Wayne Vacek

Wayne Vacek

  • Position: Managing Director
  • Education: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with Biomedical Specialization – Southern Methodist University; M.B.A – Harvard Business School
  • Professional Certifications: Series 79 and 63

Wayne Vacek is a Managing Director for the Consumer Group with Founders Advisors based in the firm’s Dallas office. Wayne has 25 years of experience in Corporate Development and Strategic Planning in the retail and consumer space.

Throughout his career, Wayne has served in multiple leadership roles for some of the world’s top companies, including JCPenney, Tempur-Pedic, FedEx and Bain & Company. Most recently, he served as Head of Strategy for Lowes.com. Prior to this, he was the Chief Strategy Officer for Varsity Brands.

Wayne has consistently delivered breakthrough growth in varied and challenging environments. Major Corporate Development and Transformational projects in which he’s played a key role include:

  • Acquisition of Sealy by Tempur-Pedic to create the largest, global bedding retailer in 2013
  • Sale of Varsity Brands to Bain Capital for $2.9 billion in 2019
  • Development and execution of strategic plan to triple Lowes.com sales from 2019 to 2022

Mr. Vacek received his MBA at Harvard Business School and holds a Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering with Biomedical Specialization, Cum Laude. In addition, he was a 4-year letterman for SMU Men’s Swimming & Diving team and served as team captain his senior year.

Mr. Vacek has been married for 24 years to his wife Melissa and they have five children from the ages of 22 to 5 (Garrison, Haley, Madison, Lawson and Kayson). Wayne and Melissa are actively involved at Fellowship Church in Frisco, TX. In addition, they have served as foster parents in their local community. Mr. Vacek has served for both the Dallas and Charlotte Salvation Army ARC chapters over the last 6 years with increasing areas of responsibility, including serving as Chairman of the Dallas ARC.