New York, April 28, 2021 - MidOcean Partners (“MidOcean”), a premier New York–based alternative asset manager specializing in middle-market private equity and alternative credit investments, announced today that Tony DiLeo and Lisa Mann have joined the firm as Operating Partners. Mr. DeLio, an ingredients industry executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning strategic innovation, M&A, R&D, and marketing, will work closely with MidOcean’s investment team to further develop and execute the firm’s investment strategy within the specialty ingredients space. Ms. Mann is an accomplished and proven leader of enterprise transformation. Throughout her career, she has advised senior leaders of Fortune1000 companies, start-ups, venture capital and private equity firms on strategy, marketing and talent management. In her role as Operating Partner, she will support MidOcean’s Consumer vertical and advise on the Firm’s investment efforts in the food and beverage space.
“Tony DeLio brings a diverse wealth of knowledge and operating expertise cultivated at a range of top-tier global food and ingredients companies,” said Steve Loeffler, a Vice President at MidOcean. “We’re confident that his strategic vision, technical and innovation capabilities, M&A expertise, and experience working with businesses ranging from start-ups to international market leaders, will be valuable as we continue to identify attractive opportunities in the broader ingredients market. MidOcean has a long history of focus in this industry and together we will be able to look at a broader set of opportunities benefitting from emerging consumer trends in the ingredients market.”
MidOcean focuses on specialty ingredients companies that provide value-added, differentiated products across a variety of end markets including food and beverage, personal care, beauty, pet, and agriculture. Notable prior investments include Florida Food Products, Agilex, FreshPet, and Nutrabolt among other companies in broader food and personal care markets.
“I’ve spent most of my career helping larger organizations establish and navigate a strategic vision to grow through sales, innovation, marketing and acquisitions, and am thrilled to bring my experience to MidOcean’s dynamic and impressive portfolio companies,” said DeLio. “The ingredients market today is undergoing tremendous change and innovation with constantly evolving consumer preferences. I am delighted to be joining the MidOcean team at this exciting time, and look forward to helping identify and grow new specialty ingredients investments and contribute to the success of the portfolio companies.”
DeLio most recently served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Chief Innovation Officer at Ingredion, a global manufacturer of ingredients for the food, pharmaceutical, and industrial industries, where he was responsible for leading the strategy, M&A, and innovation functions globally. He also co-led Ingredion’s Global Specialties business, with sales of over $1.5 billion, and oversaw the global R&D function. Additionally, he recently led Ingredion’s acquisition of PureCircle and served as CEO of PureCircle during the global integration into Ingredion.
Prior to Ingredion, DeLio spent four years at Archer Daniels Midland, where he held numerous senior positions, including Corporate Vice President of Marketing and External Relations, and President of the Nutraceutical and Protein Specialties Divisions. Earlier in his career, DeLio worked for Mars, Inc. in multiple businesses and functions including the Confectionary and Food divisions as well as Pet Care. He started his career with Nestle R&D. DeLio has also served as a director to several specialty food and ingredients businesses, ranging from start-ups to multi-generational, family-owned businesses, including Clara Foods, CreAgri, and Radlo Foods.
“We are thrilled to welcome Lisa to the MidOcean team,” said Daniel Penn, Managing Director at MidOcean. “Food and beverage is a major area of focus for us within the Consumer vertical and our companies will benefit from Lisa’s consulting and major brand expertise in this sub-sector. Her knowledge and insights will be invaluable to MidOcean and an incredible resource to our portfolio companies.”
Ms. Mann is currently Managing Director and Head of the Consumer Practice at executive search and talent advisory firm, Raines International Inc., as well as the firm’s Chief Marketing Officer. In this capacity, she works with senior leaders in consumer-centric industries, such as consumer packaged goods, consumer healthcare, retail and eCommerce/direct-to-consumer, to drive change and impact results through talent.
Ms. Mann has held a number of senior positions at major consumer-focused companies throughout her career. She served as President of the Global Nutrition Group at PepsiCo, where she delivered the business plan and innovation portfolio to grow the $7 billion nutrition portfolio. Prior to PepsiCo, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at KIND Healthy Snacks, where she successfully created the company’s first omni-channel marketing plan designed to drive brand awareness and sales revenue. Previously, Ms. Mann spent seven years at Kraft/Mondelez International in several key roles. She was Senior Vice President of the Global Gum Category, where she was tapped to turnaround the declining $3 billion global gum business; Vice President of Nabisco Cookies (including Oreo and Chips Ahoy!) and North American Marketing Services, where she led the company’s $2 billion U.S. cookie business; and Vice President of Consumer Experiences, a role in which she led corporate marketing to deliver engaging experiences to maximize the lifetime value of every Kraft consumer.
Additionally, Ms. Mann was the CEO and Founder of Think Marketing, a firm she launched to partner with marketing leaders and build brands such as Barilla, Kraft, GE Appliances, and Barney and Bob the Builder.
Ms. Mann commented, “I am pleased to be joining the MidOcean team. The firm has built a world-class portfolio of companies in the Consumer sector and they are taking a focused approach to expanding into specialized areas of the food and beverage space. I look forward to lending my marketing, strategy, and talent management expertise to drive change and growth in these companies.”
In addition to her work experience, Ms. Mann serves on boards including SunFed Ranch, and is a Strategic Advisor for Rethink Foods and Tufts University’s Marketing Council. She has received many industry awards for her work in advertising, including the coveted Grand Prix Cyber Award from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
