing Today’s SPAC Market Challenges
- Evolving SPAC structures that better suit today’s market
- Optimizing post-close trading performance and liquidity
- Expediting SPAC deals by addressing key process and timing complexities
- PIPE and trust redemption strategies to address capital-raising concerns
- Navigating the “new” SEC
2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Wednesday June 28, 2023
Why De-SPACs Remain a Great Option
- Why the De-SPAC option remains a viable path to accessing the capital markets
- Transaction update: Number of deals announced and closed, with commentary on notable transactions
- Understanding specific challenges in the capital markets as it relates to SPACs
4:50 PM - 5:35 PM
Thursday February 7, 2019
In Conversation with SPAC Execs, Bankers & Investors
- Notable deals this year
- The most popular target sectors
- Listing challenges with different exchanges
- Notable failures (and what went wrong)
4:55 PM - 5:35 PM
Thursday February 6, 2020
How SPACs are Competing with Strategic Buyers in the Cutthroat M&A Market
- Formation and capital raising trends and statistics
- Annualized return profile from IPO to business combination
- Market and trading dynamics
- Outcomes and post-business combination performance
