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The Financial Horizons Conference is a free event designed to give students the opportunity to learn from and network with accomplished professionals, UCSD alumni and leading minds in finance, consulting, entrepreneurship, and business.
The Conference is UCSD's premier educational and networking event for students looking to broaden their financial knowledge and employers looking to recruit fresh talent. If you are interested in exploring career possibilities in business or you are trying to build connections with leading professionals, this conference will be the perfect chance to bridge the gap between your dream and your future! agenda8:00 am - 9:00 am: Conference check-in & Speaker/Student Breakfast Networking Session
9:00 am - 9:45 am: Morning Keynote Speaker 10:00 am - 11:00 am: Consulting Panel 10:00 am - 11:00 am: Investment Banking Panel 11:15 am - 12:00 pm: Afternoon Keynote Speaker 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm: Wealth/Asset Management Panel 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm: Venture Capital/Private Equity Panel 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm: Lunch & Speaker/Student Networking Session |
2023 FHC CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
KEYNOTE SPEAKERs
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Paul Thiel
President, San Diego Region Northern Trust Wealth Management Paul Thiel leads Northern Trust’s San Diego region, with more than 30 thoughtful and highly skilled professionals in banking, investment management, financial planning, trust/fiduciary services and international wealth management. Paul's team manages more than $3 billion in assets and more than $850 million in loans for about 225 families, individuals, foundations and other entities. Northern Trust is one of the premier global investment and wealth management firms, and counts more than 30% of the Forbes 400 richest Americans as clients. The firm came to San Diego in 1989, and serves many of the area’s most successful families and individuals. Paul joined Northern Trust in 2018. Paul is also co-founder and lead advisor of WEALTHAWK INC., a financial technology company focused on helping wealth managers grow their businesses through the use of information curation enhanced by artificial intelligence. Paul entered the wealth management industry in 2008 with Bernstein Global Wealth Management, and followed with seven years at BNY Mellon, where he founded and grew the firm's San Diego office. Focusing on business owners and transitioning individuals, Paul created and ran an educational and awards program for middle market M&A advisors, SD Advisor of the Year, as well as the Alliance for the Divorcing Outspouse, a cooperative professional group for service providers in the affluent divorce space. Early in his career, Paul was an award-winning financial journalist for The Washington Post, Florida Trend, BusinessWeek, the New York Times and Georgia Trend magazine. After earning his MBA, he led all digital operations as well as legacy marketing, sales & retail distribution for Detroit Newspapers Inc. and Freedom Communications' Southern California operations. He also served as CEO for TruCost Inc., a venture-backed information services company in the hospitality industry and founded a local media company that published 951 magazine. |
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Pelin Thorogood
Executive Chairwoman & Cofounder Radicle Science Pelin Thorogood is a tech executive turned impact entrepreneur who has made a career out of being at the forefront of emerging business trends and disruptive technologies. She’s been honored as INC 200 Female Founder in 2023 and Stevie’s Maverick of the Year in 2022. With an unwavering focus on data and analytics throughout her career, Pelin is now transforming natural health products into democratized precision medicines as Co-founder and Executive Chair of Radicle Science, an AI-driven healthtech B-corp. Previously, Pelin was a leader in creating the digital marketing industry as CMO of WebSideStory (IPO in 2004, acquired by Adobe/ Omniture in 2008), the pioneer in web analytics, as well as CEO of Anametrix (acquired by Ensighten in 2015), an award-winning predictive analytics company. Deeply committed to impact, education, and community, Pelin is Trustee and Treasurer of the UC San Diego Foundation, Co-Chair of the UC San Diego Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council, Executive Board member of the UC San Diego Basement start-up incubator, Industry Scholar for the Cornell Institute of Healthy Futures, and previously served as Executive-in-Residence for Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. Pelin holds a B.S., M.Eng and MBA, all from Cornell. She is an avid adventure traveler and outdoors enthusiast. At home in San Diego, Pelin enjoys an active and healthy lifestyle with her husband, daughter, son, and two dogs. |
this Year's Panelists
investment banking panelists
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Sameer Karim
Senior Vice President (TMT), Wedbush Securities Sameer is a Senior Vice President in the TMT Investment Banking Group focusing on the execution of M&A, Debt, and Equity transactions. Prior to joining Wedbush, Sameer was a member of the Investment Banking teams at Morgan Stanley and Citi in San Francisco. Earlier in his career, he held various engineering roles at Cisco and Forcepoint (fka Websense). Sameer holds a BS in Engineering from University of California, San Diego and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. |
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Shawn Flynn
Principal (Tech), Global Capital Markets Shawn is a middle-market investment banker who started his career as a business owner, founding, and growing a successful company in Beijing, China before returning to the US to work with companies ranging from fast growing Silicon Valley startups to established overseas public companies. He brings his international experience working with all stages and sectors of businesses to his role as Principal at Global Capital Markets, a premier middle market investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, raising growth capital, and secondaries. Stefan Loren Managing Director (Healthcare), Oppenheimer |
Wealth/Asset management panelists
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Joel Tomlinson
Managing Director, Ares Management Mr. Tomlinson is a Managing Director in the Ares Net Lease Group, bridging the Ares Credit Group and the Ares Real Estate Group, where he focuses on net lease and related investments. Prior to joining Ares in 2021, Mr. Tomlinson was a Partner at Apollo Global Management, where he helped build and run the Apollo Net Lease Capital Corporation. Previously, Mr. Tomlinson was the SVP of Acquisitions at Realty Income Corporation, working there from 2010 to 2018. Mr. Tomlinson originally joined Realty Income in 1999 and worked in a variety of capacities, including as an Acquisitions Director and Real Estate Portfolio Manager. He left Realty Income in 2006 to work in the corporate finance group at Merrill Lynch Capital, until Merrill Lynch Capital was sold in 2008. Mr. Tomlinson then joined Cole Capital, a non-traded real estate investment trust, in 2008 as a Senior Acquisitions Director until 2010, when he rejoined Realty Income as the Vice President and Director of Acquisitions. |
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Justin Lacey
Senior Vice President, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America Justin Lacey started at Merrill Lynch as a Financial Advisor in 2017 and is located in Newport Beach, California. He focuses on working with executives and business owners, law partners, physicians, and their families in designing strategies to help them enhance, preserve, and transition their wealth. In addition to his duties as a Wealth Management Advisor where he services clients, he also is a Resident Director leading the Newport Beach II office where he empowers the advisors in his office to most productively grow their business and support their clients. William McBride
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley William McBride IV or “Will” is a First Vice President, Director of Impact Investing, and Portfolio Management Director at Morgan Stanley. He employs a planning-based approach with each client relationship. This process integrates each client’s immediate and future needs and includes helping to manage concentrated stock and stock options, cash management and lending solutions, retirement planning and advanced estate planning strategies including insurance. Will also oversees the team’s strategies regarding multi-generational wealth planning, special needs planning, corporate cash management, corporate retirement plans, credit facilities, business succession planning and investment banking. Thomas Schwartz
Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Tom is a Managing Director within the Consumer & Wealth Management Division. From September 2000 through December 2006, he served as Regional Manager of the Los Angeles Private Wealth Management Group. Tom joined Goldman Sachs in 1983 and became a Managing Director in 2000. Tom is a past Chairman of the Anderson Fund and member of the Board of Visitors at the Anderson School at UCLA. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees for the UC San Diego Foundation. Tom earned an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA in 1983 and a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego, in 1980. |
consulting panelists
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Anne Song Kim
Project Leader, BCG Anne Song Kim is a Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group’s San Diego office. She joined the firm in 2019 as a Summer Consultant in the Seattle office and returned to BCG Seattle as a full-time Consultant in 2020 before transferring to BCG San Diego this year. Since joining BCG, Anne has focused her work in the Healthcare Practice Area but has worked across a number of industries including Technology, Public Sector, and Private Equity & Investment. Prior to business school, Anne worked with Biotech and Education startups in a director role within Business Operations. Anne holds an MBA from Duke University and a dual B.A. from UC San Diego in Political Science and History. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, exploring new restaurants, and beach time with her 7-year-old son and husband. |
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Matt Kvarda
Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal Matt Kvarda is a Managing Director in Alvarez & Marsal’s Restructuring practice in the Los Angeles office. With over 30 years of restructuring experience, Mr. Kvarda has led all aspects of the accounting and finance process, including developing and implementing long-term business plans, optimizing liquidity and working capital; evaluating and integrating acquisitions/divestitures and the realignment of divisions within organizations. |
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Britt Amato
Senior Manager, Deloitte Britt is a senior manager in Deloitte’s Risk and Financial Advisory practice based out of the San Diego, California office. She graduated from The College of William and Mary with a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Prior to her MBA completion, she graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics and Finance. She maintains her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification as well as her Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification. She brings nearly a decade of experience support Federal and State government clients with large-scale financial management and budgeting transformation, process redesign, and strategy implementation. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors in sunny California with her husband, Andrew, and golden retriever, Hudson. She also enjoys all things physical fitness, traveling, and cooking! |
private equity / venture capital panelists
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Yash Thukral
Cofounder, White Lion Capital Yash Thukral is an innovative professional with a passion for investing and portfolio management. In 2019, Yash co-founded White Lion Capital, LLC, where he serves as the Portfolio Manager and Founding Partner. In this role, Yash manages the small-mid cap portfolio with over 9 figures committed that focuses on equity or debt investments with publicly traded companies in compliance with SEC guidelines. He analyzes quarterly and annual reports, material event and ownership disclosures, and cash flow projections to audit companies and potential acquisitions. |
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Ralph Ho
Angel Investor, Start-Up Advisor, Ex-Sequoia Ralph is a sought-after advisor and investor in the start-up community. He has a proven track record of success in venture capital, hedge funds, technology start-up companies, and investment banking. He currently advises early-stage companies and invests in the public markets using quantitative approaches. Ralph co-founded and served as Chief Operating Officer of Sequoia Capital Global Equities, a global TMT focused private and public markets fund at Sequoia. Prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Clarium Capital Management, a global macro fund founded by Peter Thiel. |
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Jessica Karr
General Partner, Coyote Ventures Jessica Karr is the Founder & General Partner of Coyote Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund investing in women’s health and wellness. Jessica’s experience launching novel impact-focused products began when she joined Impossible Foods as the 12th employee, where she helped develop and launch the Impossible burger. She has since worked with startups internationally as an innovation consultant and as a Principal with a family office. She is an LP in women-led funds and her angel investments have all become unicorns. Jessica holds a BS in Biochemistry from UC San Diego, an MBA from Presidio Graduate School, and a BA in Philosophy from Texas State University. Jessica lives in the Bay Area with her rescue Pom and enjoys swimming in the bay. |
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Nathan Yee
Cofounder, White Lion Capital Nathan is a founding partner of White Lion Capital and has over 9 figures committed in small cap public companies since starting the firm in 2019. He spends much of his time evaluating company financials, negotiating with management, and closing direct transactions. Prior to White Lion Capital, he was a founding Partner of Triton Funds, a $25 million student run investment fund which he exited upon graduation. Nathan is currently a CFA Charterholder and plans on getting his MBA next year. His greatest achievement in college was eating two breakfast burritos in one sitting from Goodies 3 times a week for a quarter. |
