Firm of the Future

Conrad Anker has spent his life pushing the limits of big mountain climbing and exploring unknown places. As one of America’s best alpinists with many first ascents worldwide, he’s known for his visionary approach to mountaineering and ability to withstand hardship.

In 2011 he completed the first ascent of the Meru Shark’s Fin in India with partners Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk, which inspired the Sundance-winning documentary, Meru. Conrad has climbed Everest three times, the most famous being in 1999, when he discovered the remains of George Mallory, one of the two British climbers who died attempting Everest in 1924, shedding more light on one of mountaineering’s most famous mysteries.

Conrad and his wife, Jennifer Lowe- Anker, have developed deep relationships with the Sherpa people in Nepal’s Khumbu Valley, and founded the Khumbu Climbing Center in Phortse, Nepal, which provides a variety of safety training courses to high-altitude workers.

The father of three has prioritized writing and speaking about the outdoor experiences that have shaped him. He is an active philanthropist and mentor that strives to make the outdoors an attainable place for all.

Carlo M. Caponi is General Counsel of Solomon Partners. Carlo joined the firm in 2019 from Jefferies LLC, where he served as Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, advising M&A deal teams in connection with buy-side and sell-side engagements, as well as capital markets deal teams on public and private financings. Prior to Jefferies, Mr. Caponi spent more than five years in the M&A practice at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where he advised on a range of public and private M&A transactions. Carlo holds a JD, cum laude, from New York University School of Law, and received BA and BS degrees, magna cum laude, from Miami University. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Norm Champ is a partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he heads up the regulatory solutions practice in the Investment Funds Group. Previously, Norm was the director of the Division of Investment Management at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Before that, he was the Deputy Director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) and the Associate Regional Director for Examinations in the SEC’s New York Regional Office. In these capacities, he supervised SEC examinations of investment advisers and other market participants.

Troy is the Founder and CEO of Ontra, where he has led the company from inception to becoming the market-leading provider of contract automation and intelligence to the private markets - with over 350 employees, offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, and investors such as Blackstone and Battery Ventures. Prior to Ontra, Troy worked in private equity investing at H.I.G. Capital, where he made majority buyout investments in middle-market companies in financial technology and logistics. Earlier, he worked in management consulting at Monitor Deloitte, where he focused on M&A due diligence and integration. Troy holds a B.A. from New York University.

Ms. Muscarella joined Carlyle in 2019 as the Chief Legal & Compliance Officer of Carlyle’s real estate solutions segment, where she provided legal counsel on fund formation and investment activity. Prior to joining Carlyle, Ms. Muscarella was Assistant General Counsel and Vice President at PineBridge Investments, supporting its Private Funds Group on a global basis in primary and secondary private equity investments and general legal matters. Prior to that, Ms. Muscarella was a corporate associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York and London, focusing on private equity-related legal matters, including fundraising, private equity investing and fund structuring.

Ms. Muscarella earned her AB from Brown University, her JD from The University of Pennsylvania Law School and her MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is admitted to the bar in New York State.

Joe Zidle is a Senior Managing Director and the Chief Investment Strategist in the Private Wealth Solutions group. Previously, he worked at Richard Bernstein Advisors, an independent investment advisor, where he was responsible for portfolio strategy, asset allocation, investment management and marketing to major wealth management firms and independent RIAs. Zidle previously spent nearly a decade at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, most recently serving as Head of Investment Strategy for Global Wealth Management and Deputy Director of the Research Investment Committee, where he was responsible for creating and communicating global investment strategies to the firm's private client division across all major investment disciplines. Mr. Zidle holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and History from Emory University. From 1993 to 2001, he served as a specialist in military intelligence for the U.S. Army Reserves.