Robert Brown, Co-founder and Managing Director

Robert co-founded Encore Consumer Capital in 2005. Prior to ECC, Robert was a partner at Swander Pace Capital ("SPC"), a private equity fund focused on investments in the consumer products industry. Robert is Chairman of Encore portfolio companies Aidells, The Isopure Company and PhillySwirl. Robert was previously Director of New Business Development at Foster Farms where his responsibilities included the general management of Foster's $75MM Prepared Foods Division and corporate development. Robert began his professional career in the consumer products industry in 1991 as a consultant at Swander Pace & Company, where over time he became a Principal. He advised consumer products companies and private equity firms on matters of corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions and competitive assessment. Robert received a B.S. and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

Gary Smith, Managing Director and Founder, Encore Associates

Gary has a distinguished career in grocery marketing, merchandising and retail operations spanning more than 40 years. Prior to founding Encore Associates, he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Safeway where he was credited with the development and implementation of many of Safeway's industry-leading merchandising and marketing programs during his watch. These include Safeway's category management process, Safeway's customer loyalty card and the company's premium private label Safeway SELECT brands. He was also responsible for the rollout of Safeway's first computer-assisted forward buying system and the consolidation of Safeway's corporate advertising, pharmacy merchandising, buying and pricing functions into a single corporate group. In 1998 Mr. Smith accepted The Private Label Manufacturers Associations "Retailer of the Year" for his role in the development of the Safeway SELECT brand and private label merchandising strategy. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Treehouse Foods, The Winery Exchange and a member of the Advisory Boards of the Western Association of Food Chains, Niman Ranch, Inc. and Special Cases, Inc.

Kevin Murphy, Vice President

Kevin joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2005. Previously, he was an Associate with Genstar Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm focused on middle market buyouts. Kevin also served as Genstar Capital's chief financial officer prior to transitioning to a principal investing role. Prior to his tenure at Genstar Capital, Kevin was a certified public accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the firm's San Francisco and Boston offices. Kevin received a B.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst cum laude and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Bill Shen, Vice President

Bill joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2008. Prior to Encore, he led corporate development for Nest Naturals, a natural and organic consumer products company. Bill began his career at Swander Pace & Company (now Kurt Salmon Associates), a strategy consulting firm servicing food, beverage, apparel, and retail clients. After KSA, Bill led the food and beverage practice of a boutique investment bank. Bill graduated with a B.A. in Public Policy from Stanford University.

Kisen Nathu, Associate

Kisen joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2006. Previously, he was an Investment Associate at CapitalSource Finance, where he focused on providing senior financing facilities for middle-market companies. Prior to joining CapitalSource, Kisen was an Associate at Piper Jaffray & Co., where he focused on mergers and acquisitions in the consumer sector. Kisen also worked as an analyst in the investment banking division at Morgan Keegan & Co. Mr. Nathu earned a B.S. in Economics from Duke University.

Raigan Suiter, Office Manager

Raigan joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2007. Previously, she was an Office Manager at Groupe Insearch where she managed all aspects of running the San Francisco office and assisted in the opening of their satellite office in San Mateo. Prior to joining Groupe Insearch, Raigan was a recruiter at Insurance Personnel Services. Raigan earned a B.S. in Psychology magna cum laude from Saint Mary's College of California and an M.S. in Marketing magna cum laude from Golden Gate University.

Scott Sellers, Co-founder and Managing Director

Scott co-founded Encore Consumer Capital in 2005. Prior to ECC, Scott was a partner at Swander Pace Capital ("SPC"), a private equity fund focused on investments in the consumer products industry. Scott is Chairman of Encore's portfolio companies Ciao Bella, Juice Tyme and MyChelle. While at SPC, he served as a Director of numerous consumer companies including Eagle Pack Pet Food, Liberty Brand Products, Nonni's Food Company, and ST Specialty Foods. Scott's experience in the consumer products industry began in 1994 at Swander Pace & Company where he advised consumer products companies and private equity firms on matters of corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions and competitive assessment. Scott received a B.S. with distinction and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University. He is also a member of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society.

Ryan Caldbeck, Vice President

Ryan joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2007. Previously he was with TSG Consumer Partners (formerly The Shansby Group), where he worked with portfolio companies and was responsible for new deal origination and diligence. Previously Ryan was with The Boston Consulting Group, where he supported companies in a variety of industries, including retail, industrial manufacturing and financial services. Ryan also worked for Bain Capital's private equity group. He earned a dual B.A. from Duke University, where he graduated cum laude with High Distinction in Public Policy and Psychology, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He also was a member of the National Championship basketball team at Duke.

Megan Pirsch, Vice President

Megan joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2005. Previously, she was an Associate with Swander Pace Capital ("SPC"), a private equity fund focused on controlled leveraged buyouts in the consumer products industry. While at SPC, she worked with REEF, totes Isotoner, Frozen Specialties, Inc., Nonni's Food Company, Fresh Food Concepts and Answer Products. Prior to joining Swander Pace Capital in 2002, Megan was with Harris Williams & Co., a leading middle market investment bank. At Harris Williams, she was a member of the team that founded the San Francisco office and advised several consumer products companies in transactions and acquisition searches. Megan received a B.S. from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce.

Vanessa Stanley-Miller, Senior Associate

Vanessa joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2007. Vanessa is on the board of Encore's portfolio company MyChelle. Previously, she was an Associate at J.P. Morgan Partners, LLC ("JPMP"), the private equity division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. While at JPMP, Vanessa focused on manufacturing and service companies. Prior to JPMP, Vanessa worked in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley where she was a member of the Financial Sponsors group. Vanessa also spent time working for a Menlo Park based consumer start-up called Alter-G. Vanessa graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude with her B.A. in Economics from Columbia University and received her M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Dan Gross, Associate

Dan joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2008. Previously, he was an Associate Consultant with L.E.K. Consulting, where he focused on due diligence engagements for private equity firms as well as corporate growth strategy development. Dan earned a B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University.

Gary Smith, Former SVP, Corporate Marketing, Safeway

Gary has a distinguished career in grocery marketing, merchandising and retail operations spanning more than 40 years. Prior to founding Encore Associates, he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Safeway where he was credited with the development and implementation of many of Safeway's industry-leading merchandising and marketing programs during his watch. These include Safeway's category management process, Safeway's customer loyalty card and the company's premium private label Safeway SELECT brands. He was also responsible for the rollout of Safeway's first computer-assisted forward buying system and the consolidation of Safeway's corporate advertising, pharmacy merchandising, buying and pricing functions into a single corporate group. In 1998 Mr. Smith accepted The Private Label Manufacturers Associations "Retailer of the Year" for his role in the development of the Safeway SELECT brand and private label merchandising strategy. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Treehouse Foods, The Winery Exchange and a member of the Advisory Boards of the Western Association of Food Chains, Niman Ranch, Inc. and Special Cases, Inc.

Stu Brannon

Stu retired after 32 years in the Consumer Products Grocery Industry as National Director of Trade Relations for the Georgia-Pacific Corporation. Stu held a number of senior sales management positions throughout his career, beginning with Crown Zellerbach, and acted as company spokesman and liaison with the major Trade Industry Associations for James River and Fort James prior to its acquisition by Georgia-Pacific. Stu received a BA in Marketing from the University of Hawaii, and an MBA from Pepperdine University. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Food Industry Management, has served as the Chairman of the Scholarship Committee of the Asparagus Club since 1995, and has been an Illuminator since 1983.

Al Curran

Al Curran has more than 42 years of senior management experience within the consumer packaged goods industry. Prior to joining Encore Associates, Al served as Western Regional Vice President at Keebler Foods. Prior to Keebler, he served as Vice President of Sales at Mothers Cookies.

Patrick Kiernan,

Patrick has over 30 years experience in the retail grocery, warehousing and consumer packaged goods industriesHe currently operates his own consulting group focusing on growth strategies and emerging issues with an emphasis on consumer future forces, E-commerce, and trade policy development.

Patrick joined Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) in 1988 as VP of Industry Relations. He continued on as SVP of Strategy and Emerging Issues and directed GMA's industry re-engineering efforts in both the grocery and foodservice industries. Patrick continues to serve as GMA's Sr. Counselor for Strategic and Emerging Issues.

Before GMA, he spent 18 years at Safeway; 7 years as the Corporate Division Mgr. of Industrial Engineering. Early in Patrick's career, he gained experience as a buyer and industrial engineer with both Kenworth Motor Truck Co. and the Boeing Co.

Peter Larkin

Peter has over 30 years of experience in public affairs, government relations, and environmental affairs for the food industry. Peter was the President & CEO of California grocers Association (CGA), a non-profit, statewide food industry association that provides legislative, regulatory, communications, educational and industry relations support for its members. He also served as the President of the CGA Educational Foundation and is an officer of the California Shopping Cart Retrieval Corporation.

Dan Nelson

Dan has 33 year distinguished career with major Fortune 500 Companies including Hanes, Schering Plough, Dowbrands and the Dial Corporation where he served as Corporate Vice President and President through 2004. His recent role has been with GMDC, a CPG Industry Trade Association where he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing & Chief Operating Officer focused on membership that includes over 200 chain retailers and 700 suppliers working to develop Health, Beauty, Wellness, Natural Products and General Merchandise categories.

Dan has extensive experience in leading teams and organizational change, strategic planning, and business acquisition/integration as well as, extensive background with U.S. and Global retailers in building successful business development plans. He served on the E.F. Board of Directors at GMDC and has been involved with a number of committees in the CPG Industry during his industry tenure.

Don Reid

Don Reid's career spans more than 37 years in the food brokerage industry. Prior to joining Encore Associates, Don served as Vice President of Trade Relations at Acosta Sales & Marketing Co., the largest food broker in the U.S., where he managed all northern California retailers including Safeway corporate. Prior to Acosta, he was Executive Vice President of Bromar and president of Rex Food Brokerage. Don began his career with Philip Morris USA.

Colon Washburn

Colon Washburn is a candid and competitive executive with 22 years experience with Wal*Mart (EVP of Sam's Club and SVP of Wal*Mart), 3 years with Bentonville Associates Ventures, LLC (Supply Chain Consultants), and 2 years as CEO of Fresh America Corporation ($250 million Produce Company). His diverse background includes: product development, marketing, advertising, operations, acquisitions, divestitures, P&L responsibility, international and "workouts".

Joe Benites

Joe has more than 25 years of experience in retail sector and CPG company management. His leadership experiences includes the following roles: National Sales Manager of Nabisco-Gamesa, President of Next Generation Marketing Associates (Hispanic Marketing Company), Executive Vice President of Pacific Star Corporation (Cuetera Cookies from Spain), Executive Director of the Mexican American Grocers Association (MAGA), and the Adolph Coors Brewing Company as an Assistant to the President. Joe is a recognized expert on the Hispanic marketing and the Hispanic consumer.

As a consultant, Joe has designed and executed sales and promotion programs for manufacturers such as Schering-Plough Healthcare, Nestle, Disney, Univision, Pfizer, Avandia, Tampico, Bush's Beans, Johnson & Johnson, McNeil Pharmaceutical.

Sandy Campbell, Advisory Board Member, Encore Associates, Inc.

Sandy has more than 35 years of experience in the wholesale and retail grocery marketing field. Prior to her retirement from Safeway as Director of Specialty Marketing, Sandy was charged with building a centralized specialty foods team at Safeway and with consolidating purchasing into a national distributor network. She is an expert in ethnic, natural, and gourmet foods and in developing demographically focused programs through specialty foods. Additionally, Sandy has many years experience leading the marketing programs for a chain of price impact stores. Sandy was the first woman inducted into the Sales Manager's Club of San Francisco Hall of Fame in 2002.

Tom DeMott, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner

Tom DeMott has more than 26 years of experience in the retail food industry focused on marketing, procurement and merchandising of meat, poultry and seafood at major retailers including Safeway, Kroger and Kings Super Market. Prior to joining Encore Associates, Tom served as Vice President of Corporate Meat Merchandising at Safeway where he was recognized as the industry's first retail executive to apply category management principles to the meat department in its entirety. During his Safeway tenure, Tom consolidated the procurement of all meat and seafood products. He also developed a successful branding strategy, the first club marketing scale tool in the meat case and specific merchandising techniques targeting localized demographics.

Richard "Dick" King, Advisory Board Member, Encore Associates, Inc.

Richard King has a distinguished career in the retail food industry, including 36-years at Albertsons, where he last served as the grocery retailer's President and COO. In this capacity, King was responsible for a $16 billion operation with nearly 1,000 stores and 100,000 employees. Prior to joining Encore Associates, Dick served as President and CEO of Labor Ready (NYSE: LRW), a leading provider of temporary manual labor. In this role, Dick created a national sales program that improved sales and profit, implemented successful cost control measures and established a strong management team. Dick is a member of the Board of Directors of the Western Association of Food Chains and Trus Jois International.

Lee Merritts, Senior Partner, Encore Associates, Inc.

Lee Merritts began his 32-year career with Procter & Gamble in sales in the St. Louis Paper Products Division. He was promoted through several key leadership positions including Manager of Paper Products Operations, Safeway Team Leader, and Western Food Food Channel Leader. He represented P&G as leader of Western Industry Affairs, culminating in election as Headlite of the Illuminators. Lee ended his P&G career as Director of North American Diversity Strategy. P&G recognized his contributions by naming a perpetual Diversity Achievement Award in his honor.

Glynn Phillips, Board of Director Member, Encore Associates, Inc.

Glynn Phillips is a 40-year veteran of the consumer packaged goods industry. Prior to joining Encore Associates, Glynn served as the Executive Vice President of Sales at Del Monte Foods, where he continues to work in an advisory capacity. Prior to Del Monte Foods, Glynn served as Vice President of Sales at the Clorox Company after holding the position of National Sales Manager at Colgate Palmolive. Glynn is active on several industry boards including Grocery Manufacturers of America, Food Marketing Institute and ASMC.

Steve Roath, Board of Director Member, Encore Associates, Inc.

Steve Roath acquired more than 38 years of senior management experience in drug retail and pharmacy operations at California-based Longs Drugs Stores, the company at which he began working as a pharmacist and retired from as CEO. At Longs Drugs, Steve was credited with developing critical information systems to manage the company's pricing, automating ordering and supply chain initiatives as well as creating a centralized purchase and distribution system of prescription drugs, which has been recognized as the most efficient and effective system in the industry. Steve also has been recognized for his role in automating the retail pharmacy business by developing a highly automated prescription fill center in a joint venture with Bergen Brunswig Drug Company. In addition, he guided Longs Drugs into the e-commerce space with the storewide introduction of Longs.com, an e-mail prescription refill system.

The business backgrounds of the investment team are diverse and include general management, consulting, investment banking and investing. This diversity has been further strengthened by the knowledge gained through investing together over several business cycles and across many consumer products categories.