BevNET Live Summer 2016
BevNET Live -- The Leading Conference Series for the Beverage Industry
BevNET Live Summer 2016 will take place at the Metropolitan West in New York, NY on June 14 & 15.
BevNET Live is a two-day forum for beverage entrepreneurs, suppliers, distributors, retailers and investors to gather and exchange ideas through interactive panels, lectures, and networking.
Attendees are able to access the expertise of investment professionals on ways to attract funding, successful brand owners about their inspiring stories, retail and distribution gatekeepers on growth strategies and industry advisors on sales, marketing, and branding challenges. BevNET Live offers extensive and in-depth programming and networking with other attendees and the BevNET.com community, which has spent more than a decade dedicating itself to careful reporting on the fast-moving beverage industry. More than just a conference, BevNET Live includes exclusive offerings including the BevNET Live Expo, the New Beverage Showdown, a Sampling Bar option for all attendees, a Beverage School for new entrepreneurs, and more.
Learn More about BevNET Live >>
BevNET Live Summer 2016 Speakers:
-
Jillian Michaels
Health & Wellness Expert,
-
Bill Weiland
Founder & CEO, Presence Marketing
Bill Weiland
Founder & CEO, Presence Marketing
He started working in a natural food store when he was 16 and began reading books on nutrition and healthy living at a fervent pace. Paavo Airola, Norman Walker and Paul Bragg were some of the early natural food enthusiasts who influenced his lifestyle choices, along with the inimitable Dr. John R. Christopher, an early pioneer in herbal medicine. After nearly a dozen years of working in the Natural Products Industry, in varied roles within the sales and retail sectors, he launched Presence Marketing in January, 1990. He is surrounded by a dedicated cast of creative and intelligent people who carry out the mission of bringing healthy products to consumers, with great energy, passion, and resolve. With nearly 35 years of industry experience, he is uniquely qualified to lead Presence Marketing/Dynamic Presence during booming as well as unstable economic times. His passion for sustainable agriculture, healthy foods and integrated medicine are key drivers behind his commitment to continue building Presence Marketing/Dynamic Presence, the only independently owned, national - natural products brokerage in the United States.
-
Matthew Mitchell
VP of Portfolio Strategy and Ventures, The Coca-Cola Co.
Matthew Mitchell
VP of Portfolio Strategy and Ventures, The Coca-Cola Co.
Matthew Mitchell is the Vice President of Ventures and Strategy for Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) in the Coca-Cola North America business unit. Since 2007, he has been responsible for building strategies that help to identify and create the next portfolio of $1 billion brands for the Company. Specifically, he identifies external businesses/brands that are positioned against emerging consumer trends, determines long term value to The Coca-Cola Company from these brands, and designs and implements partnerships that will deliver this value over time. Matthew has worked on investments in Zico Coconut Water, Honest Tea, Suja juice, Bossa Nova, and Core Power/fairlife Farms during his time in VEB. He also represents Coca-Cola’s engagement on the board of LA Libations and the investment committee of First Beverage Ventures. Matthew has been with the Coca-Cola Company for 20 years in various finance, R&D, and strategy roles both in the United States and internationally. Prior to joining the company, he was an investment banker trading foreign exchange options in Tokyo, Japan. He is a graduate of Duke University and the
-
Rohan Oza
Co-Founder, CAVU Venture Partners
-
Todd Carmichael
CEO & Co-Founder, La Colombe
Todd Carmichael
CEO & Co-Founder, La Colombe
Todd Carmichael is the co-founder and CEO of La Colombe Coffee, a premier coffee roaster and retailer. Carmichael has lived and breathed coffee for over three decades. By pressing the limits of taste, service, and most notably, coffee sourcing – visiting the world’s developing countries to responsibly gather the planet’s best coffee – Todd has converted the nation’s culinary elite into La Colombe drinkers. Along the way, he has made his company the country’s leading coffee roaster while managing it philanthropically. Fueled by Todd’s passion to push the U.S. coffee scene forward, La Colombe sits at the forefront of the ethical trade movement and regularly dabbles in new terrain, inventing ground-breaking new brewing devices and beverages, such as the first ever Draft Latte. He is also the host of two Travel Channel series, “Dangerous Grounds” and “Uncommon Grounds.”
-
Tom First
Managing Partner, First Beverage Group
-
Kevin Benmoussa
Director of Strategy & Business Development, Nestlé Waters
Kevin Benmoussa
Director of Strategy & Business Development, Nestlé Waters
Kevin is Director of Strategy & Business Development at Nestlé Waters North America where he manages Mergers & Acquisitions and is the finance lead for eBusiness, Innovation and Corporate Affairs. He has over 10 years of experience in Corporate Finance and Strategy within the Food & Beverage industry. Kevin started his career at Bears Stearns Investment Banking after which he spent seven years at PepsiCo where he held several roles of increasing responsibilities within the Finance and Strategy functions including strategic planning, M&A and marketing finance. During his career, Kevin worked on numerous partnerships, investment deals and multi-billion dollar acquisitions. He holds a Master’s Degree from Brandeis University and currently resides in New York City with his family.
-
Marcus Antebi
Founder , Juice Press
-
Theo Rossi
Actor / Founder & CEO of Ounce Water, Ounce Water
-
Jordan Silbert
Founder & CEO, Q Drinks
-
Greg Fleishman
President, Purely Righteous Brands
Greg Fleishman
President, Purely Righteous Brands
Greg has created and grown some of the world's largest and most successful brands during his 20-year career - launching 500+ items across 17 food and beverage categories into 12 countries - focusing primarily on the "natural green Space". Greg is currently president & co-founder of Purely Righteous Brands LLC (PRB), a boutique consultancy dedicated to fostering the growth of "green space" health food & beverage companies. Clients include Tasty Brand, Revolution Foods, Arctic Zero & SUJA Juice - all committed to revolutionizing the spaces they are in. Under PRB, Greg served as Chief Marketing & Strategy for Suja, the #1 cold-pressured fresh juice brand in the US where he led business strategy, marketing, innovation, and retail customer development. There he positioned the portfolio, created & launched 35 new items (including two sub-brands) and built 3 sales channels. Prior to that, he served as CMO of Sambazon, the maker of fresh amazon superfood-based beverages. As CMO, Greg led marketing, strategy, innovation and business development for Coca-Cola's FUZE & Energy portfolio. He also worked for over 14 years as an executive marketer at Kashi/Bear Naked and Kelloggs.
-
Renny Wilmer
Sr. Director of Consumer Engagement, Compass Group, USA
Renny Wilmer
Sr. Director of Consumer Engagement, Compass Group, USA
Renny Wilmer assumed the role Sr. Director of Consumer Engagement, managing retail initiatives across Compass USA sectors, in October 2015. The Consumer Engagement group develops consumer based beverage programs, merchandising standards, pricing strategies, and consumer insights across the Food Service and Vending businesses. From 2014-2015, Renny was the Director of Beverages for Business Excellence, responsible for developing beverage marketing and merchandising programs. In addition to creating new beverage programming across Compass Group, he also created geographic and demographic based beverage strategies based on market and consumer data. Renny began his career at Compass with Foodbuy in 2012, where he managed grocery, disposables, and beverage categories. Prior to Compass Group, Renny spent 12 years in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry at Altria, and his responsibilities included roles within Sales, Trade Marketing, Technology, and Distribution. Renny is a graduate of George Mason University, and holds an MBA from Duke University. He and his wife, Christie, reside in Cincinnati with their twin sons.
-
Rajesh Babu
Director, Corporate Development & Strategy, WhiteWave Foods
-
Chris Hickey
President, ISOPURE
Chris Hickey
President, ISOPURE
Chris Hickey is President of The Isopure Company - a leading sports nutrition company doing business in over 40 countries. Chris has consistently excelled building brands and businesses in a variety of corporate environments including Procter & Gamble, General Mills, MolsonCoors, Abbott Laboratories, and private equity-backed Athletes' Performance, Inc (now EXOS). Chris was recruited to The Isopure Company in April 2013 to transition and grow the high-performance company from founder leadership and private equity ownership to scale and corporate ownership. In his time at The Isopure Company he has focused on building the Isopure brand via the "We're All More Than Muscle" campaign, driving awareness through media partners like GQ, Men's Health, and Shape, and extending the franchise with category-expanding innovations like Cocotein (the first protein + coconut water beverage) and JAVAPRO (the first protein + coffee beverage). In October 2014, Chris led the $153 million sale of The Isopure Company to Glanbia plc, the Ireland-based global performance nutrition and ingredients company. In his two years of leadership, Isopure has achieved 21% Revenue CAGR and 34% EBITDA CAGR competing primarily in the specialty (GNC, Vitamin Shoppe) and online channels (Amazon, Bodybuilding.com). Chris attended Villanova University where he earned his BS in accounting graduating cum laude. He then went on to obtain his MBA in Business Administration and Management at the University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business Administration where he has a member of the prestigious Raven Society. Chris is a husband and proud father of two beautiful girls, Bridget and Megan. He practices the lifestyle he preaches and is an active individual whose hobbies include working out, kayaking and coaching his girls' basketball teams.
-
Kara Rubin
Former Senior Regional Director, Whole Foods Market
Kara Rubin
Former Senior Regional Director, Whole Foods Market
Tenured senior executive with over a decade of specialty and natural food industry experience. Most recently, was award-winning leader of the Grocery division (dry goods, dairy, frozen, bulk) of the Northeast Region of Whole Foods Market (33 stores in NY, NJ & CT). Responsible for purchasing, operations and P&L for the department generating highest revenue in the region and highest revenue/store in the company.
-
Mark Rampolla
Founder, ZICO; Managing Director, Powerplant Ventures
Mark Rampolla
Founder, ZICO; Managing Director, Powerplant Ventures
Mark Rampolla was the Founder and CEO of ZICO Beverages, launched in 2004. Under Mark's leadership, ZICO experienced nine years of explosive growth and became one of the fastest growing beverage brands in the world. Mark was recognized as BevNET's 2010 Beverage Innovator of the Year and has been featured in major media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Bloomberg, CNBC and Business Week. In 2013 The Coca Cola Company acquired 100% of ZICO Beverages. Mark continues to consult with The Coca Cola Company on ZICO and is also an angle investor and advisor to early stage companies in the beverage, food, crowd funding and technology industries. Mark started his career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Central America and later operated businesses across Latin America and the Caribbean for International Paper. He graduated from Marquette University and earned an MBA and Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University.
-
Shen Tong
Managing Partner, Food Future
Shen Tong
Managing Partner, Food Future
Shen Tong is a serial entrepreneur, impact investor with 30+ food innovation investments and other media, and high tech investments. He is founder & MP of Food Future. One of Newsweek’s People of the Year in 1989, Shen Tong was an organizer of the democracy movement in 1989 that occupied Tiananmen Square while he was at Beijing University. After his exile to the US, he finished his undergraduate degree at Brandeis University, and went on to study in PhD programs at Boston University and Harvard University. Mr. Shen became an entrepreneur in the 1990s, founding or co-founding, B&B Media, and VFinity among other ventures in the past two decades, serving on boards and advisory boards including Food Tank, Change Food, Poets & Writers. He founded FOOD-X in 2014; also serves as venture partner of SOSV - the accelerator VC, a global multi-stage venture capital fund. Shen is a long time social activist, film buff, avid traveler, foodie, and a writer/poet.
-
Sharelle Klaus
CEO & Founder, DRY Soda Co.
-
Mike Burgmaier
Managing Director, Whipstitch Capital
-
Andrew Henkel
VP Brand Growth Solutions, SPINS
-
Brett Thomas
Co-Founder, CAVU Venture Partners
-
Jomaree Pinkard
Co-Founder, Hella Co.
Jomaree Pinkard
Co-Founder, Hella Co.
Jomaree is an African-American male entrepreneur who was raised in New York City. His career has been a journey that has taken him from helping develop and implement the Salvation Army's September 11th World Trade Center Disaster Relief Program to providing his consulting company’s services for the National Football League, with BS and MBA degree pit stops at the University of Virginia and The Wharton School of Business at UPenn. Currently, he is co-owner and CEO of craft cocktail company, Hella Co. In 4 years, he and his partners have grown a hobby into a nationally distributed premium quality food manufacturer. While his business acumen serves Hella from a strategic, marketing and financial operations standpoint, he continues to learn about the life of a food entrepreneur as an end-to-end experience in the creation and growth of a premium lifestyle beverage brand.
-
David Lemley
Brand Strategist, Design Firm Principal, Retail Voodoo
David Lemley
Brand Strategist, Design Firm Principal, Retail Voodoo
David Lemley is a man on a mission. For 25 years, he has used his design chops to make his clients successful. He’s passionate about working with brands that want to connect with people in a meaningful way—a deeply personal one. To create tribal cults around brands with raving fans who believe in the same values. And a shared vision of a world made better because they truly want to make a difference in people’s lives. David helps clients find their brand’s outer edges so that they can begin to see what they didn’t think possible. But this isn’t just the stuff of dreams—it’s actionable. David shows how to design a strategy that harnesses ritual, core values and behavior from the inside out to create a unique, exciting culture for employees and brand fans. As Chief Troublemaker at Retail Voodoo, David leads people to think differently about the role of brand strategy, design and brand experience as tools of change. To reach David Lemley: P 206.285.6900 Email david@retail-voodoo.com Website www.Retail-Voodoo.com
-
Chris Campbell
Co-Founder, President and CEO, Chameleon Cold-Brew
Chris Campbell
Co-Founder, President and CEO, Chameleon Cold-Brew
Chris Campbell is Co-Founder, President and CEO of Austin, TX-based Chameleon Cold-Brew, the nation's first fair-trade and 100% organic cold-brew coffee company. Since Chameleon's founding in 2010, Campbell has successfully steered the company through triple digit annual growth and rapid expansion to more than 30 states and 1,400 stores nationwide. Campbell is a former consultant.
-
Sheryl O'Loughlin
CEO, Rebbl, Inc.
-
Justin Trout
Co-Founder & COO, Health-Ade Kombucha
-
Giancarlo Chersich
CEO, Lucky Jack Cold Brew
-
Brian Ross
Chief Innovation Officer, Telula Juices
-
Shauna Martin
CEO & Founder, Daily Greens
Shauna Martin
CEO & Founder, Daily Greens
Shauna Martin obtained her BA from the University of Central Arkansas and her JD from the University of Arkansas School of Law. She has over 18 years of experience as a corporate attorney, and has obtained a variety of awards recognizing her work, which includes technology law, mergers and acquisitions, financing, and corporate matters. In 2005, Shauna was diagnosed with breast cancer. With a young family to care for, she turned to daily green juicing to recover from the trauma of multiple surgeries and the toxic effects of chemotherapy. After discovering its life-restoring power, she made it her mission to get a green juice into the hands of everyone that she can every day, so that all can thrive as she has. Founding Drink Daily Greens LLC in 2012, Shauna now works to accomplish this mission through crafting new and delicious recipes and selling her Daily Greens, which are now sold in retail outlets nationwide. Although Daily Greens is now her full-time gig, Shauna co-founded Grable Martin Fulton PLLC in 2013, otherwise known as the GeneralCounselHub.com, where she continues as a member today. Today, Shauna lives in Austin, Texas, drinking her veggies, with her husband, Kirk, and their 10 year old son, Cooper.
-
John Houseal
CEO and Co-Founder, GIVN Water
John Houseal
CEO and Co-Founder, GIVN Water
John Houseal is social entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of GIVN Goods Inc., makers of GIVN Water – a premium spring water infused with good karma. Every bottle of GIVN Water funds one day of water for a person in need. Following 15 years working as a consultant for the US Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and other international and domestic health organizations, John started GIVN with one goal – to turn everyday purchases into meaningful good. In the 9 months since launching in the Midwest, he and his co-founder Liz Skalla have grown GIVN Water from the ground up to with a planned reach of 1,000 stores by the close of 2016. GIVN Water’s distribution partners include Jewel Osco, KeHE, and Sysco, among others and the brand is available across the Midwest and Southeast. This year, GIVN Water projects consumers will fund over 1,000,000 day of clean water alone.
-
John Maggiore
Founder, Maggiore Sales and Marketing
John Maggiore
Founder, Maggiore Sales and Marketing
John has been in the grocery business for over 25 years, he founded Maggiore's Sales & Marketing in 2003, as a consultant and broker to the Natural/Specialty trade, with a primary focus on grocery, dairy and frozen in the Supermarket Channel. Prior to setting out on his own John was the Category Manager of Natural Food for Stop & Shop Supermarkets based in Boston, MA. John pioneered the store with-in-a-store Natural Food departments at Stop & Shop, creating over 150 departments in less than five years. Natural Food sales grew at Stop & Shop from $6 million when John took over responsibility for the department to $67 million when he left. Before John became Category Manager of Natural he had buying responsibilities in numerous categories including Specialty Cheese, Specialty Crackers, Gourmet Coffee, and Specialty Pasta as well as Frozen and Dairy Foods. Currently John is working with some leading manufacturers in the Natural Food channel including Pirate Brands, Justin's, Green Mountain Gringo, Seapoint Farms, R.W. Garcia and Angie's Popcorn, and has worked with other leading companies in the past including Bear Naked Granola, Larabar, Vita Coco and Ian's Natural Foods.
-
Daniel Lohman
Strategic Advisor, Category Management Solutions
Daniel Lohman
Strategic Advisor, Category Management Solutions
Daniel is a trusted and respected member of the natural community. With more than 30 years of experience, he serves as an advisor to Circle Up, Naturally Boulder, The Innovation Center of the Rockies, Brick Meets Click Black Belt, BWG Strategy Advisory Board Member, BevNet Expert, and a speaker and trainer for Natural Products EXPO, World Alliance For Retail Excellence And Standards, and ECRM. He is also an internationally published author. While at Kimberly-Clark, Unilever and SPINS, Daniel was responsible for mentoring, growing sales, and teaching category management theory and principles. Daniel assists companies in expanding their retail distribution and improving their merchandising. His company, Category Management Solutions (CMS4CPG), provides innovative ideas, actionable insights and strategic solutions for companies interested in gaining a significant competitive advantage.
-
Jesse Lyon
Partner & Coordinating Chair, Food & Beverage Practice, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
-
Jeffrey Klineman
Editor-in-Chief, BevNET
-
John Craven
CEO & Founder, BevNET