Team

Team

Eric Eddings

Eric Eddings

President, Branch Brook Holdings, LLC

Eric Eddings has served as President of Branch Brook Holdings since Fall 2019. He is currently the CEO & President of Oregon Ice Cream (Alden's, Cascade Glacier), where he joined in 2015. Previously, he was President & CEO of Sahale Snacks, a leading brand of innovative, natural snack mixes. Eric held general management and senior operations roles with Monterrey Gourmet Foods, CIBO Naturals, Tully's Coffee Corporation, and Dreyer's. He started his career working in sales at Haagen-Dazs and Frito-Lay. On a personal note, Eric is passionate about food, family, and healthy living, as well as helping entrepreneurs evolve and scale their organizations the right way to preserve product quality, employee safety, community impact, and environmental stewardship.


Andrew Richards

Andrew Richards

Managing Director, Swander Pace Capital
Director, Branch Brook Holdings

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

Prior to founding SPC, Andrew was with 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 received an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB degree cum laude from Harvard University.

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 is currently Chairman Emeritus of the Newark Museum, where he has held various board roles for 23 years.


R. Timothy O'Donnell

R. Timothy O'Donnell

Partner, Jefferson Capital Partners
Director, Branch Brook Holdings

Prior to co-founding Jefferson Capital Partners in 1989, Mr. O'Donnell was a First Vice President in charge of Leisure and Entertainment Corporate Finance at PaineWebber. Tim has extensive experience with equity and debt capital markets transactions. He currently serves on the board of directors of several JCP portfolio companies including firstSTREET, Inc. and MicroMass Communications, Inc. Mr. O'Donnell earned B.A., J.D., and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Virginia.


Chris Testa

Chris Testa

President, UNFI

As current President of UNFI, Chris oversees the Services Platform businesses including Professional Services, Owned Brands, Supplier Services and Woodstock Farms Manufacturing.

Chris began at UNFI as President of UNFI's Blue Marble Brands division in 2009 and quickly expanded his responsibility to oversee Woodstock Farms Manufacturing and Honest Green eCommerce business units. Chris was selected to become UNFI's Atlantic Region President when the company transitioned to a regional structure in 2016 before becoming President of UNFI in 2018.

Previous to UNFI, Chris was co-founder and CEO of Wild Waters Inc. an innovative healthy children's beverage brand sold to major US retailers. His career path includes Vice President of Marketing at Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages, Snapple Beverage Group's Vice President of Specialty Brands and Vice President of Marketing for Nantucket Nectars.

Chris is a member of UNFI's leadership team and serves on the board of World Finer Foods and the UNFI Foundation.


C. Morris Stout

C. Morris Stout

Mo Stout joined SPC in 2000. Mo originates and executes investments, as well as works with portfolio companies to provide strategic guidance, and is a member of the Investment Committee.

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 degree from Vanderbilt University.


Corby Reese

Corby Reese

Managing Director, Swander Pace Capital

Corby Reese joined SPC in 2004. Corby originates and executes investments, as well as works with portfolio companies to provide strategic guidance, and is a member of the Investment Committee.

Prior to SPC, Corby was responsible for originating and managing leveraged buyouts, growth equity, and mezzanine portfolio investments with BankBoston Capital. Corby received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA degree with distinction from Yale University.

Corby has been a volunteer and Director at Martha's Vineyard Cerebral Palsy Camp (Camp Jabberwocky) for over 25 years.


Tyler Matlock

Tyler Matlock

Managing Director, Swander Pace Capital

Tyler Matlock joined SPC in 2008. Tyler originates and executes investments, as well as works with portfolio companies to provide strategic guidance, and is a member of the Investment Committee.

Prior to SPC, Tyler worked at Houlihan Lokey, where he focused on middle-market merger and acquisition transactions in the Food & Beverage category. He received a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.


Alex Litt

Alex Litt

Director, Swander Pace Capital

Alex Litt joined SPC in 2013. Alex originates, diligences, structures, and executes investments, as well as advises portfolio companies.

Prior to SPC, Alex worked at Houlihan Lokey in New York, where he focused on middle-market merger and acquisition transactions in the Consumer Products and Health and Wellness categories. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Financial Economics and Corporate Finance.


Robert Vassel

Robert Vassel

Director - Business Development & Growth, Swander Pace Capital

Robert M. Vassel Jr. joined SPC in 2016. Rob is focused on developing and closing new investments, working with portfolio companies to provide strategic guidance, improving SPC's marketing and sales capabilities, and helping to recruit, select and develop portfolio company talent.

Prior to joining SPC, Rob spent twenty years 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, Clorox, and Mattel. Most recently, he led efforts in acquiring new growth businesses as vice president of corporate development on mergers and acquisitions at The Clorox Company.

Rob received an MBA from UCLA Business School and a BA degree from Colgate University where he was a four-year starter and captain on the Division 1 Colgate Men's tennis team.