Todd Siwak
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Hey Todd — we both ended up in PE from pretty different directions. been thinking a lot about proprietary origination in consumer services lately. would be good to connect.
Hey Todd, we both ended up in PE though from pretty different paths — I came through IB in London, not the operator route like you. origination was always the same story for me — clear thesis, decent relationships, but no proprietary system of record tying anything together. every deal virtually sourced from scratch, nothing compounding over time. curious if that's still how most funds operate or if I'm behind the times? — Russ
Hey Todd, looks like we both landed in PE, though from different angles — I came through banking at CS & Greenhill in London into growth equity, not the operating side like you scaling Ferrara and then rolling up consumer services verticals at Encore. the pattern I keep seeing with most funds is weirdly consistent — strong thesis, solid network, but no proprietary system of record. the people, tools and ideas are never really connected, so every deal is virtually sourced from scratch. nothing compounds on itself. curious if that resonates or if you've built something different at Encore? — Russ
hey Todd — no worries if the timing's off. most funds I talk to have tried some version of building origination in-house — analyst pulling from Pitchbook or Grata, maybe using ChatGPT to help qualify, dumping it into a spreadsheet. each piece kind of works, but there's no system of record tying it together. the people, tools and ideas stay disconnected, so there's tonnes of wasted energy. been helping a few funds like Mentmore work through that. curious if you've run into the same thing at Encore? — Russ
totally get it if origination infrastructure isn't top of mind right now — most funds have 10 things ahead of it on the priority list. the funds I've seen crack it early just tend to compound deal flow in a way that's hard to replicate later. if it ever moves up the list, I'm easy to find. — Russ
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Todd — Noticed you co-founded Swiss Army Travel Gear, scaled it to $150M, then spent years on the PE side at L Catterton before building Encore around service vertical consolidation. That's a rare founder-operator-investor loop — I took a smaller version of the same path (growth equity in London, then building my own thing). The investing was great, the sourcing was brutal — so I built SearchLoop to fix it. Backer Group in the UK uses it to consolidate service and light manufacturing businesses — map targets across a fragmented vertical → score on acquisition fit → reach owners and book meetings. All custom-built to their thesis and plugged into their CRM. With Encore focused on consolidating consumer service verticals — pet care, specialty beverage — this felt like a natural fit. We've already mapped similar fragmented service spaces from the Backer work. Worth a quick call to walk through what's already in there and how it'd apply to your verticals? Russ searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
Prospect Research
## PROSPECT INFORMATION: Name: Todd Siwak Title: Managing Partner Fund: Encore Management Group Background: Todd Siwak is currently the Managing Partner at Encore Group, a role he started in November 2022. Based in St. Louis, his current focus is leading an entrepreneurial team to drive value creation through the consolidation and enhancement of fragmented consumer service verticals using independent SPVs. He is actively involved in the pet care industry, as evidenced by his November 6, 2024 post: "Are you in Hershey for Barkleigh Productions Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo? Come see us at Booth #91 and meet our team!" through his company Digs Dog Care. Before founding Encore Group, Todd had a distinguished career in the consumer goods and private equity sectors. He served as President and Chief Business Officer of Ferrero North America (2021–2022) and was the CEO of Ferrara Candy Company for eight years (2013–2021). At Ferrara, he famously led the company to a 150% profit increase in three years and stabilized the Nestlé U.S. confections portfolio after acquisition. His background also includes being an Operating Partner at L Catterton and Co-Founding TRG Accessories (Swiss Army Travel Gear), which he grew to $150 million in revenue. He holds a J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law and a B.S. in Economics and Finance from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Key skills include Private Equity, M&A, Business Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Cross-functional Team Leadership. He has a strong track record in organizational restructuring and scaling businesses through "disruptive approaches to operational and strategic improvements." Recent Post Highlights: - July 28, 2022: Announced his departure from Ferrero to "return to my professional roots of private equity investing," noting that under his leadership, "Ferrero is the fastest growing confectionery company in North America." - July 19, 2022: Celebrated corporate culture at the "Italy Run by Ferrero," stating, "The Ferrero team celebrated our Italian roots and got active... #ProudFerrerian." - July 16, 2022: Highlighted ESG goals, mentioning investments to make "100% of packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable." - November 23, 2021: Celebrated the groundbreaking of a chocolate processing facility in Bloomington, IL: "The ability to process high quality chocolate here in North America is instrumental to building on our important growth in this market." - June 3, 2021: Discussed corporate values at Ferrara, announcing the addition of a new core value: "Alongside Collaboration, Integrity, Agility, and Empowerment, we have added Empathy... Empathetic workplace teams cultivate trust." - October 5, 2020: Shared success regarding the Keebler acquisition: "Since we acquired the Keebler brand name, our Ferrara team has led Keebler Fudge Stripes® to become the #1 fudge cookie brand, growing at 2.2X the total cookie category." Fund details: - Description: Encore Group is a Private Equity firm that invests in and grows consumer services businesses. We focus on the consolidation and optimization of fragmented, high-growth industries. With a proven playbook for the integration and operation of consumer services companies, we generate industry-leading efficiencies that accelerate growth. We deploy capital across our three verticals - LiveWell (home health), Better Than Home (pet services), and Well Labs Plus (medspa). - Website: https://www.encoregroupinc.com - Location: St Louis, Missouri, United States - Lead qualification: Research: - Query: =Encore Management Group Todd Siwak recent investments fund thesis - Answer: Todd Siwak is a partner at Encore Management Group, focusing on growing fragmented service verticals through Special Purpose Vehicles. Encore targets substantial returns with a five-year holding period and initial equity funding of $45 to $75+ million. Encore seeks partners with industry insights and active engagement.