Team

Andrew Richards founded Swander Pace Capital in 1996 and is SPC's CEO and Chairman of its Investment Committee.

He currently serves on the boards of Bragg Live Food Products (Board Chair), Café Valley, Captek, Max Solutions, Purely Elizabeth, and Swanson Health Products and previously served on the boards of Applegate, Merrick Pet, Pineridge Bakery, and over 25 other consumer companies exited by SPC.

Prior to founding SPC, Andrew worked at William E. Simon & Sons where he directed their private equity investment program in the consumer products sector. He began his career in investment banking at PaineWebber, Inc. where he specialized in raising capital and corporate advisory for emerging growth companies.

Andrew served on the Presidential Task Force on Market Mechanisms under President Ronald Reagan which studied the causes of the 1987 stock market crash. He has been active with arts and education non-profits for decades and is currently on the boards of the Storm King Art Center, the National Museum of Racing, and the Gregson Foundation.

Andrew received an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB degree cum laude in Fine Arts from Harvard University.

Mo Stout joined SPC in 2000 and is a member of the Investment Committee. Mo previously served on the boards of Glo Skin Beauty, Clarion Brands, Functional Formularies, T-Bev, Insight Pharmaceuticals, Gilchrist & Soames, Good Source Solutions, The J.R. Watkins Company, and International Fiber.

Prior to SPC, Mo worked at Lombard Investments, a middle market private equity firm based in San Francisco. Earlier in his career, he was an investment banker at Kidder, Peabody & Co. and The Argosy Group where he focused on leveraged finance transactions.

Mo received an MBA from Stanford Business School and a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University.

Tyler Matlock joined SPC in 2008 and is a member of the Investment Committee. Tyler currently serves as the Board Chair of Boulangerie St. Méthode, Café Valley, Fine Choice Foods, Inovata Foods, Maple Donuts, Mighty Spark, and previously served on the boards of Bäckerhaus Veit, Patriot Pickle, Recochem, Voortman Cookies, Wholesome Pet Care, and Merrick Pet Care Holdings.

Prior to SPC, Tyler worked at Houlihan Lokey, where he focused on middle market M&A transactions in the Food & Beverage category.

Tyler received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Alex Litt joined SPC in 2013 and is a member of the Investment Committee. Alex currently serves on the boards of Captek, Fine Choice Foods, Mommy's Bliss, and Swanson Health Products and previously served on the boards of Reliance Holdings, Functional Formularies, and T-Bev.

Prior to SPC, Alex worked at Houlihan Lokey, where he focused on middle market M&A transactions in the Consumer Products and Health and Wellness categories.

Alex received a BA in Economics with a minor in Financial Economics and Corporate Finance from Vanderbilt University. He co-founded The ALS 100 Hole Challenge.

Virginia Calvo joined SPC in 2021. She is responsible for all aspects of accounting, compliance, financial management, reporting, operations and investor relations.

Before joining SPC, Virginia worked as Director of Finance at TSG Consumer Partners and was responsible for financial and tax reporting, audit, compliance and managing administrative systems. Prior to that, she worked as a Vice President in the Private Equity Partners group of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers/BlackRock. Earlier in her career, she worked at Goldman Sachs in the hedge fund group and private equity fund controller's group. Virginia began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she performed financial due diligence on M&A transactions.

Virginia received a BS degree in Accounting and International Business, cum laude, from the Stern School of Business at New York University. She is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in the state of New York.

Scott Kania joined SPC in 2019, prior to which he was a consultant focused entirely on SPC portfolio companies. He specializes in finance/tax, operations, IT, liquidity, and special situations across the SPC portfolio. In addition, Scott has served as the interim CFO of Captek, Café Valley, Max Solutions, Mommy's Bliss, T-Bev, Aden & Anais, and Reliance Holdings.

Prior to working with SPC, Scott served as CFO for a single-family office that invested across a broad range of industries and investment profiles.

Scott received a BA in Economics/Accounting from College of the Holy Cross.

Robert Vassel joined SPC in 2016 and manages the firm's deal sourcing efforts and works with portfolio companies on brand strategy. He also oversees and coordinates SPC's capability development events for portfolio companies, including the annual CEO Summit and quarterly calls for functional leaders.

Rob currently serves on the boards of Bragg Live Food Products and Mommy's Bliss.

Prior to joining SPC, Rob spent 18 years at The Clorox Company working in various brand management, sales, and general management assignments across brands such as Hidden Valley, Fresh Step, Burt's Bees, Glad, Armor All, Pine Sol, and Clorox. Most recently, he led efforts in acquiring new growth businesses as vice president of corporate development on mergers and acquisitions at Clorox.

Rob received an MBA in Finance, Marketing, and Strategy from UCLA Business School and a BA degree from Colgate University in Asian Studies.

Anne Lee joined SPC in 2019. She originates, evaluates, and executes on investment opportunities and works closely with several portfolio companies.

Anne currently serves on the boards of Inovata Foods and Mighty Spark, and is a board observer at Bragg Live Food Products and Purely Elizabeth. She previously served on the board of Glo Skin Beauty.

Prior to joining SPC, Anne was an Investment Banking Associate at Perella Weinberg Partners, where she focused on M&A transactions in the Consumer & Retail Group.

Anne received a BS degree in Finance and Marketing from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Amy Li joined SPC in 2017. She originates, evaluates, and executes on investment opportunities and works closely with several portfolio companies.

Amy currently serves on the boards of Café Valley, Captek, and Maple Donuts, and previously served on the boards of Functional Formularies, The J.R. Watkins Company, Patriot Pickle, and T-Bev.

Prior to joining SPC, Amy worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Consumer and Retail Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she focused on leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and various debt and equity financing activities.

Amy received a BA degree in Financial Economics from Columbia University.

Mike Merriman joined SPC in 2016. He originates, evaluates, and executes on investments opportunities and works closely with several portfolio companies.

Mike currently serves on the boards of Boulangerie St. Méthode, Fine Choice Foods, Oregon Ice Cream, and is a board observer at Bragg Live Food Products. He previously served on the boards of Bäckerhaus Veit and Aden & Anais.

Prior to joining SPC, Mike worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Sawaya Partners, where he focused on consumer products middle market M&A transactions, and prior to that was an Associate in the Healthcare Leveraged Finance Group at GE Capital.

Mike received a BS in Finance from Fairfield University.

Michael Puza joined SPC in 2022. He originates, evaluates, and executes on investment opportunities and works closely with several portfolio companies.

Michael currently works with Maple Donuts, Café Valley, Captek, Max Solutions, Bragg Live Food Products, and previously with Glo Skin Beauty.

Prior to joining SPC, Michael was an Investment Banking Associate at Truist Securities where he advised clients on a range of debt, equity, and M&A transactions.

He received a BBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Karl Stafford joined SPC in 2020. He originates, evaluates, and executes on investment opportunities and works closely with several portfolio companies.

Karl currently works with Boulangerie St. Méthode, Mommy's Bliss, Swanson Health Products, and previously with Reliance.

Prior to joining SPC, Karl was an Investment Banking Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities in the Consumer & Retail group working on a range of debt, equity and M&A transactions.

Karl received a BS degree in Finance from the Smeal College of Business at The Pennsylvania State University.

Jennifer Chua joined SPC in 2013 and is responsible for the ongoing operations of SPC’s accounting and finance functions.

Prior to SPC, Jennifer worked for SHI International Corp. where she managed several Public Sector organizations.

She received her BS degree in Accounting from Rutgers Business School and is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in New Jersey.

MacGregor Peterson joined SPC in 2025. He evaluates and executes on investment opportunities and works closely with several portfolio companies.

MacGregor currently works with Maple Donuts, Café Valley, Mighty Spark Foods, and Swanson Health Products.

Prior to joining SPC, MacGregor was an Investment Banking Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities where he advised clients on a range of debt, equity, and M&A transactions.

He received a BS degree from the University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School.

Sam Finney joined SPC in 2025. He evaluates and executes on investment opportunities and works closely with several portfolio companies.

Sam currently works with Bragg Live Food Products, Captek, Fine Choice Foods, Inovata Foods, and Mommy's Bliss.

Prior to joining SPC, Sam was an Investment Banking Analyst at G2 Capital Advisors where he advised clients on a range of debt, equity, and M&A transactions.

He received a BBA degree from Boston University, Questrom School of Business.

Jordan DiFabritis joined SPC in 2023 and is responsible for the ongoing operations of SPC’s accounting and finance functions.

Prior to joining SPC, Jordan was an Audit Associate at KPMG where he worked with a variety of private equity and hedge fund clients.

Jordan received a BBA in Accounting and Finance from the Villanova School of Business.

Donna Thomma joined SPC in 2003. She manages the firm’s administrative and operations for both the New Jersey and San Francisco offices. Additionally, she is the Human Resources Administrator as well as the IT Coordinator for the firm.

Prior to SPC, Donna spent 20 years with First Century Partners, Smith Barney’s Venture Capital Affiliate.

Donna is a graduate of the Wood School of Business Administration.

Nida Syed joined SPC’s finance team in 2023 and is responsible for the ongoing operations of accounting and finance functions.

Prior to joining SPC, Nida worked in corporate accounting as an Accountant in various industries including engineering and consulting, healthcare and pharmaceutical, and management association.

Nida received her BS in Economics with a concentration in Accounting from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Dan Swander joined SPC in 2006. He was the co-founder and former Chairman of Swander Pace & Company, a strategy consulting firm serving consumer products companies in North America, Europe, and South America. He was also a partner in the original formation of Swander Pace Capital. Additionally, he has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Method Products, Executive Vice President of Basic American Foods, President and Chief Operating Officer of International Multifoods, Vice President of Operations and Marketing of Victoria Station, and Principal at McKinsey & Company.

Dan also served as a Director of Snyder's-Lance, Inc. until its sale to Campbell Soup in 2018 and as a board member of Idahoan Foods, LLC.

Dan earned his undergraduate degree in economics with honors from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and studied marketing at Wharton. He is the Chair of the Finance Committee and a former Senior Warden of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Orinda, California.

Valerie Scott began working with SPC in 2004 and joined the team in 2009. She has helped build SPC's strong consumer franchise in Canada.

Valerie currently serves on the boards of Fine Choice Foods, Inovata Foods, and St. Methode and previously served on the boards of Bäckerhaus Veit, Voortman Cookies, Lavo, and Pineridge Bakery.

Prior to joining SPC, she worked at Roynat Capital, Calcap Corporate Finance, Working Ventures Canadian Fund, and Ernst & Young Corporate Finance. A former co-chair and current board member of Canadian Women in Private Equity, Valerie is an advocate for the promotion of women in the Canadian private equity market.

Valerie is a graduate of the University of Toronto.

Dan helps SPC portfolio companies with complex operational and manufacturing matters. He is a board observer at Café Valley, Captek, and Max Solutions.

Dan has been CEO, President and a Board member of Arnold Magnetic Technologies Corporation since 2016. Previously, he served as CEO for Huskie Tools LLC and as President, CEO and Executive Chairman for Jameson LLC. Prior to that, Dan served as Executive Chairman of CamelBak Products, LLC, Senior Advisor to Irving Place Capital, Managing Director at AlixPartners, Chairman, President & CEO of Russell-Stanley Holdings, Managing Director of Vestar Resources (an affiliate of Vestar Capital Partners), President of Harding Service Corporation (an affiliate of Wesray Capital Corporation), and held various executive financial positions with Dresser Industries and affiliates of Forstmann, Little & Co. He serves and has served on numerous boards of directors.

Dan received a bachelor's degree in accountancy from Northern Illinois University and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Linda has been the CEO and Board Director of Bragg Live Food Products since 2019. Linda brings a wealth of food and beverage experience and helps SPC evaluate natural and organic branded opportunities.

She was previously the President of Branch Brook Holdings, an investment partnership between Swander Pace Capital, Jefferson Capital Partners, and UNFI that invested in natural consumer companies. Linda has worked closely with many SPC portfolio companies, currently as a Board Director at Oregon Ice Cream and previously as the Interim President of PlantFusion and Board Director at Reliance, Board Director at Kicking Horse Coffee, and former President of Applegate Farms. She was also the Board President of Frontier Natural Product Cooperative. Prior to these roles, Linda led the private label group at Whole Foods Market and started her career at Ocean Spray Cranberries.

Linda received an MBA in Business Administration from the Questrom School of Business, Boston University and an AB degree in Economics from Harvard University.