Advantage Solutions Connects Brands, Retailers & People

James M. Kilts is a renowned leader in the consumer goods industry, with more than 40 years of experience leading a range of companies and iconic brands. He is a founding partner of Centerview Capital Consumer, a strategic investment firm that has held an ownership interest in Advantage Solutions since 2014.

Kilts also serves as chairman of the board of directors of The Simply Good Foods Company. He was previously chairman of the board, CEO and president of Gillette, where he successfully reinvigorated the business and oversaw its sale to The Procter & Gamble Company, subsequently assuming the role of vice chairman of the merged company’s board.

Earlier executive leadership roles include president and CEO of Nabisco, executive vice president of The Philip Morris Companies, president of Kraft USA as well as president of Oscar Mayer.

His prior board service includes Pfizer, Unifi Inc., Nielsen Holdings NV, Big Heart Pet Brands, MetLife Inc. and MeadWestvaco, among others. Kilts also served a two-year term as chairman of the board of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Christopher Baldwin has served as a director of the Company since February 2023. Mr. Baldwin currently serves as the Non‑Executive Chairman of the board of directors of Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ), a leading beverage alcohol company. From 2015 until June 2024, he served on the board of directors BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BJ) (“BJ’s”), a membership only warehouse chain. Previously, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of BJ’s in 2015 and also served as Chief Executive Officer of the company from February 2016 until February 2020. He also currently serves as a Managing Partner of CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”), a private equity firm advising funds that indirectly hold equity interests in the Company and Topco. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of Hess Retail Corporation, a global independent energy company, from 2010 to March 2015. He has also held executive roles at Kraft Foods Group, Inc., a food and beverage company, from 2007 to 2010, The Hershey Company, a global confectionery manufacturer, from 2004 to 2007, Nabisco, a manufacturer of cookies and snacks, and The Procter & Gamble Company, a multinational consumer goods corporation. Mr. Baldwin is the former chairman of the board of the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, and remains an executive director of such association. He currently also serves on the boards of the following privately-held companies: Authentic Brands Group, ExamWorks, Mediaocean and PDC Brands. Mr. Baldwin serves as an executive board member at Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership, a school-based nonprofit that provides educational intervention, leadership training and lacrosse for at‑risk youth. Mr. Baldwin graduated from Siena College in Loudonville, New York with a bachelor’s degree in Economics.

Virginie Costa has served as a director of the Company since October 2020. Ms. Costa served as Senior Vice President Finance North America of Mondelēz from July 2023 through March 2025. Ms. Costa brings over 20 years of financial and operational experience with brands focused on consumer experience. Ms. Costa was the Global Chief Financial Officer of Wella AG from June 2021 to December 2022 and of Godiva Chocolatier from August 2018 to June 2021. Prior to that, she served at Burberry Americas as the Chief Financial and Operations Officer from February 2013 to August 2018, and Chief Financial Officer from May 2011 to February 2013. She served in a number of executive positions with Hermes of Paris, Inc. in New York City, including as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer from December 2005 to May 2011. She began her career in public accounting and consulting at KPMG LLP and Arthur Andersen LLP. Ms. Costa received her “Diplome des Grandes Ecoles de Commerce,” equivalent of an MBA in the United States, at France’s Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Nantes (since renamed as Audencia).

Timothy J. Flynn is a director of Advantage and a partner with Leonard Green & Partners L.P. Prior to joining LGP in 2003, he was a director in the investment banking department of Credit Suisse First Boston, which he joined following CSFB’s acquisition of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he had been since 1996.

Flynn serves on the boards of the following companies or their affiliates: OMNIA, Pye-Barker, The Container Store, The Wrench Group, Veritext Legal Solutions and Insight Global. He has served on the boards of CCC Information Services, United States Infrastructure Corp. and Tank Holdings Corp., among others. Flynn is the chair of The Container Store’s culture and compensation committee.

Adam Levyn is a partner at Leonard Green & Partners L.P. He joined the firm as an associate in 2011. Previously, he worked in private equity at KKR in its New York office from 2007 to 2009 and in the Global Industrials group of Bear, Stearns & Co. from 2005 to 2007. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Tiffany Han is a director of Advantage and a director at CVC Capital Partners. She is actively involved with CVC Funds’ investments in Petco, PDC Brands and Bruin Sports through the investments of funds advised by CVC.

Han previously worked at UBS Investment Bank in the mergers and acquisition group.

Jody Macedonio is chief financial officer for Meati, a maker of animal-free meat alternatives.

Strategic leadership and people acumen have been hallmarks of Macedonio’s career. Prior to joining Meati in 2022, she was chief financial officer for Chobani. She previously served as chief financial officer for 8th Avenue Food & Provisions and Dean Foods and held senior finance roles at Henkel AG, PepsiCo Inc. and Nestlé/Alcon Laboratories.

Macedonio serves on the board of directors of Nutrabolt, an active health-and-wellness company, and 4word, an organization serving professional women with faith. She previously was a member of the board of directors of Organic Valley Fresh.

Robin Manherz is executive vice president and chief operating officer at SAP SE across sales, services and customer engagement functions worldwide. In this role, she is responsible for operationalizing the company’s strategy through accelerated growth and transformation, including execution of next-generation business and operating models that maximize value for customers.

Manherz brings 25 years of experience in technology and business. Since joining SAP in 2007, she has held an array of executive roles with a focus on capital investment strategy, portfolio planning, industry value engineering, channel management, strategic planning and execution, sales operations and finance. Earlier in her career, she held professional and leadership roles with JD Edwards, USA.NET and QAD.

Dave Peacock was named Advantage Solutions CEO in January 2023. His 30-plus-year career in the consumer packaged goods and retail industry includes four years as president and chief operating officer of Schnuck Markets, Inc., and two decades at Anheuser-Busch, where he served three years as the company’s president.

Prior to joining Advantage, Peacock was chief operating officer and on the board of directors of Continental Grain Company, a global investor, owner and operator of companies across the food and agribusiness spectrum. Previously, he was a member of the board of advisors for, and was the founder and chairman of, Vitaligent, LLC, a multi-unit restaurant franchise.

He is a member of the board of directors of Stifel Financial Corp. and Wayne-Sanderson Farms, and past member of the board of directors of Post Holdings Partnering Corporation. He also is a member of the board of directors for FMI-The Food Industry Association. He also served on the board of trustees of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and the board of directors of Pink Ribbon Girls.

Deborah Poole is an experienced board member and c-suite leader in the consumer goods, consumer technology and e-commerce sectors. She serves on the board of directors of Idelic Inc., CareRev, Lantern, Placemakr and Sendle.

From 2019 to 2021, Poole was chief business officer of WHOOP, a consumer wearable SaaS company, where she was responsible for strategy, enterprise sales and e-commerce operations. She also served as a board director of Drizly, the alcohol delivery e-commerce marketplace, from 2019 until the company was acquired by Uber in 2021.

From 2010 to 2019, Poole held leadership roles at Wayfair LLC, including at Wayfair Canada, which she helped found as general manager. She served as Wayfair’s global head of talent acquisition from 2018 to 2019.

Brian K. Ratzan has been a partner of Centerview Capital Consumer since April 2014. He has more than 20 years of private equity investing experience. Prior to joining Centerview Capital Consumer, Ratzan was partner and head of U.S. private equity at Pamplona Capital Management. He previously served as managing director and head of consumer at Vestar Capital Partners. Earlier in his career, Ratzan worked at 21 International Holdings, a private investment firm, and in the Investment Banking Group at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette.

Ratzan serves as a director on the board of The Simply Good Foods Company. He previously served on the boards of Del Monte Foods, The Sun Products Corporation (formerly known as Huish Detergents Inc.) and Birds Eye Foods Inc.

David J. West is an established leader in the consumer industry, with nearly 30 years of experience leading a range of companies and well-known brands. West became a partner of Centerview Capital Consumer in May 2016. Prior to joining Centerview Capital Consumer, he served as chief executive officer and president of Big Heart Pet Brands (formerly known as Del Monte Foods) from 2011 to 2015. When Big Heart Pet Brands was sold to The J. M. Smucker Company in March 2015, West became president, Big Heart Pet Food and Snacks until 2016.

Prior to joining Del Monte Foods, West served as chief executive officer, president and a director of Hershey from 2007 to 2011, after holding a number of leadership positions at the company, including chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chief customer officer. Prior to joining Hershey in 2001, he spent 14 years with the Nabisco Biscuit and Snacks group, where he held a range of senior leadership positions prior to the acquisition of Nabisco Holdings Corp. by The Philip Morris Companies in 2000. At Nabisco, West worked closely with Jim Kilts during Kilts’ tenure as chief executive officer.

West is vice chairman of the board of The Simply Good Foods Company. He previously served on the board of directors of Hershey from 2007 to 2011, Del Monte Foods from 2011 to 2014, Big Heart Pet Brands from 2014 to 2015 and The J. M. Smucker Company from 2015 to 2016.

Frank Yao brings a wealth of expertise in driving growth and fostering innovation to his role as President and Chief Commercial Officer at VXI Global Solutions. With a background in private equity and consulting, Frank has honed his skills in portfolio management, cross-border deals, and strategic leadership.

Prior to VXI, Frank served as a Managing Director at Bain Capital Private Equity, where he facilitated multinational corporations and founder-led organizations in capitalizing on market opportunities. Now, at VXI, Frank is dedicated to deepening customer relationships, unlocking new opportunities for value creation, and driving growth.

Tom Turner is a Senior Managing Director at CVC and member of the Capital Markets team. He is based in New York.

Prior to joining CVC in 2022, Turner worked as a private credit, leveraged finance, and financial sponsor coverage professional in both New York and London leading M&A, equity, and debt transactions in both public and private markets. Turner earned a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business.