CEO

Joseph M. Lamastra, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RiverWest Capital Group, LLC, oversees all aspects of the firm’s operations and investment activities. He has over 40 years of investment experience, including more than two decades of direct consumer-focused private company and private equity investing. In addition to his private equity background, Mr. Lamastra has spent more than 40 years actively investing in public markets. Currently, he is also a significant investor in and advisor to a multi-manager, proprietary trading business based in New York. 

Prior to RiverWest, Mr. Lamastra co-founded, along with American fashion icon Mr. Tommy Hilfiger, Mr. Hilfiger’s family office, T Capital Management, where Mr. Lamastra was the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer from its inception in 1998 until the launch of RiverWest in 2024. As CEO and CIO, he directed investments across a broad range of asset classes including private equity, hedge funds, real estate, and venture capital.  In his role at T Capital, Mr. Lamastra also served as an advisor to Mr. Hilfiger on multiple landmark transactions - most notably, he negotiated on behalf of, as well as invested alongside, Mr. Hilfiger in the $1.2 billion “going private”  sale of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation to Apax Partners in 2006, followed by its $3.4 billion sale to PVH in 2010.

Mr. Lamastra was also a co-founder of Sandbridge Capital, a consumer sector-focused private equity firm, where he served on a three-member investment committee.

Prior to 1998, Mr. Lamastra was a Partner and Attorney for the law firm Graham Curtin, where he specialized in mergers, acquisitions, tax and corporate transactions. As an Attorney, Mr. Lamastra negotiated and/or participated in numerous high-profile transactions and business dealings including transactions involving the Trump Organization (Bond Offerings, Casino Gaming transactions, etc..), the IPO of Tommy Hilfiger in 1992, on the New York stock exchange, the $1.1 billion acquisition of Pepe Jeans London in 1997, and a multitude of acquisitions/transactions where private companies were either purchased, sold or had debt restructured. 

Mr. Lamastra started his career as a Financial Analyst with The Amerivest Group, an investment bank located in New York City. Upon graduation from Law School, he was an Associate in the Tax Department at Touche Ross & Company (now Deloitte) concentrating on all tax matters including corporate transactions, mergers, acquisitions, and real estate.

Mr. Lamastra has a J.D. from Seton Hall Law School and a B.S. in Finance from Villanova University.

Mr. Lamastra has served on the Board of Directors of many companies, including Hilfiger family office entities, Derek Lam, Kanine and Thom Browne. He also served on the Villanova University School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board for nine years, and is currently serving his ninth year on the Villanova University Provost Board.

Managing Partner

Erik Baker, Managing Partner of RiverWest Capital Group, LLC, has over 30 years of investment experience, including over two decades of private equity investing in the TMT, branded consumer products, and sports and entertainment markets.

Mr. Baker was a Co-Founder and Managing Director of GF Capital Management & Advisors, LLC, a private equity and wealth management firm which was founded in 2001.  While at GF Capital, Mr. Baker focused on the firm’s private equity activities and successfully exited investments including Warner Music Group, Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, Trade Service, Jonathan Adler Enterprises, Airborne, Blue Man Group, Repucom, and Collective Digital Studios, among others.  Mr. Baker remains a board member of GF Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Dallas Open, an ATP 500 professional men’s tennis tournament operated in conjunction with the Dallas Cowboys.

Prior to GF Capital, Mr. Baker served as Senior Vice President of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, Inc. (“A&SB”), where he worked in the firm’s corporate finance department as well as managing a number of A&SB corporate development activities.  Prior to A&SB, Mr. Baker was an analyst with Gleacher & Co., an M&A advisory boutique.  Mr. Baker has also been a featured speaker at several private equity conferences.

Mr. Baker also served as a Partner of Patricof Co., a specialized investment firm serving professional athletes, following his time at GF Capital, where he focused on the firm’s private equity activities as well as other corporate initiatives.

Mr. Baker graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and is a member of the National Advisory Board of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at Penn.  Mr. Baker also serves on the Family Advisory Council of the New York-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital.  A native of Seymour, CT, Mr. Baker is a member of Seymour High School’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

Partner

Andrew Mancini, Partner, focuses on identifying, analyzing and executing investments across a wide variety of consumer verticals. Prior to RiverWest, Mr. Mancini was a member of the investments and operations team at T Capital Management, the family office of American fashion icon Thomas J. Hilfiger, serving as Managing Director since 2021.

Prior to T Capital Management, Mr. Mancini was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Co., where he spent time in both the Private Equity & Principal Investors practice and the Strategy & Corporate Finance practice. Prior to that, Mr. Mancini was a Senior Equity Research Associate at KeyBanc Capital Markets, covering small and mid-cap Household Products and Personal Care companies. Mr. Mancini began his career as an Analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities in the Investment Banking Division.

Mr. Mancini is a graduate of Washington & Lee University where he received a B.A. in Economics and is a CFA charterholder.

Principal

Joseph DeVito, Principal, focuses on identifying, analyzing and executing investments across a wide variety of consumer verticals. Prior to RiverWest, Mr. DeVito was a member of the investments and operations team at T Capital Management, the family office of American fashion icon Thomas J. Hilfiger, serving as an Investment Associate since 2019.

Prior to T Capital Management, Mr. DeVito was a Summer Analyst at Fitch Credit Ratings, completing rotations in the Corporates and RMBS divisions.

Mr. DeVito received a B.S. in Quantitative Finance from Stevens Institute of Technology.