PEI Operating Partners Forum: New York 2022

Nick is the CEO & Founder of Accordion, a private equity-focused financial and technology consulting firm. Since founding Accordion in 2009, Nick has grown the company to serve more than 300 of the world’s premier private equity firms and their portfolio companies – providing services that span the entire CFO function. Accordion is headquartered in New York and has nine offices across the United States. Before Accordion, Nick worked at BHC Interim Funding, Bear Stearns, and CapitalSource Finance. Nick earned his BS in Finance from Saint Joseph’s University.  Read more

Aaron Miller is a Partner in Apollo’s Private Equity business and Head of Apollo Portfolio Performance Solutions (APPS), where he oversees efforts to support our deal teams and the management of its funds’ portfolio companies to drive more successful investment outcomes and build stronger companies. Aaron has served on the board of several Apollo portfolio companies, including McGraw-Hill Education and TechData Corporation. Prior to joining Apollo in 2019, Aaron was Chief Operating Officer of Catalina Marketing, where he was responsible for Innovation & Customer Delivery, which included Product, Technology, Analytics, Operations and Solutions in Europe, Japan and the US. Previously, he served as Operating Director at Berkshire Partners and was with Bain & Company in various leadership roles before that. Earlier in his career, Aaron also held key product and operations leadership roles with General Mills and Cereal Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between General Mills and Nestle, in the US and Latin America.  Read more

Kelley Morrell is Head of Asset Management within Blackstone’s Private Equity businesses. In this role, she oversees the U.S. team of asset managers for Blackstone Capital Partners and a global team for Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Blackstone Growth. Kelley and her team are responsible for creating and driving value-added initiatives alongside the investment team for our private equity strategies. She is also involved in the ongoing management and oversight of these group’s investment portfolios. Since joining Blackstone in 2017, Ms. Morrell has been involved with several Blackstone investments across industries and business strategies. She is currently a director of Spanx and of Centric Brands, where she serves on the audit and compensation committees. She previously was a Director of Lombard International and of Bumble, where she served on the compensation committee and acted as Interim President. Ms. Morrell is also the Co-Chair of the Blackstone Women’s Initiative Taskforce.  Read more

Mr. Waggoner is a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Investment-Operating Team in North America. Prior to joining SVP, Mr. Waggoner was with New Mountain Capital where he was a Managing Director in their operating group. Prior to New Mountain, Mr. Waggoner served as both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Revenue Officer at Rue La La, an online, off-price retailer, from 2012 until 2015. While at Rue La La, he led operations efforts, including merchandise planning, pricing, inventory management, materials management and production, as well as all direct customer marketing efforts, including customer acquisition, engagement and retention. Earlier in his career, Mr. Waggoner was a senior professional in the operating group at Bain Capital and spent time as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.  Read more

Jill Wight is a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley, an Operating Partner of Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (MSCP) and is based in New York. Ms. Wight joined Morgan Stanley in 2019 and was previously a Principal at The Carlyle Group where she led portfolio operations for the Carlyle Equity Opportunity Funds. Prior to Carlyle, Ms. Wight was with Goldman Sachs, where she led the Portfolio Operations team for the Special Situations Group. Earlier in her career, Ms. Wight held various positions at GSC Partners, Bain & Company and Marakon Associates. Ms. Wight serves on the board of directors for Impact Fitness, US HealthConnect and Nivel Parts & Manufacturing and previously served on the board of directors of Manna Pro. Ms. Wight holds a B.A. from Yale University and received an M.B.A., with distinction, from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  Read more