Corporate Development (CD) Forum

"CD Forum" is a quarterly dinner meeting/ discussion forum for Corporate Development Officers (CDOs) and other M&A, Transactional and Strategy executives, generally from larger corporations. Over the 15 years of the Forum more than 200 CDO's have attended, with many current "regulars." A typical dinner discussion group has a CDO leading the discussion on an important topic of interest, with 15 to 25 CDOs attending.

For more information contact lhalstead@acg.org PLEASE NOTE: If you are qualified to attend this forum, please register via the link in the email invitation or email lhalstead@acg.org. This event is invitation-only and therefor the registration link is not public on the website.

Value proposition: This exclusive, strictly peer-to-peer, meeting is an excellent forum for Corporate Development Officers and other corporate transactional executives to share experiences and best practices while developing relationships in a convenient, enjoyable and relaxing setting.
Testimonials:
       "Since its inception, over 10 years ago, the CD Forum has been for me a great vehicle for exchanging ideas and insights with many other CD executives." Joe Dunning, Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions, J.M. Huber Corporation.

       "The CD Forum is an intimate and valuable venue for business development professionals to discuss openly topical issues and best practices, and to network for new ideas. I have developed relationships with high-level colleagues from other companies here who I never would have met otherwise," George Koutsaftes, Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions, Honeywell Specialty Materials.

Attendees: Prior attendees of the CD Forum include Hercules Angelatos, SVP-Administration/Finance, Hapag-Lloyd (America); David Blaskey, SVP, Development & Integration, Avis Budget Group; Brian Buchert, Director, Corporate Strategy and M&A, Church & Dwight; Pierce Cleary, Manager of Business Development, Metal Improvement Co., Subsidiary of Curtiss-Wright; Pat Fetaya, New Business Development, Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company; Kevin Kilroy, Head of Business Planning, RBU NA, Linde Group; Mitch Koppelman, VP, M&A & Planning, Minerals Technologies; John Lillis, VP, Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances, Pitney Bowes Management Services; Bob Lurie, VP North American Business Development, Ocean Power Technologies; Koshi Okamoto, Executive Director, Corporate Business Development, Hitachi Metals America; Laurent Paty, Director of Customer Programs and Market Development, Petra Solar; and Rick Surett, SVP, Financial Planning & Analysis, Ports America.

The CD Forums are kindly supported by IntraLinks and EisnerAmper LLP and Gibbons P.C. and Woodruff Sawyer

The next CD Forum on December 5:

The Anatomy of a Deal: From The Buyer’s AND Seller’s Perspective

Join us as Desiree Castillejos and Yaron Wieder discuss the evolution of the deal between Scutum Group, a global provider of security and fire protection services, and Visentry, an innovator of solutions that provide Artificial Intelligence remote video monitoring and response services. Desiree and Yaron will describe their experience as the buyer and seller of this multiple round deal, from the selection of potential buyers and strategic assessment of the target, to negotiations and deal closing.

About the Speakers

Desiree Castillejos is a global strategy and business development executive with expertise in M&A and strategic planning and partnerships. She has completed more than twenty-two transactions and created multimillion-dollar businesses in Industrial Equipment, Industry 4.0, SaaS, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Cloud, Automation, and Business Services. Currently, Desiree is the Chief Strategy Officer, Head of M&A and Business Partnerships, North America for Scutum Group, a privately owned Safety and Security Services European leader. Desiree earned her Master of Business Administration in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and earned both her Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Engineering from the Université de Technologie de Compiègne.

Yaron Wieder has been a key member of Visentry since its founding in 2004, shortly after earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. Over the years, he has excelled in various roles, from monitoring and installation to design and sales, giving him a comprehensive understanding of the company’s operations. As a pivotal contributor to the design and deployment of remote guarding solutions, Yaron has played a crucial role in enhancing security for all customer locations. His extensive knowledge of artificial intelligence—encompassing both backend development and practical applications—positions him as a thought leader in the industry.

INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES? Contact Lou Halstead (lhalstead@acg.org) or Diane McLevy (dmclevy@acg.org) to learn more.
Click on the following link to view the ACG NJ CD Sponsors Package: ACG NJ CD Forum Sponsorship Packages