Chris’s love of efficiency started early. Rumor has it that as a kid, he optimized his morning cereal-to-milk ratio for maximum flavor per bite. This passion for optimization and his knack for bringing together unconventional elements to create something that’s greater than the sum of its parts have been in play throughout his career as an investor, technologist, operator, and entrepreneur. And it’s what led him to found Newcastle.

As Managing Partner, Chris oversees all aspects of the firm, including, most importantly, the development of our people and the execution of our strategy. Some might be surprised that Chris’s expertise as a technologist is also evident at Newcastle—he still writes code for our data and analytics platform.

Prior to founding Newcastle, Chris was a Managing Director at L Catterton, worked in consumer retail at Ahold, and was a Partner at Webster Equity Partners.

Chris received his BS from Cornell and his MBA from Wharton, where he was a Palmer Scholar.

What's your "why"? 

I love helping people see what else is possible in themselves, achieve their intrinsic potential, and being a part of helping them get there. And when you can scale that up across individuals into teams, departments, companies, and categories—you can change the world. 

If you could instantly become an expert in anything, which would you choose and why?

The intersection of neurobiology, evolutionary biology, bioinformatics, and the human biome. We are in the dark ages in these areas and what we learn about how our biology and chemistry impact everything will transform the human experience. Health practitioners will figure out how to cure disease. I am fascinated by how it influences our thoughts and experiences of the world.

What's your most specific pet peeve that no one else seems to understand?

Excessive perfume…are people hard of smelling?

What's your go-to karaoke song?

“It Takes Two” by Rob Base