My passion for founder-led businesses started at an early age. My fondest childhood memory is of walking the family coffee farm in El Salvador with my dad as he patiently answered my every question.
I loved having his undivided attention, while he loved to pass along the stories his father and his grandfather (“el abuelo”) had passed on to him. Growing up in a family business cultivated in me a desire to understand the challenges of growing a business and the people behind them.
Throughout my career, I have had the pleasure of working with some remarkable brands. The common thread amongst those experiences has been working alongside smart, passionate, and visionary founders and management teams — people who saw an opportunity to better serve consumers’ needs and had the courage to do something about it. I am motivated by working with such talented people and helping them fulfill their dreams.
Prior to Stride, I was a Partner at Castanea, where I joined in 2002. At Castanea I started a journey to answer an impossible question which still drives me to this day: what distinguishes brands which sustain long term growth and consumer loyalty? Prior to Castanea Partners, I spent three years working at Bain & Company where I focused on clients in the consumer products, manufacturing, and distribution industries. It was there that I started to develop my love of brands and to embark on a journey to understand consumer behavior.
Today, at Stride, I enjoy leading our Food & Beverage efforts and working closely with the talented teams at Serenity Kids and Chomps.
I received an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and an MBA from Harvard Business School. I live in the Boston area with my wife and two children.