SFNet's Asset-Based Capital Conference 2022

Tuesday, February 8
12:00 p.m. Registration opens

12:30-2:00 p.m. Barbarians at the Gate—Permanent Capital and the ABL Opportunity
Our lunch will feature leaders in both the permanent capital and ABL industries discussing the opportunities and risks that exist for investors and ABL managers. Where some see opportunity others see an impending disaster.

Moderator: Barry Bobrow, Managing Director, Head of Loan Sales & Syndications, Wells Fargo Commercial Capital
Panelists: Marty Battaglia, CEO, Eclipse Business Capital
Jonathan Bock, CFO, Barings BDC
Bryan High, Managing Director, Barings BDC


2:00-3:30 p.m. Networking Central
sponsored by Gordon Brothers
Enjoy an extended break to connect and network with fellow attendees.

3:45-5:00 p.m. Supply Chain Moves Front and Center
Few topics have received more media attention throughout the pandemic than issues related to supply chains. Disruptions to shipping, rail and trucking have significantly affected all economic sectors. Challenges finding workers have led to slowdowns in manufacturing capacity and retail services, even as geopolitical concerns have driven companies to look for new ways to optimize their supply chain networks for the current and anticipated environment. These issues demand both short- and long-term solutions, and our experts will address both and provide their expectations for 2022 and beyond.

Moderator: Larry Flick, Partner, Blank Rome LLP 
Panelists: Ulos Anderson, Sr. Managing Director, Gordon Brothers 
James Aubuchon, President, Premier Trailer Leasing
Jimmy Dixon, Management Consultant, Oliver Wright Americas, Inc.
Steve Moore, Principal, Tortola Advisors

5:15-7:00 p.m. Opening Reception
sponsored by McGuireWoods LLP
Our reception will take place in a combination indoor/outdoor space.

Wednesday, February 9
9:00 a.m. Breakfast

9:30-10:45 a.m. Retail Has a Breakout Year
The 2021 retail environment looked very different from the recent past. Consumer spending, supported by high optimism and pent-up demand, and buoyed by record levels of government support, reached unexpected highs. Mall-based retailers, particularly department stores, reported strong earnings as various factors led to improved margins. At the same time, many pre-pandemic darlings of retail were not as fortunate. The rapid pace of change has led both online and store-based retailers to change their strategies for 2022 and beyond. This panel of experts will guide us through the changing landscape of retail and the broader economic environment, and provide their views on the future.

Moderator: Ian Fredericks, President, Hilco Global Retail Group
Panelists: Larry Klaff – Senior Managing Director, First Eagle Investment Management
Jennifer Cann – Managing Director, Bank of America
Christine Hutchinson – Managing Director, Head of Retail Finance, Huntington Business Credit
Irene Marks – Executive Vice President, Head of Retail, Wells Fargo
Brian Cashman – Managing Director, Berkeley Research Group LLC

10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Private Debt Spotlight
Even as the public debt markets reached record levels in 2021, private debt has also grown significantly in capacity and overall activity levels. With increased fund raising by asset managers and greater appreciation for the speed and flexibility of private debt solutions, private equity investors have shown a greater willingness to consider private debt solutions. Lincoln international, a global investment banking advisory firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions, capital advisory and valuations and opinions services, will provide proprietary private market data from its Valuations & Opinions Group and moderate this panel of private debt professionals, exploring current market trends and expectations for the future direction of the market. 

Moderator: Robert Horak, Managing Director, Lincoln International LLC
Panelists: Matt Liepert, Managing Director, Antares Capital
Dan Lee, Managing Director, Comvest Credit Partners
Smitha Balasubramanian, Managing Director, Valuations & Opinions Group, Lincoln International LLC
Tom Otte, Managing Director & Head of Asset-Based Lending, White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC

12:00 p.m. Lunch

12:45-2:00 p.m. Sustainability and the Capital Markets
Corporate response to environmental issues has existed for decades, but it has been given a great sense of urgency due to shifts in investor behavior, changes in fundamental economic drivers, and a growing focus on climate change and social justice in our society overall. In recent years this confluence of factors has led to changes in regulatory regimes, corporate governance, business strategies, risk management approaches and the capital markets themselves. Sustainability features have become a staple of the loan and bond markets in recent years, and have recently begun to be seen in asset-based loans. This panel of professionals will discuss a wide range of recent developments in sustainable finance and what the future might hold.

Moderator: Dorothy Killeen, Managing Director and Head of Origination, Wells Fargo Commercial Capital
Panelists: Genevieve Piche, Head of ESG Solutions, Wells Fargo
Elizabeth Ballotte, Principal, PFK O'Connor Davies
Georgia Quenby, Partner, Morgan Lewis
Adam Heltzer, Managing Director, Head of ESG, Ares Management LLC

2:00-4:00 p.m. Networking Central
sponsored by Gordon Brothers
Enjoy an extended break to connect and network with fellow attendees. 

4:15-5:30 p.m. ABCC Capital Markets Update 2022
The confluence of corporate optimism, government-provided liquidity, low interest rates and credit spreads and borrower friendly capital markets led to record levels of issuance for both public and private debt in 2021. These forces also led to significant M&A activity during the year and, despite current inflation and interest rate concerns, markets appear poised for continued strong performance in 2022. This panel of capital market professionals will review 2021 and provide their forecasts for 2022 and beyond.

Moderator: Barry Bobrow, Managing Director, Head of Loan Sales & Syndications Wells Fargo Commercial Capital
Panelists: Lisa Hanson, Executive Director, Global Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley
Andrew Ray, Managing Director Asset-Based Lending, JPMorgan
Steve Szymanski, Director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Colin Adams, Sr. Managing Director, M3 Partners

5:45-8:00 p.m. Joint Reception with TMA's Distressed Investing Conference
sponsored by White Oak Commercial Finance, Gerber Finance Inc., and Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP

*Agenda details are subject to change.

The Current State of the EMEA ABL and M&A Markets
A roundtable discussion involving European PE Firms, Debt Advisors, Lenders and chaired by prominent lawyers.

Moderators: Paula Laird , Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Teun Struycken, Partner, NautaDutilh N.V.
Panelists: Jon Bramwell, Director, Clients & Markets, UK Debt Advisory. Grant Thornton UK LLP
Marc Finer, Director - Debt Advisory (Corporate Finance), KPMG
Jeremy Harrison, Head of Sales UK, ABN AMRO Commercial Finance UK
Tristan Nagler, Partner, Aurelius UK
Federica Pietrogrande, Managing Director, Gordon Brothers
Aidan Robson, Partner, Endless LLP
Mike Roth, Director, Head of ABL, Deutsche Bank AG

Globalization's Glowing Embers? A Fireside Chat on the Geopolitics of Supply Chains, Trade and Investment
In a one-on-one interview, Stuart Rock and geopolitical analyst David Chmiel will survey the current volatile international political environment and ask what it all means for global flows of goods and capital. Brexit, China, Ukraine, the future of the EU post-Merkel, offshoring, economic nationalism and Boris Johnson’s parties...they’ll cover all of this and more.

Speakers: David Chmiel, Managing Director, Global Torchlight Limited
Stuart Rock, Business Editor & Writer; Founder, Devonia Road

Economist Session
sponsored by TD Bank
Inflation, tapering, government spending, deficits, trade, supply chain impact…a discussion on what this all means for the economy.

Speaker: Leslie Preston, Director, Senior Economist, TD Bank

Changing Landscapes – What Has Happened and What is Still to Come?
sponsored by Solifi and presented by the Women in Secured Finance Committee
What has happened in the last business cycle that has changed your landscape? How have you adjusted? What do you see as coming next? Technology? Mergers? Supply Chain issues? All of the above?? Our panel will examine these topics and offer their insights.

Moderator: Rosanne Doyle, ABL/Factoring Product Manager, Solifi
Panelists: Andy McGhee, Vice Chairman, White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC
Jennifer Palmer, CEO, Gerber Finance
Cyntra Trani, Head of ABL Credit Management, TD Bank

SOFR/ESG/Bankruptcy Issues
Join members of the LSTA as they discuss:

1. LIBOR replacement: development of the replacement rate, uptake, fall-back provisions, acceptance of the new benchmarks and challenges yet to be met. 
2. ESG: how ESG principles are impacting investment strategies. What the LSTA has been doing to help the loan market meet investor needs. The regulatory landscape and what is on the horizon. 
3. As corporate default rates flirt with historic lows there is significant and possibly a bipartisan push for reform. In many cases the Judiciary has taken steps toward self-reform. What might this mean for creditors?

Moderator: Lee Shaiman, Executive Director, LSTA
Panelists: Meredith Coffey, Executive Vice President, LSTA
Elliot Ganz, General Counsel & Chief of Staff, LSTA
Tess Virmani, AGV & EVP–Public Policy, Head of ESG, LSTA

Washington Session
The Washington session will explore the public policy issues driving today’s headlines. The panel of experts will discuss Build Back Better, antitrust and M&A, supply chain, inflation, China, cryptocurrency, and banking regulation. In addition, there will be a discussion of what’s at stake in the midterm elections.

Moderator: Lon Goldstein, President, Goldstein Policy Solutions LLC
Panelists: Seth Bloom, President & Founder, Bloom Strategic Counsel, PLLC
Jacob Hample, Director of Government Affairs and Policy, The Blockchain Association
Chris Scribner, Senior Policy Advisor, Venable LLP