Event Profile

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Over the last few decades, Private Equity investments have delivered outstanding results. Starting spring 2022, however, central banks started to tighten monetary conditions, and this came on more rapidly and steeper than during past interest rate cycles. Moreover, the investment environment changed quite considerably last year. Inflation rates increased and are likely to stay at an elevated level, the economy has cooled down, and some countries and regions are even on the brink of a recession. In this educational event, Rajaa Mekouar, Francisco Silva and Manuel Bauer will discuss the outlook of Private Equity investments, including the impact of higher interest rates on private equity valuations and how dry powder is going to be deployed. Deborah Eggler will moderate. Networking lunch to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

Rajaa Mekouar, Founding Managing Partner at Calista Direct Investors

 

Rajaa is a PE investor and financial entrepreneur with 25 years of experience across private markets globally. She worked as a GP in different funds focused on the mid markets and as an LP with family offices in UK and across Europe. She is the founder and CEO of Calista Direct Investors, an independent buyside advisory and co-investment platform dedicated to sourcing and selecting investments for private investors (www.calista- directinvestors.eu).
Rajaa sits on several PE-related family-owned boards in Luxembourg where she moved in 2016, after 15 years in London. She was awarded “Inspirational Woman in Finance” in 2020 and led the Luxembourg Private Equity Association (LPEA), between 2018 and 2020. There, she launched the PE4W platform to promote Women in PE and the LPEA Insights conference series. Rajaa also supports young artists and musicians and participates in local charity projects.
Rajaa was born and raised in Morocco, studied in France and spent most of her career in the UK. She speaks 6 languages and is a graduate of HEC Paris (Grande Ecole) and INSEAD (MBA). Rajaa holds three nationalities: Moroccan, Luxembourgish and British.

 

 

Francisco Silva, CFA, Private Equity Investor Relations at Pictet Group  

 

Francisco joined Pictet Alternative Advisors SA in 2022 as a Private Equity Investment Specialist focusing on fundraising Pictet Alternative Advisors’ private equity products and solutions and maintaining relationships with existing investors. Prior to joining Pictet, Francisco spent 5 years at J.P. Morgan as Investment Specialist where he was responsible for providing multi-asset class investments advice to UHNW clients as well as External Asset Managers, with a particular focus on private equity opportunities. Francisco holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Finance from Esade Business School in Barcelona and is a CFA Charterholder. He speaks fluent Portuguese, English, Spanish and French.

 

 

Manuel Karl Bauer, Board Member, Lecturer and Project Manager at HSLU

 

Manuel has more than 20 years of experience working internationally across various industries, finding sound financial solutions for companies and their shareholders.
He was a managing director in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Department and Head of Corporate Finance at Partners Group, where he built up the leveraged finance team, led equity co-investments and was responsible for banking relationships. He now acts as a board member, private investor and university lecturer.  
He has in-depth industry knowledge in the heating and climate industry, real estate, hotels, energy efficiency, infrastructure, venture capital and private equity sectors.
Having worked with both publicly-listed as well as family-owned and private equity sponsored SME's and multi-national corporates, he has also concluded a large number of domestic and cross-border transactions both as a principal and as an advisor for topics including but not limited to IPOs, M&As, ABBs, corporate high yield bonds and restructurings. He holds a Ph.D. and master in finance from the university of Fribourg/CH.
As a passionate university lecturer, he aims to pass on his practical experiences and to help motivate young professionals to pursue interesting careers.

 

 

Deborah Eggler, CAIA, Zurich Chapter Executive at CAIA Association

 

Deborah is a Vice President and part of the Client Solutions team EMEA. She is focusing on building partnerships with GPs/ asset managers and wealth managers across Europe and Middle East, with a focus on the DACH region. Prior to joining the firm, Deborah has been part of StepStone’s Private Debt Business Development team for the Swiss market. Prior to joining StepStone, she was with Lombard Odier Private Banking on the Strategic Business Development team. Before that, she was a client associate for Private Markets investments at Neuberger Berman and Credit Suisse. Deborah holds a Master in Accounting and Finance and a Bachelor in Business Administration from University of St. Gallen and is a CAIA Charterholder.

 

 

 

 

 

!Important notes before the event!
Registration for this event must be done in advance and walk-ins will not be permitted.
If you have questions or concerns regarding registration for this event, please contact CAIA EMEA Chapter Relations.

 

Please kindly let us know at least 24 hours in advance if you are not able to attend the event.

Your timely cancellation allows us to be more responsible and ecological on avoiding food and energy waste.