"Financial Markets:
Outlook 2007"

Thurs., January 25, 2007

 

 

 

 

Money. You need it. They have it. How do you get it?

For a company, this is the elemental nature of capital markets, but at a global level, investors drive opportunities. It's the successful entrepreneur who knows the forces that shape investment decisions.

At "Financial Markets: Outlook 2007," our world-class panel will examine at a macro level the flow of money for the coming year, answering such questions as:

• What are the outlooks for the VC, public and M&A markets?
• What is the general outlook for the economy - local, national, and global - for 2007?
• What structural and regulatory issues will pull and shape the capital markets over the coming year?
• How will all of these affect a company's financial strategies?
  

Our featured panel is moderated by Liz Claman, anchor of CNBC's Morning Call; Axel Bichara '88, senior partner at Atlas Venture; Benjamin Howe, CEO of America's Growth Capital; Frederick Lane, chairman and CEO of Lane, Berry & Co.; and Deborah Kuenstner, managing director of research at Fidelity Investments.

Speaker Biographies

Liz Claman is co-anchor of CNBC's Morning Call (Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET), and anchor of CNBC's primetime program Cover to Cover . Liz is an award-winning journalist, having joined CNBC in April 1998, after spending three years as an anchor/reporter for NBC affiliate WHDH-TV, Boston . During that time, she also served as contributing correspondent for the NBC-syndicated daytime show, RealLife .

Prior to that, Liz was an anchor at WEWS-TV (ABC) in Cleveland , where she won an Emmy Award for Best Morning Anchor for her work on the two-hour morning show, Morning Exchange . Claman began her on-camera career at the ABC affiliate WSYX-TV in Columbus, Ohio, first as a reporter and then as weekend anchor.

Since joining CNBC, she has anchored shows ranging from Today's Business , Wake Up Call , Morning Call , and MarketWrap . Her first book, "The Best Investment Advice I Ever Received" (Warner) came out in November 2006.

Liz holds a bachelor's degree in French language from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as a Certificat Superieur from the Universite' de Paris, La Sorbonne. An avid runner, she completed the New York City Marathon in November 2005.

Axel Bichara '88 is a senior partner in the technology sector at Atlas Venture focusing on software and services technology.  
 
Before coming to Atlas Venture in 1993, he was vice president of product development at Premise, a venture-backed software company, which he co-founded in 1987. Premise was acquired by Computervision in 1991.  Axel was lead investor in SolidWorks, a mechanical design automation software company that was acquired in 1997 by Dassault Systemes. Axel also participated as a first-round lead investor in SpeechWorksand, as a board member, helped build the company through an IPO in 2000 and its later sale to ScanSoft in 2003. He continues to serve on the board of Phase Forward(IPO in July 2004) where he was also the first-round lead investor.
 
Between 1997 and 1999, Axel spent 18 months in Munich to build up Atlas Venture's business activity in Germany . He currently sits on the boards of portfolio companies BlueShift, Bluespec, CLK Design Automation, Liquid Machines, Marathon Technologies, NaviMedix, and Phase Forward.
 
Axel holds an MBA from INSEAD, a master of science from MIT, and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Technical University in Berlin .

Benjamin Howe is chief executive officer of America 's Growth Capital.  In 20 years as an investment banker, Ben has completed more than 250 transactions.  He began his investment banking career in the mid-'80s in New York City with First Boston and Smith Barney.

In the mid-'90s, Ben was the head of Technology Investment Banking for the East Coast and Europe for Montgomery Securities.  Prior to founding America 's, Ben served as managing director, head of Mergers & Acquisitions, and Executive Committee member at SG Cowen Securities.

A certified public accountant, Ben worked at Coopers & Lybrand prior to joining Smith Barney. He holds a bachelor's in economics from Trinity College and a master's in accounting from The Stern School of Business at New York University . Ben is a member of the Board of Regents of Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island , a member of the Young Presidents Organization, and a board member of Wellesley (MA) Little League.

Frederick Lane is chairman, CEO, and a founding partner of Lane, Berry & Co. International. Previously, he was a managing director of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, as well as of Credit Suisse First Boston upon CSFB's acquisition of DLJ in 2000. When he joined DLJ in 1976, Frederick was one of only eight investment bankers at the firm. He was instrumental in the growth of DLJ's investment banking business as reflected in his installation to DLJ's Hall of Fame.

Frederick was founder of DLJ's first regional investment banking office in Boston, and served on the firm's Equity Underwriting, Banking Review, and Fairness and Valuation Committees. From 1989 to 1995, he was co-head of DLJ's Mergers and Acquisitions Department. His experience encompasses a broad range of industries, including conglomerates, consumer products, retail, distribution, telecommunications, media, and electronics.

An active private equity investor, Frederick was a founding investor of Staples. He received his bachelor's, cum laude, from Harvard College , and his MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School .

Deborah Kuenstner is chief investment officer at Brandeis University. Prior to that, she was managing director of research for Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMRCo), the investment management organization of Fidelity Investments. Deborah oversaw the specialized research function at FMR Co.

Before joining Fidelity Investments, she was the chief investment officer, Global Value, at Putnam Investments from 2000 to 2004. Her other roles at Putnam included chief investment officer, International Value, and senior portfolio manager, International Equities. Prior, she worked in International Equities at DuPont Pension Fund Investment, as an International Investment strategist at Merrill Lynch, and an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York .

Deborah received a bachelor's degree in economics summa cum laude from Wellesley College . She was also a Durant Scholar and received the Natalie Bolton Prize in Economics. Deborah did graduate studies in statistics at Columbia University before earning her MBA with distinction from New York University .