Jerry Bowe – Former CEO, Vi-Jon
Jerry was the former CEO of Vi-Jon, one of the oldest private brand Health and Beauty Care manufacturers in the U.S., from 2011 to 2020. Prior to that, from 2008 to 2011, Jerry served as the CEO of Masterplan, a global meeting and event management company specializing in the corporate luxury market. Previously, he spent 6 years as the CEO of Avery Weigh-Tronix, a global provider of innovative weighing solutions and systems for industrial and commercial applications. From 1998 to 2002, Jerry served as the Chief Operating Officer of Malden Mills, the original manufacturer of Polartec fleece and other modern textiles.
John Bowlin – Former President and CEO, SAB Miller & Kraft Foods International
John currently serves as a director of various privately held companies and is a member of both the audit committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee for Spectrum Brands where he has served as a director since 2004. In 2007, John was appointed Chairman of the Board of Spectrum. John served as President and CEO of SABMiller PLC and held several senior executive positions at Phillip Morris Companies, Inc., including CEO of Miller Brewing Company; President and CEO of Kraft Foods International; and President and COO of Kraft North America; and President of Oscar Meyer Food Corporation. Additional industry experience includes various positions at General Foods Corporation.
Debbie Carosella – Former CEO, Madhava Foods
Debbie is the former CEO of Madhava Foods, a leading brand of natural sweeteners. Prior to joining Madhava Foods, Debbie served as the Senior Vice President of Innovation at WhiteWave Foods, a better-for-you food and beverage company comprised of well-known brands including Horizon Organic, the largest organic dairy brand in North America. Previously, Debbie spent 7 years with ConAgra Foods working across Marketing and Innovation where she served as Executive Vice President of Innovation across all temperature states and as General Manager of the Meals business unit, comprised of Chef Boyardee, Banquet Homestyle Bakes, Healthy Choice Soups and more. Debbie has served on the board of Lifecore Biomedical since 2017.
George Cleary – Managing Partner, Market Performance Group (“MPG”)
George is the Managing Partner of Market Performance Group, a consulting and sales management company serving prominent brands such as L’Oréal, Bayer, Ferrero, and more. Prior to joining MPG, George was President of Global Fragrances for Elizabeth Arden and CEO of Illuminage. Earlier, George spent 7 years at Coty in various positions, including as President, where he was responsible for a $1.2 billion business in the Americas. George started his career at Nestlé before moving to Johnson and Johnson, where he spent 15 years across several sales and general management positions in the personal care and beauty division. George currently serves on the board at RoC Skincare and as Executive Chairman at Milani Cosmetics, two Gryphon portfolio companies.
Michael Kaufman – Former President, Metromedia Restaurant Group
Michael is president of the restaurant group of Centerplate, an $800 million provider of foodservice in sports, convention, and entertainment venues. Michael previously served as President of the Dallas-based Metromedia Restaurant Group, which comprised the well-known restaurant brands of Bennigan’s, Steak and Ale, Bonanza, and Ponderosa, serving the casual and family restaurant segments, and generating system sales in excess of $1.3 billion. As the elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Restaurant Association from 2008 – 2009, Michael initiated and led a comprehensive strategic review and plan for the $600 billion restaurant industry’s principal trade association. Michael has served on the NRA board since 2001 and on the Board of Trustees of the NRA’s Educational Foundation (2000 – 2009).
Steve LaMonte – Former Vice President, APAC & LATAM, Johnson & Johnson
Steve is the former Executive Chairman of past Gryphon portfolio companies, Fleet Laboratories and Matrixx Initiatives, and is currently Executive Chairman for Gryphon portfolio companies, RoC Skincare and Metagenics. Prior to working with Gryphon, Steve was responsible for driving accelerated growth of Johnson & Johnson’s over-the-counter drug business in Asia and Latin America. Previously, Steve has worked in a myriad of roles across Consumer Health including Vice President Global Innovation & Strategy at J&J Consumer Healthcare; Vice President Latin America & Integrated Growth Solutions at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare; and Senior Vice President / General Manager at Schering-Plough Consumer Healthcare. Earlier, Steve worked for Nestlé and Unilever building franchise value in the food and beverage categories.
Patricia Lopez – Former CEO, High Ridge Brands
Patricia is the former CEO and board member of High Ridge Brands, a family of personal care brands including Zest, Alberto VO5, and Coast. Prior, Patricia spent 25 years at Procter & Gamble, serving as the General Manager of several divisions, including North America and LATAM Feminine Care. In her final role at P&G, Patricia was Vice President and General Manager P&G’s Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus division where she managed 200+ brands, oversaw more than 1,000 employees, and had P&L responsibility for $3.6bn in one of P&G’s top five markets. Patricia currently also serves on several Boards, including Domino’s and Virtue Labs, and is an advisor to Acreage Holdings.
Larry Peiros – Former COO, The Clorox Company
Larry is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Clorox Company, where he served for 32 years from 1980 to 2012 and held the COO role from 2007 to 2012. In addition to wielding overall responsibility for Clorox’s businesses, Larry also oversaw the Marketing, Sales, Research & Development and Product Supply functions, as well as Clorox’s Eco Office. Prior to his role as COO, Larry served as Group Vice President of the company’s Household Group from 1999 to 2007 and had overall responsibility for its U.S. Laundry and Home Care, Auto Care and Brita® water-filtration products businesses, as well as Clorox Canada. Larry currently serves as a Director on the boards of Ross Stores and Potlatch Corporation.
Jody Pinson – Former Vice President, Head Beauty & Pet Care, Walmart
Jody Pinson is the former Vice President, Head of Beauty for Walmart US. She was responsible for developing merchandising strategies, managing supplier relationships, operational alignment for 4,500 stores, and overseeing a team of buyers. Prior to this role, Jody was Vice President, Head of Pet Care, responsible for leading the Walmart US Merchandising Pet Strategy and a team of buyers. She has also held buying roles in Sporting Goods and the Stationery categories, as well as Store Management roles in operations. She originally joined Walmart in April of 1990, having a total of 28 years of service. Jody currently serves on the board at Milani Cosmetics, a Gryphon portfolio company.
George Riedl – Former Executive Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising, Walgreens
George Riedl is President of Advanced Marketing & Sales, a marketing, sales and consultancy agency that represents brand and private brand consumer products manufacturers to Walgreens. Previously, George spent 27 years with Walgreens. He served as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising, overseeing all supplier negotiations, procurement, promotional planning, product marketing, and store merchandising for the entire $63 billion retail chain, including pharmacy, health and wellness, cosmetics, fashion, personal care, consumables, electronics, seasonal, sundries, private brands, and photofinishing. George also served as Senior Vice President of Pharmacy Innovation and Purchasing at Walgreens, overseeing enterprise-wide procurement of more than $30 billion of pharmaceuticals as well as all pharmacy innovation (retail and mail).
George Roeth – Former President and CEO, Central Garden & Pet
George led Central Garden & Pet as the President and CEO from 2016-2019, having been on the Board of Directors since 2015. Prior to joining Central Garden & Pet, George held various positions at The Clorox Company. During his twenty-seven year career at Clorox, George progressed through multiple positions, including Vice President of Growth and Marketing, Senior Vice President and General Manager, and most recently as Chief Operating Officer of Lifestyle, Household and Global Operating Functions. George currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Oil-Dri Corporation of America and of the East Oakland Youth Development Foundation.
Marc Rovner – Former CEO, Matrixx Initiatives
Marc is the former CEO of Matrixx Initiatives, a former Gryphon portfolio company offering over-the-counter cold and allergy relief products under the ZICAM brand. Under Marc’s leadership, Matrixx grew market share, expanded distribution, and successfully launched innovation, leading to a strategic exit to Church & Dwight. Prior to Matrixx, Marc spent 8 years at Boehringer Ingelheim, where he was responsible for the the U.S. Consumer Healthcare business as General Manager from 2012 to 2016. Previously, Marc worked across the Consumer Health industry with roles as the Managing Director at SmartAnalyst; Vice President Global New Markets at Pfizer; and Vice President, Oral Care at Warner Lambert. Marc currently serves on the board of Repipe Specialists, a Gryphon portfolio company.
Chris Shimojima – Former Vice President, Global Digital Commerce, Nike
Chris is the former CEO of Provide Commerce, a leading online provider of gifts such as flowers, chocolates and jewelry. Previously, Chris served as the Vice President, Global Digital Commerce of Nike. In this position, Chris oversaw the direct-to-consumer ecommerce businesses globally for the Nike Brand, Cole-Haan, Converse, and Hurley. Chris joined Nike from Sears where he served as the Vice President / General Manager of their direct-to-customer businesses that included Sears.com, Kmart.com, Kenmore.com, and a portfolio of specialty catalogs. Chris spent the first third of his professional career practicing classical brand management with companies like Tambrands, Nestlé and Pepsi-Cola. Chris currently serves on the board of two Gryphon portfolio companies, Metagenics and Milani Cosmetics, as well as on the board of Implus and Kirkland’s.
Michelle Taylor – Former CEO, Kate Somerville Skincare
Michelle is the former CEO of Kate Somerville, a leading skincare brand acquired by Unilever in 2015. Previously, Michelle served as Senior Operating Partner at JH Partners where she oversaw the firm’s beauty and personal care investments. Michelle joined JH Partners from Gunthy Renker where she served as Senior Vice President and was responsible for new product development. Michelle also served as President of Kiehl’s Since 1851, acquired by L’Oréal in 2000. Additional previous roles include Senior Vice President, Marketing, Lancôme and Senior Vice President and General Manager, Frederic Fekkai, Chanel. Michelle currently serves on the board at Gryphon portfolio companies RoC Skincare, Revision-Goodier, and Milani Cosmetics.