Wall Street Investment Forum

Brian Zied is a senior investment professional at Impala Asset Management with primary coverage of retail, apparel, restaurants and consumer products and services.

Prior to joining Impala he was CEO and Portfolio Manager of Charter Bridge Capital from its inception in 2010 through 2015. He was a Partner and Retail Sector Head at Maverick Capital from 1998 to 2010. He is a long time board member of the KIPP Charter Schools in New York City, and has been involved with Robin Hood and education reform advocacy groups for many years.

Mr. Zied grew up in Cincinnati, OH and received a dual degree from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees from the Wharton School of Business and the Moore School of Engineering.

David Gallo is the Managing Partner, Portfolio Manager, and founder of Valinor Management, a $3+ billion equity long/short hedge fund. Prior to founding Valinor in 2007, Mr. Gallo was a Senior Analyst at Bridger Capital, LLC, which he joined in 2002 as the fourth member of its investment team. From 2000 through 2002, Mr. Gallo was a Vice President at Francisco Partners, a multi-billion dollar technology-focused private equity firm. During the summer of 1999, Mr. Gallo was an Associate at Tiger Management. From 1996 to 1998, he was an Analyst at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and prior to that he was an Analyst at The Blackstone Group.

Mr. Gallo received his Bachelor of Science in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Accounting from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Summa Cum Laude, where he graduated first in his class as both a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and a Joseph Wharton Scholar. Mr. Gallo received his MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with High Distinction as a Baker Scholar and a Loeb Fellow.

Ilana Weinstein is founder and CEO of The IDW Group LLC, a New York-based executive search firm focused on placing senior hedge fund and business professionals across the investment landscape. The firm has become a leading boutique for hedge fund managers, asset managers, private equity firms and family offices in search of top investment talent for their public and global investment initiatives. Weinstein previously worked at Goldman Sachs and The Boston Consulting Group. She is a frequent guest on Bloomberg and CNBC TV programs, discussing market trends and the hedge fund universe. Weinstein holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A from Harvard Business School.

John Bader is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Halcyon Capital Management LP, a global asset management firm with approximately $9 billion in AUM. Prior to Halcyon Mr. Bader was Director of Research at Gruss & Co. Mr. Bader has been a frequent speaker at educational and industry forums on investing, including ones sponsored by the New York Society of Security Analysts, NMS Management, Institutional Investor, The Borsa Italiana (Italian Stock Exchange), the World Presidents’ Organization, and Skybridge Capital (SALT). He has participated in the Barron’s Roundtable, and has been featured in the Financial Times, Pensions & Investments, and Bloomberg, among other publications. He has appeared on CNBC and Bloomberg TV. Mr. Bader is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, has served as a member of the Research Council of The Greenwich Roundtable, and has lectured at Columbia Business School. A recipient of numerous academic prizes, Mr. Bader received his A.B. from Harvard University, Class of 1984.

Josh Kaufman co-founded Brenner West Capital Advisors, LLC in 2005 with Craig Nerenberg. Prior to co-founding Brenner West Capital Advisors, Josh was a research analyst with MSD Capital, from 2004 to 2005 having also been a research analyst at Korsant Partners from 2002 to 2004. Josh began his career with Goldman Sachs & Co, as an analyst in the investment banking division from 2000 to 2002. Josh graduated from the University of Michigan Business School with a high distinction from its undergraduate program in 2000.

Theodore L. Koenig, President & CEO. Mr. Koenig is a President, CEO and Founder of Monroe Capital LLC. He has over 32 years of experience in structuring and investing in debt and equity transactions. Monroe Capital is a leading provider of senior and junior debt and equity co-investments to middle-market companies in the U.S. and Canada. Investment types include unitranche financings, cash flow and enterprise value based loans, acquisition facilities, mezzanine debt, second lien or last-out loans and equity co-investments. Monroe has been recognized by the M&A Advisor as the 2016 Lender Firm of the Year; Global M&A Network as the 2016 Small Middle Markets Lender of the Year; Private Debt Investor as the 2015 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Year; and the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 2015 Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) of the Year.

Mr. Koenig also serves as the Chairman, President and CEO of Monroe Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: MRCC), a publicly traded business development company (BDC).

In 2016, Mr. Koenig received the Leadership Achievement Award by The Global M&A for his management talents, influence and contributions made to advance and grow their respective organizations as well as markets. Mr. Koenig was inducted in the Academy of Alumni Fellows of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University for his significant contributions to the art and science of business management. In 2013 Mr. Koenig was awarded the Stanley C. Golder Award by the Illinois Venture Capital Association as a recognized leader in venture/private equity investing and for his profound and lasting contribution to the private equity industry in Illinois. Mr. Koenig also received the 2013 Torch of Liberty Award from the Mid-West Region of the Anti-Defamation League recognizing his achievements in both the corporate and philanthropic communities. Mr. Koenig was named the 2012 Middle Market Thought Leader of the Year by The Alliance of Mergers & Acquisitions Advisors (AM&AA) and Grant Thornton LLP recognizing individuals in the mergers and acquisitions profession who create and advocate ideas that are transformative for the industry.

Prior to founding Monroe Capital in 2004, Mr. Koenig was President and CEO of Hilco Capital LP, a junior secured/mezzanine debt fund established in 2000. Prior to that, Mr. Koenig spent 13 years at the Chicago-based law firm of Holleb & Coff as partner and co-chair of the firm’s Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions and Business Finance groups, where he supervised and was responsible for structuring, negotiating and documenting acquisitions and sales of middle-market companies as well as representing the firm’s bank, financial institution and commercial finance clients in financing transactions for buyout, growth, recapitalization and restructuring transactions. Before joining Holleb & Coff in 1986, Mr. Koenig spent three years in the Mergers/Acquisitions and Corporate Finance practice group of Winston & Strawn where he was involved mostly in structuring and documenting buyouts, sales and financings for middle market companies.

Mr. Koenig is a graduate of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University (B.S.) in accounting with high honors and Chicago-Kent College of Law (J.D.) with honors. Mr. Koenig is also a certified public accountant. Mr. Koenig is also a Director of the Commercial Finance Association, and a member of the Turnaround Management Association and the Association for Corporate Growth.

Mr. Koenig also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council, Kelley School of Business at Indiana University; Board of Overseers, Chicago-Kent College of Law; and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Allendale School, a non-profit residential and educational facility for emotionally troubled children in the greater Chicago area.

Mr. Koenig is a frequent lecturer to various business and financial organizations on topics such as the current environment for senior and junior secured debt, unitranche and mezzanine debt, structuring successful leveraged loan transactions and acquiring troubled companies. Mr. Koenig has published numerous articles in these areas

Alon Rosin is currently a Managing Director and Head of Institutional Derivatives at Oppenheimer & Co. Alon started his career on the sell-side at Salomon Smith Barney’s (Citi) Sales and Trading programs spending 2 years as an analyst in Fixed Income and then as an associate in Equity Derivatives research. He then moved to the buy-side for 10 years functioning as both a portfolio manager and execution trader at various hedge funds including J. Goldman & Co., Argenis Capital ($50mm Healthcare start-up), & Diamondback. Alon went back to Equity Derivatives on the sell-side as Head of Institutional Derivative Sales at BGC in August, 2011. He joined Oppenheimer’s nascent listed options desk in May, 2013 and has been instrumental in building out the account base, establishing content, managing trading risk, and promoting internal cross-selling efforts across the firm. Alon graduated from The Wharton School (undergrad) at The University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics.

Jack Bernstein, Assistant Vice President. Mr. Bernstein is an Assistant Vice President of Monroe Capital. He is responsible for underwriting and closing middle-market loan transactions, in addition to supporting various account management functions. Mr. Bernstein has over 5 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to Monroe, Mr. Bernstein was an Associate at HIG Capital’s credit fund, Bayside Capital, where he mainly focused on Underwriting and Portfolio Management. Prior to Bayside, Mr. Bernstein was an Analyst in the Investment Banking division at Deutsche Bank, where he worked on financing and M&A transactions for companies within the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sectors. Mr. Bernstein earned his B.B.A. from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Tatiana is an investment banker in Lazard’s Consumer & Retail group. Tatiana was previously an equity research analyst at CFRA Research, where she focused on identifying short investment ideas. She started her career at PwC in the Audit practice. Tatiana is a member of the Board of Advisors for ServiceCorps, a nonprofit organization that encourages recent college grads to take a year in between graduation and corporate life to work in the nonprofit world.
Tatiana received her MBA from Columbia Business School and earned her B.S. in Finance and Accounting from Virginia Tech, where she graduated summa cum laude. Tatiana is a CFA Charterholder and a CPA.