Rise Fund hires food & ag execs as it pushes forward with fundraise

TPG Rise Fund has hired former Whole Foods Market co-chief executive Walter Robb as senior advisor for food and agriculture. Taryn Goodman is also joining as sector lead for food and agriculture.

The appointments come less less than a month after TPG terminated Rise Fund and TPG Growth co-founder Bill McGlashan’s services for cause over his alleged involvement in a college admissions bribery and money laundering scam.

Food and agriculture is one of seven sectors the Rise Fund, TPG’s impact investing vehicle, focuses on. Investments in this sector include Dodla Dairy, a milk producer in India, and Cellulant, whose fintech tools are geared toward increasing farmer yields through streamlined subsidy payments across Africa.

In assuming role of sector lead for food and ag, Goodman replaces Joy Basu, who transitioned from the same role with The Rise Fund in June.

Robb joined Whole Foods in 1991 and was named co-chief executive in 2010. He founded Stonewall Robb Advisors after the sale of Whole Foods to Amazon in 2017. Stonewall’s investments include New Barn, Trail Coffee Roasters, Summermade and Preserve Farm Kitchens. Robb also invested in Cece’s Veggies Co, Apeel Sciences and joined the board of FoodMaven, according to Stonewall’s website.

Robb will help grow the Rise Fund’s current portfolio through new opportunities and work with existing portfolio companies to help them enhance their operations.

Goodman has worked for more than a decade in impact investing. Previously she was senior director for impact investing at NatureVest, the conservation investing unit of The Nature Conservancy, formed with founding sponsorship from JPMorgan Chase.

NatureVest invested almost $200 million in sustainability-focused deals while Goodman was there, a source told Private Equity International.

Before that, Goodman was director for impact investing at RSF Social Finance, where she led sourcing and due diligence on multiple projects, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Goodman will help source new opportunities for investments, develop strategy for the sector and help expand focus on food and agriculture.

TPG is currently in market with its second Rise Fund, targeting $3 billion. McGlashan’s termination did not trigger key person provisions in the $2 billion first fund, which is already 80 percent committed and has made 25 investments. TPG co-CEO Jim Coulter is interim managing partner of TPG Growth and The Rise Fund.