David Darragh Joins LongueVue Capital to Lead Food and Beverage Investment Strategy
NEW ORLEANS, June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- LongueVue Capital ("LVC") is pleased to announce that David Darragh has joined the firm as an Operating Partner to support its food and beverage investment strategy. LVC, a partnership-driven, operator-centric private equity firm based in New Orleans, now has highly experienced operating partners focusing on the life sciences, healthcare, industrial services, and food and beverage sectors.
David, who most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of New Orleans-based Reily Foods Company, has over three decades of experience as a senior executive accelerating the growth and profitability of branded product portfolios, contract manufacturing business lines, and private label operations. At Reily, David grew iconic brands including Luzianne Tea and Blue Plate Mayonnaise through geographic expansion and new product development, and he completed the strategic acquisitions of New England Coffee and French Market Coffee. Prior to Reily, David served as President of Zatarain's, Inc., a subsidiary of McCormick & Company, growing the business from a regional player to a national brand. David also led the Hot Pockets brand of Chef America before it was sold to Nestle for $2.6 billion in 2002.
Ray Jeandron, LVC Partner who helps lead the firm's strategy, commented, "David has a tremendous track record of building best-in-class brands, highly efficient supply chains, and strong consumer reach across multiple geographies and product formats. We are excited to be pursuing opportunities with David in the vast and dynamic food and beverage sector. He is a great cultural fit here at LVC and will be a strong partner to our entrepreneurial management teams."
Rick Rees, LVC's Co-Founder and Managing Partner, added, "David has been a long-time friend of LongueVue Capital and is now an incredible asset to our food and beverage strategy. David's leadership and experience align perfectly with our approach to partnering with exceptional management teams seeking financial and human capital to achieve their company's next phase of growth."
Within food and beverage, LVC is pursuing investment opportunities across the value chain, including value-added ingredient suppliers, contract manufacturers, innovative co-packing partners, and niche branded product companies. LVC is focused on businesses with deep category experience, strong track records of innovation, exceptional quality and safety standards, and broad manufacturing or sourcing capabilities.
David commented, "LongueVue Capital has a unique, partnership-oriented approach to investing that resonates with entrepreneurs seeking both growth capital and thought partners to take their businesses to the next level. This approach is ideal for the constantly evolving food and beverage sector where consumption patterns have shifted dramatically, creating tremendous opportunities for operators in the space. I am very excited to be joining the LVC team and to work with our management team partners to accelerate growth and create value for their businesses."
About LongueVue Capital
Founded in 2001, LongueVue Capital is a New Orleans-based private equity firm that focuses on providing human capital, financial capital, and a skill set built upon a successful 19-year track record of partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams to drive value creation in middle market companies. Having managed over $500 million of capital spanning three funds coupled with 150 years of combined operating and investing experience, our team is the ideal partner for middle market companies at inflection points and seeking to maximize value.
Our opportunistic investment strategy provides the flexibility to partner with attractive businesses across a variety of industries and situations, and we tailor transaction structures to meet company and stakeholders' objectives. While we are selective with our investment strategy, we target growth-oriented companies with scalable, sustainable business models and exceptional leadership teams.
Our proactive, hands-on approach enables us to be thoughtful stewards of our portfolio companies and trusted and dependable strategic partners to all stakeholders. Together with our entrepreneur and management team partners, we help create superior value for our portfolio companies and investors.
To learn more about LongueVue Capital, please visit our website at www.lvcpartners.com.
SOURCE LongueVue Capital
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