Renovata & Company Recruits CEO for Vivino
August 2, 2021 – Global executive search and private equity advisory firm Renovata & Company has placed Olivier Grémillon as chief executive officer of wine locator app Vivino. “Olivier has led demonstrable growth at Booking.com and Airbnb,” said Thomas Jepsen, partner at Renovata & Company. “At Booking.com, he led a business with more than $20 billion in gross merchandise value.”
“He understands the potential hurdles and challenges that face a smaller, growing organization,” adds Mannie Gill, Renovata & Company partner. “He will help lead the company through key strategic decisions, develop and execute a multi-year business plan, and build and lead a team capable of scaling 70 to 80 percent-plus year-over-year growth for multiple years.”
Before joining Vivino, Mr. Grémillon was vice president of global segments and booking home at Booking.com. He worked at Airbnb for six years, most recently as managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Mr. Grémillon launched his career as a marketing consultant and spent several years at McKinsey & Company and Deloitte.
Vivino is backed by Kinnevik, Creandum and Balderton. In February, the company closed a $155 million Series D funding round, led by Kinnevik, which helped it launch a “Match For You” functionality that gives customers personalized wine recommendations. Vivino has an opportunity to disrupt a $300 billion global business.
Today, Vivino has about 150 employees in 10 countries. The app has been downloaded over 44 million times (with 20,000 new users per day), and the company has maintained its 50 to 100 percent year-on-year growth for the past six years. The app has more than five times the number of users compared to its eight closest competitors combined.
Private Equity Search & Advisory Firm
Renovata & Company is a global executive search and private equity advisory firm. The firm partners with financial sponsors, their portfolio companies, and public corporations to deliver leaders and investment insights. The search firm’s executive recruiting activities are focused on search assignments covering board-level mandates, which include board directors, CEOs, CFOs and other C-suite executives, as well as investment professionals and operating partners. The firm provides strategic counsel to clients across the technology, digital, business services, industrial, consumer and retail sectors.
Renovata & Company has relationships with over 50 of the top 100 private and growth equity firms globally. Its private equity advisory services include diligence support, backable executive introductions and deal sourcing delivered by its affiliate, L Capital Advisors. The firm also makes equity co-investments alongside its private equity clients through its investment affiliate, L Capital. The search firm is privately held and operates from five offices across two continents: Boston, Hamburg, London, New York and San Francisco.
Mr. Jepsen is a co-founder of Renovata & Company. He has over 20 years’ experience in executive search across the SaaS, marketplace and B2C online spectrum. His focus is on working with the boards (founders and investors) of high growth businesses to attract the leadership talent that enable their companies to scale. In over a decade leading Renovata, Mr. Jepsen has worked with many of the leading B2B and B2C businesses across Europe.
Mr. Gill is a co-founder of Renovata & Company. His practice is focused on conducting board and C-level searches for private equity portfolio companies across internet, E-commerce, SaaS and ad/mar-tech. In addition, he works with public companies on their digital transformation projects.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
