IPEM 2022 Program now released!

Orlando Bravo

Founder and Managing Partner

Orlando Bravo is a Founder and Managing Partner of Thoma Bravo. He led Thoma Bravo’s early entry into software buyouts and built the firm into one of the top private equity firms in the world. Today, Orlando directs the firm’s strategy and investment decisions in accordance with its principles of partnership, innovation, and performance. Orlando has overseen over 375 software acquisitions conducted by the firm, representing more than $190 billion in transaction value. Forbes named him “Wall Street’s best dealmaker” in 2019, and he was part of Thomson Reuters “Eight Buyout Pros to Watch” in 2009.

Orlando was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Brown University in 1992 and earned a JD from Stanford Law School and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1998.

He is the Founder and Chairman of the Bravo Family Foundation, the mission of which is to provide access and opportunities to young adults in Puerto Rico. Orlando directs the organization’s various programs and initiatives to promote entrepreneurship, community-based leadership and economic development in Puerto Rico. After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, he spearheaded a humanitarian mission to remote communities on the island. In 2019, Orlando committed $100 million to the Foundation’s Rising Entrepreneurs Program (REP) with the goal of fostering entrepreneurship in Puerto Rico.

The Orlando Bravo Center for Economics Research at Brown University supports innovative research, training and collaborative projects for faculty and students in the Department of Economics. At Stanford Law School, Orlando created the Bravo Family Public Interest Post-Graduate Fellowship Fund to support students seeking full-time employment in public interest.

Orlando’s philanthropic interests also include causes in healthcare. He endowed faculty scholar and fellow positions at Stanford University’s Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research. He supports a wide range of medical research conducted at Stanford University, at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Orlando is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Corporation of Brown University.

Ariane de Rothschild

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Ariane de Rothschild was born in San Salvador. Zaire, Bangladesh, Colombia: her cosmopolitan childhood was made of travels. After studying business in Paris and a MBA from Pace University, she began her career in the early 1990s in New York, first at Société Générale and then at AIG, at the heart of the global changes driven by finance. Married to Benjamin de Rothschild, she first reorganised the foundations, wine, farm and hotel activities and invested in the Gitana Team to build the new generation of transatlantic flying boats. From 2015, she gradually took over the reins of the bank, transforming it into a banking group, positioned as a conviction-driven investment house. Driven by her knowledge of emerging market, her experience in philanthropy, and the conviction that responsible finance can change the world, Ariane de Rothschild has resolutely oriented the group towards impact investing. Topics such as the dialogue of cultures, education, the environment, the place of women, art, economic and social development as well as the responsibility of passing on the legacy form her philosophy and feed her action.

She has been Chairman of the board of Edmond de Rothschild  since 2019.

Benoît Durteste

Chief Investment Officer and Chief Executive Officer of ICG / Chairman of the BVCA Alternative Lending Committee

Benoît joined ICG in Paris in September 2002 from Swiss Re where he was a Managing Director in their London Structured Finance division. Prior to Swiss Re, Benoît worked in the Leveraged Finance division of BNP Paribas and in GE Capital’s Telecom and Media Private Equity team in London.  He moved to ICG’s London office in 2007 and became ICG’s CEO and Chief Investment Officer in 2017.

He is an experienced investor with a strong understanding of the markets in which the Group operates. During his time on the Board he has been a strong contributor to the Group’s strategic development, including leading our European investment business. He contributes a thorough understanding of financial markets and the Group’s investment portfolio to Board proceedings.

Ken Mehlman

Partner & Global Head of Public Affairs

Ken Mehlman (New York) joined KKR in 2008 and is a Partner, Global Head of Public Affairs & Co-Head of KKR Global Impact at KKR. Since joining the firm, Mr. Mehlman has architected KKR’s responsible investment efforts to create shared value for KKR investors and other stakeholders. He has also worked to identify investment opportunities by leveraging geopolitical, public policy & ESG trends. KKR Global Impact is the firm’s private market investing platform investing in commercial solutions to global challenges associated with climate change, lifelong learning, sustainable living & inclusive growth. Mr. Mehlman has focused on purpose & equity throughout his career in government, politics, business and philanthropy. He spent a dozen years in national politics and government service, including as 62nd Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Campaign Manager of President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign, the only Republican presidential campaign in 30 years to win the popular vote. Mr. Mehlman also served in high level positions in Congress and the White House. He holds a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and J.D. from Harvard Law School. Mr. Mehlman is a trustee of Mt. Sinai Hospital of New York, Franklin & Marshall College, Teach for America, the United Negro College Fund and Seizing Every Opportunity (SEO). Mr. Mehlman was active in the successful effort for marriage equality, employment non-discrimination and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mikkel Svenstrup

Chief Investment Officer (CIO)

He was previously Chief Investment Officer at P+, Pensionskassen for Akademikere, formed via a merger between the pension funds JØP and DIP, a position he has held since January 2017. Until joining ATP, he was also a member of the board of directors of PKA+ Pension Forsikringsselskab A/S.

Prior to P+, he held management positions at, i.a. Nordea, UBS Investment Bank and Barclays Capital, focusing on advisory business and sales to institutional investors across Scandinavia and the Benelux countries. He is a former co-owner of ScanRate Financial System A/S. Mikkel is a former external lecturer at Aarhus University and has published in some of the leading international finance journals.

Mikkel Svenstrup was born on 28 December 1973 and holds a cand.scient.oecon (MSc Economics) from Aarhus University. He also holds a Ph.D in Finance from Aarhus University.