IIM Ahmedabad to Host Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference, "Leverage 2009"

IIM Ahmedabad to Host Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference, "Leverage 2009"
Theme: "Venture Capital & Private Equity: Investing & Managing Portfolios in Distressed Times"
On February 6-7, 2009

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), in a pioneering endeavor, proudly presents the first of its kind Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference on the 6th and 7th of February, 2009. The conference will bring together industry experts, practitioners,

advisors, academicians and students with the aim of identifying and addressing key issues and trends relevant to venture capitalists, private equity investors, and entrepreneurs.

The conference is a student initiative of 'Leverage' - the Venture Capital & Private Equity Club of IIM-A in association with the Center for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM-A. CIIE was set-up at IIM-A in 2001 with the support of the Government of Gujarat and aims to foster innovation driven entrepreneurship through incubation, research and dissemination of knowledge. Some of the ongoing projects are being backed by the Wadhwani Foundation (set-up by the eponymous IT entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, USA), Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (Government of India), Piramal Foundation and Microsoft. IIM-A is the first amongst all IIMs to have a conference focused on the increasingly popular sectors of Venture Capital & Private Equity.

The central theme for the first edition of the conference - Leverage 2009 - is: "Venture Capital & Private Equity: Investing & Managing Portfolios in Distressed Times". With the regime of low interest rates, rapid economic growth, easy leverage and rising portfolio company valuations ceasing to exist, tough economic times lie ahead. The market sentiments are at an all time low and this crisis of investor confidence has forced capital markets to come face to face with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. This entire economic conundrum is going to have far reaching implications for the private equity and the venture capital industry. The summit will take a closer look at these implications by focusing on the central theme.

In the course of the two day summit, industry experts, academicians, budding entrepreneurs and bright minds from the top business schools will come together to express their views on the theme above through enlightening speaker sessions, intellectually stimulating workshops and thought-provoking panel discussions. The entire VC & PE Sector will be analyzed not only from the investors’ perspective but also from the perspective of different industries that benefit from the financing and guidance provided by the VC & PE Sector. Special emphasis will be laid on seeing the impact and effectiveness of the VC & PE Sector in emerging economies like India, especially in the light of the current credit squeeze. Challenging questions like whether PEs are all about financial engineering or do they create value in the portfolio companies and does the current scenario warrant a paradigm shift in the way the PE & VC firms will function, will be posed and deliberated.

Leverage 2009 is guided by an Advisory Committee, which includes the following esteemed members: -

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