Mats Lederhausen is the founder and CEO of the investment platform BE-CAUSE LLC based in Chicago. BE-CAUSE invests in companies born with a purpose bigger than their products. Find his newsletter here sharing thoughts, articles, and conversations that keep him inspired to elevate our future. Mats is a pioneer in purpose-driven investing. He is also a founding general partner of Cue Ball, a Boston based evergreen Venture Capital firm where he primarily focuses on consumer and lifestyle brands.
Previously, after a career at the Boston Consulting Group, Mats was Managing Director of McDonald’s Ventures and owner-operator of more than 170 McDonald’s restaurants in Sweden where he oversaw ground-breaking investments in concepts including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Redbox DVD (which he co-founded), and Pret A Manger. As director, lead director and Chairman of Chipotle from 2000-2006, he was instrumental in leading what became one of the most successful restaurant IPOs in history.
Mats was an early investor and Advisory Board member of Cresset and also serves on the Advisory Board for Cure Alzheimer’s. He was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “40 under 40” to watch in 1999 and the World Economic Forum honored him as a “Global Leader of Tomorrow” in 2000. He serves as Chairman of the board of ROTI Modern Mediterranean and is on the global board of Ronald McDonald House Charities. Mats holds a master’s degree from the Stockholm School of Economics in his hometown.