Michael Ervin Appointed Incoming Chief Operating Officer of Prime Matter Labs

MIAMI and NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Prime Matter Labs, a leading contract manufacturer of beauty and personal care products, announced that Michael Ervin has been named as Incoming Chief Operating Officer (COO). The announcement was made by Incoming Chief Executive Officer Aaron Paas.

In his new role, Ervin will be responsible for overseeing all manufacturing operations for Prime Matter Labs' nationwide production facilities. He'll lead and scale Prime's supply chain, production, filling, and logistics organizations as the company continues to see rapid growth across its existing and new customer base. Ervin will work closely with co-founder and current COO, Mark Barakat, to manage the transition and set a seamless plan for the team to continue to execute with operational excellence. He will be based out of Prime Matter Labs' West Coast offices in Torrance, CA.

For more than 20 years, Ervin has led teams in quality assurance and operations, successfully managing multi-site manufacturing and end-to-end supply chain operations. His experience spans both brand businesses as well as contract manufacturers for personal care, beauty, and packaged food operations. Until recently, Ervin served as Senior Director of Operations for Nellson LLC, a full-service nutrition provider in North America. Ervin ran the Powders business, where he focused on improving their planning and scheduling capability, increasing capacity and service levels, and optimizing operations across plant locations. He also has held operations leadership positions at Cosmetic Labs of America, Ready-Pac Foods, and Marietta Corporation.

"Prime Matter Labs has been a leader at leveraging innovation in production operations," Ervin explained. "As the company continues to grow, I plan to continue to innovate and optimize nationwide operations to benefit the company and the brand partners we serve."

"The commitment to quality and accountability with every production run is critical to the continued success of Prime Matter Labs" said Mark Barakat, current Chief Operating Officer. Barakat added, "I'm thrilled that we are adding a leader like Michael to ensure our focus will always be on providing unmatched partnership to suppliers and brands in the beauty and personal care industry." Incoming CEO Aaron Paas said, "We are delighted to work with Michael to build on the highly productive manufacturing operations foundation that Mark has set." Paas added, "By adding Michael's leadership to our team, we will continue to push our industry forward by making contract manufacturing better for brands."

New Leaders, New Opportunity
Ervin's appointment follows Prime Matter Labs' recent appointment of David Kilburn as Chief Financial Officer and Jennifer Hurtikant as Incoming Chief Science Officer. 

Kilburn brings extensive experience in driving change and improving the financial performance of global multi-site manufacturing organizations. He will be leading the Company's financial operations out of Prime Matter Labs' headquarters in Miami. Hurtikant joined the Company after founding beauty.art.science, an independent custom formulation house for skin, body, and hair care, which was acquired by Prime Matter Labs last November. Hurtikant brings more than 20 years of formulation, development, regulatory, and manufacturing experience to the Prime Matter Labs' team.

In early 2020, Prime Matter Labs partnered with Monogram Capital Partners, a leading consumer private equity investment firm, to embark on a bold new vision to position Prime Matter Labs for long-term success. Finding leaders such as Kilburn, Hurtikant, and Ervin were pivotal pieces of that plan. The founders, Mohamed Barakat, Frank Linares, and Mark Barakat will complete their transition out of the day-to-day leadership of the company in August, and take on roles as active members of the Board of Directors. From their new roles, they will continue to provide their leadership and guidance to the executive team, bolstering the strategic direction, formulation expertise, and commitment to quality they have established over the past four decades.

About Prime Matter Labs
Prime Matter Labs is on a mission to transform beauty and personal care contract manufacturing. It strives to be the most trusted product development and production partner for recognized and emerging brands redefining the industry. Founded by Mohamed Barakat, Frank Linares, Mark Barakat, and B.M. Barakat (c. 1926-2007), Prime Matter Labs has for four decades achieved high standards for its product development and production capabilities, formulation expertise, quality and regulatory control, and personalized project management. To learn more about Prime Matter Labs, please visit: www.primematterlabs.com.

About Monogram Capital Partners 
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA and founded in 2014, Monogram Capital Partners focuses exclusively on investing in high-growth consumer brands and service providers. With approximately $700 million of regulatory assets under management, the firm seeks to partner with inspirational founders and talented management teams across the consumer ecosystem. Prime Matter Labs joined Monogram's portfolio in January 2020. To learn more about Monogram, please visit: www.monogramcapital.com.

CONTACT:
Michael Shmarak
312.919.9222
[email protected] 

SOURCE Prime Matter Labs