Aon’s 2022 Transaction Solutions Symposium Agenda

This panel will reflect on the deals, trends and market conditions that shaped 2021 and will share their thoughts on key risks and challenges in the year ahead.

Moderator: Julia Papastavridis, Aon

Panelists: Matthew Dubeck, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Jay Rittberg, Euclid Transactional
Patrick Jacobs, Carlyle
Daniel Simnowitz, DUAL Transaction Solutions

Tax insurance is a dependable tool to achieve tax certainty. Once only thought of as an M&A tool, today tax insurance is used to facilitate corporate tax planning, implement estate planning, support project finance and renewable energy investments as well as protect to buyers of companies. In this regard, organizations are increasingly turning to tax insurance as an alternative capital management tool that can be used to deliver highly customized solutions to facilitate deals or to take risk off the balance sheet. In this session, our panelists will discuss how insurance is being used to disrupt the traditional approach to tax risk and capital management and improve bottom line results.

Moderator: Jessica Harger, Aon

Panelist: William Kellogg, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
Daniel Potter, Grant Thornton LLP
Rishi Sodhi, DLA Piper
Annabelle Trotter, Aon
Marc Yassinger, Platinum Equity

Aon’s claims advocacy team will sit down with a panel of leaders in the representations and warranties (R&W) insurance space to discuss how R&W claim activity and the claim process has evolved in the last five years and what they predict for the future. This panel will include an overview of R&W claim data and trends, a discussion about the impact of claim activity on the R&W insurance market and a deep dive into how the claim process may continue to evolve to create greater predictability for both insurers and policyholders and to ensure the sustainability of R&W insurance for many years to come.

Moderator: Stephen Davidson, Aon

Panelist: Meghan Cardell, Alvarez and Marsal
Joseph G. Finnerty III, DLA Piper
Anthony Rospert, Thompson Hine
Alex Yastrow, Ambridge Partners LLC

Please join us for dinner on Mandarin Oriental’s private beach.

Transaction parties and their advisors continue to explore new structures in which R&W Insurance can be implemented. In this panel, we will discuss some of the more recent innovations in our space including the use of R&W Insurance in SPACs, secondary transactions (including fund continuation vehicles), preferred equity investments, and minority investments.

Moderator: Matthew Wiener, Aon

Panelists: Michael Guo, TPG Capital
Cyril Jones, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Angus Marshall, CFC Underwriting, Ltd.
Rita-Anne O'Neill, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

This panel will review the fast-evolving litigation and contingent risk insurance landscape and examine strategies that can be leveraged by insureds to both protect themselves against the challenges that can accompany significant defense-side litigation and seize the opportunities presented by plaintiff-side litigation. Our speakers will also discuss the history of litigation and contingent risk insurance, the current state of the market, and what they see as its potential future trajectory.

Moderator: Stephen Kyriacou, Aon

Panelists: Nicole Barna, Arcadian Risk Capital
Stephen Davidson, Aon
Pete Griesch, Berkley Professional Liability
Bryce Guingrich, VALE Insurance Partners
Josh Kaye, BlueChip Underwriting Services
Ayanna Lewis-Gruss, Concord Specialty Risk

Captain Scott Kelly
History-Making NASA Astronaut; First to Complete a Year-in-Space Mission

Scott Kelly is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Navy Captain, U.S. spaceflight record holder and an experienced test pilot having logged more than 15,000 hours of flight time in more than 40 different aircraft and spacecraft.

A former fighter pilot, Kelly flew the F-14 Tomcat aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Kelly was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1996. A veteran of four space flights, he piloted Space Shuttle Discovery to the Hubble space telescope in 1999 and subsequently commanded Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2007.

Kelly’s long-duration space flight experience includes two flights on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, launching and landing from Kazakhstan, and two stays aboard the International Space Station as commander: the first a 159-day mission in 2010-2011 followed by his recorded-breaking 340-day mission to the ISS in 2015.

During his yearlong mission, known worldwide as the “Year in Space,” he conducted three spacewalks before returning home in March 2016. His Year in Space Mission was chronicled in a TIME magazine documentary series and an Emmy award-winning PBS special.

Kelly has traveled more than 200 million miles, which is more than twice the distance to the Sun and has orbited the Earth more than 8,300 times. Kelly has received many awards and honors, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

He was on the cover of TIME Magazine in December 2014 and was named one of its 100 Most Influential People in 2015. Kelly also was recognized at the 2015 State of the Union Address by United States President Barrack Obama.

Kelly is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a member of the Association of Space Explorers. He is a highly sought-after public speaker who exemplifies leadership while testing the limits of the human spirit and endurance.

In 2016 Scott Kelly published the New York Times best-selling memoir Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery. More recently he published Infinite Wonder: An Astronaut’s Photographs from a Year in Space, a collection of extraordinary images he photographed aboard the International Space Station, also a New York Times bestseller. He is also the author of two children’s books, My Journey to the Stars and Goodnight, Astronaut. His next book, Ready for Launch: An Astronaut’s Lessons for Success on Earth will be published in 2022.

Kelly is married to Amiko, a former NASA public affairs officer, and has two children, Samantha and Charlie, from a previous marriage. His identical twin brother, Mark, is also a former NASA astronaut and the current junior U.S. Senator from Arizona.

Dealmakers are faced with substantial economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Executives are being forced to adapt their M&A strategy to the tumultuous conditions. In this panel, the speakers will look at challenges within cross-border deals and how companies are successfully responding.

Moderator: Elissa Etheridge, Aon

Panelists: June Dipchand, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Louise Dumican, Carlyle
Drew Levin, Latham & Watkins LLP

A: Using Intellectual Property to Drive a Company’s Value Creation Journey

The vast majority of the value of almost any company – regardless of size, industry, or capitalization— is their intellectual property (IP). Few companies, however, appreciate how to harness their IP assets to drive value. We will discuss how these assets can be used to create value throughout a company’s journey from start-up to mature business.

Moderator: Peter Petitt, Aon

Panelist: Brian Cochrane, Aon
Matthew Zimmer, William Blair

B: Key Issues in M&A Diligence

As the adoption and utilization of M&A-focused insurance continues to increase, insurers continue to evolve and adapt in the way they underwrite these transactions. This panel will focus on the key diligence areas in which insurers are now focusing their underwriting, including a discussion on newer requirements and best practices to ensure insureds obtain policies that meet their coverage expectations.

Moderator: Audrey Rojas, Aon

Panelist: Sam Camens, Onex Partners
William Shortt, Aon
Joe Thistle, Antin Infrastructure

Renewable energy infrastructure investing brings unique capital and risk challenges that impact overall returns. In this session, our panelists will discuss how insurance has evolved to address not only various risks (both tax and otherwise), but also capital and credit challenges to support long-term investment goals.

Moderator: Corey Lewis, Aon

Panelists: Jorge Medina, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Amanda Rosenberg, Mayer Brown LLP
Amish Shah, Eversheds Sutherland LLP
Jeremy Woodrum, Solar Energy Industries Association

The transactional insurance continuously evolves to meet ongoing market changes and challenges. In this panel, we will hear from senior underwriting leaders in the transactional insurance industry who will share their views on the future of our industry and how innovation can continue to meet clients’ future needs.

Moderator: Wendy Knobel, Aon

Panelists: Ryan Anderson, ASQ Underwriting
Mary Duffy, AIG
Kim Gladney, Ambridge Partners LLC
Dennis Kearns, DUAL North America
Bill Monat, Mosaic Insurance
Shawn O’Neill, Euclid Transactional LLC
Scott Pegram, Liberty Global Group

Please join us for our evening reception at Penthouse Riverside Wharf.