Werner von Pein is a consumer products executive with a career spanning more than four decades leading food, beverage, and pet nutrition businesses across North America, Europe, and global markets. He holds an MBA from Xavier University and a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester, and began his career at Procter & Gamble before building a track record as one of the most experienced consumer brand operators and turnaround executives in the lower middle market.

Werner has served as CEO of companies ranging from $30 million to $2 billion in revenue, consistently recruited to lead businesses through ownership transitions, performance turnarounds, and strategic repositioning. His operating experience spans some of the most recognized names in consumer packaged goods including Lavazza North America, where he achieved U.S. profitability for the first time in 15 years, and Nabisco Brands, where he led the Planters and Life Savers divisions globally across 11 manufacturing facilities. Earlier in his career he held senior roles at Kraft, Quaker Oats, and Rexall Sundown, building a deep foundation in brand management, supply chain, and multi-market operations.

More recently, Werner served as CEO of Halo, Purely for Pets and subsequently the Better Choice Company, where he returned the business to profitability within three months, grew EBITDA to a historical high, and led the integration of two brands under a unified platform in preparation for an IPO. He also served as CEO of Three Dog Bakery, expanding distribution to 17 major retail accounts and driving a 20% increase in annual sales. Between 2022 and 2025, he served as Interim Operating CEO across three additional private equity-backed businesses, Wet Noses, Treat Planet, and K9 Power, brought in specifically to turn around financial performance and restructure operations from negative to positive EBITDA.

Throughout his career, Werner has been drawn repeatedly to founder-founded and family-owned businesses, companies where the culture, the people, and the legacy matter as much as the numbers. From Lavazza and Melitta to Mancini Packing and Gardella Properties, many of his most meaningful engagements have been with businesses where a family built something over decades and needed a trusted outside operator to help them take it to the next level. That orientation is central to his work at FCL, where the goal is to be the first institutional partner for founder-led companies, bringing structure, discipline, and operational capability without displacing the values that made the business worth backing in the first place. His work as a business builder and turnaround specialist has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the London Financial Times, and he holds director experience on public and private company boards across North America and Europe.