Agenda with Keynotes 1789 Capital, Better Home: 6th Palm Beach CorpGov Forum Nov 4-5

Watch Highlights From the 2025 Palm Beach CorpGov Forum:

CorpGov will host the sixth annual Palm Beach CorpGov Forum on Nov. 4-5, 2026, at the Palm Beach Lake Pavilion and The Cove Club, both located waterfront with sweeping views of Palm Beach Island, along with a reception at Cucina Palm Beach. The Forum will feature a VC-focused keynote panel on Wednesday evening and a full day of panels on Thursday, with networking events both nights.

Our audience will include approximately 300 attendees including institutional investors, board directors, family offices/HNWIs, attorneys, investment bankers and key advisors. For sponsorship, speaker or media enquiries, email Editor@CorpGov.com

REGISTER HERE

The event will be digitized into reports published on CorpGov and by its content partners (under relevant company stock tickers) Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg Terminals, Reuters via LSEG Workspace, and AlphaSense, and filmed with multiple 4K video cameras and professional editing.

Agenda

Wednesday, Nov. 4 at The Cove Club

4:30pm — Registration opens at The Cove Club (complimentary valet available)

5:00pm — Reception begins for welcome cocktails and light hors d’oeuvres

5:30pm – 6:10pm: Opening Keynote – Founders Bootcamp: Boards, Banking and Risk Management

Jeff Buzen, Head of M&A, McGill and Partners
John Ehrhard, Co-Founder, XQai
Ryan Keating, Partner, Industry Leader, Venture Services, EisnerAmper
Charles Orozco, Senior Vice President – Group Director, Flagstar Private Bank
Joshua Siegel, General Partner, Acronym Venture Capital

6:00pm — Reception resumes with cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres

Thursday, Nov. 5 at The Palm Beach Lake Pavilion and Cucina Palm Beach

9:00am — Registration opens at The Lake Pavilion with light breakfast

10:00am — Morning session begins: private markets focused

10:00am – 10:30am: Supporting Your CFO in the AI Era

Emma Sissman, Vice President, Goldman Sachs Alternatives
Karen Walker, CFO, Sysdig
Candice Wilson, Managing Director, CFO Advisory Practice, EisnerAmper
Katie Creaser, Partner, Technology, ICR (Moderator)

10:30am – 10:45am: Emerging Technology in Sports: An Investor Perspective

Judson Wallace, Managing Director, White Rabbit Capital
Jarrett Banks, Editor-at-Large, CorpGov (Moderator)

10:45am – 11:15am: Beyond AI Fever: Navigating a Complex IPO Environment

Craig DeDomenico, Managing Director, Equity and Equity-Linked Capital Markets, Stifel
Don Duffy, Chairman, ICR Capital
Benjamin Heriaud, Partner, Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions, Vinson & Elkins
Charles Soranno, Managing Director, Protiviti

11:15am – 11:45pm: Governance and Go-to-Market: PE vs. VC

Rafique Jiwani, Head of GTM Value Creation, Operating Advisor, Goldman Sachs Private Equity
Jonathan Lo, Vice President of Startup Finance, EisnerAmper
Matthew Player, CEO, Zoneomics
Joshua Siegel, General Partner, Acronym Venture Capital

11:45am – 12:15pm: Defense Tech: Investors and Operators

Andrew Bair, President and CEO, Capital Defense Technologies
Marcos Cervantes, Founder and CEO, Q-Branch
Sebastian Tiller, Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets, Vinson & Elkins
Joseph Yaker, Founder and CEO, Xpand Global Inc.

12:15pm – 12:35pm: Keynote: Paul Abrahimzadeh, Partner, 1789 Capital

Paul Abrahimzadeh, Partner, 1789 Capital
Mark Martini, Senior Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets, E.F. Hutton & Co.

12:35pm — Lunch from Johan’s Joe served

1:00pm — Afternoon session begins: public markets focused

1:00pm – 1:30pm: The Role of AI in Shareholder Activism

Adam Dobrik, Senior Director, Shareholder Activism Practice, Forward Global
Dorothy Sluszka, Partner, Shareholder Activism, Corporate/Securities Law, Olshan Frome Wolosky
Bruce Goldfarb, President and CEO, Okapi Partners
Ron Orol, Senior Editor, The Deal

1:30pm – 2:00pm: After IPO Day: Executing as a Public Company

Harrison Lance, Head of Capital Markets, Southeast, New York Stock Exchange
Michael W. Robinson, Chairman and CEO, The Montgomery Strategies Group
Greg Veltri, Stock Plan Lifecycle Director, Infinite Equity
Ned Zelles, Director, Head of GTS Corporate Services, GTS

2:00pm – 2:20pm: Fireside: Vishal Garg

Vishal Garg, Founder and Head of Product, Platform and Innovation, Better Home & Finance Holding Co. (Nasdaq: BETR)
John Jannarone, Editor-in-Chief, CorpGov (Moderator)

2:20pm – 2:30pm: Networking Break

2:30pm – 3:00pm: Value Creation in Pro Sports Transactions

Len Brown, CEO, United Athletes Tour
Robert DuPuy, Former President and COO, Major League Baseball
Mark Harms, Chairman and CEO, Global Leisure Partners
Rick Horrow, CEO, Horrow Sports Ventures
Patrick Rooney, Family Owner, Pittsburgh Steelers; President, Palm Beach Kennel Club

3:00pm – 3:15pm: Intellectual Property: Valuing, Protecting and Securitizing

Kory Patrick, Principal, Risk Advisory Services, Kaufman, Rossin &Co.
Mary Guzman, Founder and CEO, Crown Jewel Insurance

3:15pm – 3:45pm: 2027 Proxy Season Lookahead – A Global Perspective

Chuck Garske, Senior Managing Director, Okapi Partners
Brenda Gosselin, Partner, Goodmans LLP
Stuart Levine, Chairman and CEO, Stuart Levine & Associates (Moderator)

3:45pm – 4:15pm: Contested M&A

John Grau, President, InvestorCom
Adam Tamzoke, Counsel, Latham & Watkins
Joe Germani, Partner and Co-Founder, Longacre Square Partners
Adam Kommel, Activism Data Product Manager, Bloomberg (Moderator)

4:15pm – 4:45pm: AI Governance for Boards

Doug Chia, President, Soundboard Governance; Host, The Public Company Series Podcast; Former Corporate Secretary, Johnson & Johnson
George Corbin, Board Director, Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE: EPC); Former Chief Digital Officer, Marriott and Mars
Robert Maciejko, Founder, Board AI Institute; Co-founder, INSEAD AI (Alum-Led); Member, INSEAD’s AI Advisory Group
Sebastian Tiller, Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets, Vinson & Elkins

5:00pm — Reception at Cucina Palm Beach (golf cart transportation provided from Lake Pavilion)

Speakers: CorpGov Forum 2026:

Keynote: Paul Abrahimzadeh, Partner, 1789 Capital
Keynote: Vishal Garg, Founder and Head of Product, Platform and Innovation, Better Home & Finance Holding Co. (Nasdaq: BETR)
Andrew Bair, President and CEO, Capital Defense Technologies
Len Brown, CEO, United Athletes Tour
Jeff Buzen, Head of M&A, McGill and Partners
Marcos Cervantes, Founder and CEO, Q-Branch
Doug Chia, President, Soundboard Governance; Host, The Public Company Series Podcast; Former Corporate Secretary, Johnson & Johnson
George Corbin, Board Director, Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE: EPC); Former Chief Digital Officer, Marriott and Mars
Craig DeDomenico, Managing Director, Equity and Equity-Linked Capital Markets, Stifel
Phil Denning, Partner, ICR
Robert DuPuy, Former President and COO, Major League Baseball
Adam Dobrik, Senior Director, Shareholder Activism Practice, Forward Global
Don Duffy, Chairman, ICR Capital
John Ehrhard, Co-Founder, XQai
Andrew Freedman, Co-Managing Partner; Chair, Shareholder Activism Practice, Olshan Frome Wolosky
Chuck Garske, Senior Managing Director, Okapi Partners
Joe Germani, Partner and Co-Founder, Longacre Square Partners
Bruce Goldfarb, President and CEO, Okapi Partners
Brenda Gosselin, Partner, Goodmans LLP
John Grau, President, InvestorCom
Mary Guzman, Founder and CEO, Crown Jewel Insurance
Michael Haddix, Co-Founder and CEO, Scout
Mark Harms, Chairman and CEO, Global Leisure Partners
Benjamin Heriaud, Partner, Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions, Vinson & Elkins
Rick Horrow, CEO, Horrow Sports Ventures
Rafique Jiwani, Head of GTM Value Creation, Operating Advisor, Goldman Sachs Private Equity
Andy Katz, General Partner, BrknPar Ventures (Sport Tech Growth Equity Fund)
Ryan Keating, Partner, Industry Leader, Venture Services, EisnerAmper
Harrison Lance, Head of Capital Markets, Southeast, New York Stock Exchange
Jonathan Lo, Vice President of Startup Finance, EisnerAmper
Robert Maciejko, Founder, Board AI Institute; Co-founder, INSEAD AI (Alum-Led); Member, INSEAD’s AI Advisory Group
Mark Martini, Senior Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets, E.F. Hutton & Co.
Ron Orol, Senior Editor, The Deal
Charles Orozco, Senior Vice President – Group Director, Flagstar Private Bank
Kory Patrick, Principal, Risk Advisory Services, Kaufman, Rossin &Co.
Matthew Player, CEO, Zoneomics
Joseph Quintilian, Partner, Distributed Capital Partners, and co-founder, Ajna Labs LLC
Michael W. Robinson, Chairman and CEO, The Montgomery Strategies Group
Patrick Rooney, Family Owner, Pittsburgh Steelers; President, Palm Beach Kennel Club
Joshua Siegel, General Partner, Acronym Venture Capital
Emma Sissman, Vice President, Goldman Sachs Alternatives
Dorothy Sluszka, Partner, Shareholder Activism, Corporate/Securities Law, Olshan Frome Wolosky
Charles Soranno, Managing Director, Protiviti
Adam Tamzoke, Counsel, Latham & Watkins
Sebastian Tiller, Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets, Vinson & Elkins
Greg Veltri, Stock Plan Lifecycle Director, Infinite Equity
Karen Walker, CFO, Sysdig
Judson Wallace, Managing Director, White Rabbit Capital
Candice Wilson, Managing Director, CFO Advisory Practice, EisnerAmper
Joseph Yaker, Founder and CEO, Xpand Global Inc.
Ned Zelles, Director, Head of GTS Corporate Services, GTS
Katie Creaser, Partner, Technology, ICR (Moderator)
Adam Kommel, Activism Data Product Manager, Bloomberg (Moderator)
Stuart Levine, Chairman and CEO, Stuart Levine & Associates (Moderator)
Jarrett Banks, Editor-at-Large, CorpGov (Moderator)
John Jannarone, Editor-in-Chief, CorpGov (Moderator)