L Catterton Establishes Impact Fund Platform

Dedicated to growing the next generation of mission-driven consumer companies whose missions include making the economy cleaner, healthier, and more equitable 

Appoints Tehmina Haider and Michael O'Leary as Partners to lead the strategy

GREENWICH, Conn., Oct. 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- L Catterton, the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm, today announced the establishment of its impact investing platform and the appointment of Tehmina Haider and Michael O'Leary as Partners to lead the strategy. The Impact Fund will partner with the next generation of mission-driven consumer companies, harnessing the firm's demonstrated ability to build leading and category-defining brands. It seeks to deliver both attractive risk-adjusted returns and significant progress against some of the world's most pressing social and environmental challenges.

The Impact Fund platform will leverage L Catterton's extensive resources and capabilities to invest and grow consumer companies whose missions include making the economy cleaner, healthier, and more equitable. The Fund will focus on businesses that mitigate climate change, reduce waste, and preserve nature; eliminate disparities in health, wellness, and nutrition; and create a more inclusive economy by expanding access to the financial system and improving education and workforce development.

"As consumer-focused investors above all else, we have seen a revolution in consumer demand based on sustainability and impact. This is hitting a tipping point as younger generations lead a structural, long-term shift towards brands anchored on these values," said Scott Dahnke, Global Co-CEO of L Catterton. "With our distinctive insights and operations-centric approach to value creation, we are poised to identify the most attractive investment opportunities amidst this shift and partner with strong companies in advantaged categories to accelerate growth."

"Since our inception 33 years ago, we have been proud to back many best-in-class sustainable consumer companies. We are confident that now is the right time to launch a dedicated impact fund platform that will further enable us to support mission-driven entrepreneurs and companies where impact is a core driver of the brand," said Michael Chu, Global Co-CEO of L Catterton. "Tehmina and Michael bring deep experience in consumer and impact investing, and we look forward to leveraging their leadership as we establish this platform."

Ms. Haider, who was formerly a senior investor in L Catterton's Growth Fund, re-joins the firm from Harry's, Inc., where she served as the company's Chief Growth Officer. In that role, she was responsible for incubating and acquiring new brands, as well as overseeing their operations after launch or acquisition. During her time at L Catterton, she helped lead compelling investments across the beauty, personal care, apparel, and pet categories. Prior to L Catterton, she was a consumer investor at Castanea Partners and worked on the strategy and new business development team at Estée Lauder. She began her career at Bain & Company.

Mr. O'Leary was previously with Engine No. 1, where he served as a Managing Director. Prior to that, he was on the founding team of Bain Capital's impact fund and an investor on its private equity fund. He is the co-author of the book 'Accountable: The Rise of Citizen Capitalism' (HarperCollins 2020), which profiles the challenges and opportunities of impact investing. He and his work have been featured in publications including The Atlantic, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, the Harvard Business Review, and The New York Times.

"Mission driven brands and businesses are revolutionizing the consumer economy as they increasingly attract disproportionate interest from consumers and loyalty from employees," said Ms. Haider. "The launch of L Catterton Impact creates an opportunity to harness L Catterton's distinctive insights and expertise to support this next generation of brands to achieve both outsized growth and meaningful positive impact to the planet."

"L Catterton has seen how impact can drive economics at consumer companies today. We now have the opportunity to make significant progress against some of our biggest social and environmental challenges by scaling this next generation of companies," said Mr. O'Leary. "The future of the consumer sector is increasingly sustainable, inclusive, and equitable, and we're building L Catterton Impact to help lead that transformation."

With more than $33 billion of equity capital across its fund strategies and 17 offices around the world, L Catterton is the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad strategic network of relationships, L Catterton's team of nearly 200 investment and operating professionals support management teams around the world in building strong, category-leading brands. Since 1989, the firm has made approximately 250 investments in consumer businesses. For more information about L Catterton, please visit lcatterton.com.

Media Contact:
Julie Hamilton
Managing Director, Firm Communications
[email protected]
203.742.5185

SOURCE L Catterton