Speaker alumni

Dominic Rowe was appointed to the Faculty of Medicine, Human and Health Sciences at Macquarie University in 2007, aged 42, becoming the youngest Professor of Neurology in Australia. He helped establish the Macquarie University health precinct, MQ Health and the Neurology Clinic. He has cared for thousands of people with MND, Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions. Macquarie's Neurology service cares for more than 250 people with MND and more than 800 with Parkinson's disease.

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Rowe has published more than 140 peer-reviewed manuscripts, written textbook chapters on MND and edited a textbook on the Non-Motor Manifestations of Parkinson's Disease (Oxford University Press). He has more than 6,300 citations, including more than 3,300 in the last five years. His MND research has appeared in Nature Genetics (2016), Nature Communications (2017) and Science Translational Medicine (2018).

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Rowe holds two patents in Parkinson's disease and one in MND and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Robert F. Smith is Vista’s Founder, Chairman and CEO. He directs Vista’s investment strategy and decisions, governance and investor relations. Robert sits on the Investment Committees for Vista’s Flagship, Foundation, Endeavor and Perennial Funds and serves as a member of Vista’s Executive Committee, the firm’s governing and decision-making body for matters affecting its overall management and strategic direction, and Private Equity Management Committee, the firm’s decision-making body for matters affecting Vista’s overall private equity platform.

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Robert is also the Chairman of VistaOne, Vista’s evergreen private equity vehicle, and serves on the Investment Committee. Vista currently manages equity assets under management of US$103 billion and oversees a portfolio of over 85 enterprise software, data and technology-enabled companies that employ over 100,000 people worldwide. Since Vista’s founding, Robert has supervised over 650 completed transactions, representing more than US$350 billion in aggregate transaction value.

Isaac Kim is a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, where he leads the firm's Growth Equity strategy. Prior to Lightspeed, he served as a Senior Managing Director at Elliott Investment Management, where he founded the firm's Silicon Valley office and built its technology private equity platform, operating as Evergreen Coast Capital. Prior to that, he was a Principal at Golden Gate Capital and a management consultant at Bain & Company.

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Outside of work, Isaac is devoted to his family — his wife and three daughters — and is an avid sports fan (Go Seahawks!). He and his family care deeply about youth-related causes; he previously served on the boards of Yana Ministry, a non-profit focused on helping Korean orphans flourish, and ScholarMatch, a non-profit focused on helping first generation, under-resourced students access and complete college.

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Isaac holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Orla Walsh is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager in Barings’ Global Private Finance Group. Orla has worked in the industry since 2009, most recently for StepStone Group, where she built out the European Private Debt asset class and team. Prior to that, Orla held roles at The Carlyle Group, Goldman Sachs and European Investment Bank. She holds a Bachelor of Business Studies and a master's degree in business, economics and social studies from Trinity College Dublin.

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John Wylie has over 18 years of experience across portfolio management, equity research, and investment banking with deep expertise in financial institutions, healthcare, and disruptive

technologies.

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John partnered with EFM’s Chief Investment Officer in 2023 to accelerate the growth of the firm’s successful NexGen public and private equity strategies.

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Prior to EFM, John spent eight years at Magellan Asset Management covering global equities in addition to Healthcare Sector Head and Global Fund Portfolio Manager responsibilities.

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John’s early career as an M&A banker at Citigroup focused on strategic coverage of financial institutions and financial sponsors.

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John holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Finance) and a Bachelor of Commerce (First Class Honours), both from the University of Sydney.

Bobby Yazdani is the Founder and Managing Partner of Cota Capital, a San Francisco-based, SEC-registered investment firm with over $1.1 billion in assets under management. Cota focuses on early-stage enterprise technology companies, leveraging deep domain expertise, a global network of industry leaders, and systematic investment rigour to help founders build transformative businesses.

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Known for his hands-on approach, Bobby works closely with entrepreneurs on company building, strategic growth, and long-term value creation. Over two decades, he has invested in more than 200 private technology companies, including Google, Uber, Dropbox, OpenGov, and Tubi. In 2014, CB Insights ranked him the #1 angel investor among 2,000 investors.

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Prior to investing, Bobby founded Saba Software in 1997 and led its IPO in 2000. Saba served over 30 million users worldwide before being acquired by Cornerstone OnDemand in 2020. He holds a B.A. in Applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley.