Advisory Board

Chloe is currently obtaining her MBA at Harvard Business School. Before starting at HBS, she was a Senior Associate at Advent International, where she focused on investments in the Retail, Consumer & Leisure sector. Prior to joining Advent in 2019, she worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Consumer Retail Group at Goldman Sachs.

Chloe graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.S.B.A. in Finance and Accounting as well as a minor in Spanish.

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Amanda is currently an Associate at Guggenheim Partners in New York City. Prior to joining Guggenheim in 2022, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with an MBA concentrating in Finance and Investments. Amanda earned her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University. She is grateful for the female mentors who have been instrumental in the development of her career and is passionate about passing along this wisdom to other women in finance.

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Hannah is currently pursuing her MBA at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  Most recently, Hannah was an Associate at The Carlyle Group, where she focused on U.S. buyout opportunities in the aerospace, defense and government services sectors. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2019, she served as an investment banking associate in the Industrials group at Barclays in New York, where she focused on transactions in the transportation sector. Hannah graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.S. in Systems Science and Engineering.

Kristin has over 14 years of investment banking experience, working with both M&A and capital markets teams. As a Director at Meridian Capital, a Seattle-based investment bank focused on M&A advisory, Kristin supports middle market businesses to raise capital and/or pursue exit opportunities. Kristin co-leads the firm’s Diversified Industrials practice.

Kristin started her career in banking at J.P. Morgan, where she worked with the Syndicated and Leveraged Finance and Corporate Client Banking teams for six years. While at J.P. Morgan, Kristin helped clients raise over $10 billion in funds through syndicated loans, high yield bonds, and new equity issuances for acquisitions, recapitalizations, and working capital needs. 

Kristin graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a BBA in finance and English.

Ms. Bresani has over 23 years of investment banking experience. Before joining William Blair, she spent her entire career with UBS in New York focused exclusively on M&A. Over her career, she has executed more than 70 transactions with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $180 billion. Over the past two decades, Ms. Bresani has completed industry-shaping transactions involving private and publicly traded companies across the financial services, healthcare, real estate, services and industrials sectors, including Chicago Board Options Exchange’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Bats Global Markets, TIAA’s $2.5 billion acquisition of EverBank Financial, Eli Lilly’s $6.5 billion acquisition of ImClone, and the $30.3 billion merger of Caremark Rx and CVS. Ms. Bresani earned her bachelor’s degree in 1998 from Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Annie is currently a M&A director at Schneider Electric, where she is focused on implementing inorganic growth strategies. Prior to Schneider, Annie had over 8 years of investment banking experience at Guggenheim Securities and Barclays focused on M&A and capital raising advisory within the Industrials sector. Over her career, she has executed transactions involving private and publicly traded companies across the industrial technology, capital goods, transportation & logistics, paper & packaging, automotive and aerospace & defense sub-sectors.

Annie received her B.S. with honors in Finance from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.

Amanda is currently an Investment Banking Associate in the Technology, Media, and Telecom Group at Goldman Sachs, where she focuses primarily on the high-growth software space. She advises a range of public and private technology companies on transactions including mergers & acquisitions, initial public offerings, private placements, follow-ons, and convertible offerings. Previously, she started her career as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Natural Resources Group at Bank of America.

Amanda graduated magna cum laude from Southern Methodist University where she received a BBA with departmental honors in Finance and a Specialization in Alternative Asset Management. Amanda currently resides in San Francisco and is passionate about paying forward the indispensable mentorship she has received from fellow women in finance.

Jackie is the co-founder and partner at Aria Growth Partners, a leading consumer growth equity firm that provides capital and elevated partnership to extraordinary consumer brands. Aria typically invests between $5 - $30 million for minority stakes in growth-stage consumer brands.  Jackie currently serves on the board of two of Aria’s investments, Hero Cosmetics and Onda.

Prior to Aria, Jackie was an investor at CAVU Venture Partners from 2016-2020, where she helped diligence and oversee the firm’s investments the health & wellness sectors. Prior to CAVU, Jackie was an investor at Brand Project and L Catterton. Jackie started her career at UBS Investment bank and Traub.

Jackie graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in Commerce and received her MBA from Harvard Business School. Jackie resides in New York City with her husband and son.

Julie is currently an Associate at Barclays based out of the bank's Chicago office. Prior to joining Barclays, she worked as an Investment Banking Summer Associate in the Consumer Retail Group at Lazard in New York. Prior to working in banking, Julie worked in marketing for a PE-backed tech company and as a newspaper reporter for The Dallas Morning News.

Julie graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.A. in Journalism and received her MBA from the University of Notre Dame. She also holds a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Southern California.

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Sarah is currently an investor and founding member of L Catterton’s Impact Fund. Prior to joining the Impact Fund, Sarah sat in L Catterton’s Flagship Buyout Fund, and prior to joining L Catterton, served as Chief of Staff and Director of Strategic Planning at Hanna Andersson, a DTC children's apparel brand and an L Catterton portfolio company. Previously, Sarah started her career as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Healthcare Group at Credit Suisse.

Sarah graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Global Health. Sarah currently resides in New York City with her Bernedoodle Roni (named for her favorite food, a slice of NY pepperoni pizza), and enjoys spending her free time angel investing in women-founded and led companies, nordic and downhill skiing, and keeping herself up to date on New York's restaurant and bar scene.

Laura has over 15 years of investment banking experience focused on M&A and capital raising advisory within the Branded Consumer industry. Laura develops relationships with and executes transactions for clients in the Healthy Living sub-sectors of Better-for-You Food, Sports Nutrition and Fitness.

Prior to joining Raymond James via its acquisition of Financo, Laura was part of the investment banking practices at HSBC (in New York and London) and Stephens Inc., where she launched a dedicated Healthy Living practice in 2014.

Laura received a BBA with honors in Finance from the College of William & Mary, where she was captain of the Division I Lacrosse Team. She currently serves on the Association for Corporate Growth’s Women of Leadership Committee, and she has also served on the Board of her all-girls high school, Maryvale Preparatory, in Baltimore, MD.

Alice is currently pursuing her MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Most recently, Alice was an Associate at Stellex Capital Management, an operationally-focused, value-oriented private equity firm in New York City with over $2.6 billon in AUM. Stellex typically invests between $50 - $150 million for majority stakes in under-valued companies in the industrials, business services, and food production/manufacturing spaces. At Stellex, Alice focused on F&B investments and was part of the investment team that acquired Country Fresh and Custom Made Meals.

Prior to joining Stellex in 2019, Alice was an investment banking analyst at Credit Suisse in the Financial Sponsors Group in Los Angeles. Alice graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2017 with a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Economics.

Abigail is currently an Associate at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, where she focuses on investments across the Technology and Business Services sectors. Prior to joining CD&R, she was an Investment Banking Associate at Deutsche Bank in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications group. Abigail graduated summa cum laude from Middlebury College in 2018 with a major in Economics and a minor in Psychology.

Sarah Lee is currently pursuing her MBA at Columbia Business School. Prior to graduate school, Sarah was Portfolio Operations Manager at General Catalyst, a venture capital firm that makes early-stage and transformational investments. General Catalyst backs exceptional entrepreneurs who are building innovative technology companies and market leading businesses.

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Before joining General Catalyst in 2020, Sarah was an Investment Banking Analyst at an Elite Boutique in the Industrials M&A group in New York. Sarah graduated from Dartmouth College in 2018 with a B.A. in Economics.

Justine Mannering is a Managing Director in Stifel’s Consumer Investment Banking Group with more than 20 years of experience. Having joined Stifel in 2018, she is responsible for Stifel’s coverage of the apparel, accessories & luxury sector with a focus on direct to consumer brands. Transactions cover IPO, restructuring, leverage finance and capital raising. Recent clients have included The RealReal, Poshmark, Chairish, Allbirds, PLBY, On Running, Bonlook, The Collected Group, Derek Lam and KNS International.

Justine joined Stifel from Alantra where she was a Managing Director, Consumer, and Global Co-Head of Personal Care. Prior to Alantra, Justine was Global Head of Consumer & Luxury at BDA Partners, a global boutique focused on cross-border deals, and a Director at DC Advisory Group (previously Close Brothers Corporate Finance) in London. Justine also spent time in the Sponsor Coverage team at DC Advisory Group (London) and completed a Business Development secondment at Harris Williams (Boston).

Caroline is currently pursuing her MBA at Harvard Business School. Prior to HBS, Caroline was a founding member of Blackstone Growth ("BXG"), where she focused on investments in enterprise software and technology. During her time at BXG, the group raised the largest first-time growth equity fund at $4.5B out of which they aim to invest $150-$500 million+ across buyout, growth, and venture transaction structures. In addition to deal execution and sourcing, Caroline helped build and support BXG's portfolio committee materials and processes.

Prior to Blackstone, Caroline was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Group at Guggenheim. Before Investment Banking, she spent a summer as a Product Manager at IBM Watson. Caroline graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University, where she studied Economics & Computer Science, captained the varsity lacrosse team, and TAed Intro to CS.

Saheedat Onifade is a Vice President within Nuveen’s Alternative Investment’s team where she focuses on the $60 billion private credit and growth private capital strategies within the firm.

Prior to joining Nuveen in 2021, she worked at KKR & Co. within their private credit investing and capital markets team across the U.S. and Europe both on the structuring of new KKR portfolio transactions and underwriting deals for the private credit funds. She started her career as an analyst and then promoted to associate at Goldman Sachs, where she worked in the firm’s investment banking division covering financial institutions and leveraged finance companies.

Saheedat earned her B.S. with honors in Business Administration, majoring in Banking & Finance from the Terry College of Business.

Marisa is currently an Associate at Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts (KKR), a leading global investment firm. Marisa sits on the Private Credit team where she invests alongside private equity firms in support of their leveraged buyout transactions. KKR's private credit team has $185 billion of AUM and invests across the entire capital structure and across all industries.

Prior to joining KKR in July 2021, Marisa served as an investment banking associate in the Leveraged Finance team at Goldman Sachs where she focused on consumer, retail, real estate and gaming clients. Prior to that, she served as an investment banking analyst in the consumer retail industry group at Goldman Sachs. Marisa graduated summa cum laude from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis with a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Finance and a minor in Spanish.

Catherine Anne is currently pursuing her MBA at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  Most recently, Catherine Anne was a Senior Associate at Kainos Capital, a leading consumer-focused private equity firm in Dallas, Texas. Kainos typically invests between $50 - $200 million for majority stakes in growth-oriented and strategically relevant companies in the food and consumer products sector.

Prior to joining Kainos in 2018, she served as an investment banking analyst in the Oil & Gas group at Morgan Stanley in Houston. Catherine Anne graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Plan II Honors and a B.B.A. in the Business Honors Program.  She currently serves on the Education Committee for Texas Wall Street Women.

Ms. Renaudin is Chief Financial Officer of Stockbridge, with responsibility for directing Stockbridge’s finance and operations activities as well as active involvement in the overall strategic planning and direction for the firm. During her 23 years with Stockbridge and its predecessor firms, she has held various responsibilities across departments, including acquisitions, client relations, capital markets and portfolio management. Ms. Renaudin has been involved with the underwriting, evaluation and structuring of numerous real estate acquisitions and capital markets transactions. She played a major role in formation of Stockbridge, and the expansion of its product offerings to include the Core and Value Business. Ms. Renaudin holds a B.A. in Economics and Biological Anthropology & Anatomy from Duke University.

Ali is currently a Vice President at TruArc Partners, a private equity firm that facilitates transformational growth for high-potential middle market companies through focused organic and acquisition-led growth strategies, capitalizing on specific market trends. Ali spends her time at TruArc investing in specialty manufacturing companies focused on consumer driven end markets. Prior to joining TruArc Partners, she was an analyst in the Investment Banking group of Lazard from 2016 to 2018.

Ali graduated cum laude from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University where she received a BBA in Finance and Strategy. Ali resides in New York City where you can find her exploring new restaurants, practicing yoga and Pilates, and building her wine collection.

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Kristina is currently an Associate at Centerview Partners, a leading independent investment banking and advisory firm, where she focuses on M&A and strategic advisory across industries. Prior to Centerview, Kristina was an Investment Banking Associate in the Energy & Infrastructure Group at Credit Suisse, which she joined after completing her MBA. Kristina started her career at State Street, where she held various roles across the firm, including three years at SSGA in London leading business development initiatives for Official Sector clients.

Kristina graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in Africana Studies and received her MBA in Finance and International Management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Nicole Stagnaro is a Managing Director with Stockbridge, focused on large-scale portfolio transactions. Since joining Stockbridge in 2018, Stagnaro has led transaction activities for more than $5 billion of real estate portfolios in the industrial and residential sectors. She is also a member of the U.S. Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Stockbridge, Stagnaro served as an Executive Director at PGIM Real Estate and a key member of a series of closed-end and discretionary commingled funds. Previously, Stagnaro served as the Chief Investment Underwriter for PGIM, responsible for overseeing the underwriting of all acquisitions in the United States and Latin America. Additionally, Stagnaro served as the Assistant Portfolio Manager for PGIM’s $25 billion, open-end core fund.

Stagnaro received a B.A. in Business Administration and a minor in Psychology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and a M.S. in Real Estate Finance and Development from New York University. Stagnaro is a member of the Advisory Council for California Polytechnic State University’s College of Business, as well as the Women in Business Association. She is also a member of ULI’s Industrial and Office Park Development Council (IOPC).

Lindsey is an experienced investor with over a decade of private equity experience during which she has worked with companies across a range of industries including niche manufacturing, business & industrial services, food, and packaging.

Prior to Astara, Lindsey was employed by Brightstar Capital Partners, Arlon Group and KPS Capital Partners, where she worked on value and special situations investments. Lindsey started her career as an investment banking analyst at Lehman Brothers.

Lindsey earned a BA in Economics from Tufts University. She is also an active member of OutInvestors and Milken Young Leaders Circle.

Sofia Zhong is an Investor and Founding Member of L Catterton Impact. L Catterton is a leading consumer growth investor with over $30 billion AUM; its newly launched Impact Fund is dedicated to growing the next generation of mission-driven consumer companies that make the economy cleaner, healthier, and more equitable.

Previously, Sofia was an Investor in L Catterton's Flagship Buyout Fund. Sofia started her career as an Investment Banker in Evercore’s M&A practice.

Sofia graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Commerce. Born and raised in Toronto, Sofia resides in New York City where she spends her free time angel investing in women entrepreneurs, practicing yoga, and reading at Washington Square Park.