Riverside Strengthens European Team

Promotes Key Player; Adds Two Operating Partners in Region

The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm, announced it recently promoted Rafael Álvarez-Novoa from Principal to Partner. Álvarez-Novoa works from Riverside’s Madrid office.

“Rafa is incredibly talented and knowledgeable, and we are lucky to have him on our team,” said Riverside Managing Partner Tony Cabral. “He has played an integral role in some of our most impactful investments – and I have no doubt that his skillset will continue to amplify our competitive edge in Europe.”

Joining in 2008, Álvarez-Novoa has been a key contributor to Riverside’s business in Southern Europe, especially in Spain, Italy and Portugal. He has worked on several successful investments including Orliman, a manufacturer and distributor of non-invasive orthopedic braces and supports; MEC3, a developer, manufacturer and marketer of ingredients for gelato, pastry and other foods; and Euromed, one of the world’s leading suppliers of herbal extracts for the pharmaceutical and dietary supplements industries.

Prior to Riverside, Álvarez-Novoa was an associate in corporate finance for Dresdner Kleinwort and worked as a project manager for MADE, managing wind turbine projects in Spain, Tunisia and Vietnam. Álvarez-Novoa earned his Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from the Instituto Católico de Artes e Industrias (ICAI) and his master’s degree in project management from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University.

In addition to Álvarez-Novoa’s promotion, Riverside has announced the appointment of two operating partners. These appointments will further strengthen the Riverside operating model where each investee company is supported by both the Riverside investment team and one dedicated senior operator. This skilled team provides practical advice on improving processes, implementing the Riverside toolkit to boost sales and setting up long-term projects, like new product development, to take investee companies to the next level of international growth.

Operating Partner Filip Van de Vliet previously served as CEO of Globachem and COO of Arysta Lifescience Europe, both agro-pharmaceutical companies. With more than 20 years of helping medium-sized companies with their strategic positioning, his diverse background includes international profit & loss responsibility, mergers and acquisitions, business integration and sales and operational excellence. Van de Vliet has a degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in industrial management from the University of Louvain in Belgium. He will work from Riverside’s Brussels office.

Philip Rowland joins as another operating partner and will work from the London office. He has a broad spectrum of experience in private equity, consulting and various industries. Most recently, Rowland worked at OC&C Strategy Consultants, where he was a partner focused on due diligence, strategy and performance improvement. Prior to that, he was a senior operating partner at TDR Capital, where he spent more than 10 years working with the management of portfolio companies to drive value creation. Rowland also spent more than a decade at McKinsey & Company, becoming a partner and working in a wide range of industries. He taught for two years at the Cranfield School of Management, where he earned his Master of Business Administration degree, after starting his career in IT at Ford Motor Company.

Álvarez-Novoa, Van de Vliet and Rowland are an integral part of Riverside’s global team. The firm believes a truly global footprint provides exceptional insight into local conditions, culture and business practices, making team members better investors and business partners. To date, Riverside has made five investments and exited one company in Europe this year.

These organizational changes further strengthen Riverside’s operational expertise and footprint across the region.

The Riverside Company
The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm focused on making control and non-control investments in growing businesses valued at up to $400 million. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 540 transactions. The firm’s international portfolio includes more than 80 companies.