
On Wednesday, September 21 through Thursday, September 22, 2022, Upstate Capital hosted the Buffalo Private Equity Summit in Buffalo, NY. This event featured panels with investors, dealmakers and M&A professionals, as well as opportunities to network.
Wednesday began with invitation-only round table discussions with Michael Richter and Women in Leadership at Marcy Casino in Delaware Park. Registration and networking opened featuring local breweries and distilleries with samples available for the guests.



Executing Growth: From Privately-Held to Private Equity-Backed panel with Michael Lippa from GenTech Scientific; Yvette Pagano from GenTech Scientific; Sean Balkin from Lippes Mathias; Eric Colca from Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner and Randy Bianchi from Lakelet Capital kicked off the day. They covered topics including sourcing and building a team, structuring a deal, and finally executing growth. There was also a deep dive discussion around Michael’s experience growing businesses and the GenTech PE deal.
After a brief break for networking, Andy Allaire, Senior Vice President at Amerisource Funding, introduced the next panel: Preparing for a Private Equity Transaction. This conversation was moderated by Sam Ticknor, Union Hill Advisors, and included Kristina Segesvary, Goldman Sachs; Nick Zoyhofski of Freed Maxicks CPAs and Christian Henrich from Woods Oviatt Gilman. This panel of subject matter experts offered an in-depth understanding of the process and options available when preparing for a private equity transaction.
Wednesday concluded with the keynote conversation featuring Michael Richter, NHL Hall of Famer and President of Brightcore Energy moderated by David Helgerson, Hamilton Lane. This conversation highlighted how Michael Richter’s experiences as a professional hockey player influence what he brings to building businesses.
Thursday’s breakfast was followed by networking at the Lexus Club. Brian Pietrangelo, the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Investment Strategy at Key Private Bank presented an Investment and Economic Outlook to an intimate group of attendees.
The event concluded with networking among the attendees.



Our event sponsors, Hamilton Lane, KeyBank, Amerisource, Freed Maxick, Lakelet Capital, Pine Street Capital, Graycilff Partners, and Lippes Mathias made this event possible. Thank you to our table sponsors, Bluehenge Capital Partners, Northwest Bank, Chiampou, Travis, Besaw & Kershner, Paramax, Lumsden McCormick, and Brisbane Consulting Group.
Click here to see all the photos from the Buffalo Private Equity Summit.
For more information on annual sponsorship opportunities, please contact Upstate Capital’s President and CEO, Noa Simons at noa@upstatecapital.org.