JAB announced it has strengthened and reorganized its team to support its strategic transformation, building on the firm’s success in pet insurance with the addition of a global life insurance platform. And with its commitment to consumer goods and services, this new strategy will further diversify JAB’s portfolio and position the investment firm for sustainable long-term growth.
Under the leadership of Managing Partners Peter Harf, Joachim Creus, and Frank Engelen, JAB is now organized as one team across three segments, including JAB Consumer and JAB Insurance.
As part of this reorganization, JAB announced several new joiners and promotions. And JAB also announced that two partners will leave the firm.
New Team Members:
1.) Lauren Aguiar
Partner, Chief Legal Officer & Global General Counsel, JAB Holding, New York
Lauren will join JAB Holding in April 2025 following 30 years at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. At Skadden, she was a member of the Policy Committee and served as President of the Skadden Foundation. Along with JAB, Lauren serves on the Board of Covenant House International and is the incoming chair of the Board of Directors of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
2.) Sanjeev Doss
Office of the Chairman of the Board, JAB Insurance, Miami
Sanjeev joined JAB Insurance in June 2024 with over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Previously, he worked as Senior Vice President, Head of Tax and Assistant General Counsel at American Equity. And Sanjeev has also held roles at MetLife and Brighthouse Financial and began his career as a litigator for Cigna Group.
3.) Adam Hodes
Managing Director, Head of Business Development & Integration, JAB Insurance, New York
Adam joined JAB Insurance in November 2024. He has over 35 years of experience in the insurance sector as an advisor and finance executive, including as a Managing Director at Bank of America, Executive Vice President-Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at MetLife, and Managing Director in the investment banking department at Credit Suisse. And Adam has also held leadership roles in strategic planning and M&A at WellChoice, Inc. and CNA Financial Corporation. Earlier in his career, he worked in the financial institutions groups at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation and Salomon Brothers.
4.) Mark Reilly
Managing Director and Chief Actuary, JAB Insurance, Miami
Mark joined JAB Insurance as Managing Director in June 2024. He has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and product development roles, most recently as Chief Client Solutions Officer at American Equity. And Mark also served as Deputy CFO, leading the reinsurance and FP&A areas of the business. Previously he led the team responsible for financial projections and capital management at Brighthouse Financial.
Senior Promotions:
1.) Gordon von Bretten
Senior Partner, JAB Consumer, London
Gordon joined JAB as Partner in April 2024, bringing 30 years of value creation and performance enhancement experience. And he joined from Coty, where he was Chief Transformation Officer and a member of the Executive Committee. Previously, Gordon worked as an operating partner at KKR Capstone and held a variety of leadership roles in industry and management consulting.
2.) Patricia Capel
Senior Partner, JAB Holding, London
Patricia joined JAB as Partner in 2021. And previously, she spent 25 years at AB InBev and Ambev, including leading AB InBev’s commercial operations in Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay. Before AB InBev, Patricia worked at Cargill Agricola and PwC.
3.) Rafael Cunha
Partner, JAB Holding, Amsterdam
Rafael joined JAB in 2019. And with about 15 years of investment and finance experience, Rafael previously served as CFO of JAB and Interim CFO of Espresso House (2023/24). Before JAB, he held various finance roles in consumer and healthcare private equity and was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. Rafael earned an MBA from Stanford University.
4.) Philippe Chenu
Managing Director and General Counsel, JAB Consumer, New York
Philippe joined JAB in Luxembourg as Legal Counsel in 2016. And in July 2023, he moved to the United States as Legal Counsel and was appointed General Counsel for JAB Consumer in 2024. Previously, Philippe worked as a Senior Associate at Loyens & Loeff and an Associate at Jones Day.
Departures:
1.) David Bell
Senior Partner – retiring
2.) Lubomira Rochet
Partner – joining Société Générale
KEY QUOTES:
“Over the last 40 years, we transformed from a family office into a global investment firm focused on consumer goods and services. Now, Joachim and Frank are delivering our next generational transformation, including the addition of a global life insurance platform. Alongside our enduring commitment to the consumer sector, JAB Insurance will add multiple layers of diversification to our portfolio, and we’ve assembled a world-class team to drive JAB’s next phase of long-term value creation.”
“David has been with JAB since 2012 and, during his more than 12 years with the firm, led many of our most significant portfolio transactions. Among other deals, David’s vision to build a modern beverage company, combining cold and hot beverages at scale, resulted in the formation of Keurig Dr. Pepper. Lubomira’s experience in global digital business transformations helped deliver meaningful value creation across our portfolio. On behalf of the entire JAB team, I’d like to thank David and Lubomira for their contributions to the firm. We wish them the very best in their future endeavors.”
- Peter Harf, JAB Chairman and Managing Partner
