The inaugural Women's Alternative Investment Summit will be held on December 1-2, 2009 in New York's financial district.

The conference, entitled "Alternative Investment in the Age of Transparency," will address the challenges and opportunities presented by doing business in front of "clear windows."

Keynote interviews will feature industry leaders Sandra Horbach, Managing Director, The Carlyle Group and Nicole Arnaboldi, Chairman, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners; Co-Head of Illiquid Alternatives, Credit Suisse. High profile panelists from such leading firms as The Blackstone Group, D.E. Shaw and Co., Goldman Sachs, and Carnegie Corporation of New York will address a select audience of the foremost women alternative investment professionals from North America, Europe, and Asia.

Topics for discussion include "The LP Perspective: The Search for Detail;" "The Narrowing of Private Equity and the Rise of Alternatives;" "Washington and Wall Street: Bridging the Communication Gap;" "Navigating The Debt Markets;" "Managing the Portfolio Company;" and "Hedge Funds' Second Act."

The Summit's partners include The Carlyle Group, Kauffman Fellows Program Center for Venture Education, and The Wall Street Journal.

The Women's Alternative Investment Summit is designed to enhance networking, fundraising, and deal-making opportunities for senior-level women in alternative investments. The event will also include structured networking opportunities, which have proven to be extraordinarily valuable at previous Summits.

The Summit opens on the evening of Tuesday, December 1 with a welcome reception at The Setai (Broad Street), followed by a full-day program on Wednesday, December 2, held at Cipriani Wall Street.

Keynote panelists include Molly Ashby, Founder and CEO, Solera Capital; Anne Casscells, Managing Director, Co-President and CIO, Absolute Return Strategies, Aetos Capital; Dana B. Hall, CFA, SVP, D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P; Melina Higgins, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs; Tracey Luke, Director of Portfolio Management, Liquid Realty Partners; Colleen Sellers, Managing Director, Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management; D. Ellen Shuman, VP and CIO, Carnegie Corporation of New York; Joan Solotar, Senior Managing Director, Public Markets Group, The Blackstone Group; and Kelly M. Williams, Managing Director and Co-Head, Customized Fund Investment Group, Credit Suisse.

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