APRIL
27, 2002 (Vienna, Austria) - CEOs, venture
capital and private equity investors managing
more than $20 billion in capital, and performing
and fine artists met outside of Vienna last week
to discuss their vision and strategies for investing.
Attendees and speakers including Thomas Pütter,
CEO of Allianz Capital Partners GmbH, and Allan
Bufferd, Treasurer of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, gathered at a castle in the Viennese
countryside for the Northstar Global Partners
Forum. The conference aimed at identifying hot
places and technologies to invest in, creating
a positive impact on society, and exploring the
purpose of art through a series of private concerts
and lectures.
Forum
topics included the most promising investment
opportunities in IT, life sciences and cutting-edge
technologies, including nanotechnology and genomics.
The group also discussed the opportunities and
challenges created by globalization, the impact
of technology on global integration, the recent
performance of the European Monetary Union and
the mixed prospects for investing in emerging
markets.
The
event was sponsored by Northstar Global Partners,
an investment bank with offices in Boston, Munich
and Zurich, and was held at the Castle Eichbüchl,
a 14th-century estate that is the home of rare
violin dealer Dietmar H. Machold. The Forum took
place from April 25-27th.
"We
created this conference with an eye toward bringing
together some of our business friends in an unusual
setting that would foster and build relationships,"
said Ed Mullen, chairman of Northstar Global Partners.
"But we also wanted to help the investment community
understand the new world we're operating in and
how to be successful in it. I think those of us
involved in venture investing and buying and selling
companies have to re-find our way in these difficult
times. We wanted to get that conversation started."
Attendees agreed that growth prospects looked
promising in Europe for private equity activity,
due in part to access to inherited wealth. "Europe
and especially Germany has recently seen unprecedented
wealth transfer, and that will create significant
demand for investment opportunities," said Thomas
Pütter, CEO of Allianz Capital Partners GmbH and
recently appointed head of Allianz Private Equity
Holdings, an investment arm of the world's largest
insurance company with more than $1.2 trillion
under management.
Marc Goldberg, a London-based partner of venture
capital firm RVC (Reuters Venture Capital), is
also dedicating more investment dollars to Europe.
"While there are a lot of established players
in the United States, Europe is still virgin territory.
In the U.S., Boston and San Francisco are the
recognized centers of entrepreneurialism, while
in Europe, there are many, smaller technology
clusters," he said.
In addition, prominent CEOs addressed how they
have kept their companies on course during the
economic downturn, as well as the added pressure
they feel from public markets. "You don't budget
for the year anymore, you budget for the quarter,"
said Fredric Rosen, the Chairman and CEO of COMDEX
and Key3Media Group, Inc. (NYSE:KME). "The last
part of the 1990s was all about order taking.
Now, companies have to get into real marketing
issues. Good CEOs have no choice but to work with
their people to do things differently than ever
before."
The Forum also included a private concert from
world-renowned pianist, Povilas Stravinsky, an
heir of composer Igor Stravinsky; as well as a
rendition of the Bach Transcription from Violin
to Piano by Busoni performed on a rare Guernari
del Gesu violin.
About
Northstar Global Partners
Northstar Global Partners, LLC, an investment
bank with offices in Boston, Munich and Zurich,
specializes in providing sophisticated corporate
finance and M&A services to middle market
and emerging growth companies in the United States
and Europe.
The company uses its international network of
contacts to assist clients in identifying and
meeting their business goals by: obtaining debt
or equity capital to grow their businesses, developing
strategic partnerships, acquiring complimentary
businesses, divesting ancillary or underperforming
businesses, and developing and executing investment
strategies for individual and institutional investors.
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