Samuel Pond

About Samuel Pond

I am a strategic business professional with experience working for private equity portfolio companies in areas of corporate strategy, business planning, analytics, and pricing. Varsity Brands is currently owned by KKR, following an acquisition from Bain Capital completed in 2024. I am passionate about helping organizations address their most critical challenges and working with leadership on key decisions. I offer a reflexive, analytical approach to framing and solving problems, operating with a customer and employee first mindset. My key strengths are being dependable, logical, and efficient, while balancing different assumptions and scenarios. I am currently leading a team focused on analytics, pricing, and salesforce effectiveness across Varsity Spirit\'s core businesses. I earned my MBA with Distinction from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Outside of work, my interests include running, hiking, playing hockey, crosswords, and the New York Rangers. I fundraise as a St. Jude Hero for the St. Jude Children\'s Research Hospital - one of my favorite parts of living in Memphis. Core Competencies: Strategy Development, Advanced Excel Modeling, Salesforce Effectiveness, Pricing, Budget Planning, Project Management, Operations, Commercial Due Diligence, Customer and Competitor Analysis, Market Sizing, M&A Advisory, DCF / NPV Valuation Modeling, Financial Modeling, Market Surveys, Data Analysis, Variance Analysis, Statistical Analysis, and Post-Merger IntegrationIndustry experience: Apparel, Live Events, School Sports, Consumer Services, Lawn & Landscape Services, Transportation, Logistics, Airlines, Life Sciences, Industrial Products, Building Materials, and Private Equity

Experience

1. Vice President of Analytics & Insights

   Varsity Spirit

   Apr 2022 — Present · Memphis, TN, US

   Managing a new 7-person Analytics & Pricing team that was built up to own data-driven, growth and pricing initiatives across Varsity Spirit\'s core businesses. Our team is relied on for analytical, strategic problem-solving for projects across the organization, working closely with finance and business owners. • Key partner to GM of School business to operationalize critical Salesforce Effectiveness projects, such as goal setting (for ~400 reps), territory planning, forecasting, and incentive plan structuring• Co-lead on developing the Varsity Spirit commercial data pack leading up to KKR\'s acquisition of Varsity Brands (2024)

Education

• Boston College

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Economics, Honors Program

  2002 — 2006

• The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

  Master of Business Administration (MBA) with Distinction, General Management

  2011 — 2013

Skills

• Emerging Markets
• Financial Analysis
• Acquisition Integration
• Due Diligence
• Financial Modeling
• Private Equity
• Dcf
• Investment Banking
• Valuation
• Business Strategy
• Strategy
• Venture Capital
• Strategic Consulting
• Management Consulting
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Mergers
• Competitive Analysis
• Corporate Finance
• Corporate Development