Justin Dumitrescu

Justin started his career as an investment banker where he spent two years building overly complex models and obsessively polished PowerPoint decks. He then joined a private equity firm and spent five years learning how to be a disciplined investor. During his time as a private equity investor, Justin covered several industries including solid waste management, food processing, industrial distribution, education and restaurants. Having gained a valuable skill-set, Justin’s next step was to get his hands dirty and actually operate a business.

Along with a partner, he acquired a 50 year old consumer beauty business with 30 retail locations called Caryl Baker Visage (“CBV”). CBV was a mature business with solid bones but was also dated and needed to replace its aging (mostly female) customer base with a younger demographic. As a personal challenge, Justin took on responsibility for marketing and brand development. He spent the next six years building the right team and completely reinventing the CBV brand from store design, product packaging to promotional and marketing strategy. During this period, CBV achieved significant growth in revenue, same store sales, EBITDA and margins. In 2019, Justin and his partner sold CBV to a private equity firm.

Justin was then ready to start something from the ground up and in 2020, he launched STEL+MAR Wines with Chris Noll. Over the subsequent four years, Justin and Chris built STEL+MAR Wines from a concept into a millennial focused wine brand that is sold throughout North America. Justin exited STEL+MAR Wines in 2024 and is now focused on acquiring and operating successful Canadian businesses that are profitable and have a strong value proposition.