Eric Melloul

I was raised in a small town in France and I left its comfort to study at the LSE and Harvard where I learned the foundations of economics and politics. Needless to say, reality turned out to be different from theory.

I got trained how to build big global brands through stints at McKinsey and big food companies such as ABInbev but only truly understood the essence of authentic brands by working for the last 12 years with maverick brand builders around the world.  I have a soft spot for outsiders who are obsessed with a mission.

My mission is to spot and help daring entrepreneurs in building truly unique brands and businesses. I respect founders a lot and work hard to both support and challenge them with a healthy dose of paranoia as new competitors can step in anytime.

For the last 20 years, I have been dedicated to shaping the future of food and co-creating the next generation of global food brands which will be kinder to the people and the planet. I am chairing the board of Oatly and sit on the boards of Vitacoco, Hint and Mutti. There is today a tectonic shift in consumer preferences, technology, organization and marketing and we want to drive these trends through our capital and time.

What continues to amaze me about Verlinvest is the incredible quality of the entrepreneurs walking through our doors and our team spirit. As a global team, we close ranks to compete and share the same dream.

Finally, I am trying to carve out time for learning new things (standing on my head is one) as learning never ends and feeds your soul.