Tempus Partners

Managing Partners Kyle White and Geoffrey Champlin lead investment decisions. White started his career in Morgan Stanley investment banking, later founding a startup and leading M&A at Time Inc. Champlin was previously Chief Revenue Officer at Catch Co, a consumer startup in the fishing industry. Operating Partner Josh Slawkin supports portfolio-company operations with a decade of consumer-brand scaling experience.

The firm does growth partnerships — acquiring over 51% ownership while existing leadership stays involved — and full buyouts, where Tempus takes more than 80% ownership and inserts its own operating team. Sellers in a buyout scenario are typically retiring owners who exit after a brief transition period. Tempus looks exclusively at US-based consumer products and consumer manufacturing companies.

Tempus leans on founder and operator networks in the consumer products ecosystem rather than broad auctions. The firm's principals have direct operating backgrounds — Champlin ran go-to-market channels and digital marketing at Catch Co, Slawkin built outdoor and recreation brands — which creates referral paths through intermediaries, industry contacts, and owners seeking a partner who can run the business post-close.

Tempus Partners operates more like a permanent-capital holding company than a traditional blind-pool private equity fund. The firm acquires majority control of profitable small businesses and applies in-house operating expertise, with no stated fund life or mandate to exit on a predetermined timeline.

There is no public disclosure indicating that Tempus Partners participates in co-investments alongside external general partners. Its model centers on acquiring majority-control positions directly, with its own team taking operational responsibility for the acquired businesses.