Eurazeo Completes Its North American Team and Announces the Appointment of Jim Goldman, New Senior Advisor alongside Jean-Paul Montupet

As part of the launch of its operations in the United States, the world’s largest private equity market, Eurazeo has just announced the appointment of Jim Goldman, former CEO of Godiva, as Senior Advisor.

Jim Goldman is joining the Eurazeo team recently set up in New York, which will invest directly in mid-sized US companies in the firm’s sectors of expertise, particularly focusing on consumer goods and business services, for individual equity amounts similar to those invested by Eurazeo Capital (preferred range of between $200 million and $500 million). In addition to creating a future balance of investments between Europe and the United States, the purpose of this office is to strengthen Eurazeo’s international ecosystem and help accelerate the international development of the 34 companies in which it has invested.

Comprising of a seven-person team, the New York office is led by Virginie Morgon, Deputy CEO of Eurazeo and President and CEO of Eurazeo North America, now living in the US.

With Jim Goldman’s arrival, the team can now rely on the support of two senior advisors:

• Jim Goldman is a specialist in the food industry to which he has devoted his career, occupying various management positions. He was President and CEO of Godiva Chocolatier between 2004 and 2014, and headed business divisions at Campbell and Nabisco. Earlier in his career, Jim worked at McKinsey & Company. He took up his position at Eurazeo on December 1, 2016 and retains several directorships, particularly at Domino’s Pizza and Save the Children.
• Jean-Paul Montupet is an industry executive who retired in 2012, after a career spanning more than 30 years at Emerson. He was Executive Vice President responsible for the Industrial Automation business, President of Emerson Europe and an Advisory Member of Emerson’s Board of Directors. He has accompanied Eurazeo since July 1, 2016 and continues to serve on the boards of Wabco Holdings, Assurant Inc., and IHS Markit.

Patrick Sayer, CEO of Eurazeo, declared: "I am very pleased that Jim Goldman and Jean-Paul Montupet are assisting Eurazeo, and our American developments in particular. The experienced team now up and running in the US is another asset to add to our distinctive traits: an investment company DNA geared towards development and a long-term vision; a family shareholder base; a European foothold and network offering access to Europe for American companies, gateways to Asia and Latin America; and a successful track record in terms of business transformation.”

Virginie Morgon, Deputy CEO of Eurazeo, added: "I welcome the top-notch expertise of our American senior advisors. Our team is now ready for action: we have identified companies where we can contribute true added value, based on our profile as an active international and long-term shareholder that is unique in the US. We have approached certain companies that combine, as intended, strong organic growth with a significant potential for transformation and international expansion. But we are taking our time, as we are just as selective in the US as we are in Europe.”

About Eurazeo

With a diversified portfolio of around 5 billion euros in assets, Eurazeo is one of the leading listed investment companies in Europe. Its purpose and mission is to identify, accelerate and enhance the transformation potential of the companies in which it invests. The Company covers various private equity segments through its four business divisions – Eurazeo Capital, Eurazeo Croissance, Eurazeo PME and Eurazeo Patrimoine. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term. Eurazeo is notably either a majority or key shareholder in AccorHotels, ANF Immobilier, Asmodee, CIFA, Desigual, Elis, Europcar, Fintrax, Grape Hospitality, Les Petits Chaperons Rouges, Moncler, Neovia, Novacap, Sommet Education and also SMEs or start-ups such as Colisée, Flash Europe International, Farfetch and Vestiaire Collective.

Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris. ISIN: FR0000121121 - Bloomberg: RF FP - Reuters: EURA.PA

For further information, please visit our website: www.eurazeo.com.

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