NORTH CASTLE PARTNERS - Key Persons
Alan Bui is a Principal with eight years of consumer private equity investment experience. Since joining North Castle in 2015, Alan has focused his efforts on the oversight of several North Castle investments and has been actively involved in the execution and due diligence of new investments across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. Alan is currently involved in managing the Firm's investments in Therabody, Five Iron Golf, Windham Mountain, VitaCup, Sprout Foods, and ProSupps, and was previously involved in Palladio Beauty Group and Mynd Spa & Salon. Prior to joining North Castle, Alan worked in investment banking in the technology, media, and telecom groups at UBS Investment Bank and Wells Fargo Securities. Alan graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.S. in Finance and Economics.
Job Titles:
- Explore the Partner
- Managing Partner
Alison Minter is a Managing Partner with more than 21 years of consumer private equity investment experience. Since joining North Castle in 2001, she has led and managed the Firm's investments across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. Alison currently serves on the Board of Directors of Therabody, Sparx Hockey, Blueroot Health, Mack Weldon, Maya Kaimal, VitaCup, Full Swing Golf, ProSupps, HydroMassage and is a Board Advisor to Genexa. She has previously served on the Board of Directors of SmartyPants, Sprout Foods, Red Door Spas, Doctor's Best, Octane Fitness, Contigo, Ibex, Cascade Helmets, Atkins/Bora-Bora Organic Foods, and Avalon Natural Products. In addition, she was actively involved in the Firm's investments in Naked Juice and Leiner Health Products. Prior to joining North Castle, Alison worked at Evolution Global Partners, an investment firm sponsored by Texas Pacific Group, Kleiner Perkins, and Bain & Company. Prior to Evolution, she worked in the Insurance Investment Banking and Leveraged Finance groups of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Alison has served on the Women of Leadership Committee for ACG New York since 2018, is an Advisory Board member of the WOB (Women on Boards) Project and recently joined DealmakeHers. She also spent many years as a member of the board of the New Canaan Soccer Association and the New Canaan Lacrosse Association. Alison earned an A.B. in Economics from Princeton University.
Job Titles:
- CCO
- CFO
- Explore the Partner
- Partner
Alyse Skidmore is a Partner and North Castle's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. She is an experienced attorney and accountant with expertise in finance, accounting, taxation, and the legal mechanics of private equity. As an integral member of the senior leadership team since 2000, she works closely with the firm's CEO, Partners and Investment teams, and is responsible for the management of all accounting and financial reporting, including investor, tax, and regulatory reporting and compliance for the firm's private equity funds, management company, and general partners. In addition, Alyse communicates with the funds' investors and portfolio companies, collaborates on fund and deal structures, provides transactional support, and is an integral part of the firm's fundraising process. She also oversees the firm's day-to-day administration including IT, HR and insurance. Before joining North Castle, she served as a Senior Manager in tax consulting at Ernst & Young, where she provided consulting services to clients in financial services and private equity. Alyse earned an L.L.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law, a Juris Doctorate from Hofstra University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Arthur H. Warshaw has been part of the North Castle team since 2001. As a successful business operator for more than 50 years and a master of organizational assessment, Arthur is known for his extreme pragmatism and his ability to quickly understand and turn around businesses by efficiently identifying, prioritizing, and addressing key issues. In 1977, after 20 years of building, running and selling smaller businesses, Arthur joined apparel company Warnaco, Inc. As a member of Warnaco's four-person management team, he led the development and implementation of an aggressive recovery plan that built Warnaco into an industry giant. Two years after retiring from Warnaco, Arthur started his own advisory business focused on redirecting financial, operational and strategic activities for clients in a diverse cross-section of industries. In 1997, Arthur assumed operating control of The Moorings, a high-end sailboat chartering company in need of a financial, organizational, and operating overhaul. Under his leadership, The Moorings saw tremendous growth in profit and market share as a result of extensive repositioning in organization, fleet, base locations, and global presence. The Moorings was subsequently acquired by GEI, a North Castle portfolio company, in June 2001. In July 2002, Arthur became a North Castle Operating Advisor and served in several CEO and Chairman of the Board roles during his tenure, including Chairman and CEO of GEI, which was later sold to a UK travel conglomerate (First Choice Holidays PLC); CEO and Chairman of the Board of Naked Juice, where he implemented a comprehensive restructuring of the business, leading to the sale of Naked Juice to PepsiCo; and Chairman of the Board of Red Door Spas.
Augustine L. Nieto II is one of the most successful and innovative pioneers in the U.S. fitness industry, holding 11 patents in computerized exercise equipment. In 1977, at the age of 19, Augie co-founded Lifecycle, Inc., where he invented the now-famous computerized bicycle of the same name. He negotiated the sale of the company to Bally Manufacturing Corporation in 1984. A year later, he was named President of Life Fitness, Inc., the newly coined Bally subsidiary. Life Fitness has grown to become one of the world's largest commercial manufacturers of fitness equipment. Augie, who joined North Castle as an Operating Advisor in 2001, brings to the Firm an unrivaled expertise in anticipating consumer needs, developing products and services to meet those needs, and building and managing brands within the health and fitness industry. After being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, he founded "Augie's Quest" which has raised over $45 million for the ALS Therapy Development Institute, where he serves as Chairman. He is also the author of Augie's Quest: One Man's Journey from Success to Significance and Reciprocity, Incorporated and is a member of the Young Presidents Organization, where he served as the Chairman of the Chicago chapter and the Education Chairperson. Augie serves as a board member for Jenny Craig and HydroMassage and was previously the Chairman of Octane Fitness until the company was sold to Nautilus, Inc. in December 2015. He previously served on the Board of Directors for Qwest Software and former North Castle portfolio companies Curves International, EAS and GEI. Augie earned a degree in economics and financial accounting from Claremont McKenna College.
Bobby Hally joined North Castle in 2021 and is actively involved in the execution and due diligence of new investment opportunities across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. Bobby currently works with the Firm's investments in Five Iron Golf, HydroMassage, and VitaCup. Prior to joining North Castle, Bobby worked in the consumer investment banking group at Raymond James, where he focused on M&A advisory. Bobby graduated from Boston College, where he earned a B.S. in Management with concentrations in Finance & Information Systems from the Carroll School of Management.
Job Titles:
- Fund Accounting Manager
- North Castle in 2016 As an Assistant Controller
Brian O'Rourke joined North Castle in 2016 as an Assistant Controller with 14 years of private equity accounting experience. He is an experienced accountant with expertise in finance, accounting, and taxation of private equity. He works closely with the firm's CFO and Controller and aids in the preparation of accounting and financial reporting, including investor, tax, and regulatory reporting for the firm's private equity funds and management company. In addition, Brian communicates with the funds' investors and maintains the company's CRM database. Before joining North Castle, he served as a Senior Fund Accounting Manager at Aberdeen Asset Management (formerly FLAG Capital Management). Brian earned an MBA in finance from the University of Connecticut School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Scranton.
Britt Boigris is an Assistant Controller with 19 years of private equity accounting experience. Britt works with the firm's CFO and Controller and aids in the preparation of accounting and financial reporting, including investor, tax, and regulatory reporting for the firm's private equity funds and management company. In addition, Britt oversees accounts payable and assists with the formation, dissolution, and general compliance filings for the Funds special purpose vehicles. Before joining North Castle, she was a Staff Accountant with Hyperion Solutions.
Job Titles:
- Explore the Partner
- Managing Partner
Charles F. ("Chip") Baird, Jr., North Castle's founder and Managing Partner, has spent the last 30 years as an investor and consulting partner dedicated to improving companies' operating performance and enhancing shareholder value. Chip began studying the emerging Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living trends more than 20 years ago and founded North Castle Partners in 1997 to pursue opportunities in this dynamic new marketplace. Chip currently serves on the Board of Directors of Encore Vet Group, Full Swing, HydroMassage, and serves as Chairman of the Board of EWC Growth, ProSupps, Barry's, and Turnbridge. Chip has previously served on the Board of Directors of Sprout Foods, Jenny Craig, SmartyPants, Curves, Red Door, Doctor's Best, Contigo, Flatout, Ibex, Performance Bicycle, gloProfessional, Cascade Helmets, International Fitness, Atkins/Bora-Bora Organic Foods, Enzymatic Therapy, CRC Health, Equinox Fitness, GEI, and Naked Juice. He also currently serves as a trustee of The Alger Fund. Prior to founding North Castle, Chip served as a Managing Director of AEA Investors LLC from 1989 to 1997, where he was a private equity investor in the consumer and healthcare sectors. From 1978 to 1989, Chip worked at Bain & Company, where, as an Executive Vice President and North American Management Committee member, he was involved in developing strategy and implementing profit improvement initiatives for companies in the health care, forest products, packaging, publishing, chemicals, food, plastics, and textile industries. From 1975 to 1977, Chip worked in mergers and acquisitions at The First Boston Corporation. Chip earned an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Chris Brown is a passionate experiential aficionado with a longtime love for lifestyle specific live events and activities. Chris has a unique combination of experience in finance, strategy and operational roles in consumer facing businesses. Prior to starting his own firm, Backline Partners, in 2015, he was a senior member of the founding team and helped concept and manage a large-scale music festival in Southern California. Prior to the festival, he started Gart Capital Partners (GCP) in 2006, in partnership with the Gart Family, where he directly oversaw a number of portfolio company investments and also lead the firm's business development efforts. Over eight years at GCP, Chris sourced hundreds of consumer and retail deals and was involved in many transactions, including Breeze Ski Rentals, Magellan's Travel Supplies, Swoozie's and Running Specialty Group. Chris also worked for Petrie Parkman, a boutique investment bank focused on the energy/oil and gas industry, as a Vice President of Institutional Sales from 2002 through mid 2006. He was responsible for generating revenue for the firm by establishing relationships with buy-side institutional investment managers, and supporting their investment interests in the energy industry. Earlier in his career, Chris worked as an associate for myCFO, a Silicon Valley wealth management startup as well as investment bank Morgan Stanley, as an analyst. Chris holds a BA in sociology from Princeton University where he was a member of three Division 1 National Championship lacrosse teams (1994, 1996 and 1997).
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- North Castle in 2022 As an Associate
Danielle Goodman joined North Castle in 2022 as an Associate. Danielle currently works with the Firm's investments in Therabody, Barry's, ProSupps and The Escape Game and is actively involved in the execution and due diligence of new investment opportunities across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. Prior to joining North Castle, Danielle was an investment professional at Halle Capital, where she evaluated middle-market consumer, healthcare, and business services opportunities. Prior to Halle Capital, she was the Director of Strategic Operations at Rumble Fitness and worked as an investment banking Associate at East Wind Advisors. Danielle graduated from Lehigh University, where she earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
Job Titles:
- Explore the Partner
- Partner
David Weston is a Partner with 14 years of consumer private equity investment experience. Since joining North Castle in 2007 as an Associate, David has focused his efforts on the oversight of several North Castle investments and the execution and due diligence of new investment opportunities across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. David was promoted to Vice President in 2013, to Principal in 2016, and to Partner in 2020. David currently sits on the Board of Directors of Barry's, CR Fitness, Encore Vet, EWC Growth, HydroMassage, and Mack Weldon. In the past, he has worked closely with the members of the executive management teams of North Castle brand partners such as Jenny Craig, Curves, Flatout, Ibex, International Fitness, Kettlebell Kitchen and Mynd Spa & Salon. Prior to joining North Castle, David worked in investment banking in the retail and consumer group at Credit Suisse. David earned a B.B.A. with high distinction in Finance and Accounting from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Former President and CEO of Octane Fitness
- Industry Advisor
Dennis Lee is the co-founder and former president and CEO of Octane Fitness, the only company in the world exclusively focused on the zero-impact cardiovascular fitness equipment category. He oversaw strategic direction and day-to-day operations. In September 2001, he launched Octane Fitness in his unfinished basement; today, Octane is the market leader for zero-impact training products. He built Octane based on a strategy unique to the fitness industry that focused exclusively on the core competencies of product innovation and sales and service excellence, outsourcing all other non-core competencies. As a result of this approach, he and Octane realized incredible growth within the U.S., opened additional offices in The Netherlands and the United Kingdom and created a $60+ million business. Under his leadership, Octane was a multiple-year recipient of Minnesota's "Top 100 Workplaces" awards by both Minnesota Business and the Star-Tribune. He has won the CEO of the Year award twice from North Castle Partners. Dennis and co-founder Tim Porth earned the regional Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® 2007 award in the consumer products division and were national award finalists. He guided the business to its eventual sale to Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE: NLS) who purchased Octane Fitness for $115 million in December 2015 and transitioned out of his role at the end of 2016. Dennis has previously served on boards for Cascade and Torque Fitness. He currently serves on boards for HydroMassage and Twin Cities Lyme Foundation. Dennis earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.
Elissa Gittings joined our team in 2002 as an Executive Assistant. She provides administrative and business support across our team for our Managing Partners, Investment and Finance professionals as well as advisors. In addition to her responsibilities as an Executive Assistant, Elissa is also responsible for various office and building needs. Prior to joining NCP, she spent more than 20 years in the Institutional Equity and Trading industry, including 10 years with ABN AMRO. Elissa earned a B.B.A. from SUNY New Paltz with a focus in Industrial Psychology and is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition as a Board Certified Health Coach.
Job Titles:
- Industry Advisor
- Member of the North Castle
Gale Bensussen has been a member of the North Castle team since 1997, bringing more than 40 years of vitamin, minerals, and supplement industry experience and knowledge to our portfolio. He currently serves as the CEO of Doctor's Best, a former North Castle portfolio company, and was a founding partner and President of Leiner Health Products. Under his leadership, Doctor's Best has had strong financial performance and has experienced growth across its customer base, which helped lead to the partial sale of the company to a strategic raw materials supplier in 2015, 14 months following North Castle's investment. During his 32 years with Leiner Health Products, Gale facilitated one of the early leveraged buyouts, participated in a public offering, and transitioned the company to private equity. At both Doctor's Best and Leiner, he was instrumental in building a portfolio of companies that achieve strength in their categories while making inroads into new markets. His legal experience in regulatory affairs and corporate governance has served as an invaluable asset during his tenure on the boards of Leiner Health Products and Avalon Natural Products, as well as trade organizations such as CHPA and CRN. He has also served in numerous capacities at the University of Southern California (USC), including the Board of Trustees, President of the U.S. Alumni Association, Chairman of the School of Pharmacy Board of Councilors, and President of the Alumni Presidents Council. He co-founded the University's "Bensussen Translational Research Laboratory," dedicated to converting pharmaceutical research into accessible and beneficial health products. In addition, he founded Coral Street Partners, a nutritional products development firm focusing on women's health, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Southern California Chapter of the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association and previously served on the Board of Directors of Avalon and Healthnotes. He is a graduate of the USC Marshall School of Business and the Southwestern School of Law, and a member of the California Bar Association.
Gil Pritchard brings more than 35 years of natural products industry experience to North Castle. He most recently served as CEO of Mineral Fusion Natural Brands, North Castle's investment in natural mineral cosmetics, which was sold in 2017. Additionally, Gil currently serves on the Board of Directors for Palladio and previously was a member of the gloProfessional Board of Directors, a one-time North Castle portfolio company that was sold in 2013. Gil previously served as President and CEO of Avalon, a former North Castle portfolio company, which was sold to Hain Celestial Group in 2007. In addition to his success at Avalon, he has served as the CEO for two additional successful investor exits: nSpired Natural Foods and Barbara's Bakery. In each of these cases, Gil helped achieve sales and earnings growth that far exceeded industry averages by building greater brand equity and by recruiting and empowering superior management teams to execute company vision and values. Gil started his career at Oil of Olay and later moved on to Sunfield Foods (now Nestle). Gil is currently a member of the Advisory Board to gDiapers and served on the Class Executive Committee and as Chief Giving Officer for the West Point Class of 1970, specifically in support of the Endowment of the National Conference on Ethics in America (NCEA). Gil is also a retired Director of the Natural Products Association, gDiapers, gloprofessional, Nest Naturals, Dreamerz, and Lightful Foods. He was the 2006 and 2015 recipient of the North Castle CEO of the Year award and the prestigious Natural Products Industry Higher Ground Award. Gil earned his B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point and his M.E. from Columbia University. He is an ardent supporter and sponsor of the NCEA, Army West Point Rugby program, the Patriot Foundation Scholarship program (for Gold Star families), The Givens Memorial Library/Tufts Archived (Pinehurst NC) and the Albion (NY) HS Scholarship Trust.
Job Titles:
- Explore the Partner
- Partner
- North Castle in 2015 As a Vice President
Hemanshu Patel is a Partner with over 14 years of private equity investment experience. Hemanshu joined North Castle in 2015 as a Vice President and is actively involved in the execution and due diligence of new investment opportunities across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. Hemanshu was promoted to Principal in 2016 and to Partner in 2021. Hemanshu currently manages the Firm's investments in NEST New York, Sparx Hockey, Windham Mountain, The Escape Game, Full Swing, Turnbridge, and SLT. Prior to joining the North Castle team, Hemanshu was an investment professional at J.W. Childs Associates, bringing with him eight years of experience evaluating middle-market consumer and specialty retail opportunities. Prior to J.W. Childs Associates, he was an investment banking analyst at Citi, focusing on M&A and capital markets transactions in the technology, media and telecom sectors. Hemanshu earned a B.A. in Finance from Rutgers University, where he graduated with honors.
Jane Pemberton joined North Castle in 2008, bringing 25 years of branded multi-channel, lifestyle, and consumer products experience. As a consumer-focused and growth driven operator, Jane has applied her sales and marketing acumen in a variety of active roles for North Castle companies, particularly with respect to the social media and digital marketing campaigns. At Doctor's Best, Jane significantly enhanced the company's sales and marketing capabilities through increased engagement with key customers, optimized the product portfolio and re-launched the product development process, revised pricing structure, and implemented numerous customer-specific initiatives to support key partnerships. Prior to joining North Castle, Jane served in several senior level operating roles for market leading companies, including The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, Gaiam, and Mommy & Me Company, where she has demonstrated a strong track record of building profitable consumer branded businesses through innovative product development, marketing, distribution, and use of the digital landscape. Jane first harnessed the social power of the Internet at The Mommy & Me Company as President, where she conceived, built, and launched the nation's first, and still largest, online community of parent/child classes. As the Worldwide Divisional President of Gaiam, Inc., a $220 million lifestyle media company dedicated to personal health and well-being, Jane is credited with transforming the former "green" catalog company into the leading multi-channel healthy living lifestyle brand, overseeing its retail, direct-to-consumer ecommerce, and infomercial business. During her tenure at Gaiam, Jane oversaw the production of over 500 hours of award-winning programming, launched 150 branded health & wellness consumer products, built a 68,000-strong retail distribution network, and secured placement of 5,800 branded store-within-stores. She was also responsible for revitalizing the Billy Blanks and Firm brands through Direct Response Television and the establishment of paid web communities. Jane currently serves on the Board of Directors for Maya Kaimal, The Escape Game, ProSupps and Mynd Spa & Salon. Jane formerly served on the Board of Directors for Performance Bicycle. Jane is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, where she received her Bachelor of Arts.
Jay Galluzzo is an Industry Advisor with over 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive and investor. Jay has returned to his original role as an Operating Advisor, after serving as a Managing Director at North Castle for over three years. Jay has been actively involved in sourcing, managing and advising various investments, primarily in the fitness and experiential retail industries. Jay serves as Chairman to the board of Windham Mountain and is a board member of The Escape Game, Barry's, and Brooklyn Boulders. Prior to North Castle, Jay was the co-founder and CEO of Flywheel Sports, a leading innovator in boutique fitness, which he led from its launch in 2010 through a successful exit in 2014. During and after his tenure at Flywheel, Jay led early stage investments in emerging brands including Montauk Brewing, and served in an executive, advisory or board capacity for businesses including Neuehouse and Qor performance apparel. Earlier in his career, he held executive positions at Emigrant Capital and The Warnaco Group. Previously, Jay practiced law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Jay holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a director of Children's Rights and the current Chairman of YPO Gotham.
Jim Allwein has over 25 years of experience in financial management, planning, controls, procedures and compliance. Prior to becoming a North Castle Operating Advisor, Jim was the CFO of Atkins, a former North Castle company. He also held financial positions at Great Brands of Europe/Danone International Brands and Hitachi America. In his current Operating Advisor role, Jim has been deeply involved in assisting North Castle with finance and accounting due diligence and has also worked closely with the management teams of Maya Kaimal, Windham Mountain, Full Swing Golf, Kettlebell Kitchen, VitaCup and ProSupps. As CFO of Atkins from 2006 to 2015, Jim led the successful financial turnaround of the company which resulted in the doubling of sales and tripling of earnings and an eventual sale in 2010. During his tenure as Corporate Controller of Acirca-Walnut Acres, the company achieved $75 million in retail sales by its second year. Jim assisted with the sale of the company in 2004 and was appointed CFO of non-acquired division, Organic Ingredients. Jim earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Post College and attended Hitachi Overseas management training.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- North Castle in 2019 As an Associate
John McMahon joined North Castle in 2019 as an Associate. John currently works with the Firm's investments in BlueRoot Health, Brooklyn Boulders, CR Fitness, Encore Vet Group, and Turnbridge, and is actively involved in the execution and due diligence of new investment opportunities across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. Prior to joining North Castle, John worked as an investment banking Associate at Financo, where he focused on M&A advisory in the Consumer & Retail sector. John graduated cum laude from Georgetown University, where he earned a B.S.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the McDonough School of Business.
John Young applies his expertise in strategic human resources and organization design to the North Castle portfolio. From 1983 through 2004, John led and developed the human resources function for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts during a period of rapid global growth and enhancement of brand image through a strategic focus on personalized customer service. His role involved providing advice, policy guidance, and systems support to operating management, human resources, and corporate staff as the company expanded to more than 60 hotels and resorts in 29 countries with more than 32,000 employees. John also served as a member of the company's Management Committee and as staff liaison to the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors for more than 20 years. Prior to his work with Four Seasons, John served as Vice President of Human Resources, in various divisions of Lex Service Group for more than 12 years. John currently serves on the Board of Directors of Mynd Spa & Salon, Jenny Craig, Equinox Fitness, a former North Castle portfolio company, Network Hardware, and the Hospice Foundation for the Central Coast and previously served on the Board of Directors of Curves, and International Fitness. After graduating with an M.A. from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland), John completed post-graduate studies in Human Resources Management at the University of Strathclyde (Scotland). Later in his career, he also earned a M.S. in Organizational Behavior (with Honors) and holds the professional designation Certified Human Resources Practitioner (CHRP).
Job Titles:
- Explore the Partner
- Managing Partner
Jonathan ("Jon") Canarick is a Managing Partner with over 20 years of consumer private equity investment experience. Since joining North Castle in 2001, Jon has actively managed North Castle's investments across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors and across all job functions at North Castle. Having started his NCP career as an Associate, Jon has played a crucial role in the development of North Castle and many of its portfolio companies. Jon currently sits on the Board of Directors of Therabody, Five Iron Golf, Echelon Fit, CR Fitness, Encore Vet Group, The Escape Game, Barry's, and SLT. Previously, Jon served on the Board of Directors of Kettlebell Kitchen, Curves, Jenny Craig, Brooklyn Boulders, Palladio, Mineral Fusion, gloProfessional, Flatout, International Fitness, Enzymatic Therapy, Performance Bicycle, Avalon and DDF and was actively involved in the Firm's investment in Grand Expeditions. Prior to joining North Castle, Jon worked in the investment bank of Bear, Stearns & Co., where he executed leveraged buyout transactions. Jon earned a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Waters North America
- Industry Advisor
Kim Jeffery, formerly the Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Waters North America, brings 45 years of consumer products experience in the areas of sales, marketing, M&A, manufacturing, logistics, sustainability, and finance to our firm and our portfolio companies. After beginning his career at Kraft Foods and joining PepsiCo, Kim joined The Perrier Group of America in 1978, starting as a Division Manager and working his way through the ranks to President and CEO in 1992 when Nestle purchased the company's global holdings. Kim successfully managed the journey from entrepreneurial startup to mature multi-billion dollar market leader by focusing on organizational development and utilizing a values-based leadership model, which created a high performance culture. During his tenure as CEO, Nestlé Waters grew from $650 million in revenue with a 24% market share to $4.7 billion in sales and a 40% market share to become the leading bottled water company in North America as well as the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company in the U.S. At the time of his retirement in 2014, Nestlé Waters' sales had grown to $4.7 billion and employed 8,000 people. Kim currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Sprout, and on the Board of Directors of VitaCup, Full Swing Golf, Kendall Jackson Family Wines, Pratt/Visy Industries of Melbourne, Australia, Carbonlite Industries, and Stew Leonard's Markets. He also serves on the boards of Keep America Beautiful, The Connecticut Council for Education Reform, the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, CT, and on the Leadership Council of Americares. He is also an honorary board member of Kids In Crisis, based in Greenwich, and co-chaired the capital campaign to raise $8 million to unite the nursery shelter and the teen shelter in the same location. Kim previously served on the Board of Contigo, a North Castle portfolio company.
Leslie Fuda joined North Castle in 2019 and is actively involved in the execution and due diligence of new investment opportunities across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. Leslie currently works with the Firm's partner companies NEST New York, Sparx Hockey, EWC Growth Partners, Echelon Fitness, and Maya Kaimal Foods. Prior to joining the North Castle team, Leslie was an investment professional at Castanea Partners, where she evaluated middle-market consumer and specialty retail opportunities. Prior to Castanea Partners, she was an investment banking analyst at Credit Suisse, focusing on M&A and capital markets transactions in the industrials and business services sectors. Leslie earned a BA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin, where she graduated with honors.
Lorri Garnett joined North Castle in 2007 and has 30 years of private equity and public accounting experience. She is an experienced accountant with expertise in finance, accounting, and taxation of private equity. Lorri reports directly to the CFO, Alyse Skidmore, and is responsible for accounting, financial, tax, regulatory reporting and administration/HR of the Management Company. Lorri oversees North Castle's treasury function and is an integral part of Fund financial and tax reporting. Additionally, Lorri aids the CCO in SEC filings and other related compliance. Prior to joining North Castle, Lorri served as the Controller of private equity firms: Ophir Energy Corp. and Ferrer Freeman & Co. Lorri previously worked at KPMG and Price Waterhouse Coopers. Lorri earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Old Dominion University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Matt Britton is America's leading expert on the millennial generation having consulted for over half of the Fortune 500 over the past two decades. Matt brings to North Castle and our brand partners his unique ability to connect the dots between the new consumer culture of today and the business trends of tomorrow. Matt's best-selling book YouthNation, which debuted at #1 on Amazon's business book list, has created the modern day roadmap for brands and businesses to approach the millennial generation. In 2002, Matt founded MRY, a digital and social media marketing services agency, which he grew from a one-person startup to a global powerhouse with over 500 employees. Over the course of Matt's 14-year career at MRY, the agency he founded helped prominent global corporations including Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Ford Motors, Visa, and Google develop innovative strategies and successfully launch products aimed at the millennial generation. In 2011, MRY was acquired by the Publicis Groupe. In 2016, Matt joined CrowdTap as CEO, a company he incubated and spun-off from MRY in 2011. In 2017 CrowdTap was renamed Suzy. Through Suzy, a consumer intelligence platform which is being touted as ‘Siri for brands', Matt and his team are bringing the voice of real consumers directly to brands at scale and at the speed of culture, helping companies validate critical assumptions so they can focus on creating compelling new products, developing effective marketing strategies, and validating direct offers that increase conversion, improve path-to-purchase and drive growth.
Monty Sharma has been an integral part of the North Castle team since 1999. He has significant experience in consumer packaged goods, including more than 25 years of sales, marketing, finance, and operations experience and over 15 years of direct industry experience as the CEO of four North Castle portfolio companies. In addition to his current role as CEO of Curves/Jenny Craig, Monty has served as CEO of Atkins, Naked Juice, and EAS. In his current CEO role, he is leading the turnaround and combination/integration of Curves and Jenny Craig. Monty was deeply involved in the due diligence and development of the operating blueprint for Curves/Jenny Craig and is working closely with the North Castle team to revive these two iconic brands. As President and CEO of Atkins from 2007 to 2010, he assembled a 10-member senior management team to establish the infrastructure to rebuild the brand and drive growth. Under his leadership, sales doubled and earnings tripled in just three years, as he drove the effort to reformulate and relaunch the company's products and reposition the brand as a diet program, eventually leading to its successful sale in 2010. During his tenure as CEO of Naked Juice Company from 2005-2007, sales doubled, making the company the fastest growing premium refrigerated juice brand. Based on this successful execution, which increased distribution and streamlined the supply chain, the company was sold to PepsiCo. EAS was another success story for Monty. After serving as the company's CFO and COO from 1999 to 2003, he was promoted to President and CEO, where he drove a doubled sales and led the company's successful strategic sale to Abbott Laboratories. As a result of his contributions to the success of each of these North Castle investments, Monty received the North Castle CEO of the Year Award in 2004, 2008, and 2009. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calcutta, and a Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Business Administration from Southern Illinois University.
Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP, FACSM, a Pew Foundation Scholar in Nutrition and Metabolism, is an internationally recognized physician, scientist, and expert in the fields of integrative and preventive medicine. Pam has been recognized as one of the foremost physicians in America by the American Council of Consumers and has been honored as one of America's leading physicians by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is Chief Medical Correspondent for nutrition and fitness for the Discovery Health Channel, Chief Lifestyle Expert for WebMD, a regular in-studio health expert for the national television networks and contributing editor for several multimedia content channels. She is also the host of the HER radio show on RadioMD, iHeart, and iTunes. As spokesperson for the American College of Sports Medicine's Exercise is Medicine® global campaign, Pam is collaborating with the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, Let's Move, and the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Pam is a member of the Maryland Governor's Council on Fitness and holds the position of assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Pam is also a member of the National Senior Games Foundation Board and is a Senior Olympic triathlete. She is an accomplished author as well, having the written the New York Times bestseller Fight Fat After Forty, Body for Life for Women, and The Hunger Fix. She was the recipient of the National Research Science and Intramural Research Training Awards and is currently advisor to the NIH Office of Women's Research. A member of the North Castle team since 2001, Pam lends her extensive expertise to help shape the Firm's investments in fitness, nutrition, consumer health, and personal care. Pam has served on the Board of Directors of DDF, Atkins, and gloProfessional and is currently Chairperson of the Science Advisory Boards for Jenny Craig and Smarty Pants. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Pam earned dual master's degrees in public health and public policy and an M.D. from the University of Michigan. She completed her training at George Washington University, is board certified in internal medicine and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Sports Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- in 2008 As the Executive Assistant
Pamela Gerolimatos joined North Castle Partners in 2008 as the Executive Assistant for the Founder/Managing Partner and CFO. As a seasoned Executive Assistant, Pam joined NCP with more than 25-years of experience working for C level professionals primarily in the finance and private equity sectors. Pam has extensive experience with all administrative responsibilities from internal/external communications and scheduling to organizing firmwide functions including NCP's CEO conferences and Investor meetings. Additionally, Pam provides support to the finance team and is a certified public notary.
Peter Roy has been a driving force in America's natural products industry for more than 30 years, and part of the North Castle team since 1999. He was a founder of one of the original natural products retailers that would become the core of Whole Foods, and served as President of Whole Foods Market, the largest retailer of natural and organic products in the world, from 1993 until 1998. His visionary leadership, industry contacts, and deep insight into consumers of natural products play an invaluable role in the sourcing and assessing of new investment opportunities and the building of successful companies within the natural foods and personal products sectors. Peter has served on the Boards of Directors of three former North Castle portfolio companies: Avalon, Naked Juice, and Bora-Bora Organic Foods, as well as Applegate Farms and United Natural Foods. Peter is also a member of the Board of Directors of Performance Bicycle and Grow Food South Carolina, a non-profit food hub in Charleston. He was previously Chairman of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and an "Entrepreneur in Residence" at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business. He is also a co-author of "The Book of Hard Choices," published by Random House in 2007.
Job Titles:
- Founder of True Beauty Capital
- Industry Advisor
Richard Gersten, the Founder of True Beauty Capital and formerly a Managing Director of North Castle from 1999 to 2007, rejoined the North Castle team in 2020 as a strategic partner focusing on investments in the beauty and personal care sectors. Rich has over 26 years of experience in the private equity industry and has spent the last 6 years focused exclusively in beauty and personal care. Prior to founding True Beauty, Rich was a Partner at Tengram Capital Partners, a member of its investment committee and served on the Board of Directors of their eight beauty investments, including This Works, Laura Geller Beauty, Deva Curl and NEST Fragrances. True Beauty currently provides management advisory services to Tengram and Rich continues to serve on the boards of Cos Bar, Lime Crime, Algenist and ReVive Skincare. Prior to joining Tengram, Rich was formerly a Partner at Catterton Partners. He holds a BS from Union College and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Rob Reynolds has a broad and deep financial and general management perspective after serving in C-level positions beginning in 1986. These companies have ranged from start-ups to $40 million annual revenues to $800 million revenues. Most recently, Rob served as CEO of ProSupps from 2016 to 2018 and now serves as Executive Chairman. His first position in the health and wellness industry was CFO of Weider/Schiff beginning in 1990. As the company grew from a $40 million family-owned company to a $350 million NYSE company, his responsibilities expanded to include the COO role accountable for all functional areas. After leaving Weider in 1999, Rob co-founded Luxul, a broadband wireless equipment provider and served as CEO from 2000 to 2001. Schiff was ultimately purchased by Reckitt Benckiser in 2012 for $1.4 billion, and Luxul was purchased in 2016 by Legrand for $50 million on a $2 million initial capital investment. Rob also served as CFO of Leiner Health Products beginning in 2002 and was instrumental in the financial and operating turnaround that resulted in a successful $665 million sale in 2004. He later served as President/COO and ultimately as CEO until 2008. Rob has also served in senior executive roles at 2020 Communications, Cydcor, Pinnacle Security Arizona Nutritional Supplements and Genysis Brand Solutions. His specific experiences include constructing and starting up over 1 million square feet of manufacturing and distribution facilities, launching the first sports nutrition products in Walmart, Sam's and Costco, closing over $2 billion in various company acquisitions and sales, effectively managing challenging regulatory and legal situations, and hiring, training, leading, and managing many capable and successful executives, managers, and staff.
Roy Chin is a Principal at North Castle Partners with nine years of consumer private equity investment experience. Since joining North Castle in 2014 as an Associate, Roy has worked with the management teams of multiple portfolio companies across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. Roy currently assists in the management of North Castle's partnerships with Brooklyn Boulders, Echelon Fitness, Full Swing, SmartyPants Vitamins, Turnbridge, and Vital Nutrients and was actively involved in the firm's investments in Curves and Jenny Craig. Roy also helps lead the execution and due diligence of new investment opportunities. Prior to joining North Castle, Roy was an analyst in the Consumer & Retail group at Jefferies and an analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Oppenheimer. Roy graduated from New York University with a B.A. in Economics.
Job Titles:
- Industry Advisor
- President & CEO of Ignite USA
Sami El-Saden most recently served as President & CEO of Ignite USA, the North American market leader in environmentally safe reusable beverage containers. He transformed it from an industrial design firm into one of the fastest growing consumer product companies in the U.S. with over $300 million in sales. He sold the business to Newell Brands, one of the leading consumer goods companies in the world with over $16 billion in sales. Prior to Ignite, he held senior marketing and business development positions at Nestle USA, Favorite Brands International and EthnicGrocer.com, an internet start-up funded by Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark Capital and others. Sami spent his early career as an investment banker in corporate finance at Smith Barney, Harris Upham and Banker's Trust Company. Mr. El-Saden received his MBA from the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA and graduated with distinction in 1984 from Stanford University with a B.A. in Economics.