Doug Jacob

Doug Jacob · About

Biography · with references

About Doug Jacob

Doug Jacob (born October 19, 1982) is an American entrepreneur. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of &vest, the New York beauty transformation platform, and the operating partner of Morphe. He founded the creative agency JWALK, which Shiseido Americas acquired in 2017, and co-founded FAST Acquisition Corp.

Updated . Dated statements below are footnoted to a filing, release or article in the references.

Early life and education

Jacob was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 19, 1982. He studied Business Economics at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. He began his career on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as an equities specialist.

Hospitality: Tenjune and Toro

From 2006 to 2010 Jacob was a partner in Tenjune, a nightclub in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, where he was lead investor and operating partner.[1] He later helped bring the Boston restaurant Toro, by chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette, to New York with Will Malnati. Toro opened in the Nabisco building in Chelsea in 2013.[7] Jacob sold his position in 2016.[1]

JWALK (2010–2017)

In 2010 Jacob founded JWALK, a New York creative agency, with Michael Lastoria and Charlie Walk.[1] The agency’s first project was &pizza, the Washington, D.C. fast-casual chain Jacob helped launch with Lastoria.[3] JWALK worked for beauty, luxury, fashion and hospitality brands, including bareMinerals, Buxom, Lacoste and SoulCycle.[3] Adweek profiled the firm in 2014 as an agency that develops new brand categories.[5] Bloomberg featured Jacob in its “What I Wear to Work” series in 2015.[6] By 2017 the agency employed roughly 35 people in midtown Manhattan.[3]

Shiseido Americas (2017)

Shiseido Americas announced its acquisition of JWALK on March 6, 2017. Terms were not disclosed.[2] JWALK became an integrated division of Shiseido Americas while continuing to serve outside clients.[2] Jacob was named Chief Creative Director, Shiseido Americas, reporting to Jill Scalamandre.[4] His remit covered creative for the Americas beauty portfolio, including bareMinerals and Buxom.[3]

&vest (2019–present)

Jacob co-founded &vest with Michael Lastoria on August 15, 2019, and serves as its Chief Executive Officer.[1] &vest is headquartered at 1220 Broadway in New York. The firm acquires, advises and operates consumer beauty brands. It owns three agencies: &code, AND Studio and &human. In May 2021 Bill Hinman, former Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, joined &vest as a partner.[19]

&vest incubated Beauty Labs, an AI company building virtual try-on and skin-analysis tools for beauty brands. Amyris agreed to acquire Beauty Labs on April 14, 2021, naming &vest as investor and operational partner.[20] The acquisition closed on August 31, 2021.[21]

FAST Acquisition Corp and other SPACs (2020–2023)

In August 2020 Jacob co-founded FAST Acquisition Corp, a $200 million special purpose acquisition company listed on the New York Stock Exchange as FST.[8] He served as Co-Chief Executive Officer alongside Sandy Beall, founder of Ruby Tuesday.[9] He stepped down as Co-CEO and director on November 10, 2020, and continued as the SPAC’s founder.[10] On February 1, 2021, FAST announced a $6.6 billion combination with Fertitta Entertainment.[11] The parties mutually terminated the agreement in December 2021.[12] FAST redeemed its public shares in August 2022.[13]

Velocity Acquisition Corp, formed by the principals of &vest including Jacob, closed a $230 million IPO on February 25, 2021; Jacob was an advisor.[14][15] FAST Acquisition Corp II closed a $200 million IPO on March 18, 2021, with Jacob as founder.[16] FAST II completed its combination with Falcon’s Beyond Global on October 5, 2023, and Jacob joined the Falcon’s Beyond board.[17] He resigned from that board effective April 29, 2025.[18]

Morphe (2023–present)

Forma Brands, the parent company of Morphe, filed for Chapter 11 in January 2023. Bloomberg reported that its lenders agreed to acquire it for about $690 million in debt relief.[22] The sale closed on April 11, 2023, to an investor group of Jefferies Finance, funds managed by Cerberus Capital Management and &vest.[23] Jacob joined as operating partner and has led Morphe’s reset from an influencer-led to a product-first brand.[24][26] In May 2025 Beauty Independent reported a 33 percent year-to-date sales increase, and in July 2025 BeautyMatter reported sales up 38 percent year over year.[25][26] Morphe launched at Target in spring 2026.[27]

Personal

Jacob lives and works in New York. His legal name is William Douglas Jacob, the form used in SEC filings.[18]

References

  1. FAST Acquisition Corp, Form S-1/A, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, August 17, 2020 (management biography)
  2. Shiseido Company, Limited, news release, “Shiseido Americas Acquires JWALK”, March 6, 2017
  3. WWD, “Shiseido Adds Creative Juice by Acquiring JWalk”, March 2017
  4. Global Cosmetic Industry, “Shiseido Has a New Creative Director”, March 7, 2017
  5. Adweek, “This Agency Develops New Brand Categories”, March 6, 2014
  6. Bloomberg, “What I Wear to Work: JWALK’s Doug Jacob”, November 12, 2015
  7. Interview Magazine, “Toro Scales Up”, November 4, 2013
  8. Business Wire, “FAST Acquisition Corp. Announces Pricing of $200 Million Initial Public Offering”, August 20, 2020
  9. Nation’s Restaurant News, “Blank-check company with deep bench of industry veterans launches to raise $200 million”, August 19, 2020
  10. FAST Acquisition Corp, Form 10-K for fiscal year 2020, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (officer and director changes)
  11. PR Newswire, “Tilman Fertitta Enters Into Deal to Take Golden Nugget/Landry’s Public”, February 1, 2021
  12. PR Newswire, “FAST Acquisition Corp. and Fertitta Entertainment, Inc. Mutually Terminate Transaction”, December 10, 2021
  13. FAST Acquisition Corp, Form 8-K exhibit, redemption of public shares, August 2022
  14. PR Newswire, “Velocity Acquisition Corp. Announces Closing of $230 Million Initial Public Offering”, February 25, 2021
  15. Velocity Acquisition Corp, Form S-1, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, February 2021
  16. PR Newswire, “FAST Acquisition Corp. II Announces Closing of $200 Million Initial Public Offering”, March 18, 2021
  17. Business Wire, “Falcon’s Beyond Closes Business Combination with FAST II and Will Begin Trading on Nasdaq”, October 5, 2023
  18. Falcon’s Beyond Global, Form 8-K, director resignation, April 2025
  19. PR Newswire, “Former SEC Director of Corporation Finance Bill Hinman Joins &vest as Partner”, May 17, 2021
  20. PR Newswire, “Amyris to Acquire Beauty Labs”, April 14, 2021
  21. PR Newswire, “Amyris Closes Acquisition of Beauty Labs”, September 7, 2021
  22. Business of Fashion (Bloomberg), “Bankrupt Morphe Owner Acquired by Lenders for $690 Million”, March 29, 2023
  23. PR Newswire, “FORMA Brands Successfully Completes Sale to Investor Group”, April 11, 2023
  24. Glossy, “Morphe’s new launch positions the brand as product-first”, May 30, 2023
  25. Beauty Independent, “Can Morphe Execute A Big Comeback?”, May 15, 2025
  26. BeautyMatter, “Morphe’s Bold Reinvention”, July 8, 2025
  27. Target Corporation, “Target Unveils Largest Spring Beauty Assortment Ever”, January 28, 2026

Related

Doug Jacob &vest Morphe JWALK FAST Acquisition Corp Press & Features