As the saying goes, some people need no introduction but few reach the lofty heights of mononymous status. Mention the name Vennette (no last name required) to anyone in the beauty industry and they’ll know exactly who you are talking about. As Managing Director and Head of Beauty and Personal Care at Raymond James, Vennette Ho is a dealmaking powerhouse but has remained down-to-earth, generous-spirited, and warm-hearted in the process.
“The funny thing is—my mom will look at me and say, ‘I can't believe you're a beauty banker.’ I grew up in the nineties and was super grungy wearing plaid flannels and baggy cargo pants. This is not something I ever saw myself doing,” she states on a sunny Wednesday afternoon from her Midtown Manhattan office. “But when you unpack beauty investment banking and ask: what is this job really about and what does it stand for—I can't imagine doing anything else.”
The industry couIdn’t imagine being without her either. If there are any M&A beauty waves, Ho is likely to be at their center. Brand acquisitions and investments are the lifeblood of strategics, infusing them with not just another exciting name to add to their portfolio but additional revenue growth and cultural capital. Raymond James advises them on where to best invest those dollars. Equally, for independent brands looking to scale their businesses, the investment bank guides them on which investors will make, not break, their business. It’s a high stakes business, with individual livelihoods and industry-wide reputations on the line.
Raymond James has facilitated landmark strategic exits and deals: with Unilever, the acquisitions of K18 and Paula’s Choice (for an estimated $2 billion); with Shiseido a $845 million deal with Drunk Elephant; a reported $500 million transaction with Tatcha; and a $450 million purchase of Dr. Dennis Gross. The investment bank also advised on Church & Dwight’s $630 million deal with Hero Cosmetics, L’Occitane’s $450 million majority stake in Sol de Janeiro, and Helen of Troy’s $150 million acquisition of Curlsmith. The list of M&A clients touches every corner of the industry, from Procter & Gamble’s purchase of Tula Skincare to Wella Company adding Briogeo to its portfolio and Advent International’s acquisition of Olaplex Holdings (deals of the term were not disclosed, but at the time of the transaction the bond building haircare brand was valued at $1 billion).
Ho’s level-headed and approachable mindset has helped her keep a steady vision along the way. “People say, ‘Oh, you've been doing this for so long, it must be kind of rote.’ The reality is, in this job there are no two deals that are remotely the same. Every day, I wake up and have no idea what's going to happen, good or bad. It’s exciting,” she adds. The road to her standing in the industry today is one marked by serendipitous encounters, determination, and open-mindedness.
The Journey from Fashion Buying to Finance
After graduating with a BA in history and economics (magna cum laude) from Brown University, her career began in 1998 as an Assistant Buyer in fashion accessories at Bloomingdale’s. It’s here where fate intervened. When Ho was 24 years old, her college friend who was leaving for business school suggested that she interview for her job as an equity research associate covering media companies at financial advisory and asset management firm Lazard.
“I went in knowing nothing. I wasn’t a finance major, I had never seen a P&L before. My friend took me under her wing and said, ‘Come see me after work every day for a week, and I'll show you some things so you can get through this interview,’” she recalls. While she didn’t get the position, Ho left an impression. A few weeks later a member of Lazard’s retail and apparel research department, who was previously a dress buyer at Macy’s, called her, seeing the potential for the young buyer to transition into the world of finance. She was thrown into the deep end as an Equity Research Associate, but a fast, agile, and dedicated learner, she persevered.
“I never had any training. I just sat in a little cubicle for hours with books and my computer and asked the other associates questions on how to build a financial model. I had to figure out how a balance sheet worked, what were the drivers of gross margin, and what all of these different things were. It was interesting, but I also found out that I wasn't necessarily good at picking stocks, which was kind of the key point of that job,” she says. Unsure of her next professional step, she recommitted to her education, garnering an MBA (betta gamma sigma) from Columbia Business School.
While there, she gained an interesting clarity on her prospective career path. “I had decided pretty definitively that there was one thing I didn't want to do: investment banking. I had no interest in becoming an investment banker even though it seemed like all of my classmates were going for banking interviews. I was under the impression that being a banker meant I would just be up in an ivory tower all day; no one would ever talk to me, I would just do models for 100 hours a week, and most of the work wouldn’t go anywhere,” she states. Once again, the universe had other plans. The Financo team discovered Ho’s resume through the Columbia Business School’s Retail & Luxury Goods Club resumé book and called her in for an interview.
“I honestly went in on a whim and took the job because I really liked the people,” she recalls. “That was 20 years ago; it's kind of crazy.” A few years into her time there, a managing director who was working in the beauty space approached her. With a personal interest in the space and a willingness to expand her horizons, she began to learn about beauty in addition to her pre-existing work in the realms of jewelry and apparel. That side hustle continued to grow. Her first deal was helping Sun Capital Partners Inc. buy Stila from Estée Lauder in April 2006, followed by the sale of Laura Mercier (under the license of Gurwitch Products) to Alticor Inc. in July 2006.
A landmark moment happened in 2009, after she had just returned from maternity leave. Through making cold calls, she stumbled upon father and son duo Alan and Joey Shamah, founders of e.l.f. Cosmetics. “e.l.f. was a totally under-the-radar brand, and the family had never thought about bringing in capital or selling or anything. It was the beginning of a really interesting journey for us because obviously today, it’s an iconic player in the industry. When e.l.f. started, it was a little family-owned business. We've been with that story almost since the beginning, and it’s truly remarkable to see where it is today,” she says.
Part of that journey includes Raymond James overseeing TSG Consumer Partner’s minority investment in the company in 2011 and TPG Growth’s subsequent majority stake in February 2014 (a deal reported to be valued between $200-$300 million). The support paid off: when e.l.f. Beauty went public in 2016, it was valued at $1.1 billion. Their working partnership continued, with Raymond James serving as an exclusive financial advisor to Naturium Skincare when e.l.f. Beauty acquired it for $355 million in August 2023. Thanks to these strategic decisions, today the beauty company has about $10 billion in market capitalization.
Tapping into the Beauty Business Boom
Another key moment in Ho’s journey was in 2012 when John Berg, the head of Raymond James’s consumer group, took over the reins of Financo and became its CEO (Financo was acquired by Raymond James in 2021). With Berg’s leadership came a laser focus on beauty dealmaking for Ho. “John came in with a totally new energy to our company―he believed we could win. And he had a very clear strategy. He said, ‘We're going to make all of you specialists. Vennette, you've done more beauty than anyone else, now all you're going to do is do beauty.’ I remember at the time feeling like all of my other opportunities were being cut off, but he was very prescient and a super smart guy. He said, ‘The only way you win is if you actually focus on one thing and do it really well,’” she comments.
Despite her initial trepidation, the specialization turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “I drew the long straw because beauty is, for me, by far the most interesting industry in consumer,” she exclaims. “It’s an industry where an amazing founder with a great vision can seemingly come from nowhere and make a huge splash. It's an industry that's always moving forward in terms of how it reflects and drives what's going on in society. Founder-backed independent companies in particular are driving systematic change in things like sustainability, formulation, and inclusivity.”
Ho also praises the incredible margins and recurring cash flows of the beauty businesses, which enable some of the tremendous valuations that Raymond James has been able to deliver for its clients. But beyond the numbers, there are other humanistic elements of the industry she also values. “The best thing about the beauty industry is what it really stands for: helping people feel happy and good about themselves. The beauty industry has this incredible combination of being one of the most attractive financial profiles of any industry, but it’s also a joyful industry that offers incredible opportunities for entrepreneurship and, distinctively, wealth creation for women. And when we work with our founder clients, we are always fighting to ensure their efforts are appropriately recognized,” she enthuses.
Reflecting on her path from buying into investment banking, Ho sees her time at Bloomingdale’s as a key piece in the puzzle of understanding the M&A landscape. “I've been on the other side and that perspective is super critical to my job. Overall, what I've always been interested in is passion for the consumer as a whole. When you understand how the entire business works, you have an appreciation for the importance of execution across the entire stream—no matter how good a brand is, it doesn’t matter unless the execution is flawless,” she explains.
A prominent example comes to mind from her days of fashion accessories buying. “We’d bought these great necklaces, and I was so excited for the PO to hit the DC. Then I watched the numbers and asked: why isn't it selling? I went up to Bloomingdale's on 59th Street and found them stuck in the back stockroom all tangled. I spent half a day untangling necklaces, and when I put them back on the floor, they sold out almost immediately,” she remembers. “A great business is about excellence every step of the way. You can have a great product, but if it never makes it to the shelf, then it never really has a chance.”
An appreciation for excellence is also a key factor in determining which projects she and her team at Raymond James greenlight or decline. “When we take on projects, we are always thinking about what's the broader story and how does this fit into the ecosystem of the industry—why does this company or this brand matter, and is it positioned to succeed in the long term,” Ho adds.
Despite the flashy numbers and attention-grabbing headlines, she admits that “deals are hard [work]. The industry, to some extent, has glamorized the idea of doing a deal. Deals may look like they happen all the time, but they’re actually really challenging. Sometimes it feels like you need the moon, the sun, and the stars to align. And even after that, there’s so much work that goes behind making a deal happen that people don’t see,” she explains.
What are those metaphorical astronomical bodies that need to align? Ho cites a great company, metrics, numbers, and momentum—an easy-to-identify runway for an upward growth trajectory. A positive economic backdrop, buyers ready to commit to and financially ready to execute a deal, an experienced and skilled advisory team are further benefactors. “We have to be thoughtful, smart, and strategic about how we bring a company to market, communicate the story, drive valuation, and navigate the entire process successfully from beginning to end. Inevitably there will be twists and turns throughout a deal. It can go off the rails at any time,” she notes. Trust is a paramount element for all those unexpected obstacles, as is a long-term perspective for navigating a volatile market and economic climate.
Another aspect of that extended viewpoint is about learning when to say no just as much as it is about learning when to say yes. “There's a lot of focus these days on growing fast or getting to an exit fast. The reality is the best M&A outcomes come when you build something sustainable with longevity. Oftentimes that's about taking steps to consciously manage your business for the long term and not jump at every opportunity that hits your plate,” Ho explains. “That takes a lot of discipline, especially when you're a brand that's doing well. It takes a lot of thoughtfulness; making sure your IP is protected, you are investing properly behind your team, and your financials are in order. All of the legwork behind the scenes are critical to driving ultimate valuation and interest.”
Recalculating for a Post-Digital World
In today’s beauty market, those resource investments and calculations are becoming more challenging to make. “Pre everything digital, it was challenging to gain scale because everything was slower. Now with digital you can catch fire really fast. But how do you channel that energy into long-term sustainable growth and repeat purchases? How do you utilize that for the long term versus a moment of virality?” she questions. “People used to say when you hit $100 million in revenues, you'd made it; it was a mark of permanence. Now companies can get to $100 million and you don't know if they're going to be around for a long time. It's not that easy for acquirers to also parse through what quality growth and sustainability looks like.” Determining that grade of growth and sustainability comes down to core tenets like profitability, identifying any flags in P&L statements, having solid gross margins rather than solely focusing on sales growth, and repeat purchases.
While numbers are certainly an important component of dealmaking, Ho emphasizes the highly interdisciplinary nature of her job. “Finance is definitely a part of the story, but on any given day, we are also doing sales, branding, marketing, negotiation, psychology. Sometimes a big part of my job feels like it’s playing therapist to everybody,” she notes. “Deals are emotional. It’s peoples’ livelihoods at stake. How do you keep everyone feeling calm throughout and keeping the big picture in mind? You need to make sure there are no rash decisions on either side of the equation, buyers or sellers. So much of a successful deal is how people feel and their excitement and enthusiasm for a partnership.” Feelings like believing in the brand or company, the team, and an alignment in values and cultures are part of that transaction.
For brand founders looking to raise capital or make a successful exit, Ho advises finding a specific intent and purpose behind doing so. “Honestly, raising capital is not always the best thing to do. It sounds funny because my job is to raise money, but if a company or owner doesn’t need it, bootstrap for a bit longer. That's oftentimes better than just going out and raising money,” she says. “There's a discipline that comes in with not raising money. There's a huge case to be made of not raising money just for the sake of raising money.”
She also believes that building a great business will allow for the M&A opportunities to present themselves organically. “The best clients that we have worked with did not start a business with the intention of selling it. If you are only focused on selling your company from the outset, you start getting distracted, taking inputs from a lot of different places, and chasing something elusive,” she remarks. “But if you stay true to your core purpose as a brand and business and are able to prove it out, people will notice and ultimately want to buy the business.” There is certainly no shortage of new business opportunities arising for the Raymond James team on a daily basis, and Ho thrives off of this energetic pulse. “Beauty M&A is such an incredible place to work in because this entire industry is anchored in M&A. As long as the consumer is changing, independent brands will rise,” she notes. “The large players oftentimes can't respond fast enough, so there’s always a reason to do a deal and always innovation, creativity, and sparks of energy coming from independents and founders who are changing the face of the entire industry.”
That face is increasingly blurring due to the influx of digital platforms, online virality, and a merging of categories. “The old structures of what beauty is, how we buy it, and how the consumer engages are collapsing as we speak. It's going to force a lot of people to think differently in terms of their strategy of both how they are structured and also what ‘counts’ as beauty,” she says. Recent examples include skincare-infused color cosmetics, premium bodycare that doubles as a fragrance, and pimple patches as part acne solution, part facial accessory. “Some of the best deals that we have done in the last few years involved companies that didn’t fit a mold, that weren’t traditional. Everyone is being forced to broaden their views a bit as to what matters to the consumer,” she remarks. “You've also got a generational shift. We are now talking about Sephora preteens; we're talking about cologne boys. These are not just trends, they’re inherent transformations with the consumer. On the other end of the spectrum, the older customer is also different today. People are embracing aging and talking more openly about topics like the impact of menopause on how you look and feel. There is this incredible movement of people of all ages, genders, and economic positions seeking joy, wellness, and self-care. How does the industry respond to that?”
Creative Pursuits and Personal Perspectives
While she is undoubtedly excited about the future of the beauty industry, Ho’s enthusiasm and passion also flourishes further when talking about musicals. During her time as a young associate, while on a business flight, she wrote a coming-of-age story about being an investment banker. “If I wasn’t a banker, I might be writing musicals,” she laughs. “I still need someone to put music to it, but one day, when I have time, I will. My unfulfilled fantasy is to be the next Lin-Manuel Miranda.” At the heart of the yet-to-be staged production is dispelling myths of the profession and the complexity that underpins the banking industry.
“The impression of investment banking is very one-note, very ‘Wolf of Wall Street.’ And while there is an element of that to this industry, what I'm so proud of with our team and organization that we have built at Raymond James is that every day we show there’s another way to do this job and deliver incredible outcomes to our clients. There's a stereotype of what a banker looks like or how they should speak. That's not me at all,” she comments. “Part of our success as an organization is that our entire team is unique about how we think, communicate, and engage. We embrace the quirkiness of us as individuals, and it allows us to really appreciate the uniqueness of each of our clients. We have diverse viewpoints that we bring to the table every day. There's lots of different ways to be successful in life, and you don't have to fit into a mold. You can do this job and be passionate and also be your authentic self.”
As for the mentors that shaped her own professional path, Ho describes herself as “a conglomeration of almost everyone I've ever worked with. That's the cool thing about this job. You just meet so many talented and inspiring people every single day. It’s a blessing. I think I’m a combination of little pieces of everyone I've ever met.” She has had an incredible amount of success but is always the first to share that praise with her colleagues.
“I get an undue amount of credit for doing deals when it's really our entire organization and team that makes everything happen,” she proclaims. “There's zero way that I can get any deal done by myself. And it’s not just because of time. It's because all of our deals are a reflection of the efforts of our entire team as a whole. Every recommendation we give and piece of work we put together is the output of a lot of smart people collaborating toward a goal.”
Her admiration for her team shines through as she mentions the ways each one of them inspires her. “I'm only good because I'm surrounded by experienced and incredibly talented people who spend pretty much all of their time in beauty and who love and know this space inside and out,” she says. “I learn so much from my partners Evan, Marko, Kevin, and Jonah. We live and breathe this industry and think about it even when we’re not working. Our entire team, from managing directors to analysts, have a lot of heart, work really hard, and work together to figure out a solution for every issue. Out of everything, I’m probably most proud of the incredible practice we have built and are continuing to build together.” Ho notes that the Raymond James beauty team is the biggest in the business, with all the senior partners having worked together for at least five years, and many of them having worked together for over a decade.
That mutual support is a helpful aid in managing the workload and pressures of the banking industry. “The biggest challenge of all being a banker is finding balance and staying sane. It's a very intense job. The hours and travel can be grueling. There’s a lot at stake for our clients. Our team supports each other through tough times,” she admits. Her care and concern isn’t just for those she works with, but as a mother of two, her daughter and special needs son. “A big impact on my life in general is my children shaping the way that I understand what success and accomplishment looks like. My son is the most resilient kid, my daughter is a tremendous artist. All these different perspectives give you a lot of humility,” she says. “I'm really grateful to be surrounded by these amazing people, whether it's my coworkers or my kids, who I learn from every day.”
As to what wisdom she hopes to relay to her children, she smilingly states, “Find what you love and then go for it. There's a lot of pressure to get everything right all the time or be all these things to all people. When you find your passion and something that gets you up every day, ask yourself how to be the best at it—in the way that you want to be the best at it—and then go do it.” Based on her own career and continuing accomplishments, it’s clear that Ho has found her own winning solution to that daily mission, all while staying true to the core passions and ideals that make her heart sing—whether in the proverbial sense of the word or in a future musical.
