BLUE CRANE NEWS
Cranemere Team Members
Embrace Busy Fall Program
In this issue:
• Appreciating Thanksgiving
• New Faces, New Places
• Birth Announcements
• Kayo Conference Panel Includes Jackie
• Smarter Production for ES Group’s McBath
• Exemplis’ Albany Park Furniture
• Interview with Mark Ramadan
Appreciating Thanksgiving
We encourge you to send us story ideas that your fellow team members would like to learn about. Thank you!
In This Issue 02
Appreciating Thanksgiving
How to remember a special American holiday
NY Office Gathers on the 43rd Terrace
New York office celebrates “Autumn in New York”
New Additions to the Cranemere Family
New birth announcements herald expanding families
New Faces, New Places
Craneere welcomes Jenny Kreps, and Jack Mitchell
Jackie Participates in Kayo NYC Popup Series
A community that supports and celebrates women
McBath Sets the Style for Bathroom Designs
A smarter production process strengthens its positioning
Albany Park Furniture: Stylish Options
Exemplis brand includes genuine value and comfort in this Exemplis brand
An Interview with Mark Ramadan
Remarkable accomplishments in consumer products and as navigator for Cranemere
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Thanksgiving is simply a chance to appreciate the good things in life, like family, community, and the riches of the land.
Thanksgiving as a holiday originates from the Native American philosophy of giving without expecting anything in return. In the first celebration of this holiday, the Wampanoag tribe provided not only the food for the feast but also the teachings of agriculture and hunting (corn, beans, wild rice, and turkey are some specific examples of foods introduced by Native Americans).
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In the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the 26th, the final Thursday of November 1863. Since that time Thanksgiving has been observed throughout the United States.
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We wish our team members, their friends, and family members a Happy Thanksgiving.
October 2024: On the NY Terrace
It was an opportunity to get back together after the summer, but due to a hectic travel schedule and frequent meetings the event that had been originally scheduled for September was moved to October. Although it was a bit chilly and breezy that day, the team was able to gather for a traditional “autumn in New York,” with a gorgeous sky, light refreshments, and welcomed camaradarie.
Birth Announcements
Girls - 1 and Boys - 3
Nathaniel Collery O’Mara
Born on June 21st, 2024. He weighed 7lbs and 8oz.
Bip, Nate, and I are very appreciative of the kind wishes and support from the Cranemere team.
Rosie Maayan Kaufman
Born Friday, June 28, at 1:58 p.m., weighing 5 lbs, 13 oz.
Her name commemorates the honor and legacy of Yael’s paternal great-great aunt Rosalie, and Yael’s maternal great-aunt Rosa. We appreciate all of the kind wishes and support from our Cranemere family.
NEW FACES, New Places...
Cranemere Names Jenny Kreps as Senior Associate
Jenny focuses on identifying, evaluating and partnering with Cranemere’s operating companies, including NorthStar Anesthesia, Outpatient Imaging Affiliates, Arietis Health and Extant Healthcare.
Prior to Cranemere, Jenny spent several years at Kohlberg & Company, where she focused on investing in and partnering with Outsourced Pharmaceutical Services companies. Jenny began her career at Deutsche Bank in its Industrials investment banking practice. She holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago. When Jenny is not at work, she spends her time “searching for the best bagel in the city, Citibiking out to Brooklyn, or attempting to get a tennis court on the West Side Highway.” c
Beauden Henry Winfield Ellis
Born September 11, 2024 he was 4lbs 11oz. Harry, Ali and baby are both doing very well and big sister Harper loves giving Beauden big kisses. We really appreciate all the kind wishes.
Damian Owen Chan
Born November 9, 2024, weighing in at 6 lb 6oz and 20.5” tall. Damian’s two names (Damian and Owen) are ones that Ivan and Monica liked so we decided to use both names.
Cranemere adds Jack Mitchell to Associate Roster
Jack focuses on identifying and evaluating potential acquisitions and partnering with Cranemere’s operating companies. He joined Cranemere from Citi where he worked in the company’s Global Chemicals Investment Banking Group for three years. He is from New Jersey and graduated with a BS in applied mathematics from Yale University. Jack is a fan of Philadelphia sports. Growing up in a suburb of and going to school in Philadelphia, he has come to love the unique and rambunctious fanbase. “In person games are a one-of-a-kind experience in the City of Brotherly Love and I love going home and catching a game with family or friends.” c
Jackie: Kayo 2024 Panelist
OOn October 5, 2024, Jackie Kier was a panelist at the Kayo Women’s NYC Healthcare Private Equity Panel. The discussion focused on healthcare investment trends in today’s landscape including opportunities and challenges facing the industry, expected impact of the 2024 election, new and emerging investment themes, and outlook for the sector.
McBath Leads Trend in Bathroom Fixture Design
Valencia, Spain-based McBath is one of the nine brands that comprise ES Group - Extraordinay Surfaces, and is noted for its production of avant-garde bathroom equipment. It has installed bathrooms in over 19 countries, with revolutionary technology that elevates bathroom fittings to an exceptional level of durability, comfort and design.
Its silica-free mineral composition creates a homogeneous structure that does not deteriorate, come apart or peel away, and that can be regenerated and restored to its original state. The high melting temperature of the material makes it possible to create curved shapes and obtain surfaces with imperceptible joints.
A More Sustainable Product
The broader construction industry’s carbon footprint is significant, and the industry is working to accelerate decarbonization and circularity. Simultaneously, customers are increasingly considering environmental impact among other criteria when selecting building materials. By virtue of its product materials and production process, ES Group has an opportunity to position mineral composite products, with its trendy Art Deco design as the lower-carbon alternative to customers that value this feature.
Cranemere Board of Director Interviews Now on Website
During the June AGM in London four members of the Cranemere Board of Directors were invited to share their impressions of what makes Cranemere unique. A. Umit Taftali, Jennifer Duvalier, Marcos Jorge Leon, and Allen Waldrop all agreed to be videotaped while they commented on four different aspects of Cranemere’s philosophy and market positioning: What makes an ideal shareholder; Sustainability, Governance, and the Cranemere Difference.
Each of the videos runs about three minutes and they reveal spontaneous, unscripted comments from each of the participants about their experience wth Cranemere. Each speaker describes the company’s unique approach as a capital partner with family-owned businesses, founders, and management teams. Their comments provide valuable insight into the differrences that define Cranemere’s approach and how the company’s philosophy as business as a force for good has created thriving partnerships. To view the interviews click on the Board of Directors tab on the website, Cranemere.com. c
Featured Brand
Albany Park is a leading direct-to-consumer home furnishing brand from Exemplis focused on the residential upholstered furniture market (sofas, armchairs, ottomans), and other home furniture products.
Albany Park is designed to be lived in, loved on, used often and enjoyed. Our comfortable curated collections and beautiful yet durable fabrics ensure quality beyond compare. Because when it comes to cozy, you should never compromise.
Assembly is a cinch. It literally takes just 15 minutes (or less). Seriously. Watch our videos to see how easy it is.
We guarantee Albany Park for as long as you own the furniture. We stand proudly behind the craftsmanship of our pieces.
Place an order today and pay for it over time with our partner, Affirm. Choose a six-month plan and pay zero interest.
Each month Cranemere team members are provided with discount codes for Exemplis brands, including Sit-On-It seating, Timbuk2, XChair, Mavis, EdloeFinch, and Albany Park! c
Albany Park Sectional
Albany Park Sofas
Interview with Mark Ramadan
Earlier this year The Cranemere Group announced that Mark Ramadan had been named Advisory Partner of Cranemere. Along with Bernardo Hees, who was named Operating Partner in March, Mr. Ramadan’s appointment bolsters the firm’s Consumer Group, bringing his experience founding and leading recognized consumer brands to help Cranemere partner with like-minded businesses to drive long-term growth. The practice area is led by veteran Cranemere Managing Director Diana Propper de Callejon.
Mr. Ramadan has deep expertise as a founder and CEO of consumer companies. In 2010 he co-founded Sir Kensington’s, a global premium condiment brand, which was acquired by Unilever in 2017. After Sir Kensington’s, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Hu, a leading better-for-you chocolate brand, through its acquisition by Mondelez in 2021. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of three mission-driven food companies. We recently sat down with Mark to learn more about his plans with Cranemere.
BCN: At Cranemere we’re looking at a number of opportunities in the consumer group. How can you help us better understand the challenges and the opportunities of these potential partnerships that we’re evaluating right now?
MR: Consumer is a space that I know very well from my 15 years of building Sir Kensington’s and Hu Chocolate. In contrast to industrials, healthcare, and other sectors, Consumer is a sector that has suffered from a particular lack of choice around liquidity events to entrepreneurs: for decades, the only choices have been a sale to a strategic, a sale to a PE firm, or a public listing. The big challenge facing Consumer entrepreneurs today is how to create lasting impact with their companies, at scale, when so many strategic acquisitions have led to failed integrations. Too often, the big conglomerates are excited to buy the smaller, innovative companies for their growth and loyal consumers but often kill the cultures, momentum, and progress of the companies they buy. And this is the key problem to solve in Consumer – without scale, the missions of these companies to change individual and planetary health outcomes simply cannot be achieved.
BCN: You had very different roles at both Sir Kensington’s and Hu.
MR: Yes, at Sir Kensington’s I was the co-founder and CEO, and at Hu, I joined as the CEO seven years after the company’s founding. The privilege of holding both roles in my career, in the context of my work with Cranemere, is that it allows me to speak credibly to both the passionate founder who is looking for a partner that has built something from the ground-up, as well as the investor group or Board who may be seeking input from a more seasoned management executive. To both audiences, I’m excited to be able to communicate the Cranemere difference with the right nuances.
BCN: The US food industry is dominated by the prevalence of sugar, salt, and additives. Early in your career you wanted to inform consumers about the importance of creating healthier food options without sacrificing taste.
I see my role as connecting Cranemere to these entrepreneurs who have the ambition and passion to build a large company over the long-term while retaining a significant degree of agency and independence. There are simply no other options like Cranemere to consumer entrepreneurs seeking liquidity and access to growth capital, and I believe there’s a huge opportunity to create a new option in this field. My experiences selling both Sir Kensington’s and Hu to large strategics, and seeing how these acquisitions damaged our companies, position me well to be an authentic and genuine voice to this audience.
MR: Growing up in a Lebanese household, food was always the center of family and culture. There was little discussion about what food was “good” or “bad” or “unhealthy”, but rather food was a way to connect us all through custom and conversation. Because of this experience, when launching Sir Kensington’s, it was intuitive to me to focus on the beauty and taste of real, quality food, rather than to denigrate food that may be laden with sugar or artificial ingredients. Consumers don’t want to be lectured to, they want to discover new ways to eat that make them feel like they get to have their cake and eat it too – something that’s better for them, the planet, and tastes great.
We have a very tall mountain to climb in the US. A combination of poor policy design, bad incentives, short-term thinking, and significant consolidation has led to a plethora of unhealthy, cheap food and a dearth of packaged food that is both affordable and healthful. The last 20 years has been a veritable Cambrian explosion of healthier, better-for-you consumer food and beverage brands challenging the nostalgic unhealthy ones of our childhood – no category has been left uncovered! Everything from cereal to peanut butter to condiments to chips to soda has been tapped by passionate entrepreneurs looking to sell into this new, rapidly growing interest in healthy eating. Organic has been one of, if not the, fastest-growing product attributes in grocery every year for the past two decades, consistently posting double digit growth. To me, this indicates that it is possible to change hearts and palates by telling great stories with healthier, delicious options, rather than demonizing the old, unhealthy ones.
Mark Ramadan Interview
BCN: So how do we remove our collective addiction to sugar? You know, how can we change this? Because it’s ingrained in our society from birth through adulthood.
MR: This isn’t a problem that will be solved on a short timeline. The infiltration of artificial chemicals and preservatives into our food system, like disodium EDTA, red dye #40, high fructose corn syrup, and others happened over the course of decades and are now commonplace alongside salt, sugar, and fat in virtually every packaged food in the store. Similarly, I believe it will take decades more for this generation’s entrepreneurs to build their healthier food companies to a scale where the average American palate is being affected. Scale is necessary because healthier foods are more expensive to produce, and without scale, they will remain unachievably expensive to the average consumer – the ultimate goal of our industry is to make healthy eating mainstream, not to keep restrict it to only those who can afford to shop Whole Foods.
The challenge with this dynamic is that most food and beverage companies that do reach any amount of scale get acquired by one of the ten or so large strategics that own most brands in the grocery store. Once acquired, these insurgent brands typically lose their ability to both innovate within their new large bureaucratic home, and their unique voice to the consumer, and eventually their teams and independence. Sometimes, these acquisitions even go so poorly that the brands are then resold back to the original founder for pennies on the dollar (like with Krave Jerky or Honest Tea)!
The reason I’m so attracted to the Cranemere proposition, and why I believe entrepreneurs will be too, is the focus on the long-term. The best thing we can do if we want to positively affect the food system is to allow these mission-driven brands to continue to scale and flourish independently, to allocate resources for the long-term rather than to optimize a short-term exit, and over time become a relevant cultural force.
Outside of food, companies like Patagonia have clearly demonstrated, when given a long independent runway, the ability to thrive financially, and create real impact on consumer purchasing behavior and public policy.
BCN: When will we catch up to our Canadian neighbors or our European friends when it comes to improving our food supply?
MR: It’s true that Americans suffer from less stringent regulations than either Canada or Europe. A mainstream cereal like Fruit Loops, when sold in America, will contain half a dozen ingredients that are banned in Canada, including red dye #40. The same exact product, sold just over the border, will be stripped of those ingredients and sold in a more natural and healthful form to Canadian children, while American children will unknowingly suffer. Again, the reasons for this are complex and range from political to agricultural to economic. However, I think that companies and their consumers in America have a unique ability to make themselves heard. If more companies focused on making food the right way are given a chance to grow, their voice and clout will grow as well. What Americans need are advocates that can counterbalance the lobbying efforts of big CPG aiming to keep their costs down and consumers in the dark, and hopefully in the long-term enough ambitious entrepreneurs can reach that type of scale. c
