THOUGHT LEADING SPEAKERS
Donna Ackerly
Founder & CEO
Lioness
Donna Ackerly
Founder & CEO, LionessDonna Ackerly founded Lioness Consulting LLC in 2023. She is a corporate governance professional with decades of experience of successful leadership and subject matter expertise on proxy solicitations involving annual and special meetings, proxy contests, SPACs and corporate actions conducted via tender or exchange offers. Donna is a trusted advisor to a diverse range of clients, from newly public to well-established corporations across various market capitalizations.
Carla Kwarteng Amaning
Partner
CFGI
Carla Kwarteng Amaning
Partner, CFGICarla is a Partner in the CFGI Capital Markets Practice with over 15 years of experience providing financial reporting and advisory services to private and public companies. Carla has dedicated over a decade of relevant work experience in the Capital Markets advisory space where she has advised clients in a variety of industries such as e-commerce, publishing, oil and gas, software, biopharma, manufacturing, distribution, and production on traditional IPOs, Merger and Reverse Merger transactions, including Special Purpose Acquisition Company Mergers. Carla is a subject matter expert in SEC reporting focusing on IPO and Merger assistance and readiness assessments, restatements, carve-outs, business acquisitions and combinations, consolidations, period-end close and interim management services, variable interest entities, cash flows, and earnings-per-share.
Prior to joining the CFGI team, Carla worked for Ernst and Young in their Houston audit practice and in the private sector for a pre-IPO petrochemical manufacturing company. Carla holds a Master of Science in Marketing and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administrations, Accounting from Texas A&M University. She is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas.
Karim Anani
Americas FAAS Transaction Leader
Ernst & Young
Karim Anani
Americas FAAS Transaction Leader, Ernst & Young
Karim has more than 23 years of experience serving clients in a variety of industries. He has extensive knowledge of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) mergers covering accounting, reporting, regulatory, operational and integration matters. Karim has lead 50+ SPAC transactions in the past 10 years. Karim advises clients on numerous accounting and financial reporting matters including: mergers and acquisitions, registration statements’ complex accounting matters, policies and procedures, IPOs, debt offerings, purchase accounting, spin-outs, divestitures, valuation-related matters associated with purchase accounting, carve-out accounting, consolidation matters, fresh start and bankruptcy accounting, and other complex accounting matters, as well as compliance with SEC financial reporting requirements for US domestic and foreign private issuers. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the state of California; and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Jenn Calabrese
Founder & CEO
Calabrese Consulting LLC
Jenn Calabrese
Founder & CEO, Calabrese Consulting LLC
Jenn Calabrese began her career at KPMG, LLP specializing in the Information, Communications and Entertainment industry, and amassing knowledge and experience that would guide her life's work.
Jenn also spent several years working for publicly traded companies, serving as Corporate Controller, Director of Accounting and SEC Reporting, Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer.
She specializes in SEC financial reporting, compliance, and consulting services to facilitate the reporting between auditors and public companies on behalf of clients. Jenn founded Calabrese Consulting, LLC ("CCL") in 2012, a minority/woman-owned, full-service accounting and advisory firm which currently employs over 50 employees, serving more than 350 clients around the world. She applies a hands-on approach that stems from her tenure on both the client and audit sides, and exemplifies her dedication to her craft.
Joanne Chiu
Partner, COO & Chairperson
Kreit & Chiu, CPA LLP
Joanne Chiu
Partner, COO & Chairperson, Kreit & Chiu, CPA LLPJoanne C. Chiu is the Chief Operating Officer and Chair of the Board. Working from the firm’s New York City office, she provides a broad range of tax planning and consulting services for both public and private companies, and high net worth individuals. She has served many Fortune 500 companies.
As the leader of KC LLP’s Asia Practice, Joanne works primarily with international clients to understand their accounting and business needs, liaising to match client requirements with her broad range of resources and expertise. She has extensive experience leading Asian companies at all growth stages through IPOs and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). She also provides critical networking services, linking clients to other professional service providers, such as bankers, lawyers, insurance brokers, and real estate professionals.
Business Experience:
Joanne has over twenty years of experience in public accounting. Most recently, she served as Managing Director of the Asia Practice at a National Firm. Prior to that, she served as a Director and Founding Member of the China Desk at a large national firm. She specializes in EB5, e-commerce, estate & trusts, high-net-worth individuals, import & export, coordination of public offerings, and mergers & acquisitions.
The clients she serves operate in the family office, private equity, VC, not-for-profit, life science, cannabis, professional services, entertainment, technology, manufacturing, and real estate.
Joanne is a frequent presenter of international tax and real estate-related topics at events hosted by the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), China Real Estate Association, and NYC Real Estate Expo. Joanne also serves on the advisory board of AREAA Manhattan.
William Dooley
Director - M&A and Activism Advisory Group
Morrow Sodali
William Dooley
Director - M&A and Activism Advisory Group, Morrow Sodali
With more than nine years of experience providing strategic counsel to corporate issuers and boards in matters of shareholder activism defense, corporate governance and mergers & acquisitions, Bill has spent his entire career at the firm. Bill works closely with clients throughout the year on engagement programs with shareholders and advisory firms as well as activism preparedness. Bill’s clients are located across the globe and represent all market caps. Understanding a company's shareholder profile from a voting control perspective and a company’s vulnerabilities is vital in determining potential outcomes in a contested situation. Recently Bill has provided counsel on transformative M&A transactions including Time Warner/AT&T, Occidental Petroleum/Anadarko and Bristol Myers/Celgene and a number of contested situations including Newell Brands/Starboard, Olympus Corporation/ValueAct, First United Corporation/Driver Management, Synalloy Corporation/Privet Fund and Luby’s Inc./Bandera Partners.
Josh DuClos
Partner
Sidley
Josh DuClos
Partner, Sidley
Josh DuClos concentrates his practice on representing private equity sponsors, public and privately held companies, and their respective stakeholders and advisors in buyouts, investments and divestitures. He is experienced in advising buyers and sellers in the technology, software, internet and social media, media and entertainment, retail, consumer products and life sciences industries. Josh is co-leader of Sidley’s SPAC practice.
Clients ranging from private equity and venture capital investors, to startups and other high-growth companies, to members of the Global Fortune 500 all turn to Josh. He also works with investment banks, boards of directors, officers, employees and other corporate stakeholders and advisors in mergers, acquisitions, deSPACs, leveraged buyouts, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures and equity investments, strategic collaborations, as well as corporate governance, director and officer liability, securities law compliance, and shareholder activism.
Josh was named to the Daily Journal’s 2020 “Top 40 under 40” list, which celebrates the achievements of California-based lawyers under the age of 40, and was named by The Deal as one of the 21 most promising new M&A and Private Equity partners of 2019.
In 2022, he participated as a member of the drafting committee for the American Bar Association’s response letter to the SEC’s request for comments on new rules for SPACs and shell companies.
In addition to his practice, Josh is an adjunct professor at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law where he teaches Mergers and Acquisitions.
Yelena Dunaevsky
Senior Vice President & Partner
Woodruff Sawyer
Yelena Dunaevsky
Senior Vice President & Partner, Woodruff Sawyer
Yelena is a Partner & SVP at Woodruff Sawyer, one of the largest independent insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the US. She advises clients on M&A- and IPO-related insurance solutions, including representations and warranties insurance (RWI) and D&O insurance for public companies and SPACs.
Yelena is a frequent speaker and author, featured in many publications including S&P Global, Yahoo Finance, Reuters, Investment News Today, Business Law Today, Law360, CFO.com, Business Journal and Bloomberg. She won the JD Supra top author award in M&A in 2023 and 2022. Yelena also serves as the M&A managing editor of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Today and is the executive editor of the SPAC Notebook, a blog series that covers SPACs and SPAC risks.
In 2022, Yelena was named in Insurance Business America's "Hot 100," which lists top professionals whose contributions have helped shape the insurance industry.
Prior to Woodruff Sawyer, Yelena practiced as a senior capital markets associate at Clifford Chance and a corporate associate at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae (later Dewey & LeBoeuf) and earned her BS in Economics from Cornell University and her JD from Fordham University School of Law.
Doug Ellenoff
Partner
Ellenoff Grossman & Schole
Doug Ellenoff
Partner, Ellenoff Grossman & Schole
Douglas S. Ellenoff, a member of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP since its founding in 1992, is a corporate and securities attorney with a specialty in alternative financings including SPACs, M&A, PIPEs, RDs and Crowdfunding. In the last 10 years, he has been involved at various stages in numerous registered public offerings including more than 100 financings and hundreds of private placements into public companies. Since 2002, Mr. Ellenoff has been involved with over 250 SPAC IPOs and 60 business combinations.
Joseph Fede
Partner
Withum
Joseph Fede
Partner, Withum
Joe Fede is an audit partner in Withum’s Financial Services Group. Joe provides audit, accounting and advisory services to a diversified group of clients in both the private and public sectors, including broker-dealers, venture capital funds and other commercial businesses. Joe also has experience with employee benefit plan services.
In addition, Joe specializes in providing services related to security transactions, investment banking, complex equity transactions, stock-based compensation, initial public offerings (IPOs), business combinations and registration and reporting under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. He has been involved with numerous IPOs, which raised in excess of $7 billion. The majority of these IPOs were Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) sponsored by the investment community.
Jim Golden
Founding Partner
Collected Strategies
Jim Golden
Founding Partner, Collected StrategiesJim Golden spent the first half of 2023 advising financial institutions on the bank crisis, including First Republic and PacWest. Over his 18 year career, Jim has counseled hundreds of public companies with high-stakes crises, contested annual elections, management turnover, and M&A, including: Emerson Electric, Syneos Health, Red Hat and dozens of bank mergers. Jim regularly advises companies on short attacks and shareholder activism threats; he spent two years defending the short attack against Herbalife. Jim, a former partner at Joele Frank and member of the firm since 2005, is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), and was named to PR Week’s 40 Under 40 list in 2019.
Asim Grabowski-Shaikh
Partner
BakerHostetler
Asim Grabowski-Shaikh
Partner, BakerHostetlerAsim Grabowski-Shaikh guides public and private companies through complex capital markets and corporate transactions, with an emphasis on securities offerings (incl. SPACs), mergers and acquisitions (incl. deSPACs) and corporate governance matters. He offers clients practical, goal-oriented solutions, leveraging the skills developed and knowledge gained over nearly 20 years of representing issuers, underwriters, placement agents, buyers and sellers of businesses, boards of directors, activists, major financial institutions, funds and registered investment advisors in a variety of transactions across many sectors.
Destiny Hance
Vice President Equity Research
Ladenburg Thalmann
Destiny Hance
Vice President Equity Research, Ladenburg ThalmannDestiny Hance has a strong background in equity research, starting with an internship at Ladenburg Thalmann in March 2017. Destiny then progressed to the role of Associate in June 2017 and became a Senior Associate in August 2020. Currently, they hold the position of Vice President at Ladenburg Thalmann since September 2021. Prior to their work at Ladenburg Thalmann, Destiny worked as a Data Entry/Virtual Assistant at Zander Property Group from March 2016 to March 2017, where they created spreadsheets and managed schedules. Destiny also gained experience as a Marketing Intern at TMC Financing in November and December 2016, focusing on basic data analysis. Before that, Destiny worked as a Marketing Intern at the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce from May to June 2016, where they developed a comprehensive marketing plan and designed marketing content for LinkedIn.
Destiny Hance completed their education with a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship from Lynn University in the years 2014 to 2017. During their time at Lynn University, they also obtained a minor in Digital Product Design from General Assembly in 2016. Later, in 2022 to 2023, they pursued a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Florida. Additionally, Destiny has a Series 7 certification from FINRA, obtained in 2017, and several certifications in various analytical and financial skills from S&P Global Market Intelligence, obtained in 2020.
Richard Humphrey
Co-Founder and Partner
SPAC Research
Richard Humphrey
Co-Founder and Partner, SPAC Research
Richard Humphrey has nearly 20 years of experience as a principal investor in public and private equity markets, focusing on SPACs, event-driven strategies, special situations, and arbitrage. He is a partner at SPAC Research, an independent data service focused on US-listed Special Purpose Acquisition Companies. SPAC Research is a thought leader that provides custom research and analysis on the SPAC space, as well as a comprehensive data set and synopsis of all material events throughout each SPAC's life cycle. He holds a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University.
Steve Kaplan
Managing Director
Lucid Capital Markets
Steve Kaplan
Managing Director, Lucid Capital MarketsSteve Kaplan serves as Managing Director at Lucid Capital Markets. Prior to joining Lucid, Mr. Kaplan served as Head of Capital Markets at Ladenburg Thalmann, a middle market investment bank. Mr. Kaplan has worked in the financial community for over twenty-five years and has substantial experience advising companies in a variety of industries. During his career, Mr. Kaplan has participated in over 600 transactions, including approximately 75 SPAC IPOS, for both public and private companies. Mr. Kaplan has also served as Co-Founder of River Capital Partners, a healthcare investment banking boutique firm, spent three years with Prudential Securities where he was a Vice President in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group and three years as a Vice President in the Corporate Advisory Group of Jefferies & Company. During his tenure with these firms Mr. Kaplan primarily focused on the Healthcare industry, though he also completed transactions in the technology, retailing, and financial services industries. Mr. Kaplan's background also includes three years as a Manager in the Corporate Finance Group of Deloitte & Touche, where he primarily focused on performing due diligence reviews related to acquisition transactions and four years as an auditor with Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Derek Kearns
Partner
Centri Business Consulting
Derek Kearns
Partner, Centri Business ConsultingDerek is a Partner at Centri Business Consulting and the leader of the firm’s SEC, Financial Reporting, & SPAC Practice. He has more than 23 years of accounting experience in both public and private industries. He joined Centri in September 2020 and has focused on Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, including IPO registration statements, accounting for complex debt and equity transactions, business combination accounting, and international consolidations. Additionally, he has significant experience with international public filers in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors, the mining industry, and merchant services, as well as experience in the cannabis industry, manufacturing, and employee benefit plans.
Prior to his time with Centri, Derek oversaw the reporting and technical accounting functions at Mile High Labs, an international cannabinoid and CBD product manufacturer. While at Mile High Labs, he guided the company through its initial financial statement audits and adoption of ASC 606 while documenting the accounting for multiple debt and equity transactions, and business combinations, including downstream mergers and stock compensation plans.
Derek has held management positions at multiple Fortune 250 companies, as well as a public gold exploration company, overseeing SEC reporting and technical accounting functions. Derek began his career with Deloitte, where he spent six years in the audit and assurance practice.
He received his B.S. in Accounting and Finance from The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Colorado.
Ed Kovary
Managing Director, Head of SPAC Capital Markets
BTIG
Ed Kovary
Managing Director, Head of SPAC Capital Markets, BTIGMr. Kovary brings 28 years of Wall Street experience to bear. Prior to BTIG, Mr. Kovary spent over 18 years as Co-Head of Capital Markets at EarlyBird Capital, where he was instrumental in building the platform into a boutique bank. Mr. Kovary specialized in SPAC underwritings, originating and executing equity transactions across various sectors and geographies. He has brought 140 SPAC issuers to market and completed over 85 de-SPAC mergers. Previously, he was a Managing Director and Co-Head of Nasdaq Trading at ING Barings. Mr. Kovary began his career as a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Kovary graduated with a BS in Business Management and Marketing from Cornell University.
Brian Lantier
Senior Analyst
ZacksSCR
Brian Lantier
Senior Analyst, ZacksSCRBrian Lantier, CFA is a Senior Research Analyst with Zacks Small-Cap Research covering technology, software, consumer internet and special situations. Brian has over 20 years of equity research experience. Brian began his career as a member of the small cap growth team at Lehman Brothers where his coverage universe included software, satellites, professional services firms, consumer products, pollution control technologies, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Brian covered consumer internet stocks and private investments at Commonwealth Associates, a private equity and venture capital firm based in New York. He moved to the buy-side at Fulcrum Partners where his coverage expanded to include enterprise software, internet infrastructure and special situations in the energy complex.
Brian Lantier, CFA is a Senior Research Analyst with Zacks Small-Cap Research covering technology, software, consumer internet and special situations. Brian has over 20 years of equity research experience. Brian began his career as a member of the small cap growth team at Lehman Brothers where his coverage universe included software, professional services firms, consumer products, pollution control technologies, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Brian covered consumer internet stocks and private investments at a private equity and venture capital firm based in New York before moving to work on the buy-side at Fulcrum Partners.
Brian graduated with a dual major in Finance and Operations Management from Pace University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) charterholder.
Janet Levy
Partner
Marcum
Janet Levy
Partner, Marcum
Janet Levy is a partner in the Firm’s New York City Assurance Services department and a member of the Capital Markets Group. She specializes in providing assurance and business advisory services to a client base that includes closely-held and publicly-traded entities.
Her industry expertise includes servicing clients in technology, communication services, cannabis, healthcare, renewable energy and broker/dealer industries. She provides clients with expert guidance through the compliance process ensuring they stay compliant with SEC regulations while meeting timely financial filings.
Janet extends her expertise internally as a mentor to the Firm’s up-and-coming professionals. She has developed and taught continuing education seminars on various accounting, auditing, and business strategy topics.
She joined the Firm in 2006 and has authored several articles for the Firm’s newsletter and SEC Insights. She is also fluent in Russian.
Jason Ma
Vice Chairman
Norwich Capital Ltd.
Jason Ma
Vice Chairman, Norwich Capital Ltd.Jason serves as the Vice Chairman of Norwich Capital Ltd., a firm headquartered in Hong Kong that specializes in assisting Asian-based companies in accessing overseas exchanges. With a focus on SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies), Norwich Capital has garnered recognition for its extensive experience in both US and Asian markets.
Since teaming up with Norwich from 2014, Jason has spearheaded numerous SPAC IPOs, facilitated and completed multiple cross-border deSPAC transactions. Notably, as Chairman and CEO of Tottenham Acquisition I Limited, he orchestrated the successful acquisition of Clene Therapeutics, a US pharmaceutical company specializing in neural degenerative disease research.
In addition to his expertise in SPAC transactions, Jason brings over 18 years of experience in various forms of cross-border deals, including M&A, reverse mergers, and IPOs for Asian companies.
With a BSc. in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley, an MBA from the University of Southern California and an MSc in ECommerce from the University of Hong Kong, Jason continues to drive Norwich Capital's mission of empowering Asian businesses to thrive in global markets.
Kristi Marvin
Founder
SPACInsider
Kristi Marvin
Founder, SPACInsiderKristi Marvin is the Founder and writer of SPACInsider.com, a website devoted to providing real-time analysis and data focused exclusively on the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) asset class for investors, SPAC teams, bankers, lawyers and other industry “insiders”. She is a former investment banker having been involved in excess of $2 billion in SPAC offerings from a book-runner position and nearly $4 billion in total as lead or co-manager.
Matt McCloskey
Head of Equity Capital Markets
I-Bankers Securities
Matt McCloskey
Head of Equity Capital Markets, I-Bankers SecuritiesMatt has served as I-Bankers’ Head of Equity Capital Markets since 2021. During his time at IBS, the firm has acted as Bookrunner on twenty-two SPAC IPOs raising in excess of $2.5 billion, in addition to holding Co-Manager roles on another sixty-five. I-Bankers has also served as the primary sponsor for three SPACs, including Good Works Acquisition Corp. and, most recently, IB Acquisition Corp., which came public in March 2024.
Matt has 20+ years of experience in the Financial Services Industry holding Research, Institutional Sales and Asset Management roles at various firms including ABN Amro, CRT Capital and Bear Stearns. Prior to joining I-Bankers, Matt was a SPAC specialist for Macquarie Capital (USA), where he helped build the firm’s SPAC Sales, Trading and Underwriting capabilities. He graduated from Villanova University with a BS in Business Management and holds Series 7, 24, 63, 65 and 79 securities licenses.
Dan Nash
Co-Founder, Head of Investment Banking
Cohen Capital Markets
Dan Nash
Co-Founder, Head of Investment Banking, Cohen Capital MarketsDan is a Co-Founder and the Head of Investment Banking at Cohen Capital Markets ("CCM"). CCM is a full-service boutique investment bank providing M&A, capital markets and SPAC advisory. CCM has emerged as one of the fasting growing firms and the leading SPAC advisor on wall street, with 43 deals announced or closed since launching in Q1 2022.
Before CCM, Dan served as the Global Head of Internet Investment Banking at Wells Fargo Securities, where he advised numerous leading technology companies. Dan helped grow the technology investment banking business at Wells Fargo and led notable transactions including Carvana's IPO. Prior to Wells Fargo, he was a Technology Investment Banker at BofA Merrill Lynch. where he was involved in high-profile transactions, including the IPOs of LinkedIn, Zulily, and Facebook. Additionally, Dan held a number of finance positions including Chief Financial Officer at Machine Zone, a leading mobile gaming company, and various roles at Riverstone Networks and Intel Corp.
Dan has an MBA from UC Berkeley, BA in Economics from University of Pennsylvania, and a General Course degree focused on Mathematics from the London School of Economics. Dan was born and raised in Silicon Valley and lives in Woodside with his wife and four children.
Mitch Nussbaum
Co-Chair
Loeb & Loeb
Mitch Nussbaum
Co-Chair, Loeb & Loeb
Mitch Nussbaum is the vice chair of Loeb & Loeb and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Capital Markets and Corporate Department. His practice focuses on representing emerging growth companies and investment banks in initial public offerings, follow-on public offerings, shelf takedowns, registered direct placements, PIPEs and other private placements (144A, Reg D, Reg A, Reg S, etc.). Mr. Nussbaum also regularly represents public companies regarding their SEC and NYSE or Nasdaq listing compliance and has acted as outside general counsel, including corporate, securities, M&A litigation and business counseling, to hundreds of private and public companies as well as their officers and directors. He also negotiates and documents acquisitions, mergers, going-private transactions, reverse mergers, proxy contests, tender offers, control contests, fund formations and secured lending financings and has represented issuers and underwriters in more than 100 SPAC public offerings and business combinations. Mr. Nussbaum was responsible for developing the groundbreaking IPAC, which features many of the benefits of the SPAC, but offers increased flexibility on pricing and deal structure, along with a more rapid transaction cycle.
Thomas Olivier
Managing Director
Arrowroot Capital
Thomas Olivier
Managing Director, Arrowroot CapitalTom is a Managing Director with Arrowroot Capital, and was President and CFO of Arrowroot Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company focused on the Enterprise Software sector, that ultimately merged with iLearningEngines and currently trades on the NASDAQ under the Ticker: AILE. Tom has over 25 years of experience working with technology companies as an investment banker, entrepreneur, and corporate legal advisor. Prior to joining Arrowroot, he was a Managing Director in Houlihan Lokey’s Technology/Media/Telecom Group. Previously, Tom was a Managing Director and Co-Head of Digital Media at Pacific Crest Securities. Before joining Pacific Crest, he was a Managing Director with Morgan Keegan’s Technology Group, which acquired his prior firm, Revolution Partners, in 2008. Prior to Revolution Partners, Tom was Co-General Counsel and Strategy Officer at iOptions, an online employee stock option portal. He also spent over five years practicing corporate law, most recently with Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, representing organizations in all stages of development, from start-ups to publicly held corporations, venture capital and investment banking firms, and both issuers and underwriters in numerous public offerings. Prior to attending law school, Tom spent over two years at Morgan Stanley & Co. as an analyst in its Information Services Department.
Tina Pappas
Managing Director
Jefferies
Tina Pappas
Managing Director, JefferiesTina Pappas is a Managing Director in Equity Capital Markets at Jefferies LLC and has over 30 years of investment banking experience. Ms. Pappas leads Jefferies’ SPAC practice and has completed over 140 SPAC transactions. Ms. Pappas joined Jefferies from FBR & Co., where she was a Managing Director and head of the SPAC practice. Previously, Ms. Pappas was a Managing Director and head of Equity Capital Markets at Morgan Joseph & Co. Inc., one the earliest and most active underwriters of SPACs, where she was a key architect of the revised SPAC structure that was introduced in 2010. Ms. Pappas received a B.S. in Finance from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.
Disha Patel
Partner
Withum
Disha Patel
Partner, Withum
With over 14 years of experience, Disha is a partner of Withum’s Audit Team, specializing in accounting and auditing services in the financial services industry. She is actively involved in the development of best practices in the alternative investment industry, and the development of in-house training programs. Disha has experience with IPOs, including SPACs, and other high-value funds, and has in‐depth knowledge of the issues and requirements of the investment company industry.
Henry Rogano
Senior Investment Associate
Meteora Capital
Henry Rogano
Senior Investment Associate, Meteora CapitalHenry Rogano has a banking background and was part of ING’s Global Analyst Program where he obtained experience in structuring, advisory, capital markets and origination alongside ING’s top Managing Directors / Heads. Henry worked in several cities including New York, Sydney, Amsterdam and Sao Paulo and across several industries; real estate, oil & gas, infrastructure, power & renewables, mining and more. Prior to joining Meteora, Henry was part of Glazer Capital’s SPAC team where he focused primarily on SPAC IPOs and risk capital deployments.
Henry earned a B.S. in Finance and Global Business from NYU Stern School of Business and is originally from São Paulo, Brazil.
Jeffrey Selman
Chair of SPAC Transactional Practice
DLA Piper
Jeffrey Selman
Chair of SPAC Transactional Practice, DLA PiperJeffrey C. Selman represents emerging and middle-market public and private technology and life sciences companies and investors on their formation, equity and debt financing, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, restructurings, board and management issues, and general corporate and commercial transactional matters. He has particular experience advising on the creation and funding of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), as well as advising on the use of SPACs as a means of taking companies public.
He has represented companies in a wide range of industries, including software, social networking, mobile device applications, interactive gaming and entertainment, media, semiconductor, network equipment, biotech, medical devices, geothermal, solar, battery, energy storage, metals and emerging automotive technology.
Mark Schwartz
IPO and SPAC Capital Markets Advisory Leader
Ernst & Young
Mark Schwartz
IPO and SPAC Capital Markets Advisory Leader, Ernst & YoungMark leads EY Capital Advisory’s “EYCA” capital markets advisory team preparing companies to enter the public markets through IPOs, SPAC mergers and direct listings. Prior to joining EYCA, Mark served in senior Equity Capital Markets “ECM” positions on Wall Street for about 15 years. Most recently he was Deutsche Bank's Head of Equity Financing Solutions, and prior to that he was a senior ECM execution banker at Barclays and its predecessor, Lehman Brothers. Before his investment banking years, Mark was a corporate and securities lawyer in Davis Polk's capital markets group, and a staff attorney in the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance.
David Shapiro
CEO
B2i Digital
David Shapiro
CEO, B2i DigitalDavid has worked in finance, technology, and marketing for 30 years, including 5 global banks and 3 advertising agencies. He currently supports the National Investment Banking Association as their Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to B2i Digital, he was the Chief Marketing Officer for Maxim Group and one of the founders of their investor awareness platform, M-Vest.com. He has previously worked as head of marketing for micro-cap companies in the transportation and healthcare industries. David maintains his status as a Google Partner and Facebook Marketing Partner. He has spent the last 15+ years managing digital ad accounts that delivered billions of ad impressions across all prominent platforms. He has provided digital marketing consulting to B2C and B2B companies in a wide variety of industries including healthcare, financial services, technology, real estate, hospitality, beverage, automotive & pharmaceutical. He received a BS in Applied Economics and Business Management from Cornell University.
Elliott M. Smith
Partner
White & Case
Elliott M. Smith
Partner, White & CaseElliott Smith is a partner at White & Case, and a member of the Firm's Capital Markets Practice.
Elliott’s practice focuses on advising clients on corporate and securities matters, including IPOs, follow-on offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities. Elliott has particular experience representing SPACs and their sponsor teams in IPOs and back-end business combinations.
Elliott also advises public companies on corporate governance matters and compliance with federal securities laws, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Taylor Sherman
Director, Restructuring and Dispute Resolution Services
CohnReznick
Taylor Sherman
Director, Restructuring and Dispute Resolution Services, CohnReznickTaylor Sherman provides financial advisory, business restructuring, and transaction support services to corporations, lending institutions, private equity firms, hedge funds, and law firms. He advises debtors, secured lenders, bondholders, unsecured creditors, stockholders, private equity, and other stakeholders in matters involving turnaround, bankruptcy, out-of-court workouts, litigation, lender and M&A due diligence, transactional support, and profit improvement services.
Marc Van Tricht
Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets
EarlyBirdCapital
Marc Van Tricht
Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets, EarlyBirdCapitalJoined EarlyBirdCapital in 2016 and is the Head of Capital Markets focusing on SPAC origination and business combinations. Prior to joining EarlyBirdCapital, Mr. Van Tricht was the Head of Event-Driven Strategy at CRT Capital. Earlier in his career, Mr. Van Tricht spent over 15 years on the buy-side at firms including Gracie Capital, Trafelet, and Eos Partners. Mr. Van Tricht graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Economics degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Brian Zucker
Partner
RRBB
Brian Zucker
Partner, RRBB
Brian is the CFO and Financial Operations Principal for numerous broker dealers and hedge funds. He has over thirty years of experience as a CPA specializing in the securities industry.
Brian started his career as a Senior Consultant at Deloitte Haskins and Sells and later Price Waterhouse. He provides a broad range of accounting, tax and regulatory related services to public companies, hedge funds, broker dealers and high net worth individuals. He has previously served as the President and Chairman of Atlantis Business Development Corp. (ABDV), CFO of Natcore Solar Technology, Inc. (NTCXF) and as a Managing Director of American Frontier Financial Corp. (EVIS)
