This week ACG NY Member David M. Neikrug, Chief Executive Officer, http://www.optimatumsolutions.com (Optimatum Solutions), discusses robust HR management within any MandA environment across the deal lifecycle. From pre-deal to day one readiness to post deal execution what are some of the key areas to consider when capturing and ever creating value creation. https://www.optimatumsolutions.com/ma_transitional_services/ (https://www.optimatumsolutions.com/ma_transitional_services/)

This week https://www.cohnreznick.com/people/helana_huddleston (Helena Huddleston), Parter, CohnReznick, talks to http://www.eatcoolbeans.com/ (Tyler Mayoras), Co-Founder and CEO of Cool Beans on his journey as an impact investor to entrepreneur and where he see's the future of food. After a 20-year career in private equity investing and consulting. Mr. Mayoras has been focused on sustainable food and agriculture during the past 10 years. Prior to joining Cool Bean, Mr. Mayoras was a principal in the Advantage Capital Food and Agriculture Fund where he led transactions in Shenandoah Growers, Navitas Organics, Farmhouse Culture and Snaxsational Brands (Snack Pop and Pasta Chips). Tyler is also an angel investor and mentor with investments in Simple Mills, Spero Foods, Atomo Coffee, Lavva, Renewal Mill, Tiesta Tea and Cool Beans. http://www.eatcoolbeans.com (www.eatcoolbeans.com) IG: @luvcoolbeans Twitter: @eatcoolbeans

Hector Perez, Chief Executive Officer, http://www.quantumfbi.com/ (Quantum FBI, LLC), joins ACG NY to discuss Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the private Middle Market MandA ecosystem. Is enough being done and is the community making strides? Do some sectors and classes fair better and what more needs to be done? Be sure to join ACG NY at the next DEI roundtable as part of an important series of meetings.

Wylie Fernyhough and Dylan Cox, Senior Private Equity Analysts at Pitchbook discuss their recently published https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q3-2020-us-pe-middle-market-report?utm_medium=nl-naandutm_source=reportsandutm_campaign=q3-2020-us-pe-middle-market-report (Q3 2020 Middle Market Private Equity Report) with ACG New York. We also take a look at Fundraising, Deal activity and other PE strategy predictions for 2021. What does the new year have in store for the PE class?

Sheon Karol, Managing Director, The DAK Group and ACG member heads DAK’s Special Situations Group and has been very busy during the pandemic. Sheon talks to ACG NY about his his views on the post CV-19 middle market MandA environment, key steps SME's must take to prepare for the post crisis period, how savvy entrepreneurs will succeed in any period and how middle market MandA has changed for investment bankers in this surreal CV-19 time and possibly for ever more!

Title: The Financialization of the Oil Patch: Part Deux Speaker: Jay Haber, Director, Getzler Heinrich

A black swan event on top of a classic boom/bust cycle has left the OandG industry in dire straits. Industry players are calling this a new norm that has global players panging. https://getzlerhenrich.com/people/jay-d-haber/ (Jay Haber, Senior Director – Energy, Getzler Henrich) joins ACG NY for a candid conversation as we take a trip down memory lane from the inception of the shale gale in 2006 to the big bust of 2020 and discuss ‘what went wrong?’

Harry Krausman, ACG NY Member and Executive Director of Cushman and Wakefield, one of the largest commercial real estate services firm that manages 3.6 billion square feet of real estate globally discusses a comprehensive approach for returning back to work. What are the six safe essentials for the new workplace environment? What factors should corporate leaders consider for their workforce and by when? How are corporations of all sizes planning the workforce to get back, by when and what must they communicate? Do workers even want to go back? If not, what will that mean and what are the key workplace considerations which must be adhered too? How will technology play a part upon entry and is there a playbook for all this? Harrys answers all and even reimagines the role of the workplace in the long term and the new norms we must get used to. But for how long?

Anna Samorukova, Founder and CEO of Edelweiss Group discusses the four principles of motivation and how to use them to keep teams motivated, focused and productive in this current surreal environment. How does the current environment impact people’s motivation and why? What are some techniques/tools firms can incorporate to support their remote teams and how cans individuals leverage learning in the current environment. How are news events and information being thrown at us from all outlets impacting executives and teams. What can we all do to stay positive and focused!

Intelligence agencies, security firms and Big Tech giants are all ringing alarm bells over the growing threat from cybercriminals in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.cahill.com/professionals/david-owen (David Owen, Partner at )https://www.cahill.com/professionals/david-owen (Cahill Gordon and Reindel )speaks to ACG NY about Cyber threat actors taking advantage of the current situation, what firms are doing to reassess and re-evaluate their cyber security options and what factors they must consider in doing so. How are organizations responding to incidents and disruptions amidst data and privacy issues, what key regulation and compliance must firms adhere to and what exactly is a Phishing attack! Is the Private Equity class, especially in the Lower Middle and Middle Market cyber aware + secure?