Buy, Sell, or Wait: M&A Decisions CFOs Are Making Now
Buy, Sell, or Wait: M&A Decisions CFOs Are Making Now
An evening for CFOs and senior finance leaders on what is actually happening in M&A right now: where the valuation gaps are, who is transacting, how to time a process, and what buyers are demanding in diligence.
The format is deliberately light. Half an hour of networking, then a one-hour moderated conversation with no slides under Chatham House rule, then a closing reception. Louis Lehot moderates and will build the questions around what the room is seeing in the market.
You will hear from the people who run these processes and price these companies, and from the CFOs in the room who have been through them.
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Agenda
5:30 PM Arrival, drinks and networking
6:00 PM Moderated conversation
7:00 PM Closing reception
8:00 PM Close
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Who Should Attend
CFOs, VPs of Finance, Heads of Finance and other senior finance executives at venture-backed and growth-stage companies. The forum is built for candid peer discussion rather than presentations or sales pitches.
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Speakers
Rob Bartlett, Managing Director, Global Head of Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Software, Jefferies
Rob joined Jefferies in 2025 to build the firm's global infrastructure and cybersecurity software coverage. He was previously a founding member and Head of Guggenheim's West Coast Technology Group, and before that led Goldman Sachs' Infrastructure and Security Software practice. He brings more than 20 years of investment banking experience.
Jason Babcoke, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Sumeru Equity Partners
Jason co-founded Sumeru Equity Partners, where he invests in growth-stage software. His investments include Talend and Blackline through IPO, and Buildium, Tasktop and Snow Software through acquisition, alongside Criteria, Loopio, Consensus and JobNimbus. As an operator he was Director of Engineering at Angstron Systems, a venture-backed startup he helped lead to an acquisition, and he holds six issued patents.
Harish Belur, Partner, Riverwood Capital
Harish partners with founders and management teams through periods of operational scale and market expansion. He has worked across Riverwood's investments in enterprise software, infrastructure, data platforms and cybersecurity, including Nutanix, Druva, Alation, ForgeRock, SpyCloud and Files.com. Before Riverwood he spent over a decade at Cisco, leading product management across network infrastructure and IoT.
Moderated by Louis Lehot, Partner, Private Equity & Venture Capital and M&A, Foley & Lardner LLP.
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Hosts and sponsors
Open Future Forum brings together the executives who shape Silicon Valley through private events and peer rooms across the CEO, CFO, CISO, and CMO communities. Learn more at https://openfutureforum.com.
Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley & Lardner is a nationally recognized top law firm with a Chambers-ranked venture and emerging companies practice advising founders and venture investors from formation through financings, commercialization, M&A, and scale. We bring the speed, experience, and practicality startups need, with the rigor and deep specialist bench investors expect, so deals get done efficiently and companies stay ready to go from garage to global.
Robert Half | Protiviti
Robert Half and Protiviti support finance leaders with specialized talent and consulting expertise across accounting, finance transformation, technology, risk, compliance and business operations.
Silicon Valley Bank
Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank, works with companies and investors across the innovation economy, providing banking, financing and expertise throughout the company lifecycle.
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Attendance is limited and subject to approval.