LFAC

Letter Of Intent

LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II

Underwriter: Jefferies
Raised
$225M
CIK
1851266
SPAC Ticker
LFACU
Focus
FinTech, Financial Services, Technology, Consumer
External link: SEC Filings

SPAC Team

Leadership

Elias Farhat has served as our Executive Chairman of the Board since March 2021 and as a member of our board of directors since February 2021. Mr. Farhat is the former Chief Strategy Officer for Candriam, an asset management company with over $175 billion under management. He served in that role from 2016 to 2021. Mr. Farhat was also member of Candriam’s Group Strategic Committee and its Executive Committee and served as a member of its board of directors. From 2003 to 2016, Mr. Farhat was a Partner of Capital E Advisors, Inc., a private equity and real estate firm, and held several board and advisory positions at portfolio companies affiliated with Capital E. Mr. Farhat founded Velocity Advisors, Inc, a private equity advisory firm that sourced and structured transactions on behalf of institutional investors, and served as its Managing Partner from 2002 to 2016. From 1990 to 2002, Mr. Farhat served in various management consultancy positions at Bain & Company, including as a Vice President and Partner from 1998 to 2002. At Bain, Mr. Farhat advised boards, CEOs and senior management of Fortune 1000 companies as well as several private equity funds on a broad range of strategic, operational, financial and organizational issues. Mr. Farhat led Bain’s Private Equity Group activities in the Southern United States and was involved in its Investment Committee. Mr. Farhat currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of Lakeside Capital Advisors, L.P., a private equity firm, and Landsea. Mr. Farhat also previously served as a member of the boards of directors of Huron Inc., a manufacturing company, CBI Laboratories, Inc., a cosmetics company, and LFAC I from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. Mr. Farhat is a graduate of Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in Paris. Mr. Farhat’s extensive experience in business and investing in and advising companies qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.

Baudouin Prot has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021 and was appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Board in March 2021. Mr. Prot is a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group, a position he has held since 2015. From 1996 to 2014, Mr. Prot served in various leadership positions at BNP Paribas S.A., including (i) as its Chairman from 2011 to 2014 and as a member of its board of directors from 2000 to 2011 before being appointed as its Chairman; (ii) as its Chief Executive Officer and President from 2003 to 2011; and (iii) as its Chief Operating Officer from 1996 to 2003. Between 2003 and 2014, the French bank tripled its shareholders’ equity (from €28.3B to €89.4B), doubled revenues (from €18B to €39B) and doubled headcount (from 89,000 to 188,000 employees). During his tenure as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas, Mr. Prot implemented a successful expansion strategy in the United States via its U.S.-based subsidiary, BancWest, including a: (i) $1.2 billion acquisition of Community First Bankshares, Inc.; (ii) $1.36 billion acquisition of Commercial Federal Corporation; and (iii) $245 million acquisition of USDB Bancorp. Prior to his time at BNP, Mr. Prot served as an inspecteur des finances at the French Ministry of Finance from 1976 to 1980. Mr. Prot serves on the boards of directors of Kering S.A., a group of luxury brands, Foncia Group S.A., a provider of real estate management services, Finastra, a financial technology company, and Alstom, S.A., a world leader in rolling stock. Mr. Prot previously served as a member of the boards of directors of Veolia Environment, S.A., a provider of resource management solutions, and Lafarge S.A., a supplier of construction materials. Mr. Prot also previously served as Chairman of the Association Francaise des Banques and as the Chairman and a member of the board of directors of LFAC I from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. Mr. Prot was named “Financier of the Year” by Les Echos in 2006 and 2009 and received the Foreign Policy Association award (USA) for “Corporate Social Responsibility” in 2007. Mr. Prot was named “Strategist of the Year” by the financial daily newspaper La Tribune in 2009 and, in 2010, the Institutional Investor magazine named Mr. Prot “Best European Banking CEO.” Mr. Prot has also been named Officer of the Legion of Honor and Officer of the National Order of Merit by the French Republic. Mr. Prot is a graduate of the École Nationale d’Administration and earned his master of business administration from HEC Paris. Mr. Prot’s extensive experience in financial institutions and successful acquisitions qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.

Scott Reed has served our President, Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Reed is the co-founder of BankCap Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on investments in the U.S. commercial banking space, and has served as a Partner and Director of BankCap Partners since 2005. Prior to founding BankCap Partners, Mr. Reed served from 2002 to 2004 as the Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning of Carreker Corporation, a financial technology company based in Dallas. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Reed was an investment banker in the Financial Institutions Group at Bear Stearns and, from 1997 to 2000, Mr. Reed worked as a consultant at Bain & Company. Mr. Reed began his career as a derivatives trader at Swiss Bank Corporation (formerly O’Connor) from 1992 to 1995. Mr. Reed earned his bachelor’s degrees in commerce and history from the University of Virginia and his master of business administration from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College, where he was an Edward Tuck Scholar. Mr. Reed is a member of the board of directors of InBankshares, Corp., Silvergate Capital Corporation, Vista Bancshares (as well as the boards of directors of each of the three institutions’ underlying commercial banks), Nobul Corporation and Uncommon Giving and previously served as a member of the board of directors of Xenith Bankshares and the board of directors of its underlying commercial bank. Mr. Reed is also a member of Landsea’s board of directors and served as LFAC I’s President and as a member of its board of directors from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021, and served as Chief Executive Officer of LFAC I from July 2020 through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. Mr. Reed’s extensive experience in the financial services and strategic consulting industries qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.

Alberto Bianchinotti has served as our Chief Financial Officer since March 2021. Mr. Bianchinotti is the owner of AM Knight Financial Services, a CPA firm that he founded in 2013, and has experience working with new businesses in the life sciences, software and real estate industries. Mr. Bianchinotti is a Certified Public Accountant and consultant with an expertise in the launching of investment advisers and start-ups. He has served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Merlin Biomed Private Equity Advisors, a crossover private equity fund, since 2007. Prior to that, Mr. Bianchinotti was a Financial Analyst and Controller at Merlin Biomed Investment Advisors from 2004 to 2007 and a Financial Services Audit Supervisor at Anchin, Block and Anchin LLP from 1999 to 2004. Mr. Bianchinotti served as the Chief Financial Officer of LFAC I from July 2020 through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. He also assisted in the oversight of the finances and operations of LFAC I from December 2017 through July 2020 through his firm, AM Knight Financial Services. Mr. Bianchinotti earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Binghamton University and a certification in financial planning from New York University.

Robert Black has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Black serves as the Chairman of the board of directors of RTIC Outdoors, LLC, a direct-to-consumer retailer of outdoor gear, a position he has held since 2020. He also serves as an Executive Advisory Partner of Wind Point Partners, a private equity firm, a position he has held since 2013, and a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group’s Global Consumer Practice, a position he has held since 2012. From 2006 to 2012, Mr. Black served in various leadership positions at Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), including as its Group President from 2007 to 2012, its Chief Strategy Officer from 2006 to 2007 and its Chief Innovation Officer from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that, from 2004 to 2006, Mr. Black served as the President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the board of directors of Sammons Enterprises, a privately held financial consumer oriented and service-based business. From 1994 to 2004, Mr. Black served in a number of leadership positions at Steelcase, Inc. (NYSE: SCS), including as President of Steelcase International and as a member of the Steelcase, Inc. Executive Committee. Prior to that, he also held senior positions at McKinsey & Company, Baxter International, Inc. and Hard Manufacturing Co., Inc. Since 2018, Mr. Black has served on the board of directors of Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE: EPC). Mr. Black also serves on the boards of directors of Pestell Nutrition, a leading distributor of minerals, feed ingredients and nutritional additives; Targeted PetCare Goup, a manufacturer of animal litter, bedding products and dental pet treats; Corsicana Bedding, one of the nation’s largest bedding producers; and DecoPac, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of cake decorations to professional cake decorators and bakeries in the world. Mr. Black has also previously served on the boards of directors of a number of public companies, including Annie’s, Inc. (formerly NYSE: BNNY) (from 2014 to 2015), North American Technologies Group, Inc. (from 2004 to 2005), Modernform Group Public Company Ltd. (in 2002) and Kimberly-Clark de Mexico (from 2008 to 2012). Mr. Black earned his bachelor’s degree in management from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his master of business administration from Harvard Business School. Mr. Black’s extensive experience in the consumer products industry qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.

James Hodge has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Hodge founded Arrowsmith, LLC, an investment management firm, in 1999 and has served as its President and Chief Investment Officer since its inception. From 1987 to 2016, Mr. Hodge served as the President and Chief Investment Officer of Permal Asset Management, an investment management firm. Mr. Hodge is a member of the advisory board of Alpha Japan Asset Advisors Ltd., an asset management company, and the board of directors of China Alpha Fund Management Ltd., an investment management firm. He also serves on the boards of directors for a number of investment funds, including China Alpha II Fund Ltd., China Alpha Master Fund Ltd., Hel Ved Master Fund, WF Asian Reconnaissance Fund Limited and WF Asian Smaller Companies Fund Limited. Mr. Hodge earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Indiana University at Bloomington and his master of business administration from Harvard Business School. Mr. Hodge’s extensive experience in leading and advising investment management firms qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.

Habib Kairouz has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Kairouz is a Managing Partner of Rho Capital Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm with a focus on technology investments, where he has been employed since 1993 and a position he has held since 1999. Mr. Kairouz is a member of the boards of directors of Kasisto, Inc., a software developer of conversational AI platforms for the financial services industry, Passport Labs, Inc., a software developer of parking payment and enforcement solutions, Snagajob, Inc. an online marketplace for hourly work, Pawlicy Advisor, Inc., a pet insurance market place, and Dashlane Inc., a provider of password management solutions. Mr. Kairouz also previously served on the boards of directors of a number of public companies, including iVillage (formerly Nasdaq: IVIL) (from 1997-2006), IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (formerly NYSE: IL) (from 2001-2017), Everyday Health, Inc. (formerly NYSE: EVDY) (from 2003-2016) and ReachLocal, Inc. (formerly Nasdaq: RLOC) (from 2007-2016). Mr. Kairouz earned his bachelor’s degrees in engineering and economics from Cornell University and his master of business administration from Columbia Business School. Mr. Kairouz’s extensive experience in venture capital and investing in and advising technology companies qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.

Jodi Shelton has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. In 1994, Ms. Shelton co-founded the Global Semiconductor Alliance, an industry organization that strives to prepare the semiconductor industry for paradigm shifts by aligning leadership from more than 250 companies in more than 25 countries, and has served as its Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its board of directors since its inception. Ms. Shelton also founded the Shelton Group, an integrated investor relations and public relations agency, in 1994 and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since its inception. From 1990 to 1994, Ms. Shelton served as the Director of Investment Relations at Cyrix Corporation, a manufacturer of computer processor solutions. Ms. Shelton has served on the board of advisors of Nanotronics Imaging, Inc., an emerging technology company using artificial intelligence and robotics to transform manufacturing, since April 2021 and has served on the board of directors of Curic, Inc., a start-up developing a patented smart-diaper technology, since June 2020. Ms. Shelton previously served as a member of the board of advisors of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership and as a member of the boards of directors of Silicon Border Holding Company LLC, a commercial development along the western border of the United States and Mexico; Yellowstone Club Community Foundation; and Aurora Dallas, a public art installation and event that takes place in downtown Dallas. Ms. Shelton earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from San Diego State University, where she currently serves on the Board of Advisors for its International Business Program, and her master of political philosophy from the University of Houston. Ms. Shelton’s extensive experience within the semiconductor industry and in advising companies with respect to investment relations qualifies her to serve on our board of directors.

Djemi Traboulsi has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Traboulsi serves as President of Capital E Advisors, Inc., Capital E Group’s US private equity and real estate research arm, a position he has held since 2005. Mr. Traboulsi served as a member of LFAC I’s board of directors from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. From 1991 to 2001, Mr. Traboulsi served as the Managing Director of Kenmar Capital Advisors (formerly Kenmar Advisory Corp.), an alternative asset manager. Prior to 1991, Mr. Traboulsi held various M&A and corporate finance positions with Mabon, Nugent & Co., an international investment bank and brokerage firm. Mr. Traboulsi earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the American University of Paris, and he has attended the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. Mr. Traboulsi’s extensive experience in business and investing in and advising companies qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.