17th Annual Sohn San Francisco Investment Conference Convenes Leading Investors and Supports Local Nonprofits
2026 SOHN SAN FRANCISCO
SohnSF Next Wave Speakers
BEST IDEAS SPEAKERS
RAVI PAIDIPATY
Deputy Chief Investment Officer,
Freestone Grove Partners
Biography
MIKE WILKINS
Managing Member, Kingsford Capital Management
Biography
Mike Wilkins co-founded Kingsford Capital Management in 2001, where he is currently the managing member. Kingsford is a short-biased hedge fund based in Pt. Richmond, CA. Prior to starting Kingsford, he was a partner at the hedge fund, West Highland Capital, where he was employed from 1995-2001. He has also worked for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in corporate finance.
He currently serves on the Federal Reserve Board’s Fine Arts Advisory Panel. His artwork, “Preamble,” is displayed as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection. Wilkins received an AB in Philosophy from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
PETER S. PARK
Founder and Managing Member,
Park West Asset Management
Biography
Peter has been the Chief Investment Officer of Park West since its inception. Prior to founding Park West, Peter worked at Citadel Investment Group from 1994 to 2002, helping the firm build out its event driven investing effort. Peter graduated from Harvard College with an A.B. in Economics in 1994.
DENNIS ALLAIRE
Partner + Director of Research, SoMa Equity Partners
Biography
Dennis received his BA in Finance from Boston College. As such, he is a rabid Boston sports fan, and part time Bay Area sports fan. He lives in the San Francisco with his wife, two gymnast and ballerina daughters, and beloved dog Prairie. Dennis is actively involved in SoMa’s own local first generation student scholarship program, SoMa Scholars.
FRANKLIN PARLAMIS
Portfolio Manager and CIO, Aequim Alternative Investments
Biography
JACOB RUBIN
Founder and Managing Member,
Philosophy Capital Management LLC
Biography
Prior to founding Philosophy Capital, Jacob spent six years investing at Lonestar Capital (2014-2019).
Earlier in his career, he worked at JPMorgan, Macquarie, and Goldman Sachs. Jacob earned a BA in Economics-Philosophy from Columbia University (2006), an MBA from Stanford (2011), and an MPhil. in Economics from Cambridge (2013). He lives with his wife, three children, and dog in Diablo, California.
BLAKE SCHAEFER
Founding Partner, Environmental Commodity Partners
Biography
LOUIS CHANG
Founder and CIO,
Gavilan Investment Partners
Biography
iConnections Presents: The Allocators Perspective
JACKSON J. GARTON, CFA
Chief Investment Officer,
Makena Capital Management
Biography
ALAN ZAFRAN
CIO and Managing Partner,
IEQ Capital
Biography
He began his career at Goldman Sachs in the Private Client Group and later joined Merrill Lynch to help build its Private Banking and Investment Group. In 2008, he co-founded Luminous Capital, an independent RIA, which managed $5.5 billion before its acquisition by First Republic Bank in 2012. At First Republic, he served as Senior Managing Director and Wealth Manager.
Zafran has been recognized by Forbes as one of “America’s Top Wealth Advisors” and by Barron’s among the “Top 100 Financial Advisors” and “Top 100 Independent Wealth Advisors.” IEQ Capital has also been named one of “America’s Top RIA Firms” by both publications.
He serves on the boards of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (also Secretary and Treasurer), Taube Philanthropies, the Filoli Center, the Shuchman Lesser Foundation, and the Craft Contemporary Museum. He is also on the Investment Committee for the Portola Valley School Foundation Endowment.
Mr. Zafran holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science from Stanford University, Phi Beta Kappa, and MBA from Harvard Business School.
The Big Pitch – Cal vs. Stanford
Sponsored by:
Back by popular demand, our student stock pitch competition returns for its second year—featuring standout undergraduate investors from Cal and Stanford.
Building on the storied rivalry of The Big Game, one team from each school will again be selected to present their best investment idea live on the SohnSF main stage. This year, we’ll also announce the winner of last year’s competition, based on the performance of their 2024 pitch. Join us to see which school takes the lead in insight, analysis, and returns.
Panel Discussion
Investing in China: Challenge and Opportunity
Two of the top global experts on China discuss long-term investment strategies in the current political environment.
MELISSA J. MA
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Asia Alternatives
Biography
Prior to launching Asia Alternatives, Ms. Ma was a Director at H&F, a San Francisco-based private equity firm. She was involved with sourcing and monitoring H&F’s investments in financial and professional services. She helped manage H&F’s relationships with its investors and had a leading role in its fundraising activities.
Previously, Ms. Ma worked at McKinsey & Co., Inc. in the Hong Kong and San Francisco offices. From 1995-2000, she worked in the Hong Kong office of McKinsey in the Corporate Finance Practice and the Financial Institutions Practice. Ms. Ma was also a Financial Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Ms. Ma received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and holds an A.B. in Economics and East Asian Studies, magna cum laude, from Harvard College. She is proficient in Mandarin Chinese.
Ms. Ma currently sits on a number of Advisory Boards for several of Asia Alternatives’ private equity and special situations funds. In addition, she serves on the Boards of the East-West Center (appointed by US Secretary of State), Asia Society (Northern California), One Sky (formerly Half the Sky), Lick Wilmerding High School, San Francisco Zoo and the Harvard College Fund Executive Committee. She is also a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Gold, the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Committee on United States-China Relations.
JEFF SHEN, PhD
Managing Director, Co-Chief Investment
Officer and Co-Head of Systematic Active Equities, BlackRock
Biography
Dr. Shen’s service with BlackRock dates back to 2004, including his years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. At BGI, he was the Head of Investment for Asia Pacific and Emerging Market active equities. Prior to joining BGI, he began his career in 1997 with JP Morgan where he held numerous positions in global macro investment and asset allocation research in both New York and London.
Dr. Shen earned a BA degree in Economics from Hobart College, a MA degree in Economics from University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a PhD degree in Finance from New York University.
Dr. Shen is an adjunct professor at NYU teaching an MBA class on international investment. He also serves on the advisory board of the Clausen Center at UC Berkeley.
PETE LARDNER, CFA (Moderator)
Managing Director, J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Biography
Prior to Goldman, he was a financial correspondent for Reuters news agency in London and Tokyo. Pete earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from London Business School. He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of San Francisco. Pete and his wife are raising their four children in Marin County.
SohnSF Leadership Forum: The Power of Mindset
KEREN ELDAD
Executive Coach,
With Enthusiasm Coaching, INC
Biography
Keren Eldad (“Coach Keren”) is a top executive coach helping high achievers—from Olympic athletes to Fortune 500 leaders—reach extraordinary success. As the bestselling author of GILDED: Break Free From the Cage of Ambition, Perfectionism, and the Relentless Pursuit of More, she challenges ambitious individuals to redefine success on their own terms.
As the founder of THE CLUB, Keren empowers high performers to unlock their full potential. Recognized as a Top Ten Executive Coach by the ICF, Real Leaders Magazine, and Goop, she holds advanced degrees from The London School of Economics and the University of Jerusalem. A former C-suite executive with experience in 17 countries, she coaches in English, Spanish, Hebrew, and French.
With over 500,000 TEDx views and a global speaking presence, Keren’s insights inspire leaders worldwide. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Ryan, and their beloved pets.
In Conversation with:
LINDSAY COSTIGAN, CAIA
Managing Director,
BNP Paribas
Biography
In addition to her professional pursuits, Lindsay is a mother of two young children, and competes in the equestrian sport of show jumping at the Grand Prix level. Lindsay serves on the Excellence in Investing for Children’s Causes Foundation Board and the Pepperdine University Board where she helps recruit undergraduates into finance. She is involved in various other non-profit organizations that provide support to underrepresented Bay Area youth.
In 2022, Lindsay was named a Pepperdine Graziadios Best for the World Leader. She was a speaker and panelist at Villanova’s Presenting Opportunities for Women (POW) 2022 Conference and the emcee for BNP Paribas’ 2022 and 2023 Hedge Fund Executive Summits. Lindsay was featured at Bloomberg’s inaugural Women’s Sell-Side network event in San Francisco and moderated a panel on the main stage at Scale Global in 2023. Lindsay has also been featured on the Coached podcast and The Chronicle of the Horse.
Lindsay earned her BA in Economics from Occidental College and her MBA from Pepperdine University. Lindsay is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).
SohnSF Next Wave Speakers
Sponsored by:
JIM EDWARDS
Managing Partner, Maestria Partners
Biography
GAURAV GUPTA
Founder & CIO, Floating Capital
Biography
Gaurav Gupta is the Founder and CIO of Floating Capital, a concentrated technology investment fund based in San Francisco. Floating Capital seeks to be long-term partners to generational, often non-consensus, technology companies that it believes can be multi-baggers. Floating Capital’s team is comprised solely of senior partners who have worked together for over a decade across investing and operating roles, and an Advisory Board of prominent tech founders and executives. The team is augmented by an internally developed proprietary software platform, Floating.ai. Prior to founding Floating Capital, Gaurav spent nine years at Light Street Capital, where he led Internet, media, and fintech investments globally ex. China. Gaurav started his career at Goldman Sachs in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications group in San Francisco after graduating from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
SHAUN MEHRA
Founder, Ishara Investments
Biography
Mr. Mehra previously worked at four global, multi-billion dollar investment firms including Citadel Global Equities and Silver Lake Partners. He has experience across public equities, PE/VC, and investment banking in the healthcare and technology sectors. Mehra holds degrees in business from the Wharton School and biomedical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
He has served as an alumni moderator and science judge for the National Science Bowl, a Department of Energy organization that strives to prepare students nationwide for STEM careers, since 2011.
JUN Y. OH
CIO, Griet Capital
Biography
At Peregrine Securities, he was an equity analyst in charge of the Korean semiconductor and electronics sector. After completing his undergraduate degree, he completed the 2-year investment banking analyst program at JP Morgan in New York. He has an MBA from MIT Sloan and a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Yale College.
SPEAKERS
Thank You to Our 2025 Sponsors
Over $4 Million Raised
to support Bay Area organizations focused on improving educational opportunities and life outcomes for underserved youth.
