Sonoma Brands Announces New Hires and Promotions

Sonoma Brands, a unique venture fund and brand incubator led by Sonoma-based Jon Sebastiani, is expanding its team with strategic hires and promotions to advance the growth equity firm’s presence as a leading investor in innovative food & beverage, wellness and personal care brands. Sonoma Brands welcomes Kevin Murphy as Managing Director and announces that Brian Nicholson has been promoted from Principal to Managing Director. These announcements are a testament to the firm’s tremendous success, and an indication of the high caliber of strategic investments in high-growth consumer brands that will be part of the company’s next chapter.

Kevin Murphy brings deep expertise in the field, cultivated through his 13-year career at Encore Consumer Capital. At Encore, Murphy was instrumental in key investments in the food, beverage, pet, beauty and personal care categories, including Tarte Cosmetics and Supergoop!. Prior to Encore, Murphy spent four years at Genstar Capital after beginning his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his MBA from the Haas School of Business at Berkeley.

“Sonoma Brands has developed an exceptional investment team with diverse and complementary experience. Our primary goals are to bring value to our portfolio companies and to drive attractive returns for our investors, and the team has been built to do that,” said Kevin Murphy, Managing Director at Sonoma Brands. “I am thrilled to be a part of the Sonoma Brands family and am honored to work with the impressive brands and entrepreneurs in our portfolio.”

“Kevin has a wealth of experience investing in the consumer products industry, and we could not be more honored to have him join Sonoma Brands to help further our team as we embark on this next stage for the firm,” said Jon Sebastiani, Founder and Managing Partner of Sonoma Brands. “We are also so proud of Brian and what he has helped us build and accomplish since joining the team and are pleased to announce his new role as Managing Director.”

Brian Nicholson joined Sonoma Brands in 2018, bringing eight years of experience as a growth investor in leading eCommerce, Digital Media and Direct-to-Consumer businesses. Prior to joining Sonoma Brands, he spent over five years at Stripes Group, where he directly sourced and led growth investments in companies including Refinery29, Reformation, and The Black Tux. Nicholson has also helped lead growth investments in disruptive consumer brands including Daily Harvest and ClassPass. During his tenure at Sonoma Brands, Nicholson has been focused on sourcing, executing and leading growth-stage investments in emerging consumer brands. He currently serves on the Boards of Yumble and True Botanicals (Observer). Nicholson earned his B.A. with honors from Brown University.

“I am very thankful for the opportunities that I’ve had at Sonoma Brands over the past year,” said Brian Nicholson, Managing Director of Sonoma Brands. “With my background in consumer tech and digital, it has been fantastic to see how the brands we work with are taking advantage of direct-to-consumer and digital opportunities for growth, and I am excited to continue to develop this forward-looking direction for our brand portfolio in my new role.”

For more information on Sonoma Brands, please visit www.sonomabrands.com.