Private equity firm JW Childs Associates has appointed Joseph M Fortunato as operating partner.
He will focus on evaluating, acquiring and growing businesses in the specialty retail industry.
“After 25 years of working with Joe as a leader in the specialty retail sector, I am delighted he is formally joining the JW Childs team,” says Bill Watts, partner, JW Childs Associates. “Joe has tremendous operating, financial and board management experience with retail businesses and has been instrumental in helping me steward numerous JW Childs portfolio companies. Like all of our operating partners, Joe brings a long track record of creating significant shareholder value in a private leveraged environment.”
Fortunato has been actively involved with numerous past and present JW Childs portfolio companies. He is currently executive chairman of Comoto Holdings, the parent company of Cycle Gear, and Revzilla.com, retailers of apparel, accessories and parts for motorcycle enthusiasts. Fortunato also serves on the board of Shoe Sensation, a family footwear retailer in the Midwestern US, was a director of Mattress Firm, the nation’s largest mattress retailer, prior to the sale of JW Childs’ interests to Steinhoff in September 2016.
Fortunato says: “I’m very pleased to formalise my partnership with the team at JW Childs and look forward to continuing their long-standing track record of successfully investing in the consumer products and specialty retail sector. The shifting landscape in retailing presents an opportunity to generate significant shareholder returns leveraging traditional brick and mortar execution with the digital and omni-channel acumen necessary to satisfy the needs of today’s consumers.”
