JUPITER ISLAND, FLA. — Alan D. Wilson, retired president and chief executive officer of McCormick & Co., Inc., and John Yamin, former CEO of Aryzta Americas, are part of a board of special advisers for a newly formed private equity firm focused on growing branded consumer products in the food and beverage space.
Jove Island Capital will be led by Marc Pinto as co-chief executive officer and director and by Gregory D. Johnson as co-CEO, chief financial officer and director.
Mr. Pinto was a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors for 26 years. As lead portfolio manager for the Janus Twenty Fund, Janus Henderson Growth and Income Fund, and Janus Henderson Balanced Fund, he is a repeat winner of the Lipper Refinitiv Award in the multi-asset category. Earlier, he was an associate in the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs Co., where he advised a number of consumer brands, including Anheuser Busch and PepsiCo, Inc.
Mr. Johnson has more than 27 years of investment experience, most recently as a portfolio manager at American Funds/Capital Group. Earlier, he worked as an investment analyst at American Funds/Capital Group. In addition, he has served on several internal boards at Capitol Group.
Martin Salomon is senior vice president of Jove Island Capital. Mr. Salomon has three decades of experience working with institutional investors, investment funds and both private and public companies.
“We started our firm with one simple mission: to help owners of great consumer brands realize their vision,” Mr. Pinto said. “We are passionate about collaborating with proven management teams to help strong brands accelerate their growth while simultaneously creating attractive returns for our investors.”
Jove Island Capital also has formed a board of special advisers, including several with high-level experience in the food and beverage industry. In addition to Mr. Wilson and Mr. Yamin, the board includes Eric Katzman, co-chief investment officer and partner for Rockingstone Advisors. Mr. Katzman spent many years as an equity research analyst at Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank evaluating the consumer packaged goods industry.
Other members of the special advisory board include: Juliette Hickman, former investment analyst for Capital World Investors, part of The Capital Group Companies; Michalis Imellos, non-executive director for Coca-Cola HBC Finance BV; Rebecca Messina, senior adviser with McKinsey & Co.; and Ronald Hopkinson, former partner at Cooley LLP.
“We are thrilled and honored to have a team of industry leaders make up our board of special advisers,” Mr. Johnson said. “Our collective experience, insights, resources and professional relationships worldwide will be key to helping management teams scale their businesses, drive growth and increase profitability.”