Sojourner Consumer Partners

Investment decisions are made by the senior partner group, which includes co-founders Rob DesMarais, Zach Johnson, and Roger Dickhout. DesMarais brings private equity and investment banking experience from Swander Pace Capital and Banc of America Securities; Johnson contributes e-commerce and digital marketing expertise from his tenure building Amazon's global advertising business; Dickhout adds CEO-level operational and turnaround experience across multiple consumer platforms. The firm appointed Emily Fong Mitchell as CEO in 2025 to lead strategy and execution.

Sojourner sources deals through the existing consumer-products networks of its senior partners — built over decades at Swander Pace Capital, Amazon, McKinsey, and consumer operating companies. Roger Dickhout's 14-year partnership with Swander Pace Capital in Canada provides a dedicated origination channel north of the border. The firm also leverages relationships across the e-commerce and digital marketing ecosystems where Zach Johnson spent his career, identifying brands with strong online presence but undermanaged operations.

Sojourner Consumer Partners is a traditional private equity firm, not a family office. It is structured as an asset manager raising third-party capital to execute control buyouts in consumer-branded companies. The founding partners came from institutional private equity (Swander Pace Capital) and corporate operating backgrounds (Amazon, McKinsey, Colgate-Palmolive), not from a single-family wealth source.

Sojourner Consumer Partners operates as a direct investor executing control buyouts rather than a fund-of-funds or LP in external vehicles. The investment model centers on acquiring majority stakes in proven consumer-branded companies and then deploying internal operating resources — in e-commerce, marketing, and supply chain — to drive performance improvement and exit readiness.

Sojourner targets control buyouts of established, proven consumer-branded companies in North America. The firm describes its focus as "high-potential consumer brands with strong fundamentals," indicating mature businesses rather than venture-stage startups. Portfolio companies like Hawaii Coffee Company and Lornamead Products represent legacy brands with existing market positions where the firm can apply operational improvements.

Sojourner Consumer Partners' three senior partners all have deep ties to Swander Pace Capital. Rob DesMarais was a Partner and Managing Director at SPC before co-founding Sojourner. Roger Dickhout partnered with SPC for 14 years to acquire, operate, and exit 18 Canadian consumer companies. Linda Naselli, Sojourner's new COO, was previously CEO and CFO at Reliance Vitamin, an SPC portfolio company where she led a sale to another private equity buyer.

The firm does not publicly disclose a formal co-investment program. Sojourner's strategy centers on control buyouts and internal operational involvement, which typically reduces appetite for minority co-investment alongside other sponsors. The firm's website emphasizes direct partnership with portfolio company management rather than syndicated deal structures.