Stride Consumer Partners, a growth private equity firm headquartered in the Boston area, has joined the private equity consortium supporting the Women on Boards Project (WOB). This group of industry leaders are committed to diversifying the boards of their portfolio brands. The WOB Project is a nonprofit with the mission of empowering women business leaders and improving gender diversity and inclusion at the board of directors level on private company boards in the consumer brands and services industry.
The WOB Project will support a new cohort of 20 companies every six months to participate in the initiative pro bono by helping them identify strong, diverse candidates for their boards. For each company, WOB Project will collaborate on a candidate scorecard, compensation parameters, interview and research strategy. From there, WOB Project will provide 5-10 candidates that fit the criteria and will continue to support each company as they work to enhance gender diversity on their respective boards.
“We are honored to partner with the Women on Boards Project,” said Sharon Fox, Founding Member and Operating Partner at Stride Consumer Partners. “We have had the privilege of working alongside many amazingly talented female founders and executives. We are deeply invested in this movement and believe that our portfolio company teams will thrive with greater diversity and experience on their boards. I was also recently placed as an independent board member by the WOB Project during its inaugural year. I therefore have a unique vantage point to the immediate impact and potential of this powerful initiative.”
Not all customers are alike. Different customer segments seek unique product benefits each day. In order to deliver on a promise or a commitment to an unmet consumer need, a diverse perspective is required. Studies have shown that diverse teams may take longer to come to a decision, but that often the decision drives a better more effective result.
A report from McKinsey found that companies in the top quarter for racial, ethnic and gender diversity were 35% and 15%, respectively, more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians.
About Women on Boards Project:
Women on Boards (WOB) Project was created in 2020 by industry leaders to increase the number of women serving on boards while also expanding diversity including race, ethnicity, age, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation, gender fluidity.
The Women on Boards (WOB) Project is inspiring and supporting a game-changing movement to significantly increase diversity in boards of directors for all consumer companies. We are a nonprofit with one purpose: providing women access to seats at the board table.
For more information, please visit WOBproject.com. Or contact [email protected].
About Stride Consumer Partners
Stride Consumer is a private equity firm that specializes in partnering with talented and dynamic founders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to build the next generation of great consumer brands.
Founded in 2019 by a passionate group of experienced and successful investor-operators, our unique approach brings together a fully integrated team of successful investors working alongside seasoned operators to assist high-growth and disruptive consumer products and services businesses to hit their stride. Together, we support our partners on their journey as they take decisive steps toward delivering on their vision.
During our time together in private equity, the Stride Consumer team has had the pleasure of working side by side with the founders and teams of Brew Dr, drybar, Essentia, First Aid Beauty, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Simms Fishing Products, Tatcha, Urban Decay, and Yasso. All are dynamic, distinctive, beloved brands which became amazing success stories.
For more information, please visit Stride Consumer Partners.