People
Demeter Group's team of professionals offers extensive consumer investment banking experience in the food & beverage, beauty & personal care, apparel & footwear, specialty retail, restaurant, direct marketing, and e-commerce sectors.
Jeff Menashe
Chairman Jeff is the Chairman of Demeter Group and has 15 years of consumer investment banking and corporate development advisory experience. Prior to Demeter Group, he served as a Partner at The Food Partners and as Managing Director at Exvere, Inc. Overall, he has advised on transactions with a total value exceeding $2 billion. Some of Jeff’s notable consumer clients include The Clorox Company, Constellation Brands, Continental Mills, Dairy Farmers of America, Del Monte Foods, Flowers Vineyard & Winery, Foster Farms, GU Sports, National Pretzel Holdings, Nestlé USA, Rosenblum Cellars, Tillamook County Creamery, Tree Top, winebid.com, and Zoot Sports.
He has had the privilege of working with many of the world’s top consumer funds and family offices including Apax Partners, Brookstone Holdings, Castanea Partners, Simon Equity Partners, TA Associates, Towerbrook Capital Partners, and Verlinvest. Jeff graduated from Georgetown University with a BS in economics; he is also an alumnus of the Thacher School. Jeff holds Series 7, 24, and 63 securities registrations.
Michelle Cherrick
Chief Executive OfficerMichelle is the Chief Executive Officer of Demeter Group and has over 17 years of consumer investment banking experience with specialty retail, restaurant, apparel & footwear, direct marketing, and e-commerce businesses. She began her career at Goldman Sachs and has led consumer groups at Robertson Stephens, SG Cowen and most recently, Thomas Weisel Partners. Michelle has raised nearly $15 billion of public and private equity capital and completed mergers & acquisitions totaling over $5 billion for consumer growth companies.
She has had the privilege of working with some of the nation's top high-growth specialty retailers and brands including Alloy, Appleseed’s, bebe, Charlotte Russe, Chico’s, Cititrends, Design Within Reach, Hot Topic, lululemon, Spencer Gifts, Tuesday Morning, Ulta Salon & Cosmetics, Venus Swimwear, and Vitaminshoppe, as well as many of the premier growth restaurant concepts including Argo Tea, Buffalo Wild Wings, California Pizza Kitchen, Chipotle, Cosi, Fazoli’s, Garden Fresh Restaurants, McCormick & Schmick’s, Qdoba, Ruth’s Chris, and Texas Roadhouse. Michelle graduated summa cum laude in finance from Georgetown University and received her MBA from Harvard Business School. She holds Series 7, 24, and 63 securities registrations.
Jani Friedman
Managing DirectorJani is a Managing Director of Demeter Group and has over 20 years of strategic planning and brand development experience in the beauty and apparel industries. She specializes in advising entrepreneurs and executives at high growth brands on multi-channel distribution, capital needs and strategic initiatives. Prior to Demeter Group, Jani was Vice President and Divisional Merchandise Manager of Skincare at Sephora North America, where she managed over 60 prestige beauty brands and a team of merchants.
Jani has also held senior merchandising, product and brand development, and global sourcing positions at Levi Strauss & Co., Victoria’s Secret Catalogue, and Anne Klein. She has had the privilege of working with high growth clients including Anisa International, Clorox, Lise Waiter, Urban Decay, and Yes To Carrots. Jani graduated with a BS in merchandising from Colorado State University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She holds Series 7 and 63 securities registrations.
Brian Higby
AssociateBrian has over eight years of investment banking and corporate development experience working with consumer, retail, and restaurant companies. Prior to Demeter Group, he worked as an Associate in the Consumer Retail Group at Merrill Lynch. Previously, Brian was in the Strategy and Corporate Development Group at Gap Inc., where he assisted in identifying and executing growth initiatives.
He also served as an Analyst at Cowen & Company and Robertson Stephens. Brian graduated with a BA in political science from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from The UCLA Anderson School of Management. Brian holds Series 7 and 63 securities registrations.
Brian McMahon
AssociateBrian has over four years of consumer investment banking and public accounting experience with food & beverage, apparel & footwear, specialty retail, restaurant, and lodging companies. Prior to Demeter Group, he worked as an Analyst in the Consumer Investment Banking Group at Thomas Weisel Partners, where he assisted in various mergers and acquisitions and capital-raising activities.
Previously, he was an Associate involved with the Real Estate and Manufacturing Groups of the Audit and Enterprise Risk Services practice at Deloitte & Touche. Brian graduated with a dual BS in accounting and business administration, with a concentration in finance, from the University of Southern California, and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Claudia Hung
AnalystClaudia has seven years of marketing, research, and administration experience. She graduated with an AA in computer science from City College of San Francisco and a BA in business from San Francisco State University. Claudia is currently pursuing a certificate in corporate finance at UC Berkeley.
Cara vonHofen
Executive AssistantCara has three years of administration and marketing experience in the financial services and consumer industries. Prior to Demeter Group, she served as an Investment Associate at Fisher Investments and Marketing Associate at Vino Volo.
Cara graduated with dual BA degrees in business-economics and law & society from UC Santa Barbara.
