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• David Baram

  Managing Director, VMG Partners

  

  David Baram

  Managing Director, VMG Partners

  Mr. Baram has spent over 16 years in the consumer products and entertainment and media industries. In 2007, Mr. Baram co-founded the private equity firm VMG Partners, which has become an industry leader in investing and growing marketing-driven, branded consumer product companies. VMG collaborates closely with entrepreneurs and management teams to provide capital, resources and strategic guidance that accelerate growth and raise brand awareness. VMG has raised over $1.2 billion in capital to date; its current and past portfolio companies include leading brands in the food, wellness, sports nutrition, personal care, beverage, and pet categories, among others, such as Natural Balance Pet Foods, Justin’s Nut Butters, Vega, Solid Gold Pet Products, Kind Healthy Snacks, Quest Nutrition, Pirates Booty, Waggin' Train Pet Treats, Pretzel Crisps and many others. Mr. Baram currently focuses on all aspects of the Fund's investment strategy, execution and portfolio company management, as well as leading its unique partnerships with media companies in the entertainment industry to provide marketing support to VMG portfolio companies.

• David Baram, Managing Director, VMG Partners

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• Eric Stover

  Former VP of Non Perishables Sales & Merchandising, Sprouts Farmers Markets

  

  Eric Stover

  Former VP of Non Perishables Sales & Merchandising, Sprouts Farmers Markets

  Eric is a veteran executive in the Supermarket and Natural Foods industry with more than 30 years in the business. Most recently, Eric served as Division Vice President for Sprouts Farmers Markets and Vice President of Non-Perishables Sales and Merchandising. Eric was instrumental in the consolidation of the Sunflower, Henrys and Sprouts brands following he mergers of the three companies in 2012 and 2013. In his Sprouts capacities, Eric has held leadership roles in Category Management, Advertising, Supply Chain, Procurement, Merchandising, Space Managment and Operations and was instrumental in the launch of the Southeast expansion of the company which began in 2014. Eric’s natural experience also includes senior leadership roles at KeHE Distribution, Henrys Farmers Markets and Wild Oats Markets over the last decade. While the Natural Channel has become his home, Eric also has extensive leadership experience in Hispanic and traditional supermarket formats with companies like Safeway, Nash Finch and Minyard Food Stores. Eric is a Native Texan having attended the University of Texas school of Business there while learning the Supermarket business firsthand. He is currently on sabbatical back in his home state while staying engaged with the industry in a consulting capacity.

• Eric Stover, Former VP of Non Perishables Sales & Merchandising, Sprouts Farmers Markets

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• Paddy Spence

  CEO, Zevia

  

  Paddy Spence

  CEO, Zevia

  Paddy Spence serves as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer at Zevia LLC. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Spence was President at Levlad Inc. He served as the President and Chairman of SPINS, Inc. In 1995, he founded SPINS where he served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer for eight years, tracking the sales of more than 300,000 natural and organic products,before selling SPINS in 2004. Prior to founding SPINS, he served as Kashi’s first head of sales and marketing. Mr. Spence served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Kashi Company from 1992 to 1995. He has also held positions at Harvard Business School's Division of Research, the Center for Leadership and Career Studies at Emory University and United Parcel Service's International Marketing department. Mr. Spence is a Member of Advisory Board of Rippowam Partners LLC. He is a 22 year veteran of the natural/organic industry. Mr. Spence holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard College.

• Paddy Spence, CEO, Zevia

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• T.J. McIntyre

  Former EVP/GM Natural Segment, Boulder Brands

  

  T.J. McIntyre

  Former EVP/GM Natural Segment, Boulder Brands

  TJ McIntyre is a seasoned, enthusiastic and tenacious natural foods leader. Most recently he was the Executive Vice President and General Manager (Natural Segment) at Boulder Brands. During his tenure in the role, TJ led Boulder Brands through due diligence, acquisition, integration and management of Glutino, Udi's, Davies Bakery and Evol Foods. For these brands, he helped them successfully execute a growth strategy that allowed them to retain their mission and core values while still proliferating their products into mainstream channels. TJ additionally served in a variety of other leadership roles at top CPG brands. As Vice President/General Manager at Earth Balance, TJ brought a focus on the natural segment to the company, a shift from their previous focus on mass/conventional retailers. Earlier in his career,TJ served as the Brand Manager at Silk and Category Manager (Simply Organic) at Frontier Natural Co-op. He deeply understands the mindset of entrepreneurs, as TJ has started several successful businesses himself. Not only did TJ co-found Pixie Mate, which was later sold to Third Street Chai, but he is still is an active co-founder of the Boulder based tea chain, Pekoe Sip House. A graduate of Michigan State, TJ went on to receive his MBA from the University of Oregon, where he co-founded and managed the Sustainable Business Symposium.

• T.J. McIntyre, Former EVP/GM Natural Segment, Boulder Brands

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• Jeremiah McElwee

  VP Purchasing and Marketing, Thrive Market
• Sean Kelly

  CEO, Snack Nation/HUMAN

• Jeremiah McElwee, VP Purchasing and Marketing, Thrive Market
• Sean Kelly, CEO, Snack Nation/HUMAN

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• Caue Suplicy

  CEO, Barnana

• Caue Suplicy, CEO, Barnana

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• Dayton Miller

  Partner, Boulder Food Group

  

  Dayton Miller

  Partner, Boulder Food Group

  Dayton Miller is a Partner at Boulder Food Group (BFG), a venture capital firm focused on early stage food and beverage consumer product companies. BFG works alongside exceptional entrepreneurs to ensure their businesses deliver sustainable growth and outperform their competitors. Previously Dayton co-founded Function, a venture-backed health and wellness beverage company, which Dayton built from idea-conception to $20 million in retail sales until its acquisition by Sunsweet Growers, Inc. Prior to Function, Dayton was an executive in the strategy group at The Walt Disney Company where he worked for over seven years focusing on mergers & acquisitions and operating strategy. Dayton began his career as an analyst in investment banking and spent time as a management consultant for Bain & Co. Dayton received his BA from Vanderbilt University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

• Josh Goldin

  Co-Founder, Alliance Consumer Growth

  

  Josh Goldin

  Co-Founder, Alliance Consumer Growth

  Josh Goldin is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Alliance Consumer Growth (“ACG”), a growth equity fund which invests exclusively in high-growth, emerging consumer brands. An experienced investor and business builder, Josh has provided financing and advised entrepreneurs building game-changing consumer companies. He currently serves as either a board member or board observer of Shake Shack, BabyGanics, Kriser’s Pets and Lessing’s Hospitality. Prior to co-founding ACG, Josh led The Lessing Companies, a consumer-focused private investment group. Josh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Wesleyan.

• Eric Schnell

  Managing Partner, MetaBrand Capital

  

  Eric Schnell

  Managing Partner, MetaBrand Capital

  Eric has over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and operations in the Natural Product, Supplement and Beverage industries, with diverse experience managing upstart as well as turnaround companies and launching new brands and products. As the Co-Founder and former President of Steaz, Eric helped pioneer the organic soda, iced tea and energy drink markets. Eric is the recipient of the Natural Product Industry’s 2007 “Socially Responsible Business Award,” as well as a three-time winner of BevNET's "Best of" awards. Prior to Steaz, Eric worked as brand manager for Country Life Vitamins and was on the company’s Executive Committee, and then went on to serve as president of Long Life Tea, tripling the company’s revenue before its sale to Kikkoman. In 2010, Eric Co-Founded I AM enlightened nutrition, an all-natural line of liquid dietary supplements, as well as founded MetaBrand, a one stop incubator, accelerator and innovation business centered around taking health & wellness products from concept to consumer. In 2014 Eric co-founded MetaBrand Capital, a new venture capital fund dedicated to supporting mission-driven food and beverage brands, with first investment made into Runa Tea. That same year the fund received Nutrition Business Journal’s “Investment in the Future” award for its effort to support brands upholding the principals of the Quadruple Bottom Line business model.

• Dayton Miller, Partner, Boulder Food Group
• Josh Goldin, Co-Founder, Alliance Consumer Growth
• Eric Schnell, Managing Partner, MetaBrand Capital

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• John Haugen

  VP/General Manager, 301 INC/General Mills

  

  John Haugen

  VP/General Manager, 301 INC/General Mills

  John Haugen has always been drawn to growth and innovation during his 25 year tenure at General Mills. He joined the company in 1990 in Marketing, and has held numerous positions in marketing, general management, talent acquisition and strategy throughout his career. In 2012, he created 301 INC, a new business development unit within the company focused on creating and incubating new businesses and growth capabilities for the company. 301 INC is focused on partnering with emerging food brands by proactively engaging and making direct equity investments in them. As the leader of 301 INC, John is always interested in seeing the possibilities and becoming and indispensable partner. He has built a team focused on looking for great, new business opportunities – ones that when the passion, skill and agility of the entrepreneur are combined with the capabilities of General Mills are sure to create breakthrough innovation and positive change. Haugen has an undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College; in 2011, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award. He received his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. John lives with his family in Minneapolis. He has a passion for fitness and endurance sports.

• John Haugen, VP/General Manager, 301 INC/General Mills

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• Paul Nardone

  CEO, PopCorners

  

  Paul Nardone

  CEO, PopCorners

  Paul is involved in all aspects of the investment process, from sourcing potential investment opportunities to due diligence and deal closing to working closely with companies post-investment, leveraging extensive operational experience to drive company growth. Prior to joining Sherbrooke Capital in 2013, Paul led three companies (Immaculate Baking, Stirrings, and Annie's Homegrown) as CEO where he demonstrated an impressive track record of creating and executing high-growth strategies, achieving superior operating results, and delivering significant value creation for stakeholders.

• Paul Nardone, CEO, PopCorners

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• Michael Sands

  Executive VP of Snacks, B&G Foods

  

  Michael Sands

  Executive VP of Snacks, B&G Foods

  With over 25 years of consumer package goods experience as an Entrepreneur and Intrepreneur, Michael has led and created top-selling products across several food and beverage companies including Snapple and Ben & Jerry's. Currently as EVP Snacks at B&G Foods, he is in charge of Pirate's Booty, New York Style, TrueNorth And Rickland Orchards, which he co-founded and sold to B&G Foods in October 2013. Additionally he has served as the CEO of Balance Bar Nutrition Co., Chief Marketing & Operations Officer at Snapple Beverage Group, where he was also a key player in the turnaround of Snapple following the acquisition from Quaker Oats for $300 million and its sale three years later for $1.1 billion to Cadbury. Other positions include Chief Marketing Officer at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Co-founder/CEO of Lesserevil Brand Snacks, and strategic marketing roles at Inbev, Unilever, and Grey Advertising. Mr. Sands earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Babson College and was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement for executives under 40, and was an Inc. 500 award winner for one of the fastest growing private companies in 2009 with Lesserevil.

• Michael Sands, Executive VP of Snacks, B&G Foods

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• Paul Nardone

  CEO, PopCorners

  

  Paul Nardone

  CEO, PopCorners

  Paul is involved in all aspects of the investment process, from sourcing potential investment opportunities to due diligence and deal closing to working closely with companies post-investment, leveraging extensive operational experience to drive company growth. Prior to joining Sherbrooke Capital in 2013, Paul led three companies (Immaculate Baking, Stirrings, and Annie's Homegrown) as CEO where he demonstrated an impressive track record of creating and executing high-growth strategies, achieving superior operating results, and delivering significant value creation for stakeholders.

• Michael Sands

  Executive VP of Snacks, B&G Foods

  

  Michael Sands

  Executive VP of Snacks, B&G Foods

  With over 25 years of consumer package goods experience as an Entrepreneur and Intrepreneur, Michael has led and created top-selling products across several food and beverage companies including Snapple and Ben & Jerry's. Currently as EVP Snacks at B&G Foods, he is in charge of Pirate's Booty, New York Style, TrueNorth And Rickland Orchards, which he co-founded and sold to B&G Foods in October 2013. Additionally he has served as the CEO of Balance Bar Nutrition Co., Chief Marketing & Operations Officer at Snapple Beverage Group, where he was also a key player in the turnaround of Snapple following the acquisition from Quaker Oats for $300 million and its sale three years later for $1.1 billion to Cadbury. Other positions include Chief Marketing Officer at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Co-founder/CEO of Lesserevil Brand Snacks, and strategic marketing roles at Inbev, Unilever, and Grey Advertising. Mr. Sands earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Babson College and was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement for executives under 40, and was an Inc. 500 award winner for one of the fastest growing private companies in 2009 with Lesserevil.

• John Haugen

  VP/General Manager, 301 INC/General Mills

  

  John Haugen

  VP/General Manager, 301 INC/General Mills

  John Haugen has always been drawn to growth and innovation during his 25 year tenure at General Mills. He joined the company in 1990 in Marketing, and has held numerous positions in marketing, general management, talent acquisition and strategy throughout his career. In 2012, he created 301 INC, a new business development unit within the company focused on creating and incubating new businesses and growth capabilities for the company. 301 INC is focused on partnering with emerging food brands by proactively engaging and making direct equity investments in them. As the leader of 301 INC, John is always interested in seeing the possibilities and becoming and indispensable partner. He has built a team focused on looking for great, new business opportunities – ones that when the passion, skill and agility of the entrepreneur are combined with the capabilities of General Mills are sure to create breakthrough innovation and positive change. Haugen has an undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College; in 2011, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award. He received his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. John lives with his family in Minneapolis. He has a passion for fitness and endurance sports.

• Paul Nardone, CEO, PopCorners
• Michael Sands, Executive VP of Snacks, B&G Foods
• John Haugen, VP/General Manager, 301 INC/General Mills

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• Tracy Miedema

  VP Innovation, Presence Marketing

  

  Tracy Miedema

  VP Innovation, Presence Marketing

  Growing up in the Pacific Northwest with family roots in the Deep South, gardening, gathering, hunting and preserving real food shaped her basic food philosophy: know where your food comes from, prepare it with care and enjoy time around the table. With over 15 years serving the natural and organic industry, Tracy has focused on building transformative food brands for consumers and building enterprise value for companies. She is now the VP of Innovation & Brand Development at Presence, the nation’s leading natural products broker where she oversees the company’s two investment portfolios, Omnipresence and Plan-It-Earth. She has also served for 5 years on the US Federal Regulatory Advisory Committee for Organic, the USDA National Organic Standards Board, including Chair of the Board. Past roles include Director of Product Innovation for Earthbound Farm/ WhiteWave Foods, creating consumer brands for Stahlbush Island Farm, and Marketing with General Mills' Small Planet Foods Division, Since 2012, Tracy has led graduate student teams in product innovation at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Tracy holds a BA from the University of Washington and an MBA from Western Washington University. She lives with her family in rural Oregon.

• Tracy Miedema, VP Innovation, Presence Marketing

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• Sarah Palisi Chapin

  CEO, Hail Merry

  

  Sarah Palisi Chapin

  CEO, Hail Merry

  Sarah Palisi Chapin has served as Chief Executive Officer and board member of Hail Merry since 2009, when she and Ali Brushaber, chief product officer, joined Hail Merry founder Susan O'Brien in her home pool cabana to partner for growth. Susan had successfully created the brand and built a cult following for her raw lifestyle pure ingredient products and her shelf success suggested it would grow to be a leading brand. Now operating from a 30,000-foot kitchen, Hail Merry continues as a leading snack and dessert brand sold in natural, conventional and foodservice, with all products non-gmo verified, gluten-free, vegan, and which celebrate raw plant oils. Ms. Chapin brings more than three decades of experience in the food service industry, including a comprehensive understanding of strategy, franchising, commercial kitchen technology, brand management, product development, marketing, operational excellence, market expansion and acquisition strategy. She is a member of the board of Yummy Spoonfuls, and The Middleby Corporation (NADQ: MIDD). She has previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Caribou Coffee Company, Inc., 2007 to 2013, and more than a dozen for profit private and public companies over a 20 year span. Previous positions include CEO of Enersyst Development Center (intellectual property R&D and licensing company in food) from 1995 to 2003, VP of Worldwide Business Strategy of Burger King Corporation from 1990 to 1995 (including food globally and co-development of their purchasing COOP RSI) and new concept development for PepsiCo and Pizza Hut.

• Sarah Palisi Chapin, CEO, Hail Merry

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