John Camp

John M. Camp is a Managing Director of Corporate Development at Arbor Investments, the Chicago-based private equity firm that specializes exclusively in acquiring and operating middle-market food, beverage, and related companies. He joined Arbor effective October 1, 2013, brought on to expand the firm's deal-sourcing and execution capabilities. In this role he focuses on originating transactions across food-products handling, manufacturing, distribution, and specialty packaging.

Camp arrived at Arbor with more than 25 years of private equity investment experience. His earlier career included roles at The Jordan Company, Lincolnshire Management (where he was a Managing Director), and Wafra Partners, and most recently he was a partner at Southfield Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut (roughly 2005–2013). Across these firms he built a reputation as a deal professional and intermediary in the middle market, sourcing transactions in manufacturing, distribution, and specialty-services industries and working extensively with M&A intermediary groups.

He holds a BA from the University of the South (Sewanee) and an MBA from the University of Virginia (Darden). At the time of his hire, Arbor CEO Greg Purcell described him as "a well-known and respected deal professional and intermediary in the middle market," and Camp said he looked forward to helping Arbor "acquire and invest in premier companies within the food and beverage industry."

Founded in 1999, Arbor has invested in or acquired more than 60 food and beverage companies in North America. The firm has grown substantially since Camp joined — from roughly $600 million in AUM across three funds in 2013 to approximately $3.1 billion today, with its sixth fund (Arbor Investments VI) closing on over $1.2 billion in commitments.

• Sector-exclusive: Arbor invests only in food, beverage, and related industries — food-products handling, manufacturing, distribution, and specialty packaging. A pitch outside food & beverage is a non-starter.
• Control-oriented private equity: The firm takes controlling stakes in midmarket companies, typically deploying $100M–$250M of equity per platform — this is buyout/growth capital, not seed or angel checks.
• Established, profitable businesses: Targets North American companies with real revenue and EBITDA; historically sub-$100M revenue firms, increasingly larger platforms as the funds have grown.
• Operating value-add: Arbor combines investment professionals with operating partners and functional experts to build "premier companies" in food & beverage — it favors businesses it can scale through operational improvement and add-on M&A.
• Camp's mandate: Deal origination and execution — sourcing acquisitions through M&A intermediaries and industry networks in food handling, manufacturing, distribution, and specialty packaging.