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Consumer

General Atlantic’s mission in the Consumer sector is to partner with and support the founders and management teams of the world’s most innovative and authentic high growth consumer brands and retail concepts. We are global investors who aim to help companies capitalize on growth opportunities within and beyond their core geographies, and we can provide resources to help with key initiatives such as retail expansion, digital growth, and technology investment. We are active across a wide variety of Consumer subsectors, including recent investments in beauty, restaurants, and apparel brands.

Our Current and Former Consumer Portfolio VIEW ALL

Absolute Barbecue ×

Absolute Barbecue is a leading chain of casual-dining restaurants with locations in India and the Middle East.

  • Region: India & Southeast Asia
  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: Chennai, India
  • Date Invested: 11/9/2017
  • Visit Website

Authentic Brands Group ×

Authentic Brands Group (ABG) is a leading brand development, management, and licensing business with a diversified portfolio of brands across lifestyle, sports and celebrity & entertainment sectors.

  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: New York, NY
  • Date Invested: 10/25/2017
  • Visit Website

Grupo Axo ×

Grupo Axo is a leading multi-brand, multi-segment retail group, specialized in apparel, fashion accessories, beauty and personal care.

  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: Mexico City, Mexico
  • Date Invested: 10/12/2017
  • Visit Website

Capital Foods ×

Capital Foods is a fast growth niche Indian packaged foods company that has built a leading position in the Indian-Chinese cuisine category through its wide offering of sauces, condiments, ready-to- eat noodles, soups and snacks under its ‘Ching’s’ and ‘Smith & Jones’ brands.

  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: Mumbai, India
  • Date Invested: 04/25/2018
  • Visit Website

SÉZANE ×

SÉZANE is a leading digitally native, Parisian fashion brand, founded by Morgane Sézalory.

  • Region: EMEA
  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: Paris, France
  • Date Invested: 05/25/2018
  • Visit Website

Today Inc. ×

Today Inc. is a leading Chinese convenience store brand which utilizes a tech-enabled, next-generation retail model to offer customers a differentiated experience.

  • Region: China
  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: Wuhan, China
  • Date Invested: 06/1/2018
  • Visit Website

European Wax Center ×

European Wax Center is a leading beauty lifestyle brand franchise, offering customers a full suite of hair waxing services, as well as its own line of beauty products in the skincare, body, and brow categories.

  • Region: United States
  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: Hallandale Beach, FL
  • Date Invested: 09/25/2018
  • Visit Website

Grove Collaborative ×

Grove Collaborative is an online retailer of natural and environmentally friendly household and personal care products in the U.S.

  • Region: United States
  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
  • Date Invested: 01/11/2019
  • Visit Website

Depop ×

Depop is a peer-to-peer fashion resale marketplace popular with Gen Z consumers.

  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
  • Date Invested: 06/7/2019
  • Visit Website

FORMA ×

FORMA Brands is an incubator, accelerator, and curator of next-generation beauty brands.

  • Sector: Consumer
  • Headquarters: Burbank, CA
  • Date Invested: 08/16/2019
  • Visit Website

Consumer Sector Team VIEW ALL

Andrew Crawford

Managing Director,
Global Head of Consumer
New York

Andrew Crawford ×

Andrew Crawford is a Managing Director and Global Head of General Atlantic’s Consumer sector. Andy serves on the firm’s Management Committee and is Chairman of the Portfolio Committee. Before joining General Atlantic in 2014, he was a senior member of Advent International’s investment team where he focused on the Consumer sector.

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Andrew Ferrer

Managing Director New York

Andrew Ferrer ×

Andrew Ferrer is a Managing Director at General Atlantic and focuses on investments in the Consumer sector. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2014, Andrew worked at Sycamore Partners, Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners, where he also focused primarily on consumer investments. Andrew started his career in the Private Equity Group at Goldman Sachs.

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Shaw Joseph

Managing Director, Technology Buyouts New York

Shaw Joseph ×

Shaw Joseph is a Managing Director at General Atlantic and focuses on corporate buyouts in the technology sector. Since joining General Atlantic in 2012, Shaw has also been an active contributor to the firm’s Consumer and Technology investment teams. Before General Atlantic, he was an Associate with Hellman & Friedman. Shaw began his career at Greenhill & Co.

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Martín Escobari

Co-President,
Managing Director,
Head of Global Growth Equity
New York, São Paulo

Martín Escobari ×

Martín Escobari is Head of Global Growth Equity, Co-President, Managing Director and Head of General Atlantic’s business in Latin America. Martín is Chairman of the firm’s Investment Committee and also serves on the Executive, Management and Portfolio Committees.

Before joining General Atlantic in 2012, Martín was a Managing Director at Advent International where he focused on the financial services sector. Prior to that, he was Co-Founder and CFO of Submarino.com, a leading Brazilian online retailer that went public on the Bovespa and was sold to Lojas Americanas in 2006. Martin started his career as a management consultant at The Boston Consulting Group.

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Sandeep Naik

Managing Director,
Head of India & Southeast Asia
Singapore

Sandeep Naik ×

Sandeep Naik is a Managing Director and Head of General Atlantic’s business in India & Southeast Asia. He is also a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Before joining General Atlantic in 2012, Sandeep served as a Partner and Co-Head of India for Apax, leading investments in the healthcare, financial and business services and retail and consumer sectors. Earlier in his career, he was Global Marketing Manager at Medtronic Inc., a scientist at Mayo Clinic, and a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. He is also the Co-Founder of InfraScan Inc., a medical device business focused on detecting bleeding inside the brain using a handheld device. Sandeep was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and has served on the Global Agenda Council of New Order of Economic Thinking.

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Joern Nikolay

Advisory Director Munich

Joern Nikolay ×

Joern Nikolay is an Advisory Director at General Atlantic. Prior to becoming a Senior Advisor, Joern served as Managing Director and Head of DACH at General Atlantic since 2012, where he led General Atlantic’s business in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as part of the EMEA team. Before joining General Atlantic in 2008, Joern was an Associate at TA Associates in London. Prior to that, he was a Case Team Leader at Bain & Company in Düsseldorf, and an Analyst at Morgan Stanley in Frankfurt.

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Shantanu Rastogi

Managing Director, Head of India Mumbai

Shantanu Rastogi ×

Shantanu Rastogi is a Managing Director and leads General Atlantic’s business in India. He rejoined General Atlantic in 2013 after working at the firm from 2005 to 2007. Previously, Shantanu was a Principal at Apax Partners, and prior to that, he was a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company

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Eric Zhang

Managing Director,
Head of China
Hong Kong

Eric Zhang ×

Eric Zhang is a Managing Director and Head of General Atlantic’s business in China and also serves on the firm’s Management Committee. Before joining the firm in 2016, Eric was a Global Partner and Managing Director at The Carlyle Group from 2006 to 2016 where he focused on investments in Asia. Previously, he was Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong, and prior to that, he was a Vice President in the Investment Banking division at China International Capital Corporation Limited in Beijing.

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Rodrigo Catunda

Managing Director, Co-Head of Brazil Office São Paulo

Rodrigo Catunda ×

Rodrigo Catunda is a Managing Director Co-Head of General Atlantic’s Brazil Office. He also focuses on the firm’s investments across various sectors in Latin America. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2011, Rodrigo was an Investment Banking Associate at J.P. Morgan in São Paulo and New York, focused on Latin America.

 

 

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Luis Cervantes

Managing Director,
Head of Mexico Office
Mexico City

Luis Cervantes ×

Luis Cervantes is a Managing Director and leads General Atlantic’s Mexico City office, focusing on the firm’s growth investments in Mexico and across Latin America. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2013, Luis was an Associate at Advent International where he concentrated on investments across sectors in Latin America. Previously, he was an Investment Banking Analyst at UBS in the Latin American group based in Mexico City. Luis is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. He also formerly served as an Adjunct Professor at Universidad Iberoamericana.

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Melis Kahya Akar

Managing Director,
Head of Consumer for EMEA
London

Melis Kahya Akar ×

Melis Kahya Akar is a Managing Director at General Atlantic and leads the firm’s Consumer investments across EMEA, in addition to focusing on investments in Turkey. Before joining General Atlantic in New York in 2015, Melis was a Vice President at TSG Consumer Partners where she focused on investments in the Retail and Consumer sectors. Previously, she was an Analyst in the Investment Banking division at J.P. Morgan where she concentrated on the consumer and retail sectors.

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Jennifer Barsky

Vice President New York

Jennifer Barsky ×

Jennifer Barsky is a Vice President at General Atlantic and focuses on investments in the firm’s Consumer sector. Before joining General Atlantic in 2021, Jennifer was a Vice President at North Castle Partners. Jennifer started her career in the Consumer Retail Group at Goldman Sachs.

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Alexa Bartlett

Principal New York

Alexa Bartlett ×

Alexa Bartlett is a Principal at General Atlantic and focuses on investments in the firm’s Consumer sector. Before joining General Atlantic in 2020, Lexie worked at Warburg Pincus and Bain Capital where she focused primarily on consumer and healthcare investments. Lexie started her career in the Private Equity Group at Goldman Sachs.

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Ben Sherman

Vice President New York

Ben Sherman ×

Ben Sherman is a Vice President at General Atlantic and focuses on investments in the firm’s Consumer sector. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2014, Ben was an Associate at Silver Lake. Prior to that, he was an Investment Banking Analyst at Greenhill & Co.

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Varun Talukdar

Principal Mumbai

Varun Talukdar ×

Varun Talukdar is a Principal at General Atlantic and focuses on the firm’s investments in the India & Asia-Pacific region. Before joining General Atlantic in 2013, Varun was an investment professional at Premji Invest where he concentrated on investments in the retail & consumer and education sectors. Prior to that, Varun worked with the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Estate in New York to manage and unwind its Indian private and public equity assets. He has also worked at Bayside Capital, the Miami-based credit investment arm of H.I.G. Capital, and in the Industrials Investment Banking division of Bank of America in New York.

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Andrea Calabrò

Vice President London

Andrea Calabrò ×

Andrea Calabrò is a Vice President at General Atlantic and focuses on investments in the Technology sector. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2017, he worked in M&A at J.P. Morgan.

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Todd Diener

Senior Advisor New York

Todd Diener ×

Todd Diener is a Senior Advisor at General Atlantic, providing strategic support and advice to the firm’s investment teams and portfolio companies in the Consumer sector, drawing on his extensive experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Before joining General Atlantic in 2017, Todd spent 28 years with Brinker International, helping Chili’s, a small restaurant chain, grow into an iconic, global restaurant brand. After serving as President of Chili’s for five years, he became Brinker International’s Chief Operating Officer with oversight of the company’s core brands, including Chili’s, Corner Bakery Café, Maggiano’s Little Italy, On the Border, and Romano’s Macaroni Grill. Todd returned to the role of Chili’s President in 2005 when the brand entered its most aggressive growth phase, building 75-125 new locations per year through the end of 2009 when he retired. Todd is also an Operating Partner at several private equity firms and performs due diligence projects for potential acquisitions.

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Cathy Beaudoin

Senior Advisor New York

Cathy Beaudoin ×

Cathy Beaudoin is a Senior Advisor at General Atlantic, providing strategic support and advice to the firm’s investment teams and portfolio companies. Before joining General Atlantic in 2017, Cathy served as President of Amazon Fashion for eight years. During this time, she brought hundreds of reputable brands to Amazon, led Amazon’s 2012 sponsorship of the Met Ball, the opening of Amazon’s 40,000-square-foot photo studio in Williamsburg, New York, and a multi-year partnership with The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) to sponsor New York Fashion Week: Men’s. Prior to Amazon, she served as General Manager of Gap’s Piperlime, the e-commerce shoe platform she founded in 2005. While at Gap, she held a number of senior marketing positions across the company’s Old Navy and Banana Republic brands. Cathy began her career at Ogilvy One Worldwide.

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Ken Stevens

Senior Advisor New York

Ken Stevens ×

Ken Stevens is a Senior Advisor at General Atlantic, providing strategic support and advice to the firm’s investment teams and portfolio companies in the Consumer sector. Ken draws on his diverse retail and consumer products background, including serving as Chairman of Too Faced, Ulta, Charlotte Russe, and Cost Plus World Market. He has also held several Chief Executive Officer or President positions at Philosophy, Tween Brands, Express, Bath and Body Works, and Taco Bell. In addition, Ken co-led McKinsey & Company’s West Coast Consumer practice and held senior positons at PepsiCo.

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