Kevin Yost is a Partner at Capitol Peak Partners and also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Elevation Foods Holdings, the firm’s portfolio company focused in the food sector.
Prior to Capitol Peak, Kevin served as President and Chief Operating Officer, Americas for The WhiteWave Foods Company (NYSE: WWAV), leading the ~$3.7B America’s business across all operating functions including $1B brands Silk and International Delight, and leading brands Horizon Organic, So Delicious, Vega, Stok, Earthbound Organic and Wallaby. The WhiteWave executive team executed five acquisitions and one China joint venture, culminating in a $12.5B transaction of the company to Groupe Danone.
Prior to WhiteWave, Kevin was President and Chief Operating Officer of Saputo Dairy Foods, a $2B operating segment of Saputo, Inc. (SAP.TO), Montreal, Canada, a global dairy manufacturer and marketer. Kevin previously was President and Chief Operating Officer, Morningstar Foods an operating segment of Dean Foods (NYSE: DF). Kevin fostered a customer-first culture that helped Morningstar earn Supplier of the Year from McDonald’s USA. Kevin and his team led the sale of the business to Saputo (SAP.TO) for $1.45B. Following the transaction, Kevin and his management team led the post-merger integration.
Prior to Dean Foods, Kevin was Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President of Swift & Company. Swift was a $10B revenue, private equity-owned protein company with U.S. and Australian operations and sales offices throughout Asia and Mexico. The executive team led the Swift carve out from ConAgra Foods, engineered an operational turnaround, culminating in a $1.25B transaction to JBS, S.A., Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Earlier in his career, Kevin held various operating, brand, and general management positions, including Senior Vice President and General Manager at ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG).
Kevin currently serves as a Board member of EFMB Holdings and Gotham Green Holdings. Kevin is an active volunteer serving on the Dean’s Advisory Board of the University of Nebraska College of Business; and the Board of Directors for Denver KLife, a national youth mission group. Kevin holds a B.S. in Business and International Affairs from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and has completed post-graduate studies at the University of Denver where he was a Daniels Scholar.
Kevin and his wife Paige have been married for 30 years and have two children.
