Private Markets Forum NSW

Andrew Batsakis

Senior Investor at University of Sydney Endowment and Independent Investment Committee of Lipman Burgon

Andrew Batsakis is a senior investment professional at the University of Sydney endowment, where he has led the global private equity and venture capital program for nearly two decades.  He is also an Independent Investment Committee member at Lipman Burgon and Partners.

With deep experience in primaries, co-investments and GP partnerships, he brings a whole-of-portfolio perspective across asset allocation, public markets and hedge funds. He holds Law (Hons) and Commerce degrees from the University of Melbourne and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

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Jonathan Belz

Global CEO and Co-Founder, BFA Global Investors

Jonathan brings over two decades of global investment banking and private markets experience. Before co-founding BFA Global Investors, he led Private Investments at the Victor Smorgon Group. His earlier roles include Executive Director at Goldman Sachs in Australia and Hong Kong, and positions at Credit Suisse in Sydney and New York. Fluent in Mandarin, Jonathan has worked extensively across Asia.

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Paul Burgon

Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Lipman Burgon & Partners

Paul is the Managing Partner and CIO of Lipman Burgon & Partners, focussing on sophisticated investment solutions for private clients and family offices. 

As a founding member of Lipman Burgon & Partners, Paul has embedded a culture that puts clients’ interests ahead of the firm’s growth. He leads the investment and advisory teams and acts as Lead Adviser to family offices, tailoring investment programs, building governance frameworks, and managing succession programs. 

With over two decades of experience across market cycles and having previously worked with Goldman Sachs, JBWere and Investec Private Bank, Paul is highly experienced in multi-asset portfolio construction strategies and allocation across public and private market assets. He has deep expertise in allocation modelling and manager due diligence with a network that unlocks unique investment opportunities for clients. 

Paul is a key member of Lipman Burgon & Partners’ Investment Committee and has several academic and professional qualifications. These include a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning, a Master of Applied Finance, and is recognised as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA). 

For three consecutive years, he has been ranked among Australia’s Top 25 Financial Advisers by US financial investment publication Barron’s. 

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Ryan McGovern

Managing Director, Star Mountain Capital

Ryan has over 25 years of investment and advisory experience with much of that time spent managing private credit funds and working with private credit fund investors around the world. At Star Mountain, he is involved in all aspects of the firm’s investment and portfolio management activities in addition to business development and investor relations efforts. Ryan joined Star Mountain from the specialist private debt advisory firm Avebury Capital Partners (now known as Arbour Partners) where he established and ran its North American operations, helping to build, advise, and raise capital for mezzanine and other private credit investment funds as well as sourcing secondary investment opportunities.

Ryan was previously a partner at Ember Capital (formerly known as Nomura Mezzanine), an alternative investment fund manager that managed a ~$350 million mezzanine fund sponsored by Nomura in addition to approximately ~$200 million in other pools of capital for senior and mezzanine debt investments. For nearly a decade at Ember/Nomura, he was responsible for originating, executing, and managing senior debt and mezzanine investments. During his time at Ember/Nomura, Mr. McGovern was instrumental in making more than 25 private credit investments. Ryan also played a key role in structuring and raising the firm’s funds, as well as with investor relations on a global basis.

Before joining Nomura in early 2005 to help launch its mezzanine debt investment business, Ryan was an investment professional at AIG-MezzVest, a ~$750 million mezzanine fund sponsored by the global insurance company AIG. Earlier in his career, he was an investment banking associate at HSBC and an investment banking analyst at Stephens Inc. Ryan began his career as an associate portfolio manager in the asset management division of Dominick & Dominick in New York.

He completed his MBA at HEC Paris and London Business School and holds a BA from Vanderbilt University. Hea also holds active FINRA broker dealer licenses and is currently a board member of ACG Cleveland.

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Richard Milroy

Founder and Executive Director, Private Wealth Network

Richard is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of Private Wealth Network, and also founded several other specialist events and publishing companies in the areas of wealth management and sustainability. Starting his career at the International Herald Tribune in Paris, he then moved into specialist trade publishing and investment conferences based in London and now Sydney.Richard’s vision is to form knowledge networks where people connect face-to-face at events, then continue their relationships through online platforms. His focus is to assist members to share and gain new knowledge and understanding, and hopefully to inspire them too.

Richard holds a BA (Hons) in European Political Science with Modern Languages, from Newcastle upon Tyne University, UK.

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Adam Roberts MPA, LLB, BCom, GAICD

Head of Private Markets, Australian Ethical Investment

Adam joined Australian Ethical in June 2024, bringing 15 years' experience investing across real estate, infrastructure, private equity, impact investing and private credit.

Prior to joining Australian Ethical, Adam held several roles within Macquarie's asset management business, in both APAC and Europe, as well as Head of Strategy where he oversaw business and corporate development. Adam also spent a few years at a U.S. based alternative asset manager.

Adam holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the London School of Economics and Bachelor's degrees in Law and Commerce (majoring in Finance) from Bond University (obtained under scholarship).

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Tim Samway

Chair & Founding Partner, Scarcity Partners

Tim Samway is Chair and one of the Founding Partners of Scarcity Partners, a private equity firm that specialises in the investment management sector.

Tim began his career at Deloitte in the late 1970s. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, he spent 12 years in stockbroking with Burrows Limited and Wilson HTM before Co-Founding Hyperion Asset Management in 1997, an affiliate of Pinnacle Investment Management Group Limited (ASX: PNI).

Appointed Managing Director of Hyperion in 2012, he later became Chairman in 2019. Under his leadership, Hyperion won two ‘Fund Manager of the Year’ awards, expanded its retail and global client base, added a global equities capability, and delivered first-quartile investment performance.

Tim holds non-executive board roles as Chairman or Director of multiple entrepreneurial businesses.

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