ACG Boston | Family Office Roundtable - Sourcing Strategy (Virtual)

Stuart Abelson serves as President, Chairman, and CEO of Ora, Inc. Fueled by energy, acumen, and dedication to innovation, Stuart has guided the global organization through significant expansion of its services and reach, remaining 100% dedicated to ophthalmology. With Stuart at the helm, Ora delivers the highest level of customer care and service, making Ora the partner of choice for ophthalmology development programs. Stuart’s focus is mirrored by his drive to continually elevate all aspects of product development, ensuring that Ora remains a source of hope for customers, partners, and patients worldwide. The son of the Ora’s founder, Stuart spent a decade at Amphenol Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, before joining Ora as President in 2007. He had previously served as a member of Ora’s Board in 1995, and later as Chair. Stuart remains active on many boards, from corporate to non-profit. He is also a dedicated philanthropist, focusing on education, wildlife and land conservation, medical research, veteran causes, and homelessness. In addition, Stuart founded the “Better & Faster Together” non-profit organization committed to facilitating, through education and awareness, a healthy competitive environment in sports. Stuart graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience from Bates College. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. During his studies, he earned multiple recognitions for scholarship and service.

Gerry is a Partner at Kidd & Company (KCO), the private equity investment arm of the Kidd Family Office. He has been with KCO for 20 years and has sourced and/or managed multiple investments over this time period, including Chatham Technologies, MedSource Technologies, Empower Health, iPacesetters (d/b/a Avantive Solutions), Reladyne, Logistyx Technologies and Brand Holdings. Previously, he served as SVP of Business Development of one of KCO’s portfolio companies, Chatham Technologies, helping drive revenue from $153M to $600M+ in three years. Prior to Chatham, he was with The Monitor Company, Fidelity Investments and The Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Gerry has an AB in Economics from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He also currently serves as Co-Chair of the Boston ACG Family Office Committee.

Brian leads origination at Snowdon Partners searching for $3-$10M EBITDA opportunities across many sectors. Brian spent most of his career building, operating and growing startups. Most notably, Brian was an early employee at Sonder, Guiker, MLG Blockchain and Exponential Ventures. In addition to his work at Snowdon, Brian is an advisor to the Holt Fintech Accelerator and other startups he has invested in. Brian earned his Bachelors in Commerce from McGill University and attended ESADE for his exchange semester.

Daniela Messina is the Founder and Managing Member of Portside Capital Solutions, working with dealmakers at the intersection of deploying and raising capital. She is an accomplished attorney and executive with a varied background in private equity and family offices, government, politics, investor relations, business development and corporate and crisis communications. She combines her wide-ranging experiences across many industries with a professional network of national leaders in the public and private sector to produce effective results for clients to help them achieve their goals. She is a proven strategist and master deal connector with an extensive professional network to source deals, raise capital and provide value to dealmakers across various industries. Daniela provides counsel to private equity funds, single and multi-family offices, emerging funds, independent sponsors and corporate clients. She is committed to recognizing meaningful synergies and connecting dealmaking stakeholders with a purpose. Daniela currently serves as a board member of the Association for Corporate Growth, Boston Chapter. Daniela is active in the ACG Boston Family Office Committee and Co-Chair of the Women’s Connection Committee. She also serves on the Corporate Board Committee of The Boston Club, one of the largest organizations for women executive and professional leaders committed to elevating women into leadership positions.