:: Team

Robert Brown, Managing Director, was most recently a partner at Swander Pace Capital. Robert's 14 years of experience as an investor, operator, and consultant in the food and consumer products industry also includes running the Prepared Foods Division of Foster Farms and leading strategy consulting projects for Swander Pace & Co.

Scott Sellers, Managing Director, was most recently a partner at Swander Pace Capital. Scott's 11 years of experience as an investor and consultant in the food and consumer products industry also includes Swander Pace & Co. where he advised companies on matters of strategy and mergers and acquisitions.

Gary Smith is the Founder and CEO of Encore Associates, Inc. Gary founded EAI in 2001 after a distinguished 40-year career at Safeway where he launched the Safeway SELECT brand and was ultimately responsible for procurement and merchandising as Senior Vice President of Marketing.

Megan Pirsch, Vice President, began her career with Harris Williams & Co, a leading middle market mergers and acquisitions advisory firm. Megan was a member of the team that opened the Harris Williams office in San Francisco, and most recently was an Associate at Swander Pace Capital.

Kevin Murphy, Vice President, prior to joining Encore Consumer Capital in 2005, spent 5 years with Genstar Capital, a private equity firm focused on investments in the manufacturing, healthcare and business services sectors of the middle market. With Genstar, he served as an associate and Chief Financial Officer prior to transitioning to a principal investing role. Kevin began his career as a Certified Public Accountant with Price Waterhouse Coopers working with several clients in the consumer products sector.

Bill Shen, vice president, joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2008. Prior to Encore, he led corporate development for Nest Naturals, a natural and organic consumer products company. Bill began his career at Swander Pace & Company (now Kurt Salmon Associates), a strategy consulting firm servicing food, beverage, apparel and retail clients. After KSA, Bill led the food and beverage practice of a boutique investment bank. Bill graduated with a B.A. in Public Policy from Stanford University.

Kisen Nathu, Associate, came to Encore Consumer Capital in 2006. He was an Investment Associate at CapitalSource Finance, focusing on senior financing facilities for middle-market companies. Prior to CapitalSource, Kisen was an associate at Piper Jaffray & Co., where he focused on mergers and acquisitions in the consumer sector. He was an analyst in the investment banking division at Morgan Keegan & Co. prior to Piper Jaffray & Co.

Ryan Caldbeck, Vice President, joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2007. Previously he was with TSG Consumer Partners (formerly The Shansby Group), where he worked with portfolio companies and was responsible for new deal origination and diligence. Previously Ryan was with the Boston Consulting Group, where he supported companies in a variety of industries, including retail, industrial manufacturing and financial services. Ryan also worked for Bain Capital's private equity group. He earned a dual B.A. from Duke University, where he graduated cum laude with High Distinction in Public Policy and Psychology, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He also was a member of the National Championship basketball team at Duke.

Vanessa Stanley-Miller, Senior Associate, joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2007. Previously, she was an Associate at J.P. Morgan Partners, LLC ("JPMP"), the private equity division of JP Morgan Chase & Co. While at JPMP, Vanessa focused on manufacturing and service companies. Prior to JPMP, Vanessa worked in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley where she was a member of the Financial Sponsors group. Vanessa also spent time working for a Menlo Park based consumer start-up called Alter-G. Vanessa graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude with her B.A. in Economics from Columbia University and received her M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Daniel Gross, joined Encore Consumer Capital in 2008. Previously, he was an Associate Consultant with L.E.K. Consulting, where he focused on due diligence engagements for private equity firms as well as corporate growth strategy development. Dan earned a B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University.