The ten members of our Board of Managers bring deep leadership experience from a broad range of backgrounds, including brand marketing, retail operations, merchandising, finance, accounting, investment, and strategic planning.
Samantha Algaze
Sam has served on the Board of Managers of the Company since October 2018, serving as Chairman from October 2018 to January 2022. She has been at Elliott Investment Management L.P. since 2013, serving as a Portfolio Manager since 2020. She was an Associate Portfolio Manager from 2017 to 2019 and an Analyst from 2013 to 2016. Prior to Elliott, from 2012 to 2013, she was an Associate at H.I.G. Capital in the Private Equity division and, from 2010 to 2012, an Investment Banking Analyst at Deutsche Bank. She also serves as a Director at Peabody Energy Corporation and at Automotores Gildemeister. Sam holds a BS in in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.
Carmen Bauza
Carmen has served on the Board of Managers of the Company since October 2018. From 2019 to 2021, Carmen served as Chief Merchandising Officer at Fanatics. Prior to this, she was Chief Merchandising Officer at HSN from 2016 to 2017 and Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager Consumables, Health and Wellness at Walmart from 2007 to 2016. She has previously held roles at Bath & Body Works, Five Below and The Walt Disney Company. Carmen serves on the board of directors of Destination XL Group Inc. and Zumiez Inc. She is also a member of the board of trustees at Seton Hill University and the advisory board of RoundTable Healthcare Partners Council. She previously served as a Director of Walmart of Mexico, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the Network of Executive Women and the Literacy Council of Benton County. Carmen holds a BS in Fashion Merchandising and Business from Seton Hill University.
Paul Best
Paul has served on the Board of Managers of the Company since August 2020. Since 2017, Paul has been at Elliott Advisors (UK), where he serves as a Senior Managing Director and Head of European Private Equity. Prior to joining Elliott, he was at Warburg Pincus, serving as Managing Director from 2012 to 2017, Principal from 2007 to 2011, Associate from 2004 to 2007 and Analyst from 2002 to 2004. Before this, he was at Morgan Stanley. He is Chairman of the board of directors at Barnes & Noble, Book Retail Bidco Ltd. (the parent company of Waterstones Ltd.). He has previously served on the board of directors of Apteki Gemini, Inea, Reiss, Poundland and Ziggo. Mr. Best holds an MA in Mathematics from Cambridge University.
DeAnn Brunts
DeAnn has served on the board of directors of the Company since August 2021. Since November 2020, DeAnn has served on the board of directors of Benson Hill, where she also served as Chief Financial Officer from January 2021 to April 2022.. During 2020, she provided financial, accounting, capital structure and leadership consulting services to private equity backed companies. Prior to this, from 2017 to 2020, she was Chief Financial Officer of Solaray, LLC; from 2015 to 2016, she was Chief Financial Officer of Transworld Systems, Inc.; from 2012 to 2014, she was Chief Financial Officer of Maverik, Inc.; and from 2010 to 2012, she was Chief Financial Officer of Rocky Mountain Foods. Prior to these roles, DeAnn served in various other chief financial and executive officer roles. She also held various positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1985 to 1999, including as transaction services and audit partner. DeAnn serves on the board of directors and on the audit committee, as audit committee chair, of B&G Foods Inc. and on the board of directors of Kempe Foundation. She previously served on the board of directors and the audit committee, as audit committee chair, of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado and Springboard to Learning. DeAnn holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BSBA from the University of Missouri-Saint-Louis.
Laurie Ann Goldman
Laurie Ann has served as a member of the Board and the Board Chair since January 2022. She has more than 30 years of management and operating experience building consumer businesses. Laurie Ann became Chief Executive Officer of Avon North America in 2018 after serving on its board and held the position until LG Household & Health Care acquired Avon in August 2019. She was also CEO of Spanx, Inc. from 2002 to 2014. Prior to her long tenure at Spanx, she held marketing and operational leadership roles at The Coca-Cola Company and Macy’s. Laurie Ann serves as a director of Terminix Global Holdings, European Wax Center, ClubCorp, Newlight Technologies, Joe & the Juice, and 101 Studios. She previously served on the board of GUESS?, Inc. and Francesca’s. She holds a B.S. in Communications from the University of Texas at Austin.
Theophlius Killion
Theophlius has served on the Board of Managers of the Company since October 2018. Since 2016, Theophlius has been a managing partner of The Sierra Institute, a Dallas-based human resources consortium. Prior to this, Theophlius served as Chief Executive Officer of The Zale Corporation from 2008 to 2014. He previously held leadership roles at Tommy Hilfiger, Limited Brands (now L Brands), The Home Shopping Network and Macy’s. He also serves on the board of directors of Torrid. He previously served on the board of directors of Tailored Brands, Inc., Libbey, Inc., Express, Inc., and The Zale Corporation. Theophlius is also a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Theophlius holds a BA in History and English and a MEd from Tufts University.
Samantha Lomow
Samantha has served on the Board of Managers of the Company since 2018. She served as EVP, Chief Customer Officer of Foot Locker Inc. March 2022 to October 2022 and as Foot Locker’s President of Global Brands from March 2022 to June 2022. From February 2021 to February 2022, Samantha served as a Special Advisor to Hasbro, which she re-joined in 2001. Samantha’s previous roles at Hasbro include President, Branded Entertainment; Hasbro & eOne from 2020 to 2021, President, Entertainment Brands from 2018 to 2020 and Senior Vice President, Hasbro Brands from 2016 to 2018. She is a board member of the Day One Organization in Rhode Island. Samantha holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Toronto.
Arthur Rubinfeld
Arthur has served on the Board of Managers since September 2020. Since 2017, Arthur has served as Founder and President of Airvision, a strategy advisory firm. Prior to this, he was at Starbucks, which he joined in 1992, and most recently served as President, Global Innovation from 2014 to 2017, President, Chief Creative Officer from 2012 to 2014, President, Global Development from 2008 to 2014 and Executive Vice President, Real Estate and Store Development from 1992 to 2002. Arthur serves as a director of Shopko Optical. He previously served on the boards of Essential Baking Company, United Capital, Aeropostale and Savers/Value Village. Arthur holds a BA in Environmental Design and a Masters in Architecture from the University of Colorado.
Ryan Vero
Ryan has served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company since July 2019. Prior to this, from 2016 to 2019, Ryan served as President, Retail at Party City Holdings. From 2012 to 2016, he served as President, Grocery and Drugstore at Sears Holdings Corporation. Ryan served as Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer at OfficeMax from 2005 to 2011 and served in other roles at OfficeMax from 1994 to 2005. Ryan holds a BS BBA in Finance from St. Bonaventure University and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.