Who is B Lab?
Jay Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan, and Andrew Kassoy (the "Co-Founders") have developed, incubated and funded B Lab to date. They have a shared passion for creating a better world through business and have been friends for over 20 years. Prior to B Lab, Jay and Bart were Co-Founder and President, respectively, of AND 1, a $250 million basketball footwear and apparel business. Andrew has spent his entire career as a private equity investor; most recently as a Partner at MSD Real Estate Capital, a $1 billion real estate fund controlled by MSD Capital, the investment vehicle for the assets of Michael Dell and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.
Despite having no game, Jay Coen Gilbert co-founded and sold AND 1, a $250M
basketball footwear and apparel company based outside Philadelphia. Jay led AND
1's product and marketing for most of his 13 years and was AND 1's CEO during its
period of most rapid growth.
Jay is co-chairman of Investors' Circle, an organization dedicated to the acceleration of patient capital markets for a sustainable future. Since 1992, Investors' Circle's core activity has been the Investors' Circle Network, a national network of angel investors, venture capital funds, foundations, and others that has facilitated the flow of over $111 million into 182 companies and venture funds addressing social and environmental challenges.
Jay is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a Board member of the
Philadelphia chapters of KIPP, a national public charter middle school, City Year, a
leading Americorps youth service program, and Monteverde Friends, U.S.
Jay grew up in New York City before heading west to Stanford University,
graduating with a degree in East Asian Studies in 1989. Prior to AND 1, Jay worked
for McKinsey & Co and several organizations in NYC's public and non-profit
sectors.
Between AND 1 and B Lab, Jay enjoyed a sabbatical Down Under and in Monteverde, Costa Rica with his yogini wife Randi and their two children, Dex, 9, and Ria, 7. They live in Berwyn, PA.
Prior to B Lab, Bart Houlahan, 39, was CFO, COO and President of AND 1, a
$250M basketball footwear, apparel and entertainment company. As the principal
operator of the business, Bart joined AND 1 in its second year, when revenues
totaled just $4M. Over the course of the next 11 years, Bart helped to finance,
operate and scale the business to $250M in brand revenues with distribution in 85
countries world wide. AND 1 undertook a leveraged recapitalization in 1999 with
TA Associates, and eventually was sold in May, 2005, to American Sporting Goods
out of Irvine, CA.
Before AND 1, Bart was an investment banker with Stonebridge Associates, BNY
Associates, and Prudential-Bache Securities, specifically focused on providing
corporate finance and merger and acquisition services to small-cap businesses
ranging in size from $20M to $500M.
Bart grew up in Chicago, is a graduate of Stanford University, and now resides in
Devon, PA with his wife Chrissy and daughters Molly, 14, and Carly, 12.
Andrew R. Kassoy is a Partner at MSD Real Estate Capital, L.P., a $1 billion real
estate private equity fund controlled by MSD Capital, L.P. MSD is the $12 billion
exclusive investment vehicle for the assets of Michael Dell, his family, and the
Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. Previously, Andrew was Managing Director in
Credit Suisse First BostonÃs Private Equity Department, a founding partner of DLJ
Real Estate Capital Partners, and President of its international business.
Andrew advises numerous social entrepreneurs and is dedicated to building the
capital markets infrastructure that will facilitate the growth of innovative for-profit
and non-profit models for social change. He is a Board Member of Working Today
and the Freelancers Union, which provide affordable health insurance and other
financial services to 15,000 independent workers in New York City; a Board
Member of Echoing Green, a global venture fund that provides seed capital to
exceptional emerging social entrepreneurs; an Advisory Board member of Wall St.
Without Walls, a non-profit which provides capital markets and investment banking
expertise to community development organizations; and an advisor to Civic Builders,
a non-profit developer of charter schools.
Andrew was raised in Boulder, Colorado and graduated with Distinction from
Stanford University where he was Phi Beta Kappa, a Truman Scholar, and winner of
the PresidentÃs Award. In 2001, he was named a Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen
Institute. In the past, he has been active in Colorado politics and as a Member of the
Council on Foreign Relations. He enjoys skiing, backpacking, running, cooking, and
the violin. He is married to Kamy Wicoff, a writer. They have two young sons, the
Emperor Maximilian (3) and the Boy King Jedidiah (6 months).