Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based President operating in the Food and Beverage space. If you think a President is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Chris Johnson
Executive Vice President, Nestlé Business Excellence of Nestlé
Chris Johnson is a Executive Vice President, Nestlé Business Excellence at Nestle.
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About Nestlé, Swiss American Chamber of Commerce: Nestlé manufactures and sells food and beverage for several countries.
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Patrice Bula
Executive Vice President Nestlé S.A., of Nestlé
Patrice Bula serves as a Member of Executive Board at Nestlé S.A., and has been its Executive Vice President of Strategic Business Units – Marketing, sales, Nespresso since May 1, 2011. Bula holds MSc in Economic Sciences from Lausanne University HEC (Switzerland) and Program for Executive Development – IMD Lausanne.
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About Nestlé: Nestlé manufactures and sells food and beverage for several countries.
Mark Broduer
Vice President Global Head, Digital Marketing Innovation of Nestlé
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About Nestlé: Nestlé manufactures and sells food and beverage for several countries.
Scott J Cooper
Global Vice President, Innovation of Molson Coors
Throughout his 25 years in sales, marketing and general management, Scott has become an expert at breathing fresh life into tired brands, launching category-changing innovations, establishing new partnerships and leading teams & organizations to deliver sustained business performance. He has held senior roles at Unilever, Sobeys, Molson Coors and served on several not for profit boards including Canada Sports Hall of Fame. Most recently in his role as Global VP, Innovation at Molson Coors Scott led the team that launched Molson Coors Canada’s JV with Hexo to launch cannabis beverages. Scott graduated Ivey with an Honors Business Administration degree. When not busy at the office, you’ll find Scott on the slopes or transporting his three young children to their many activities.
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About Molson Coors: Molson Coors is a beer company and distributor that brews the world’s favorite beer brands.
Kandy Anand
President & Chief Executive Officer, Molson Coors International of Molson Coors
Kandy is President of Molson Coors International (MCI) where he is responsible for the growth and expansion of the company’s business and brand portfolio in global markets outside of the US, Canada and the UK. Appointed in 2009, Kandy has helped significantly expand the company’s footprint in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Previously, he served as Division President of Coca Cola’s Philippines Business Unit. While at Coca Cola, he also served as Vice President of Coca Cola’s Global Revenue Growth Management and Commercial Leadership, as well as the Division Marketing Director for South Latin America. Prior to his time at Coca Cola, Anand served in various senior marketing strategy roles over fifteen years with Unilever in India. Kandy completed his Masters in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management.
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About Molson Coors: Molson Coors is a beer company and distributor that brews the world’s favorite beer brands.
Mark Hunter
President & Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors
Mark is President and CEO of Molson Coors and serves as a member of the Board. He brings more than 20 years of Molson Coors experience and most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors Europe. Prior to that, Mark was President and Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors UK. Before that, he was Chief Commercial Officer for Molson Coors Canada where he responsible for all sales and marketing activities. Earlier in his career Mark managed the export markets and business unit strategy for Bass Brewers and marketing management of the Carling brand. He has also served on the board of Bass Brewers as Marketing Director and the board of Coors Brewers Ltd. Before joining the Bass in 1989, he held a variety of sales positions with Hallmark Cards and Bulmers Drinks. Mark holds a Bachelor Honours degree in Marketing and Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
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About Molson Coors: Molson Coors is a beer company and distributor that brews the world’s favorite beer brands.
Grace Puma Whiteford
Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Officer of PepsiCo
Grace Puma is the Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Officer of PepsiCo.In its global portfolio of food and beverage brands, PepsiCo has 22 different brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. With net revenues of over $63 billion, PepsiCo’s main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are respected household names throughout the world. In 2015, Grace was appointed Chief Supply Officer with expanded responsibilities where she leads a Global Supply Team comprise of: Global Logistics, Global Procurement, and PepsiCo Worldwide Flavours. In her current role as CSO, she has strategic leadership accountabilities for 11 concentrate manufacturing operations, $30B of purchase spend and ~3600 worldwide employees. Her scope of responsibility includes driving: enterprise supply chain strategy; productivity; commodity risk management; plant health /safety; product quality and supply service to the PepsiCo’s businesses. Since Grace joined PepsiCo in 2010, she transitioned procurement from a decentralized, market-based function to a centralized global procurement entity. Grace created new organizational model to ensure globally connected, locally wired work processes with 1,100+ employees and a $30B spend scope on raw commodities, direct/indirect materials, and agency & media. Grace is a seasoned executive experienced at transforming decentralized organizations into globally connected, locally wired business functions that drive performance. She is well regarded as a strategist and change agent who finds best-possible business solutions to business challenges. Grace is recognized as a top female and Hispanic leader role model across complex and decentralized global business environments. She is highly valued for her ability to find innovative solutions, build strong business relationships and develop talent. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Grace worked for United Airlines where she served as senior vice president, chief procurement officer and led the transformation to a global strategic sourcing function with an enterprise-wide scope. Grace and her team delivered significant savings across the value chain, while effectively handling risk management during the jet fuel crises in 2008. Before joining United, Grace led key areas of global procurement at Kraft Foods, including raw materials, packaging, indirect materials, transportation, logistics, and services. She also worked in strategic procurement at Motorola and Gillette. Grace holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Economics from Illinois Benedictine University. She previously served as a board member for Steppenwolf Theatre, the Institute for Supply Managers and board member for the Marietta Corporation. In 2013, Grace was recognized as the #4 CPO out of 5,000 global CPOs across all industries by ExecRank. In 2016, she was recognized as the “Executive of the Year” by Latina Style magazine.
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Shakti Jauhar
Vice President, Global HR Operations and Shared Services of PepsiCo
Shakti Jauhar is a global leader and data-driven executive recognized for his operational expertise in Manufacturing, Information Technology, Finance and Human Resources. Known as a transformational leader, he has a track record of setting clear strategies, driven by rigorous analytics and insights. Shakti leverages technology innovation across geographies to optimize processes, which deliver technical competencies, reduce costs and simultaneously increase efficiencies.
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Deborah Rosado Shaw
Senior Vice President, Chief Global Diversity and Engagement Officer of PepsiCo
Deborah Rosado Shaw is senior vice president, Chief Global Diversity and Engagement Officer of PepsiCo, a global food and beverage company with net revenues of more than $63 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. PepsiCo’s main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. Deborah, who assumed this role in July 2014, provides leadership in guiding PepsiCo’s global Diversity and Engagement (D&E) strategy to bring together diverse strengths, backgrounds and perspectives to achieve the company’s strategic business imperatives, advance its Performance with Purpose goals and drive innovation. Building on PepsiCo’s deep legacy in D&E, she helps PepsiCo ensure that D&E is ingrained in PepsiCo, and expands pathways for developing global, multicultural thinkers, doers and innovators. Deborah was a member of PepsiCo’s Ethnic Advisory Board for 12 years, whereby she played a critical role in establishing a strategic platform that helped PepsiCo elevate its prominence as one of the most diverse companies working with minority business owners
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Ciara Dilley
Vice President Transform Brands & Portfolio Innovation,FLNA of PepsiCo
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Esperanza Teasdale
Vice President/General Manager of PepsiCo
Esperanza Teasdale leads shopper marketing for national customers and sets “opt-in” strategy and plans to multiply key customer growth. She has an extensive history at PepsiCo, beginning as brand manager in 2003. She has demonstrated excellence in a range of roles, most recently as senior director of shopper marketing for small format where her team won three vendor awards at 7-Eleven. She is a graduate of Rutgers University’s College of Engineering and the University of Connecticut.
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Adam Harter
Senior Vice President – Media, Sports & Entertainment of PepsiCo
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Tim Carey
Vice President of PepsiCo
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Jose Prado
President of PepsiCo
Jose Prado is a President at PepsiCo.
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Jose Prado
President of PepsiCo
Jose Prado is a President at PepsiCo.
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Kathy Waller
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of The Coca-Cola Company
Waller has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Coca-Cola Company since 2014. Waller joined Coca-Cola in 1987 as a senior accountant and has assumed roles of increasing responsibility during her career, including Vice President, Finance and Controller. She is a director of Monster Beverage Corporation and Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V.
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About The Coca-Cola Company: The Coca-Cola Company distributes coke, diet coke, and other soft drinks worldwide.
Mason Smoot
Senior Vice President, Strategic Alignment and Chief of Staff, of McDonald’s
As strategic alignment lead and Chief of Staff for the Office of the CEO, Mason works closely with McDonald’s most senior leaders to drive the brand’s most significant strategies across 36,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. He also recently expanded his responsibilities as he built out our first global Transformation Office. Under his leadership, this relatively new function at McDonald’s has been designed to create visibility and transparency into the most critical initiatives for McDonald’s future growth. Previously, Mason led strategy and measurement, talent management, and benefits and compensation as Vice President, Human Resources for McDonald’s USA. A 23-year McDonald’s veteran, Mason led McDonald’s New York Metro Region for six years as General Manager. He was responsible for leading more than 620 restaurants, owned and operated by more than 140 franchisees in one of the world’s most dynamic global markets. Mason’s many years of experience in various roles have given him a strong first-hand perspective of the McDonald’s business and the market’s influence on customers’ perception of the McDonald’s brand. Mason began his career with McDonald’s in 1994. His experience has spanned disciplines including human resources, franchising, operations and field service. In 2001, he was promoted to Vice President for the Pittsburgh Region, where he was responsible for the operations of more than 400 restaurants from Rochester, NY to Southern West Virginia. In 2006, Mason became the Vice President, Operations of the New York Metro Region, where he was subsequently promoted in 2007 to General Manager.
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About McDonald’s: McDonald’s is a global foodservice retailer generating revenue through company-owned restaurants, franchise royalties, and licensing pacts.
Kevin Ozan
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of McDonald’s
Kevin Ozan works to position McDonald’s for long-term, enduring success. He sets financial direction and develops strategies designed to drive sustained, profitable growth for the company and enhance value for shareholders. He oversees the appropriate allocation of resources throughout the company and, at the same time, effectively manages risk through strong controls and fiscal discipline. In his role, Ozan runs McDonald’s accounting, internal audit, treasury, tax, global business services and investor relations functions. He has broad experience through a variety of financial roles across the global business, including senior-level positions in the company’s finance, investor relations and accounting departments, with assignments in both the U.S. and Europe. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller. Prior to joining McDonald’s in 1997, he worked for 11 years in Ernst & Young’s audit and mergers and acquisitions practices. Ozan serves on the Board of Directors of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a Master in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
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About McDonald’s: McDonald’s is a global foodservice retailer generating revenue through company-owned restaurants, franchise royalties, and licensing pacts.
Chris Kempczinski
President and CEO of McDonald’s
With an eye toward delivering a modern, progressive customer experience, Chris Kempczinski oversees strategy, planning and new concept innovation for McDonald’s. His role is to serve the business units and franchisees by identifying new ideas and best practices to accelerate their growth and grow the overall value of the system. Kempczinski has significant experience in strategy and operations with some of the world’s leading consumer companies, including Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo and most recently, Kraft Heinz. He has a proven track record of driving transformative change, which is invaluable as McDonald’s evolves its restaurant experience and business model to consistently deliver top-tier shareholder returns. Most recently, Kempczinski was Executive Vice President of Growth Initiatives and President of Kraft International, where he oversaw Kraft’s global corporate growth agenda and was responsible for driving the business in 80 countries outside of the United States, making up roughly $3 billion in net revenue. Kempczinski has an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in public policy and economics from Duke University.
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About McDonald’s: McDonald’s is a global foodservice retailer generating revenue through company-owned restaurants, franchise royalties, and licensing pacts.
Richard Floersch
Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of McDonald’s
Rich Floersch, McDonald’s Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, is responsible for overseeing McDonald’s human resources function for its 400,000 company employees in more than 100 countries. As a member of the Senior Management team, he is responsible for the company’s talent management, leadership development, rewards, and employment branding programs. Floersch joined McDonald’s from Kraft Foods International in 2003, where he had served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources since 1998. In this role, Floersch was responsible for all HR aspects of this Fortune 100 organization, which employs 50,000 personnel in 66 countries. Prior to this post, he was Vice President of Corporate Compensation at Philip Morris. Before the Philip Morris assignment, Floersch was based in the Chicago area, working for Kraft Foods North America as Vice President of Compensation. Floersch is Vice Chairman for the HR Policy Association, a public policy advocacy organization representing the chief human resource officers from more than 350 leading employers across the U.S., and is on the Executive Committee of the Personnel Roundtable. In 2008, he became the fifth recipient of the Hunt-Scanlon Advisors’ HR Leadership Award and was also named by Human Resource Executive to its Honor Roll. In 2009, Floersch was inducted into the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR). Floersch earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Business Administration from the State of University of New York at Buffalo.
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About McDonald’s: McDonald’s is a global foodservice retailer generating revenue through company-owned restaurants, franchise royalties, and licensing pacts.
Kevin Boyer
President & CEO of CustomVine
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About CustomVine: CustomVine is a winery company that provides custom wine production, process management, and fulfillment for the restaurant business.
Geoffrey Martin
President and Chief Executive Officer of CCL Industries
Geoffrey Martin joined CCL as President of CCL Label in April 2001. In May 2005 he assumed the role of President and COO of CCL Industries and President and Chief Executive Officer in May 2008. He is responsible for all CCL’s operating units including the Label, Avery and Container businesses. Martin is an international business leader with a proven track record in turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining CCL, he was the Senior Group Vice President, Worldwide Converting Graphic and Specialty Tapes with Avery Dennison.
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About CCL Industries: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
Eric Frantz
Vice President Operations, Home & Personal Care North America of CCL Industries
Eric Frantz is a Vice President Operations, Home & Personal Care North America at CCL Industries.
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About Aerobal, CCL Industries: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
Jim Sellors
President, Avery North America of CCL Industries
Sellors spent his formative business career at CCL in the Finance function and rejoined the Company in 2002 as Vice President and General Manager of CCL Label Canada eventually assuming the role of Group Vice President of CCL Label Healthcare and Specialty, North America and Australia in 2010. Sellors was promoted to President of Avery North America in July 2013. Prior to rejoining CCL, he was the Vice President of Marketing for the Rubbermaid Closet Products division of Newell Rubbermaid. Sellors holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario.
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About CCL Industries: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
Ben Rubino
President, Home & Personal Care Worldwide of CCL Industries
Rubino was appointed President, Home & Personal Care Worldwide, in November of 2011 adding responsibility for CCL Container in 2014. Rubino graduated from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, and is a 25 year veteran of CCL Label progressing through various sales and business leadership assignments. Prior to CCL, Rubino worked in the Pressure Sensitive Materials segment at Avery Dennison.
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About CCL Industries: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
Mark McClendon
Vice President and General Counsel of CCL Industries
Mark McClendon joined CCL as General Counsel USA in 2013 from Avery Dennison Corporation, where he was Group Counsel and NA Corporate Ethics Officer, with worldwide compliance, environmental and litigation responsibilities, since 2007. Prior to that, McClendon was with BASF and its affiliates from 1998 to 2007. McClendon earned a J.D. from Marquette University and is a member of the Wisconsin and Ohio State Bar Associations. He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Corporation Counsel Association for North East Ohio since 2006, including as President from 2011 to 2012, and on the Board of Governors for the Ohio State Bar Association – Litigation Section since 2007. McClendon was promoted to his current position in 2014 and is now responsible for all legal matters globally for the Company.
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About CCL Industries: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
Bill Goldsmith
Vice President and General Manager, CCL Design USA of CCL Industries
Bill Goldsmith is a Vice President and General Manager, CCL Design USA at CCL Industries.
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About CCL Industries: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
Andy Iseli
Vice President and General Manager, CCL Tube of CCL Industries
Andy Iseli is a Vice President and General Manager, CCL Tube at CCL Industries.
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About CCL Industries: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
John Pedroli
President, CCL Industries North America of CCL Industries
John Pedroli serves as President of North American Operations at CCL Industries Inc.
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About CCL Industries, Southern Glazer’s: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
Allison Phillips
Vice President and General Manager, Avery North America Printable Media of CCL Industries
Allison Phillips is a Vice President and General Manager, Avery North America Printable Media at CCL Industries.
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About Avery Dennison, CCL Industries: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
Al Green
Vice President of Technology Development of CCL Industries
Al Green is a Vice President of Technology Development at CCL Industries.
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About CCL Industries: CCL is the largest label company in the world and provides innovative solutions.
Shy Pahlevani
Founder & President of HUNGRY
Shy Pahlevani is a successful D.C.-based serial entrepreneur. After making a name for himself within Washington DC’s burgeoning tech scene, he and his brother Eman Pahlevani founded LiveSafe – a venture backed leading mobile safety communications platform that crowd-sources safety intelligence. The brothers teamed up with long-time friend and business partner Jeff Grass to successfully grow LiveSafe into a global enterprise. Over the next five years, the trio would raise more than $20 million dollars for LiveSafe from 3 tech titan billionaire backers and take the brand international. LiveSafe now actively protects more than 2.4 million people across the Fortune 1,000, universites, and sporting arenas.
Later in 2017, Shy, Eman and Jeff again teamed up to create food-tech platform HUNGRY – the first ever online marketplace connecting local top chefs with businesses in need of office catering. The company grew quickly from a $1 million dollar run rate to nearly $20 million dollar run rate in less than 24 months. HUNGRY launched in several new markets in 2019 and today operates in a $65 billion dollar catering market within D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston and NYC. Notable investors include JAY-Z, Usher, and the founders of Honest Tea & Whole Foods.
Throughout his startup career, Shy has been recognized as one of D.C.’s Top Young Entrepreneurs & Washington Business Journals’ 40 Under 40. Shy currently resides in the Washington D.C. area where HUNGRY is also based.
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About CrimePush, HUNGRY, LiveSafe: Hungry is a food-tech catering company that connect customers to chefs, delivering fresh food from these chefs to the customers.
Gina Boswell
President, Customer Development of Unilever
Gina is currently, President of Customer Development for Unilever USA. This includes the responsibility for setting the strategic direction of the Customer Development Organization and business delivery of over $10B in revenue across all Unilever categories. Gina led the UK & Ireland business, the 4th largest market in Unilever. Previously she led the multi-billion dollar Personal Care portfolio for Unilever North America, which is made up of hair, skin, and deodorant categories. Prior to Unilever acquiring Alberto Culver in 2011, Gina was President, Global Brands for this $3.7B market cap company where she oversaw all global brands, such as TRESemmé, NeXXus, VO5 and St. Ives. In 2004, Gina was Chief Operating Officer of Avon North America, and previously held senior positions at Ford Motor Company and Estee Lauder Companies. Gina serves on the boards of Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) and Wolverine (NYSE: WWW). She is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, a member of the Chicago Network, and President of the Yale University Council.
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About Unilever: Unilever produces and supplies fast-moving consumer goods in food, home, and personal care product categories worldwide.
Fabian Garcia
President of Unilever North America of Unilever
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About Unilever: Unilever produces and supplies fast-moving consumer goods in food, home, and personal care product categories worldwide.
Amanda Sourry
President North America and Global Head of Customer Development of Unilever
Prior to this role, Amanda had been the President of Unilever’s Foods Category. She has also led Unilever’s Global Hair Business and been Executive Vice President of Unilever UK and Ireland. She has lived and worked in the UK, US, Belgium and Australia. Amanda has represented Unilever in several industry groups, including the CBI President’s Committee, the Food & Drink Federation Executive Committee and the IGD Policy Issues Council. She has been a Vice Chair of the Advertising Association in the UK and was a member of the UK Government’s Ecosytems Market Taskforce. She is a non-executive board member of PVH Corp and a Trustee of the Leverhulme Trust. Amanda has an MA from the University of Cambridge in Modern and Medieval Languages.
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About Unilever: Unilever produces and supplies fast-moving consumer goods in food, home, and personal care product categories worldwide.
Peter McGuinness
President of Chobani
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About Chobani: Chobani produces and markets Greek yogurt.
Erik Kahler
Senior Vice President, Corporate Development of TreeHouse Foods
Erik T. Kahler, age 50, is our Senior Vice President Corporate Development. Prior to joining TreeHouse, Mr. Kahler served as Managing Director of Dresdner Kleinwort Securities, LLC, a full service global investment bank for public and private companies, from May 2004 to October 2006. From November 1997 to July 2003, Mr. Kahler held senior investment banking leadership roles at Citigroup, Inc., as Director- Mergers and Acquisitions Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Inc. and at Wasserstein Perella & Company, Inc., where he was Vice President- Mergers and Acquisitions. Prior to joining Wasserstein Perella, Mr. Kahler worked for Ernst & Young and CIBC in various financial advisory roles. Mr. Kahler holds a B.A. from Colorado College and an M.B.A. from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
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About TreeHouse Foods: TreeHouse Foods rises above to provide quality food products primarily for the private label and foodservice industries.
Lori Roberts
Senior Vice President, Human Resources of TreeHouse Foods
Lori G. Roberts, age 55, joined TreeHouse in 2015 and is Senior Vice President of Human Resources responsible for compensation, benefits, recruiting, corporate communications, labor and employee relations supporting over 16,000 employees in the United States and Canada. Prior to joining TreeHouse, Ms. Roberts was with TMK IPSCO where she was the Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer. She brings deep experience in Human Resources strategy having held positions with companies including Wallace Computer, The Claymore Group and Cummins Inc. where she supported their manufacturing operations for 13 years. Ms. Roberts earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees from Indiana University.
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About TreeHouse Foods: TreeHouse Foods rises above to provide quality food products primarily for the private label and foodservice industries.
Arthur Chow
Vice President of S2G Ventures
Arthur Chow is a Vice President at S2G Ventures. He is focused on the evaluation and execution of potential investments as well as serving the needs of portfolio companies.
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About S2G Ventures: S2G Ventures is a multi-stage venture fund focusing on investments in food and agriculture industries.
Robert Gamgort
CEO & President of Keurig Dr Pepper
Robert Gamgort was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (Keurig), a personal beverage system company that has revolutionized the way consumers create and enjoy beverages, in May 2016. Robert came to Keurig from Pinnacle Foods, where he spent seven years as CEO, increasing the value of the company over five times during his tenure. Prior to joining Pinnacle, Robert served as North American President for Mars Incorporated, where he managed the company’s portfolio of confectionery, main meal, pet food, and retail businesses. Robert joined Mars in 1998, initially serving as Vice President of Marketing for M&M / Mars and then as General Manager of its Chocolate Unit. Prior to Mars, Robert served as President of Major League Baseball Properties. Bob began his career at Kraft Foods where he served in key marketing, sales, corporate strategy, and general management roles. Robert holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in Economics from Bucknell University. He also studied at the London School of Economics. Bob serves on the Board of Directors of Wayfair Inc. and the Grocery Manufacturers Association.
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About Keurig Dr Pepper: Keurig Dr Pepper is a coffee and beverage company.
Michael Bashaw
President, Midwest Region of Whole Foods Market
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About Whole Foods Market: Whole Foods Market is a supermarket chain owned by Amazon that exclusively sells natural and organic products.
Yonatan Pinhasov
Co-Founder & President of Variety Fun
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About Biohazard Coffee, Variety Fun: Variety Fun is an online a monthly subscription-based snack foods delivery service for business and home.
Gunther Fishgold
President of Tierra Farm
Tierra Farm’s founder and president, Gunther Fishgold, is passionate about organic food, creating jobs, and building communities through fair business practices that are sustainable for a just and equitable future. Since his early days lobbying for clean agricultural practices within the New York State legislature, Gunther has been on a distinct path in the organic community. Using the funds he earned from lobbying and consulting, he bought a farm in the late ‘90s off Lake Skaneateles in the Finger Lakes region of New York, and developed it into a thriving CSA and summer café. Using only organic ingredients and products primarily grown on his land, the property was named Tierra Farm, after Gunther’s dog. With a successful farm under his belt, Gunther looked for a new business project to get him through the long winters of upstate New York. He experimented with baking breads, then tried baking granola, finally settling on roasting nuts. The first recipes were developed using a pizza oven he kept in the barn. Gunther developed the Tierra Farm nut roasting company into a nice, small, local business serving about a dozen upstate New York natural food co-ops. With growth in mind, he moved the business out of his barn and into a small warehouse in the capital region of New York, where he would benefit from a more diverse pool of potential employees and more centralized distribution. And grow it did. Starting with just a few employees, Gunther drove the business to employing over 60 workers, with national direct distribution of multiple product lines, including raw and roasted organic nuts, chocolate covered products, fair-trade coffee, nut butters, and granola. In 2005, Gunther moved the business to a 10-acre facility in Valatie, NY where the company currently resides. As the business has grown, Gunther has been able to maintain his passion for organic agriculture by continuously running a certified-organic farm which services a number of local retail establishments which he has personally helped to develop, including a bagel shop, an outdoor apparel store, a local movie theater, and a couple of cafés. Gunther has always promoted fair business practices, setting an example by paying fair and living wages, promoting direct relationships to his vendors and consumers, and by building businesses with organic principles as their anchor. In addition to investing time and money in making his local community stronger by developing retail businesses, he has served on a number of boards of local community organizations as well as in the organic farming world. Gunther is married with two children. He is an avid farmer, fisher, and has helped train and promote a number of professional boxing competitors.
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About Tierra Farm: Tierra Farm is a certified-organic manufacturer and distributor of nuts and dried fruits.
John Pauley
Executive Vice President of Retail Sales, Packaged Meats Division of Smithfield
John Pauley assumed his current role in 2015 after serving as executive vice president of retail sales for former independent operating company John Morrell Food Group. He joined the Smithfield organization in 2000 as President of Curlyʼs Foods, Saratoga Spice, and Iowa Quality Meats. Mr. Pauley has over 30 years of food industry experience.
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About John Morrell & Company, Smithfield: Smithfield Foods is determined to be an ethical food industry leader that excels every day at bringing delicious and nutritious meat
Stewart Leeth
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs & Chief Sustainability Officer of Smithfield
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About Smithfield: Smithfield Foods is determined to be an ethical food industry leader that excels every day at bringing delicious and nutritious meat
Craig Harlow
Vice President, Internal Audit of Smithfield
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About Smithfield: Smithfield Foods is determined to be an ethical food industry leader that excels every day at bringing delicious and nutritious meat
Timothy Dykstra
Vice President & Corporate Treasurer of Smithfield
Timothy Dykstra joined Smithfield Foods in 2010 as vice president and corporate treasurer. From 2000 through 2008, he served as vice president and treasurer of DaimlerChrysler NA. Prior to that, he held various finance positions at Chrysler LLC and was vice president and controller of Chrysler Financial Corporation.
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About Smithfield: Smithfield Foods is determined to be an ethical food industry leader that excels every day at bringing delicious and nutritious meat
Henry Morris
Senior Corporate Vice President, Operations and Engineering of Smithfield
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About Smithfield: Smithfield Foods is determined to be an ethical food industry leader that excels every day at bringing delicious and nutritious meat
Michael Cole
Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary of Smithfield
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About Smithfield: Smithfield Foods is determined to be an ethical food industry leader that excels every day at bringing delicious and nutritious meat
Parul Stevens
Vice President, Risk Management of Smithfield
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About Smithfield: Smithfield Foods is determined to be an ethical food industry leader that excels every day at bringing delicious and nutritious meat
Kevin Johnson
President & CEO of Starbucks Corporation
As president of the Platforms & Services Division of Microsoft, Kevin Johnson leads an organization of over 14,000 employees responsible for product development, marketing and strategy for the Windows and Online Services businesses. With Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and seven other senior executives, Johnson also serves on the Senior Leadership Team that sets overall strategy and direction for Microsoft. Since assuming his role in September 2005, Johnson successfully launched Windows Vista to consumers and commercial customers, resulting in record-breaking Windows revenue of nearly US$15 billion in fiscal year 2007. In addition to leading the Windows business, Johnson is driving the company’s evolution towards software + services and building on the company’s position as a leader in the online advertising market. Under Johnson’s leadership, Microsoft has completed over 30 acquisitions in support of its software + services strategy. In August 2007, Johnson closed the company’s largest acquisition, of aQuantive, Inc., to form Microsoft Advertiser & Publisher Solutions, and complement Microsoft’s development of an industry-leading online advertising platform. Microsoft Advertiser & Publisher Solutions provides an online advertising platform for an ecosystem of industry partners, including advertisers, publishers and digital marketing agencies. Today the platform has offerings across digital media types and devices, including the PC, Web, mobile phones, gaming consoles, IPTV and Video-on-demand. Johnson also leads development and marketing of Microsoft’s consumer online services, including Live Search, MSN.com and Windows Live, which collectively drove nearly $2.5 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2007. These compelling experiences attract hundreds of millions of consumers per month, and provide online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. Previously, Johnson held a number of leadership positions in sales and marketing at Microsoft, where he worked globally with consumer, small/medium business and enterprise customers. Prior to his current role, Johnson served as group vice president of Microsoft’s worldwide sales, marketing and services, leading an organization of 30,000 employees, including field sales and marketing professionals who delivered $40 billion in revenue during fiscal 2005. Johnson also oversaw corporate operations and IT functions that support the work of Microsoft employees around the world. In his tenure as head of sales, marketing and services, Johnson led a transformation in the field. He organized subsidiary leadership teams in more than 80 countries and regions and orchestrated their efforts to better align with product development and company priorities. His re-engineering of the field operating approach and the sales compensation system contributed to an $11 billion increase in sales from 2002-2005. Johnson also led a cross-company initiative focused on emerging markets, positioning the company as a trusted partner for future growth. Johnson joined Microsoft in 1992, serving in a variety of roles across sales, marketing and services during his career at the company. Before joining Microsoft, Johnson worked in IBM’s systems integration and consulting business unit from 1986 to 1992. He started his career in 1981 as a software developer in the petroleum and financial services industries. Johnson grew up in New Mexico and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from New Mexico State University. He is a founding member of the board of directors of NPower, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help other nonprofits use technology to expand the reach and impact of their work. He is also a member of the Western Region Board of Advisors of Catalyst, a non-profit organization dedicated to women’s career advancement.
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About Starbucks Corporation: Starbucks is an international chain of restaurants that retails handcrafted coffee, tea, and fresh food items.
Gerri Martin Flickinger
Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer of Starbucks Corporation
As senior vice president and chief information officer, Gerri Martin-Flickinger oversees Adobe’s global Information Technology team, providing strategic direction and management for the company’s IT infrastructure worldwide, including its hosted services. In partnership with the business, Martin-Flickinger also has responsibility for developing innovative enterprise solutions built with Adobe products and technologies that solve business issues and reduce IT costs. Martin-Flickinger has more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale global IT organizations for companies experiencing explosive growth through acquisition, global expansion and/or implementing new business models. Her expertise includes leading organizations through transformational change, connecting IT to the needs of the business and aligning IT costs. Before joining Adobe, Martin-Flickinger was CIO of VeriSign, where she oversaw corporate information technology services for the company’s 60 offices worldwide. Prior to VeriSign, she served as CIO for Network Associates, Inc. and McAfee Associates, Inc. Before joining McAfee, Martin-Flickinger held several senior systems roles at Chevron Corporation, including serving as process consultant to Chevron’s executive staff. Martin-Flickinger holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Washington State University.
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About Starbucks Corporation: Starbucks is an international chain of restaurants that retails handcrafted coffee, tea, and fresh food items.
Dave Lu
Co-founder & President of Pared
Dave Lu is a veteran in the technology industry, having worked for over two decades at big tech companies including Yahoo!, Apple Cisco and eBay and founding two startups. In 2005, he bootstrapped his first company Fanpop, a user-generated community site for entertainment fans, to over 40 million monthly users. After Fanpop, he ran marketing for Luxe, a two-sided marketplace for on-demand valets. He leveraged his experience to launch his second startup, Pared, a labor marketplace for the restaurant industry backed by CRV, Uncork Capital, and True Ventures. In 2011, Dave created a community called Asian American Founders Circle which has grown to over 300 founders including Tony Xu (DoorDash), Steve Chen (YouTube), Kevin Lin (Twitch) and many others. AAFC inspired the launch of Hyphen Capital, a syndicate focused on investing in Asian American founders. He most recently started a movement with a letter condemning hate crimes against Asians which he wrote and was signed by over 1,000 prominent business leaders that was published as a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal. Dave received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
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About Pared: Pared is a market network for hospitality professionals.
Praveen Moturu
Vice President, Chief Enterprise Architect of Mars
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About Mars: Mars is a manufacturer of pet food, confectionery, and other food products.
Bobby Chacko
Regional President and GM Mars Drinks North America of Mars
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About Mars: Mars is a manufacturer of pet food, confectionery, and other food products.
David Crean
Vice President Corporate R&D & Chief Science Officer of Mars
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About Mars: Mars is a manufacturer of pet food, confectionery, and other food products.
Berta de Pablos- Barbier
President Mars Wrigley Confectionery US of Mars
Berta de Pablos-Barbier is the President of Mars Wrigley Confectionery US, responsible for leading strategy, sales and operations in the US for the world’s largest manufacturer of chocolate, confections, gum and mints. In Berta’s current role, she oversees a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of iconic global brands that include M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, SKITTLES®, STARBURST®, ORBIT® and ALTOIDS®. Previously, Berta served as Vice President of Marketing for Mars Chocolate North America, overseeing brand management and integrated marketing strategy. Berta holds an engineering degree from Universidad Politecnica de Valencia in Spain and an MBA from Institut Francais de la Mode in France.
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About Mars: Mars is a manufacturer of pet food, confectionery, and other food products.
Ken Wegner
President of The Jel Sert Company
Ken Wegner, President of the Jel Sert Company and father of a childhood cancer survivor. Wegner is the grandson of Jel Sert founders Charles and Lillian Wegner, and has worked at Jel Sert since 1985, first as Director of Purchasing and then as President since 1997, although he notes that his employment at Jel Sert really began right from childhood, when he and other children in the family would help suggest, and test, new products and flavors! A graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio, Wegner has a long and noted history of charitable and philanthropic endeavors, including serving as Chairman of the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Foundation Board, a board member at the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, and membership in WPO – Chicago.
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About The Jel Sert Company: The Jel Sert Company is a family-owned business providing our customers with high quality and high value food products.
Ricardo Marques
Vice President Marketing, Michelob ULTRA of Anheuser-Busch InBev
Ricardo Marques is the Vice President Marketing, Michelob ULTRA at Anheuser-Busch InBev.
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About Anheuser-Busch InBev: Anheuser-Busch InBev is a brewer and provider of consumer products that has a strong, balanced portfolio.
Monica Rustgi
Vice President Marketing, Budweiser U.S. of Anheuser-Busch InBev
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About Anheuser-Busch InBev: Anheuser-Busch InBev is a brewer and provider of consumer products that has a strong, balanced portfolio.
Felipe Szpiegel
The High End President of Anheuser-Busch InBev
Felipe Szpigel is the Craft Unit President at Anheuser-Busch.
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About Anheuser-Busch InBev, Anheuser-Busch InBev, F!ve Drinks: Anheuser-Busch InBev is a brewer and provider of consumer products that has a strong, balanced portfolio.
Evelyn Rusli
Co-Founder, President/CMO of Yumi
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About Yumi: Yumi offers a science-based early childhood meal delivery program.
Jonathan Marshall
Vice President of VMG Partners
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About VMG Partners: VMG Partners is a private equity firm that specializes in buyouts and growth capital investments.
Robert Dugas
Vice President of Supply Chain of Chick-fil-A
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About Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant company that offers chicken sandwich and healthy foods for its customers.
Tammy Pearson
Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of Corporate Legal of Chick-fil-A
Tammy Pearson is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of Corporate Legal @ Chick-fil-A.
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About Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant company that offers chicken sandwich and healthy foods for its customers.
Rodney Bullard
Vice President of Community Affairs of Chick-fil-A
Rodney Bullard is Vice President of Community Affairs @ Chick-fil-A.
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About Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant company that offers chicken sandwich and healthy foods for its customers.
William Faulk
Vice President of Innovation and Design of Chick-fil-A
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About Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant company that offers chicken sandwich and healthy foods for its customers.
Carrie Kurlander
Vice President of Corporate Public Relations of Chick-fil-A
Carrie Kurlander is Vice President of Corporate Public Relations @ Chick-fil-A.
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About Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant company that offers chicken sandwich and healthy foods for its customers.
Brent Ragsdale
Vice President of Chief Accounting Officer of Chick-fil-A
Brent Ragsdale is Vice President of Chief Accounting Officer @ Chick-fil-A.
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About Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant company that offers chicken sandwich and healthy foods for its customers.
Clifford Robinson
Vice President of Field Operations of Chick-fil-A
Clifford Robinson is Vice President of Field Operations at Chick-fil-A.
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About Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant company that offers chicken sandwich and healthy foods for its customers.
Dee Turner
Vice President, Corporate Talent of Chick-fil-A
Dee Turner is Vice President, Corporate Talent at Chick-fil-A.
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About Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant company that offers chicken sandwich and healthy foods for its customers.
Gerd Pleuhs
Executive Vice President Corporate & Legal Affairs and General Counsel of Mondelez International
Gerd Pleuhs is Executive Vice President & General Counsel. Gerd oversees the company’s legal, corporate secretarial, compliance, and security functions. Gerd joined the Law Department of Jacobs Kaffee Deutschland GmbH in 1985, prior to its acquisition in 1990 by Altria Group, Inc. (formerly Philip Morris Companies Inc.). Gerd held a number of senior positions within the German Law Department, including Chief Counsel for the combined operations of Kraft and Jacobs Suchard, covering legal and regulatory affairs. In 2000, he was appointed Vice President & Chief Counsel for Kraft’s Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Region, headquartered in Vienna. In 2003, Gerd was appointed Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Kraft Foods International, Inc. based in Rye Brook, N.Y. In 2004, Gerd moved to Northfield, IL to assume the position of Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, International for Kraft Foods Global, Inc. He was promoted to Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Business Units in November 2007. On April 1st, 2012 Gerd became Kraft Foods’ EVP & General Counsel, reporting to the CEO. He continues in that role for Mondelēz International, Inc. following the October 1, 2012 Spin-off of Kraft Foods Group, Inc. Since leaving the “home territory” in Bremen, Germany, for more than a decade, Gerd has been involved in and dealt with a wide variety of legal issues and matters. His work has involved many jurisdictions and areas of law and compliance, including much of Kraft’s international M&A activity. Gerd negotiated Kraft’s acquisition of businesses in Morocco, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Poland, Turkey, and Egypt. He was the lead negotiator in Kraft’s 2007 $7.6Bn acquisition of Danone’s LU biscuit business. He was also a member of the core team responsible for Kraft’s $19Bn Cadbury acquisition in 2010. With the announcement of the separation of Kraft Foods Inc. into two separate publicly-traded companies, Mondelēz international, Inc. and Kraft Foods Group, Inc., Gerd led the many legal work streams that enabled the spin-off of Kraft Foods Group, Inc. Gerd is the President of the co-determined Supervisory Board of Mondelēz International in Germany. He was a member of the Kraft Developing Markets and the North American leadership teams before he joined the Mondelēz International Leadership team. Under Gerd’s leadership, the BU team has twice received Inside Counsel magazine’s “Most Innovative Legal Department” award. Gerd has a law degree from the University in Kiel, and is a member of the Bar in Bremen, Germany.
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About Mondelez International: Mondelez International is a branded food and beverage company that specializes in snack foods such as biscuits, chocolate, gum, and candies.
Lisa Barnett
Co-founder & President of Little Spoon
Lisa Barnett is the co-founder & President of Little Spoon. Little Spoon makes quality nutrition accessible to babies and kids everywhere by creating the freshest, healthiest meals personalized to each child’s evolving developmental needs. Prior to Little Spoon, Lisa spent 7 years as an investor in and operator at some of the world’s top consumer brands. Her venture experience included time spent as a Partner at Sherpa Foundry and, before that, an investor at VC firms Maveron & Dorm Room Fund. Her investment focus was on B2C technology startups, namely, e-commerce, marketplace, and brands – leading her to be recognized as a Forbes 30 under 30 VC in 2017. Before becoming an investor, she led multi-channel growth strategy for Estee Lauder Companies. There, her focus was taking their traditionally offline, department-store brands and building out a direct-to-consumer and digital marketing strategy for customer acquisition and engagement. Lisa started out at the Boston Consulting Group, working with Fortune 500 retail and healthcare technology clients on brand, customer experience and market entry strategy. Lisa holds a Bachelors of Arts with Honors in Communication and Marketing from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with the top scholar-athlete accolades as a member of the Varsity Cross Country and Track teams.
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About Kairos, Little Spoon: Little Spoon designs products for a child’s most formative years, starting with a baby’s first bites.
Hugh Harlan
President and Founder of Harlan Bakeries
Harlan Bakeries, LLC, founded in 1991 by brothers Hugh & Doug Harlan, is an international wholesale supplier & distributor of products for in-store bakeries, private label baked goods and manufacturer of Harlan Bigger Better Bagels®, Harlan Giant Gourmet Bagels®, Harvest’s Best™ and Nature’s Grain® brands. Harlan supplies customers with bagels, pies (meringue, crème, fruit and specialty), cakes, cookies, muffins, and breads. In addition, Harlan is a contract manufacturer for some of the most well-known and trusted names in the baking and food service industries. Harlan operates seven production facilities comprising more than 1 million square feet of production, warehousing and distribution space, including its production facility and corporate office in Avon, IN Other production facilities are located in Indianapolis, IN; Effingham, IL; Denver, Colo.; Hope, AR; Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada; and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Website http://www.harlanbakeries.com Industry Food Production Type Privately Held Headquarters 7597 E US Highway 36 Avon, Indiana 46123 United States Company Size 1001-5000 employees Founded 1991
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About Harlan Bakeries: Produce quality bakery products cost effectively in an environment that is safe, clean and friendly for their employees
Ken Romaniszyn
President of Lady M Confections Co.
Ken Romaniszyn is the president of confectionery provider, Lady M.
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About Inc. CEO Project, Lady M Confections Co.: Lady M provides confectioneries and pastries sold via online.
Michael Bufano
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Panera Bread
Mike Bufano has served as Chief Financial Officer since April 2015. In this role, he is responsible for Panera’s finance, accounting and investor relations departments. Bufano previously served as Senior Vice President of Planning and was responsible for financial planning and forecasting, as well as business analysis. Previously, he served as Vice President of Planning from July 2010 to August 2014. Prior to joining Panera, Bufano spent nine years at PepsiCo in various strategy, financial planning and business analysis roles for the company’s soft drink and bottle water business. In addition, Bufano helped build the sales strategy and analysis function supporting the teams selling to PepsiCo’s largest retail partners. He also served as the head of Financial Planning & Analysis for Americas Beverages, including North and Latin America. Prior to PepsiCo, Bufano worked for Accenture, consulting for clients in the telecommunications, banking, and pharmaceutical industries. Bufano earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from The University of Chicago and a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School of Business.
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About Panera Bread: Thirty years ago, we started with one goal: to bake fresh bread from fresh dough every day in every bakery-cafe.
Pabel Delgado
President and CEO of Asterism Healthcare
Biopharma professional with a foundation in life sciences research and venture start-up. he’s extensively trained in R&D- and regulation-intensive US biotech and Japan Pharma companies. he’s familiar with pharma creation and commercialization, as well as managing research innovation and deal making.
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About Asterism Healthcare: Asterism Healthcare is an innovation-driven healthcare nutrition company.
Brian Sohmers
Vice President of Products of Apeel Sciences
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About Apeel Sciences: Apeel Sciences develops plant-derived shelf life extension technology for fresh produce that improves quality and reduces food waste.
Michael Groeninger
Vice President, Corporate Finance of Apeel Sciences
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About Apeel Sciences: Apeel Sciences develops plant-derived shelf life extension technology for fresh produce that improves quality and reduces food waste.
Erich Klawuhn
Senior Vice President of Product of Apeel Sciences
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About Apeel Sciences, View: Apeel Sciences develops plant-derived shelf life extension technology for fresh produce that improves quality and reduces food waste.
Ben Argov
President of IWA Wine Accessories
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About CellarPro Cooling Systems, IWA Wine Accessories, Le Cache Premium Wine Cabinets: IWA Wine Accessories is dedicated to helping our customers create a rich and cultured wine lifestyle.
Robert Gordon
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of Albertsons LLC
Bob Gordon has been our company’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since January 2015. Previously, he served as the Chief Governance Officer and General Counsel of Safeway Inc. He served in this role since June 2000, been the company’s Secretary since September 2005, and has been Senior Vice President since May 17, 1999. He has been Executive Officer of Safeway Inc. since 2000. Prior to this, he served as Deputy General Counsel of Safeway Inc. from May 17, 1999 to June 2000. He formerly served as Partner of Pillsbury Winthrop from January 1, 1984 to May 14, 1999.
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About Albertsons LLC: Albertsons is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale.
Justin Ewing
Executive Vice President, Corporate Development & Real Estate of Albertsons LLC
Following numerous Finance and IT advisory roles with Cerberus Capital Management LLC’s Operations Group, and after working on the Albertson’s LLC transaction and transition, Justin joined the company in June 2006. Prior to his work with Cerberus, Justin was with the Trowbridge Group, a strategic sourcing firm based in New York specializing in contract negotiation and outsourcing activities. Justin spent over 13 years of his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), lastly as an Investment Director with their technology venturing arm. Prior to this, as Senior Manager within PwC’s Management Consulting practice, Justin led numerous Shared Service Center (SSC), ERP and other system implementations, working in over 10 countries with some of the world’s largest corporations. A British national, Justin is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, and holds a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Leeds.
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About Albertsons LLC: Albertsons is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale.
Bob Dimond
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Albertsons LLC
Bob Dimond has over 25 years of financial and senior executive management experience in the retail food and distribution industry. Prior to joining Albertson’s in February 2014 as Chief Financial Officer, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at Nash Finch. He has also held the position of CFO for Wild Oats, the western region of Kroger Company, and Fred Meyer. Earlier in his career he was Vice President, Administration and Controller for Smith’s Food and Drug Centers. He earned his BS degree in accounting from the University of Utah and is a Certified Public Accountant.
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About Albertsons LLC: Albertsons is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale.
Dennis Woodside
President of Impossible Foods
Dennis Woodside has been the Chief Operating Officer of Dropbox since April 2014, and leads global business operations including sales, marketing, partnerships, user operations, and people operations. Dennis Woodside was Chief Executive Officer of Motorola Mobility. After overseeing the acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google, he took on leadership of the company when the transaction was completed in May of 2012. Prior to joining Motorola Mobility, Dennis was Google’s Vice President of Americas Operations, managing the company’s relationships with partners and advertising agencies. In the U.S. alone, Dennis and his team drove revenue from $10.8 billion to $17.5 billion in under three years. He also was the lead business partner for Google’s advertising product development team, helping launch new ad products globally. Dennis started his career at Google in 2003 spearheading investment across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He was responsible for the overall go-to-market, product offering and acquisition strategies in these markets, which boasted a 20-fold increase during his tenure. Dennis also served as the managing director for United Kingdom, Benelux & Ireland operations, the largest international market for Google. Prior to joining Google, Dennis was an associate partner at McKinsey and Company, where he led operational and strategy projects for multinational clients in the technology and media industries. Earlier, Dennis managed complex mergers and acquisitions in aerospace, energy, media, and finance industries. He also served as law clerk to the Honorable Dennis G. Jacobs in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. Dennis received a JD from Stanford Law School, where he was associate editor of the Stanford Law Review, and holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial relations from Cornell University.
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About Impossible Foods: Impossible Foods focuses on developing plant-based substitutes for meat, dairy, and fish products.
Liz Specht
Vice President of Science & Technology of The Good Food Institute
Liz holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering from Johns Hopkins University, a doctorate in biological sciences from the University of California, San Diego, and postdoctoral research experience from the University of Colorado Boulder. Liz is a Fellow with the University of Colorado at Boulder Sustainability Innovation Lab. She has a decade of academic research experience in synthetic biology, recombinant protein expression, and development of genetic engineering tools. Liz works to identify and address areas of need for plant-based and clean meat innovation and encourages funding agencies to prioritize research that moves this field forward.
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About The Good Food Institute: The Good Food Institute focuses on developing sustainable and secure protein supply and supports innovators, investors, and companies.
Jaidesh Sethi
Founder & Co-President of Dahlicious
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About Dahlicious: Dahlicious is a maker of organic, probiotic-dense India-style lassi and yogurt.
Stuart Subotnick
President & Chief Executive Officer of Metromedia Company
Stuart Subotnick, also known as Stu, serves as Managing Director of Kluge & Co. Mr. Subotnick served as the Chief Executive Officer and President at Metromedia Company, Inc. He served as Executive Vice President and General Partner at Metromedia Company, Inc. since July 1986. He serves as a Member of Board of Managers for Spot On Networks, LLC. He served as Senior Vice President of Finance of Metromedia Inc. since October 1983 and served as its Member of the Office of the President since 1982. Mr. Subotnick served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Metromedia International Group, Inc. from December 4, 1996 to November 2001. He co-founded Big City Radio Inc.
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About Metromedia Company: This company has put its brand on both the dining and the energy sector.
Robert Vitale
President & CEO of Post Holdings
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About Post Holdings: Post Holdings, Inc. is a consumer goods company currently operating in the center-of-the-store, active nutrition and private label food
Jeff Zadoks
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Post Holdings
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About Post Holdings: Post Holdings, Inc. is a consumer goods company currently operating in the center-of-the-store, active nutrition and private label food
Diedre Gray
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Administration, Corporate Secretary of Post Holdings
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About Post Holdings: Post Holdings, Inc. is a consumer goods company currently operating in the center-of-the-store, active nutrition and private label food
Briscoe Rodgers
Co-Founder & President of ezCater
Briscoe is a 5x entrepreneur. He founded, built, and successfully sold two software firms, Azuris Software and Lumis Studios. Briscoe co-founded Buzzpad to create real-time collaboration tools for corporate settings. In 2004, he founded PreferredTime, where he shifted his focus to collaboration between healthcare and pharma. ezCater is an off-shoot of that. Briscoe studied business and computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. And, yes, along the way, he earned a few credits in IMDb.
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About ezCater: EzCater is an online catering marketplace that allows individuals to order food from local caterers.
Shoba Murali
Co-Founder, President & CEO of UCAN
Shoba Murali is a cofounder of The UCAN Company that is devoted to the development and commercialization of a highly desirable unique ingredient that has an extended glucose profile with muted insulin response and increased fat oxidation. She helped launch the company, led the financing effort and shaped the overall manufacturing, formulation, clinical trials and marketing strategy of UCAN. The company now markets glucose sustaining consumer-based nutritional products very relevant in sports nutrition and weight management. Previously, Ms. Murali was the President and Co-founder of Acorn Information Services and led the company from inception to IPO. Acorn was involved in both customer relationship and database management for businesses around the world. Her early career was shaped by product and program management and business development roles in companies like Digital Equipment Corporation and Tata Services. Ms. Murali holds a masters in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a B.E. in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Osmania University, India.
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About UCAN: UCAN manufactures energy products for health-conscious consumers.
Melissa Nelson
President of Frobot
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About Frobot: Frobot manufactures robots that produce frozen confections made to order.
Garrett Lang
Founder and President of PlateRate
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About PlateRate: We help people find better food than anyone else!
Peter Corrao
CEO, Co-founder, President & Executive Chairman of Takeout7
Peter is chair of the board of directors. In addition he oversees the day to day operations and delivery process. He is a technology, advertising and marketing executive with experience and a successful track record of turnarounds and exits at private and public companies. Peter has held positions as CEO and Director at several worldwide, online focused companies. Peter’s early business focus was in advertising & marketing strategies. Peter is originally from San Diego, CA and was educated at Miramar College and Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management.
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About Takeout7: Takeout7 is a cloud based technology platform with turnkey solutions for independent restaurants.
Jim Holdrieth
Vice President and General Manager of SensoryEffects Ingredient Solutions of Balchem
Jim Holdrieth is a Vice President and General Manager of SensoryEffects Ingredient Solutions at Balchem.
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About Balchem: Balchem provides state-of-the-art solutions and the finest quality products for a range of industries worldwide.
Eric Smith
Vice President Of Business Development of Balchem
Eric Smith is a Vice President Sales and Ventures at Balchem.
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About Balchem: Balchem provides state-of-the-art solutions and the finest quality products for a range of industries worldwide.
Bob Miniger
Vice President Human Resources of Balchem
Bob Miniger is a Vice President Human Resources at Balchem.
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About Balchem: Balchem provides state-of-the-art solutions and the finest quality products for a range of industries worldwide.
David Ludwig
Vice President &General Manager of Balchem
David Ludwig is a Vice President/General Manager ARC Specialty Products at Balchem.
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About Balchem: Balchem provides state-of-the-art solutions and the finest quality products for a range of industries worldwide.
Kenneth Aldrich
President of The Aldrich Company
Kenneth C. Aldrich has served on our board of directors since January 2001. He is in the business of making strategic investments in early stage companies and was an early investor in Green Dot during its formative period. From August 2001 to March 2012, Aldrich served in various positions, includingCEO and Chairman of the Board at International Stem Cell Corporation, publicly traded biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutic and research products through a proprietary stem cell technology. Aldrich has also served as President of The Aldrich Company, a real estate investment firm, since June 1975, and on the board of directors of WaveTec Vision Systems, Inc. since January 1999. Aldrich has previously served on the boards of directors of numerous start-up companies and is currently on the board of directors of JobSync, Inc. Aldrich holds an A.B. in history and literature from Harvard University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
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About The Aldrich Company: The Aldrich Company is a manufacturer of firetube boilers and water heaters.
