Arbor Investments (“Arbor”), a specialized private equity firm that focuses exclusively on acquiring premier companies in the food, beverage and related industries, announced today expansions and promotions to its Investment Management Team as well as plans to open an office in New York.
Christopher Harned has joined the Firm as a Partner and Tim Fallon has joined the Firm to serve as its Senior Operating Partner. Additionally, two of Arbor’s existing investment professionals, Brody Lynn and Alan Weed, have been promoted to Partner. The announcements coincide with the activation of Arbor’s fourth equity fund, Arbor Investments IV, LP, as well as its inaugural captive subordinated debt fund, Arbor Debt Opportunities Fund I, LP. The new funds, with combined capital commitments of $890 million, were closed on July 7, 2016 and became effective in connection with the Firm’s recent acquisition of Dunn Paper, Inc.
A seasoned private equity and investment banking executive, Chris Harned joins the Firm’s Investment Management Team as a Partner. In that role, Mr. Harned will be responsible for deal origination, transaction execution and portfolio management. Mr. Harned brings more than 30 years of experience in equity investment and investment banking to Arbor, including prior work experiences at Lehman Brothers (16 years – Head of Global Consumer M&A); The Cypress Group (10 years – Partner and Head of Consumer Investment Strategy); Robert W. Baird & Co. (Managing Director, Consumer) and Nomura Securities International (Head of Consumer Americas). Mr. Harned will be working principally out of Firm’s New York office, which Arbor expects to open by the end of October.
Commenting on his new position, Mr. Harned stated, “Over the last 16 years, Arbor has been one of the most successful middle-market private equity firms in the U.S. The Firm’s singular focus on investment opportunities within the food, beverage and related industries is a hand-in-glove fit with my background and I look forward to continuing to build upon Arbor’s legacy.”
“Chris is a consummate deal professional who will significantly strengthen our position and presence in New York” said Arbor CEO, Gregory J. Purcell. “I’ve known Chris personally and professionally for a number of years and I am excited about the opportunities he will drive to Arbor.”
Tim Fallon will join Arbor as its Senior Operating Partner. In that role, he will be part of the Investment Management Team and also oversee the Firm’s Operating Partner Team. Mr. Fallon is a veteran CEO with more than 40 years of experience leading food and beverage companies, most recently as CEO of Columbus Manufacturing, a San Francisco based manufacturer of Italian meat salumi and authentic deli meat. Prior to that, Mr. Fallon was general manager and president of Kettle Foods, a leading snack-food manufacturer of natural and organic potato chips, tortilla chips and nut products. In addition, Mr. Fallon has served as an operating executive and chairman of Annie’s Homegrown, a maker of organic and natural foods and as CEO of Vermont Pure Holdings, a publicly-traded office water and coffee service provider. He has also held senior-level positions at Cadbury Beverages and Pepsi Cola.
Commenting on the hiring of Tim Fallon, Mr. Purcell continued “Tim’s core strengths in business operations, financial expertise and extensive sales and marketing skills are an invaluable resource. In his new role with Arbor, Tim will further enhance our ability to evaluate investment opportunities and drive operational performance of our portfolio companies once under management.”
In addition to the hiring of Mr. Harned and Mr. Fallon, Arbor also promoted Alan Weed and Brody Lynn to Partners. Messrs. Weed and Lynn have been at Arbor as members of the Investment Management Team for 13 and 9 years, respectively. During that time, in addition to sourcing new investment opportunities, each of them has been integrally involved in deal evaluation, transaction execution and portfolio company oversight.
Regarding the promotions of Messrs. Lynn and Weed, Arbor President, Joseph P. Campolo commented “Alan and Brody have consistently demonstrated the talent and instinct necessary to source investments and effectively manage portfolio company investments that will continue to produce exceptional returns for our partners.”