CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Chair Emeritus

Abry Partners

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Peggy is the Chair Emeritus of Abry and joined the firm in 1993. Previously she was the co-CEO and Managing Partner of the Firm. From 1988 through 1992, Ms. Koenig was a Vice President, Partner and member of the Board of Directors of Sillerman Communications Management Corporation, a merchant bank, making investments principally in the radio industry. She also serves on the Cornell Tech Council and the Cornell University Board of Trustees where she is a Vice Chair, the Advisory Board of the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard’s Kennedy School and the National Board of Cradles to Crayons. She is also the Producing Director of Black Cap Productions. She is also a member of Citi Private Bank’s North American Advisory Board. Ms. Koenig received her MBA from the Wharton Business School and her undergraduate degree from Cornell University. She also received a Fellowship at Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative.

ELLEN BRUNSBERG

Chief Investment Officer
Cain International

Ellen Brunsberg was appointed Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Cain International in September 2021. Prior to that, she worked as a consultant to the firm for a year. In her capacity as CIO, Ellen works across Cain International’s investment portfolio and is a permanent member of the firm’s investment committee. Her focus is on enhancing the portfolio’s risk and return potential, capital allocation and oversight of strategic opportunities.

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Ellen brings thirty years of operational, lending and investment experience. Prior to consulting for Cain, she served as the Global Head of Fixed Income Product Strategy at Blackrock from August 2018 to August 2019. Prior to that, she worked at GE Capital Real Estate, where she served in roles including the Chief Executive Officer and President of GE Capital Real Estate Europe and Head of Capital Markets for EMEA. She sourced and executed GE Capital’s largest acquisition in Europe and managed the $28 billion sale of GE Capital Real Estate to Blackstone in 2015. Prior to that, Ellen worked at Morgan Stanley for 18 years in both New York in London. Ultimately, she headed the Securitized Products Group for Europe where she ran the origination, execution and risk management for real estate lending, infrastructure finance and asset-backed trading. She is known for creating innovative financing techniques for private and public capital markets. At Morgan Stanley she oversaw $15 billion in investments and managed a team of 700 individuals located in six European countries.

Ellen received her undergraduate degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

SEEMA HINGORANI

Founder of Girls Who Invest and Managing Director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management

Seema R. Hingorani is a Managing Director and Strategic Client and Talent Engagement Lead at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM). She is also a member of the Investment Management Operating Committee, Chair of the Senior Advisory Board of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, a Senior Sponsor of Investment Management’s Diversity Council and a member of Morgan Stanley’s Diversity and Inclusion Senior Leaders Advisory Council. As part of the MSIM senior leadership team, Seema is focused on strategic client relationships, investment talent development and diversity initiatives across the platform. Seema joined Morgan Stanley in 2019 and has 27 years of investment experience.

Seema is also the Founder and Chair of Girls Who Invest, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the asset management industry. Previously, Seema was the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of SevenStep Capital, an opportunistic investment platform focused on seeding women portfolio managers. Seema served until June 30, 2014 as Chief Investment Officer for the New York City Retirement Systems which had assets of $160 billion. Previous to this appointment, Seema was Interim Chief Investment Officer and before that Head of Public Equities & Hedge Funds for the pension funds. Under her leadership, the pension fund was named Hedge Fund Manager of the Year - Large Public Pension Plans by Institutional Investor. Prior to Seema’s four years of public sector experience, she served as Global Director of Fundamental Research at Pyramis Global Advisors; a Partner, Portfolio Manager and Senior Equity Analyst with hedge fund Andor Capital Management; a Partner and Senior Equity Analyst at hedge fund Pequot Capital Management; Co-founder of hedge fund Mirador Capital Management; and an Equity Analyst with T. Rowe Price.

Seema has worked with several organizations focused on issues concerning women and girls and is a prolific speaker on the topic of a more robust inclusion of women in the corporate sector. She was awarded in 2021 the insignia of Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honor by France. She was also recognized in 2021 as one of 100 most influential women in U.S. finance by Barron’s, honored as the 2019 Bloomberg 50 “Ones To Watch”, the 2016 Woman with Impact by the Connecticut Women's Business Development Council, and Wall Street Women Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015 by Traders magazine. Seema served as a member of the National Finance Committee of Secretary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign. She is an active member of The Economic Club of New York and 100 Women in Finance. Seema earned a B.A. in psychology/philosophy from Yale College and an MBA in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.