Mr. Steven E. Lebow
Board of Advisors, Global Expansion
Mr. Steven E. Lebow serves on EPN’s Board of Advisors, where he assists with the company’s global expansion. He is a close friend and key advisor to Peter Wainman, having known him since the beginning of Wainman’s career at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) in 1994, when Mr. Lebow was Co-Head of DLJ’s Los Angeles office. Steven is renowned for identifying consumer trends and investing at an early stage in companies focused on such trends. Given his reputation as a visionary early-stage investor, Steven has played an important role in helping EPN open doors internationally.
In addition to his involvement with the EPN group, Steven serves as Chairman of Great Plains Data (www.greatplainsdata.com). He is also the founder and CEO of Lebow & Co., a private investment and financial advisory firm. Throughout his 44-year career, Steven has been an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (“DLJ”), the founder of Global Retail Partners (a venture capital firm), a private investor, and the founder of businesses across numerous industries including consumer, retail, automotive, and energy.
He has been the lead financier to many early-stage companies and was the only person in DLJ’s history to make investments in five companies that returned between 100x to 600x the original investment. These businesses have grown into some of the leading brands in their respective industries, including Costco, Starbucks, PetSmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and ULTA Beauty. On a combined basis, the market capitalization of these companies exceeds $800 billion.
Steven has publicly stated his belief that natural and plant-based products represent the future for home and personal care. This aligns with EPN’s mission and supports the company’s global growth strategy.
Earlier in his career, Steven was a Managing Director at DLJ from 1979 to 2000. At DLJ, he led the Retail Investment Banking Group, advising clients in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. Steven was voted into the DLJ “Hall of Fame” in 1995. In 1986, he established DLJ’s Los Angeles Office and co-headed the office with Ken Moelis from 1990 to 1996. Steven was very active in recruiting talent for DLJ and for many of the notable companies he financed.
In 1996, Steven co-founded Global Retail Partners within DLJ and served as Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner. Global Retail Partners launched with approximately $160 million in funding from investors including Carrefour of France, Paul Allen’s Vulcan Investment Arm, DLJ, and approximately 150 current or former CEOs or CFOs of notable companies. In 2000, after DLJ was acquired by Credit Suisse First Boston, Steven and his partners left DLJ and rebranded Global Retail Partners as GRP Partners (GRP). Global Retail Partners and GRP together managed approximately $900 million when he retired in 2010. GRP’s second fund, GRP II (an approximately $400 million fund), has been ranked the best venture capital fund for all 2000 vintage funds in the U.S.
Steven has advised, financed, and/or invested in many companies at various stages, as well as in private equity firms. His extensive network of individuals and businesses has created a powerful ecosystem for those connected to him.
Steven holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science with honors, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from UCLA. He received his M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, where he was awarded the Exxon Fellowship.