Speakers

Caroline Fairchild is a managing editor for LinkedIn, where she leads a team of reporters focused on creating original content on the news that matters most to professionals. Fairchild reports on the prominent voices, trends and issues facing the larger working world. She is the host of Working Together, LinkedIn's live show on the changing face of U.S. business. Previously she was a business reporter at Fortune magazine, where she founded the Broadsheet, a popular daily newsletter on women in business. Over the span of her career, Fairchild has interviewed some of the world's most successful business leaders, including Melinda Gates, Sheryl Sandberg and Warren Buffett. In 2017, she was honored on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list as one of the brightest young minds working in media. She is a graduate of Duke University where she was a Robertson Scholar. 

Carolyn Childers is the Co-Founder and CEO of Chief, the private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there. She is an experienced leader and operator, having successfully scaled several early-stage businesses. Prior to founding Chief, Carolyn was SVP of Operations at Handy and before that led the launch of Soap.com (Quidsi), acting as its GM through the Amazon acquisition. Carolyn also had roles at Victoria's Secret and Avon Products where she worked on strategy and business development. She started her career in finance where she spent over three years in investment banking at Deutsche Bank. Carolyn has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Finance from Boston College. Carolyn is now focusing her energy and experience on tackling the imbalance of professional power and creating lasting change from the top down, landing her on Inc’s 2019 Female Founders 100 List.

Meahgan O’Grady is the Head of Origination at Long Point Capital. Meahgan is a true “utility” player, with a primary focus on new investment generation, she also manages deal evaluation, primary due diligence and new deal execution, from start to finish. Furthermore, Meahgan assists portfolio companies with add-on acquisition strategy development and the sourcing of tuck-in opportunities. Finally, she is also active in fundraising and investor relationship management.

Meahgan is well known in the M&A community for her knowledge of and views on investing trends, creative and effective deal sourcing techniques, macro-market perspectives and how private equity firms best bridge the gap between “Main St. and Wall St.”

Meahgan is a frequent speaker at professional association conferences as well as “Women in Business” focused events.

Prior to joining Long Point Capital as its Head of Origination, Meahgan worked at Goldman Sachs in the Fixed Income Currency and Commodities division. Meahgan received her Master in Business Administration from Duke, The Fuqua School of Business and her B.B.A from William and Mary’s Mason School of Business.

Meahgan is on the Board of the Association of Corporate Growth’s “Women of Leadership” committee as well as the Exit Planning Exchange’s (“XPX”) New York City chapter. In her free time, Meahgan loves to travel, refine her chef skills and practice Spanish with her friends.  

Stephanie established her Fine Jewelry Collection and Bridal Concierge service in 2013 after having managed the finished jewelry collection for an esteemed Wholesale Diamond company in NYC and pursuing her Diamond Certification from the GIA. Stephanie felt a need to fill the void in the Bridal category, and to make the diamond education and purchasing process a more accessible and seamless experience. Stephanie is extremely hands-on with regards to her concierge service; she selects each and every stone option for her clients, and then brainstorms beautiful and modern designs that elevate her Bridal Collection beyond the traditional engagement ring. Stephanie’s fashion collection was inspired by Stephanie’s own personal jewelry wants and needs; each piece is intended to be delicate and sophisticated, with its own punch of personality. Her modern twists on classic designs translate into beautiful and wearable everyday fashion jewelry that can be stacked and layered by the wearer to create unique combinations.Stephanie lives in New York City with her husband Brett, her son Jordan, and three Havanese pups, Kiwi, Kobe, and Kanye.

Fran Hauser is a long-time media executive, startup investor, keynote speaker and best-selling author of The Myth of the Nice Girl. She's held senior positions at some of the world’s largest digital media businesses, including PEOPLE, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly and AOL. Now a startup investor who largely invests in female founders, Fran was named one of Business Insider's "30 Women in Venture Capital to Watch in 2018." Fran and The Myth of the Nice Girl have been featured on a wide range of outlets including NBC’s Today Show, CNBC, PEOPLE, Fortune, TIME, Fast Company, Oprah.com, Business Insider, Elle, and many more. The Myth of the Nice Girl was named Audible's Best Business Book of 2018 and one of Amazon's Best Business and Leadership Books of 2018, among other accolades. Fran is a frequent speaker on women's leadership and writes a regular career advice column for Refinery29.

Estrella is a Femtech entrepreneur and Forbes writer, and the cofounder of women’s digital health startup B-wom. She is a passionate women's health advocate who aims to eradicate the anxiety women suffer when it comes to their bodies and their intimate and sexual health.  Estrella also conducts women’s health workshops and gender equity awareness sessions at institutions like the World Bank and speaks at international conferences including Condé Nast’s Unblush and Planned Parenthood’s ForoIDEA. 

Lulu Ge is the Founder and CEO of Elix, the first menstrual wellness brand to deliver
personalized herbal treatments for hormonal health by combining Chinese medicine with
clinical research on an algorithmic platform. She is passionate about democratizing access
to science-backed holistic remedies for chronic conditions so that we can all live more
fulfilling and productive lives.
Prior to founding Elix, Lulu led the Change and Transformation function at Hudson’s Bay
Company and Saks Fifth Avenue. The team was responsible for a portfolio of strategic
initiatives valued at $350m+ across an employee population of 45,000+. There she
identified opportunity to leverage data and analytics in creating personalized customer
experiences that fostered loyalty and community, a foundational pillar of Elix.
Earlier in her career, Lulu spent several years in Management Consulting at both a “Big-
Four” and a boutique firm where she led diverse projects consulting to Fortune 100
organizations in strategy, business transformation, customer experience, technology
enablement, organization design, change management and leadership effectiveness. She
has also worked abroad in China, creating leadership development programs for Chinese
government and business leaders.
Lulu holds a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University
of Pennsylvania, a Master of Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University
and a Bachelor of Political Science and Art History from the University of California, San
Diego. She is certified in varied assessments and methodologies including the Myers-
Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) and Prosci ADKAR® Model for individual change to drive
organizational transformation.
Lulu currently lives in New York City with her husband and numerous houseplants. She
enjoys cooking plant-based recipes, practicing ashtanga-style yoga, traveling to different
wine regions of the world and discovering new healing herbs. You can connect with her on
Instagram: @luluge.

Dr. Christina Jenkins is a Lead Venture Investor with Portfolia, Inc., a venture capital firm with aim of earning superior returns, while also expanding the base of women investors and advancing companies that better meet their needs and interests.  In this role, she leads potential investments for the FemTech fund, focusing on early-stage tech-enabled startups that are game-changers for women’s health and well-being.   Since its close in 2018, the fund has invested in Prime Genomics, Future Family, and Madorra, for which she is a Board Observer. 

Christina is also nationally known for her work in healthcare innovation and systems redesign, and through her firm Lucania Partners, Inc., she provides strategic advice to health systems, healthcare nonprofits, and startups seeking success in a value-based payment environment.  Prior to this, Christina was the founding CEO of OneCity Health, a population health-focused subsidiary using novel tech platforms, social services, and clinical models to improve quality, cost, and engagement for 1M low-income New Yorkers.  She is an internist trained at Northwestern and Mount Sinai, a Kauffman Fellow (New Enterprise Associates), and has served as a Board Director for 500K to 1.2M-member managed care organizations and health systems.

Antonia Saint Dunbar is a Co-Founder of THINX Inc., and is currently the Co-Founder/CEO of new high-tech shoe company Antonia Saint NY, and a co-founder of The BK Shoe Factory. The focus of the majority of her companies is to provide much-needed solutions for women, and
sustainable alternatives for the planet. For instance, THINX Inc. creates performance underwear, activewear and other reusable feminine care items, and Antonia Saint NY makes hi-tech, customized-fit heels and flats that last longer and look classic on the outside, but feel
like sneakers on the inside. Antonia led the design of the patented products at THINX that were later named one of TIME Magazine’s “Top 25 Inventions,” and simultaneous with this role, she was leading all aspects of the business as the Chief Operations Officer for many years, also helping to secure a long-term strategic partnership with Nike's #1 supplier. THINX has been featured in numerous publications such as Ad Week, Fast Company and theNY Times, while selling worldwide, being named one of Fast Company’s “Top 50 Most Innovative Companies”, Entrepreneur’s “Top 100 Most Brilliant Companies,” CNBC’s “Top 50 Disruptors” and is currently #37 on Inc.’s “5000 Fastest Growing Companies.” Called a “Feminist Genius” by the press and nominated to Women 2.0’s list of “Top Founders to Watch,” Antonia is now focused on disrupting the $28 Billion Dollar U.S. women's shoe industry, with multiple patents and other patents pending for Antonia Saint NY. Antonia began her career in public relations after earning a Communications degree from Northwestern University where she also studied music as a classical cellist. She now lives in New York with her two young daughters and her husband, a biotech investor on Wall Street, who was the first CFO and angel investor at THINX, and also her Co-Founder and CFO for Antonia Saint NY.

Mylene has led Univfy from founding through stages of technology invention and commercialization and now focuses on scaling Univfy's business. She has over 20 years of experience in clinical and scientific research in reproductive medicine. Prior to founding Univfy, she was on the faculty at Stanford University, where she led NIH-funded fertility and embryo genetics research and developed the Univfy technology with the academic founding team. She is co-inventor on Univfy's global IP portfolio, comprising patents issued in the US and other countries.

Linda Filardi is a Senior Director and Associate General Counsel at Capital One Bank responsible for legal management of Corporate Finance, which includes Sponsor Finance, Regional Middle Market, the US Corporate Group, Diversified Industries and TMT.  Prior to joining Capital One, she was Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Antares Capital, which was previously the leveraged finance business of GE Capital sold to the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, where she managed all aspects of the Sponsor Finance Group’s NY/CA originated transactions for over 15 years and during the acquisition of Heller, Merrill Lynch Capital and Antares Capital.  At GE, she was the Vice Chair of the General Electric Political Action Committee (GEPAC), and was also lead counsel for GE Capital’s marketing team.   Linda is a member of the Loan Syndicated Trading Association’s Primary Market Committee, the Practicing Law Institute faculty on Going Private Transactions, a Fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers and the current Chair of the Secured Lending Subcommittee of the American Bar Association.  She has served as a moderator/panelist at numerous industry leading conferences on leveraged finance, private debt and secured lending at the LSTA, GFMI, LPGP Connect (in London and New York) and the CFA. She was featured in the 2018 October issue of The Secured Lender, among women “Making Their Mark”, and received the 2018 Ace Award at Capital One, which is given to the top 1% of the Commercial Bank.  Linda joined GE Capital as Senior Counsel & Compliance Officer in Tokyo, Japan, managing legal and compliance of the commercial finance/distressed loan business in Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea and Thailand.

Linda started her legal career at the law firm of Debevoise and Plimpton, where she was a corporate finance and securities lawyer.  Before beginning her legal career, Linda was an Assistant Treasurer at American Express Bank where she worked as a credit analyst in the aircraft leasing division after completing the nine-month Bank Credit Analyst Management Training Program. 

She received her J.D. Magna Cum Laude from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she was Notes and Comments Editor of the Seton Hall Law Review.  She completed a Master’s Program in International Affairs and Economics from The John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and holds a B.A. in Political Science from SUNY, including studies abroad in Paris, France and McGill University in Canada.

Karen De Castro is a Partner in the Ares Credit Group, where she focuses on U.S. Direct Lending, which has over $47 billion of assets under management.  Ms. De Castro is responsible for originating, structuring and executing debt and equity investments for her financial sponsor clients. Prior to joining Ares in 2007, Ms. De Castro was a Senior Associate at Friedberg Milstein, where she evaluated and executed senior and junior debt investments. Previously, Ms. De Castro was an investment banker at JP Morgan, where she was responsible for the underwriting, structuring, and distribution of leveraged loans and high yield bonds. Ms. De Castro has served as a board member or observer for several companies across a broad range of industries. Ms. De Castro holds a B.A. from Brown University in Business Economics.

 

Nicole Drapkin is a Managing Director of Owl Rock Capital Partners and serves as a member of Owl Rock Capital Advisors’ Originations team. Prior to joining Owl Rock in 2016, Ms. Drapkin was a Principal in the Principal Credit Investments Group at the CPP Investment Board from 2013 to 2015, where she focused on sourcing and evaluating credit investments across the gaming, consumer retail, software and healthcare sectors. Prior to that, Ms. Drapkin was a Vice President in the Leveraged Finance Group at Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York. Ms. Drapkin received a B.A., with Honors, from Princeton University.

Jennifer B. Ezring is a member of the Executive Committee and of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP's corporate practice group.  Jenn's practice focuses primarily on advising commercial and investment banks in leveraged finance and asset-based lending transactions, including acquisition financings, leveraged buyouts, bridge lending and loan commitments, and out-of-court debt restructurings.  She has practiced in a variety of industries, including communications, gaming, retail, energy, manufacturing, media, publishing and internet technology. Jenn has a broad range of financing experience in both US and international transactions.

Jenn was named to Crain’s 2019 list of Notable Women in Law and was recognized as one of The Secured Lender’s 50 Women in Commercial Finance in 2017.  She has been recommended as a leading finance lawyer by Chambers USA, IFLR1000 and The Legal 500. 

Jenn serves on Cahill's Women’s Initiatives Committee.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of LiveGirl, Inc. and the Board of Governors of Multiplying Good, and has served on the Leadership Advisory Committee of the National Womens Law Center.

Carolyn Glick, Managing Director, is a member of Blackrock's Global Credit Platform.  She is responsible for originating and executing direct lending and special situations investment opportunities and maintaining relationships with key deal sources and intermediaries across the US including private equity groups, investment banks, turnaround advisors and others.  The investments sourced can be placed across the BlackRock Alternative Investors (BAI) platform but sit primarily in the BlackRock Private Credit group which since 1999 has invested nearly $27 billion in over 800 portfolio companies. 

Prior to her current role, Ms. Glick was a Director at Tennenbaum Capital Partners who managed more than $9 billion in committed capital and was acquired by BlackRock in 2018. Prior to joining TCP in 2014, Ms. Glick was a Managing Director at Bank of America Business Capital, responsible for loan originations and financial sponsor coverage.  Before Bank of America, she was with Wells Fargo Capital Finance serving in various credit and originations roles, most recently as a Managing Director responsible for originating, structuring and managing asset-backed loans.

Ms. Glick earned a BA in economics and government from Claremont McKenna College

Martha Gurwit a Managing Director and a senior member of the Capital Markets Structuring Team at Antares Capital.  Over her career, she has raised over $50 billion in loans with expertise across a broad suite of debt products including first and second lien facilities, unitranche debt and project financing for both rated and unrated transactions.  She started her banking career at JPMorgan where she spent 15+ years in the Investment Bank first in Texas and then in NYC working with large cap and middle market corporations and private equity sponsors providing corporate finance advise and capital structure solutions to support acquisitions, recapitalizations, dividends and LBO’s. 

Martha joined Antares Capital through its predecessor company GE Capital in 2007.  Originally hired to focus on the energy sector, specifically oilfield services and power, she later moved to Antares Capital to support general sponsor activity.  Antares Capital is a private debt credit manager that supports over 400 middle market private equity sponsors and has over $24 billion of loans under management.   In her role today, she works closely with middle market companies and sponsors to provide multi product loan structures to drive growth.  Ms Gurwit is responsible for structuring and syndicating loans across a wide variety of industries to a broad investor base including banks, hedge funds, pension funds and other financial institutions. 

Ms Gurwit is active in industry forums and has served as a panelist at various conferences discussing market trends, the syndicated loan market, direct lending and cross border financing.  She is active in recruiting and mentoring and is a co-founder of the Antares Women’s Network and serves on its Steering Committee.  She graduated from the University of Missouri with a BSBA and the University of Houston with an MBA and lives in New York City.

Christina Park is a Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets and Head of Communications, Media & Entertainment, Real Estate and Healthcare in the leveraged finance group.  Christina has over 18 years of leveraged finance experience having been at Lehman Brothers / Barclays in addition to roles at Citi and Nomura.  She has significant experience in originating, structuring and executing leveraged loan and high yield bond transactions for corporate and private equity clients.  Prior to her career in investment banking, Christina spent four years conducting medical research at UCLA Medical Center.  She has published in renown medical journals most notably having helped discover a peptide that has now become an important human iron regulator.  Christina received her B.A. in Biochemistry / Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Cornell University.