ACGLA State of PE MEMBERS ONLY Mar. 27th 2018 Tuesday - Montage

Riverside Company -  Jeremy Holland   Moderator: 

Jeremy is a Managing Partner with The Riverside Company, leading the firm’s Origination team. His team originates new platform and add-on acquisitions and growth capital investments across Riverside’s various fund strategies. Jeremy also serves as Riverside’s is the industry specialization head for franchising and also co-manages its exit processes. He has 20 years of lower middle market private equity experience. Prior to Riverside Jeremy worked with Vintage Fund Management, Wedbush Capital Partners and Buttonwood Capital. Jeremy holds a BS in finance from California State University, Northridge.

VMG Partners - David G. Baram, Co-Founder
   David has spent over 16 years in the consumer products and entertainment and media industries. In 2007, he co-founded the private equity firm VMG Partners, which has become an industry leader in investing and growing marketing-driven, branded consumer product companies. VMG collaborates closely with entrepreneurs and management teams to provide capital, resources and strategic guidance that accelerate growth and raise brand awareness. VMG has raised over $2 billion in capital to date; its current and past portfolio companies include leading brands in the food, wellness, sports nutrition, personal care, beverage, and pet categories, among others, such as Drunk Elephant, Natural Balance Pet Foods, Justin’s Nut Butters, Vega, Solid Gold Pet Products, Kind Healthy Snacks, Quest Nutrition, Pirates Booty, Waggin' Train Pet Treats, Pretzel Crisps and many others. Mr. Baram currently focuses on all aspects of the Fund's investment strategy, execution and portfolio company management, as well as leading its unique partnerships with media companies in the entertainment industry to provide marketing support to VMG portfolio companies.
   Prior to co-founding VMG, David served as President and COO of The Firm, the leading talent management and film/television/music production company in the entertainment industry. During his more than nine year tenure in that role, he and his partners at The Firm helped develop and manage the careers of many of the industries' leading artists, including Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Snoop Dogg, Martin Scorcese, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Criss Angel, and many others. He also raised over $50 million in private equity capital from investors such as Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital and acquired numerous other talent management and production companies.
During his tenure at the Firm, David also helped lead The Firm’s innovative consumer products group which combined entertainment marketing with owned-and-operated consumer product brands. He has executive produced over 100 episodes of television and is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

   David received his J.D. with Honors from Harvard Law School and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University with a B.A. in Economics.

Platinum Equity -  Bob Wymbs, Partner

Bob joined Platinum in 2000. He leads a mid-cap acquisition team and the Firm’s dedicated, in-house sell-side team. Prior to Platinum, he worked at the Los Angeles Dodgers and McKinsey & Company.  Investments with which he is directly involved include MegaPath, Clipper, Schutt and the recently divested Nilco.

Bob earned a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University and a Master's of Business Administration from the Wharton School.

Heather Smith Thorne - Swander Pace Capital, Managing Director

Heather Smith Thorne is a Managing Director and Partner at Swander Pace Capital, a private equity fund focused on investing in companies in the consumer products industry. In her role at Swander Pace Capital, Heather sources potential investments, leads the execution of buyout, recapitalization and growth equity transactions, and advises portfolio companies from a Board perspective.  She is currently the Chairman of J.R. Watkins, Passport Food Group and Voortman Cookies.   Heather is also a Director of Aden + Anais, Swanson Health Products, and Glo Skin Beauty, and a former Director of ReNew Life, Gilchrist & Soames and Pineridge Bakery, among others.  

Prior to joining Swander Pace Capital, Heather was a Vice President with Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyouts in the software and services industry segments.   She also spent several years in investment banking with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.  Heather received a MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where she was an Austin Scholar.  She also received B.A. from Vanderbilt University.  

Andrew M. Schwartz  - Levine Leichtman Capital Partners,  Senior Managing Director

Andrew is a Senior Managing Director at Levine Leichtman Capital Partners and is based in Los Angeles.  Andrew joined LLCP in 2011 and is a member of the firm’s Corporate Finance team, which is responsible for due diligence and execution of new investment opportunities as well as monitoring and adding value to portfolio companies.  Since joining LLCP, Andrew has led transactions across a broad array of industries, including Engineered Products, Business Services, Education, Franchising and Consumer Products.  Prior to joining LLCP, Andrew was a Vice President at Liberty Partners and an analyst at Jefferies & Company  Andrew attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a BS in Economics with a Concentration in Finance from the Wharton School and a BSE in Computer Science and Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Science.