William Hood & Company

What William Hood & Company does

William Hood & Company is a boutique investment bank founded in 2017 by William Hood (formerly a Managing Director at Houlihan Lokey) and Jill Staib (formerly VP of Strategic Initiatives at Nature's Bounty), headquartered in New York, NY. The firm is a U.S. registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Its stated focus is the health and wellness consumer products industry, with adjacent practice areas in ingredients/contract manufacturing (led by Greg Horn), active lifestyle/sporting goods (led by Kevin McGee from Chicago), and food and beverage (led by Daniel Grubbs).

The firm's core product is a four-line investment banking offering: sell-side M&A, buy-side M&A, growth capital raising, and strategic advisory, delivered as bespoke engagements rather than standardized processes. Revenue is generated primarily on a transaction-fee (success-fee) basis tied to deal close, supplemented by ongoing strategic advisory engagements. Notable public outcomes include sell-side mandates that closed as the $425M Bonafide Health / Pharmavite (Otsuka) deal in 2023, OLLY / Unilever in 2019, Liquid I.V. / Unilever in 2020, VOOST / P&G in 2021, W3ll People / e.l.f. in 2020, and the Hiya / USANA majority stake in 2024. The firm has no proprietary technology platform and competes on industry relationships and banker expertise rather than tooling.

Distribution and client acquisition are direct and relationship-led: senior bankers source mandates through decades-long relationships with corporate development teams at major CPG acquirers and private equity sponsors, supported by thought leadership via the Living Well Newsletter, The Frontier video interview series (produced with New Hope Network), and speaking engagements at NBJ Summit, Expo West, Supply Side West, CHPA, and beauty-industry conferences. The firm operates with approximately 14 team members across New York and Chicago, and has established a cornerstone non-profit partnership with Vitamin Angels.

Name

William Hood & Company

Legal name

William Hood & Company, LLC

Website

https://williamhoodandcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

William Hood & Company is a New York-based boutique investment bank founded in 2017 that provides sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory, growth capital raising, and strategic advisory exclusively to health and wellness consumer products companies and adjacent verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Banking Advisory

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

M&A Advisory (Buy-side/Sell-side) (BPAHADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs) (BPAHAOAG)

Keywords

• Investment banking services
• Mergers and acquisitions advisory
• Growth capital raising
• Health wellness advisory
• Strategic advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Banking Advisory Fees: The firm generates revenue through transaction-based investment banking fees including sell-side M&A advisory, buy-side M&A advisory, growth capital raising, and strategic advisory engagements. Revenue is generated on a success fee basis typically tied to transaction close.
2. Strategic Advisory Retainers: The firm provides ongoing strategic advisory services to clients, potentially including retainer-based engagements for relationship clients who engage the firm early in their business lifecycle.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

William Hood & Company is a boutique investment bank providing four core services to health and wellness consumer products companies: Sell-Side Mergers and Acquisitions, Buy-Side Mergers and Acquisitions, Growth Capital Raising, and Strategic Advisory. Engagements are bespoke and led by senior managing directors, leveraging deep industry knowledge and a global network of corporate and financial sponsor buyers. Revenue is generated on a transaction-fee and professional services basis tied to M&A closings and capital raises.

Product overview

William Hood & Company is a premier investment banking firm offering a unified suite of advisory services rather than a software product platform. The firm's core offerings consist of four investment banking service lines: Sell-Side Mergers and Acquisitions, Buy-Side Mergers and Acquisitions, Growth Capital Raising, and Strategic Advisory. These services are complemented by thought leadership content including the Living Well Newsletter and The Frontier interview series. All services are focused exclusively on the health and wellness consumer products industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sell-Side Mergers and Acquisitions
• Buy-Side Mergers and Acquisitions
• Growth Capital Raising
• Strategic Advisory

Quantifiable outcome

• Bonafide Health sold for $425 million to Pharmavite (Otsuka) in 2023
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered cornerstone, key, regulatory and minor.

• Vitamin AngelscornerstoneOthers · 1 January 2017Established in 2017 as the firm's cornerstone non-profit partner. Vitamin Angels provides lifesaving vitamins to mothers and children at risk of malnutrition. The organization aims to reduce newborn mortality by scaling prenatal multivitamin programs to reach 50 million women annually by 2030. William Hood & Company donates a portion of revenue annually and participates in annual trips to Africa with Vitamin Angels founder Howard Schiffer and select clients.
• New Hope NetworkkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerWilliam Hood & Company partnered with New Hope Network to produce The Frontier interview series during COVID-19. New Hope is a leading information source for the health and wellness industry, and the collaboration produced video content featuring industry entrepreneurs and leaders.
• FINRAregulatoryOthersWilliam Hood & Company, LLC is a U.S. registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). The firm is also a member of SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation). Regulatory memberships enable the firm to operate as a registered broker-dealer.
• LinkedInminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWilliam Hood & Company maintains a company LinkedIn page for professional networking, firm updates, and content distribution. LinkedIn serves as a professional social media channel for employer branding and industry engagement.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Centerview Partners:

Broad incumbents

• Jefferies Consumer Group: Full-service investment bank with dedicated Consumer & Retail practice. Competes for the same health & wellness brand mandates at the upper end of the middle market.
• Houlihan Lokey: Global investment bank where William Hood founded and led the Consumer Health & Wellness practice for 8 years before starting William Hood & Company. Directly comparable practice but at materially larger scale with broader sector coverage.
• Robert W. Baird: Mid-market investment bank with a dedicated Enthusiast Brands practice. Kevin McGee (WH&C MD leading Active Lifestyle practice) spent nearly 10 years in Baird's Consumer / Enthusiast Brands practice. Comparable middle-market consumer coverage.
• Lincoln International: Global mid-market investment bank with active Consumer practice covering health, wellness, and beauty. Comparable middle-market M&A advisory mandates in similar end markets.
• Evercore Consumer & Retail: Independent investment bank with dedicated Consumer and Retail practice. Adjacent competitor for larger-cap health & wellness M&A mandates.

Direct peers

• Nutrition Capital Network: Co-founded by Greg Horn (William Hood MD), Nutrition Capital Network is a platform connecting nutrition and health & wellness companies with capital. Directly comparable as a specialized H&W deal-making platform.
• Sawaya Partners (Canaccord Genuity): Boutique M&A advisor focused on consumer health & wellness and food & beverage; acquired by Canaccord Genuity. Javed Narejo (WH&C VP) advised on 25+ deals at Sawaya. Closest direct comparable in size, sector focus, and deal type.
• Cascadia Capital: Independent middle-market investment bank with dedicated Consumer and Food & Beverage groups. Similar boutique structure serving health, wellness, and consumer brand clients with sell-side M&A advisory.
• Edgemont Partners: Specialist healthcare and consumer M&A advisory boutique (now part of Stout). Comparable boutique-size advisory firm serving consumer health and wellness clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/william-hood-company

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about William Hood & Company