About Us
The Booth Private Equity Group is one of the largest and most active professional groups at Booth.
The Private Equity Group works in conjunction with the school and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship to provide students with the opportunity to test classroom ideas, gain practical knowledge about the PE industry, and experience investing firsthand. Private Equity programming at Booth includes the Oxford Chicago Global Private Equity Challenge, Booth PE Conference, The Sterling Partners Investment Thesis Challenge, and PEVC Lab.
The PE Group at Chicago Booth is very active within the student community, providing career development, networking opportunities, conferences on current topics in the industry, group activities, industry-leading speakers, industry-focused trips, and many other resources for our members.
Katie Oliver
Co-Chair | Communications
Katie is a PEG co-chair primarily responsible for communications. Prior to Booth, Katie worked in the Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging investment banking group at Bank of America MerrillLynch. Katie graduated from the University of Chicago with a double B.A. in economics and international studies. Katie interned at Stoic Lane as part of the Booth Private Equity lab and completed a summer internship with Brookfield Asset Management in the Real Estate Investments Group.
Erik Warnquist
Co-Chair | Private Equity Conference
Erik is one of two PEG co-chairs primarily responsible for the Private Equity Conference. Prior to Booth, Erik was a Senior Associate with the energy infrastructure-focused private equity firm Panamint Capital and an Analyst in the Commodities Structured Finance group at Goldman Sachs. He received a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College. Erik interned with Strategic Value Partners (SVPGlobal), a special situations focused private equity firm during the summer.
Greg Caraway
Co-Chair | Private Equity Conference
Greg is one of two PEG co-chairs primarily responsible for the Private Equity Conference. Prior to Booth, Greg was a Senior Associate at Stellus Capital, a middle market private credit fund. Previously, he worked as an investment banking associate at Chiron Financial and in corporate finance with ExxonMobil. He graduated from the University of Texas with a B.B.A. Over the summer, Greg interned with The Sterling Group.
Arnav Sharma
Co-Chair | Programming & Career Services
Arnav is one of two PEG co-chairs with primary responsibility for Programming and Career Services. Prior to Booth, Arnav was an associate in the San Francisco office of Sverica Capital Management. Previously, he worked as a strategy consultant at L.E.K. Consulting in Chicago. Arnav graduated from the University of Chicago with an A.B. in Economics and in Public Policy Studies. Over the summer, Arnav interned at Benford Capital Partners, where he also completed his internship for the Booth Private Equity Lab.
Ajit Bopalkar
Co-Chair | Programming & Career Services
Ajit is one of two PEG co-chairs with primary responsibility for Programming and Career Services. Ajit was a Senior Associate at Insight Equity. Prior to joining Insight Equity, he was an Investment Banking Analyst at Guggenheim Securities in the Diversified Industrials Group. While at Guggenheim, Ajit worked on a variety of M&A engagements in the diversified industrials group, including both acquisition and sale processes. Ajit graduated with university honors from Carnegie Mellon University with a BS in Business Administration with a track in finance and an additional major in Statistics.
Stephen Lestyan
Co-Chair | SF Trek
Stephen is a PEG co-chair with the primary responsibility for leading the SF Trek. Prior to Booth, Stephen was an associate at Sheridan Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm that specializes in investing in healthcare . Prior to Sheridan, Stephen was an investment banking Analyst in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Group at Harris Williams. Stephen graduated from The Darla Moore School of Business at The University of South Carolina with a B.S. in Business Administration in Finance and Risk Management/Insurance. Stephen served as the Director of Strategy and Business Development at Tarrytown Expocare during his summer.
Stephen Weiner
Co-Chair | NYC Trek
Stephen is a PEG co-chair with primary responsibility for leading the NYC Trek. Prior to Booth, Stephen was an Associate at Astra Capital Management, a buyout fund based in Washington, D.C, where he focused on technology and communications investing. Stephen began his career as an Analyst in Lazard Frères’ TMT group in New York. Stephen graduated from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University with a BBA in Finance and a dual-major in Chinese Languages and Literature. As part of Booth’s Private Equity Lab, he interned with Software Growth Partners and, this summer, interned at 3i Group in the Business & Technology Services team in New York.
