• Kathryn Peters

  , EVP, SPINS
• Brian Reed

  , Principal, Market Structure, IRI

• Kathryn Peters, EVP, SPINS
• Brian Reed, Principal, Market Structure, IRI

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• Drew Skolnik

  , Analyst, KarpReilly

  

  Drew Skolnik

  Analyst, KarpReilly

  Drew Skolnik is an Associate at KarpReilly. Prior to joining KarpReilly in 2014, Drew was an investment banking analyst in the Consumer & Retail group at Evercore. There he worked on a variety of M&A and equity transactions across the consumer sector. At KarpReilly, Drew is responsible for a variety of portfolio companies in the Consumer & Retail space, including beverage companies LifeAID and Zola, restaurants Habit Burger Grill, Cafe Rio, Cafe Zupas, and Eureka!, and apparel company RAEN. Drew graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics with a concentration in Finance.

• Ryan Greene

  , Vice President, KarpReilly

  

  Ryan Greene

  Vice President, KarpReilly

  Ryan Greene is a Vice President at KarpReilly. Prior to joining KarpReilly as an Associate in 2011, Ryan was an investment banking analyst in the Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. There he worked on a variety of M&A and equity transactions across the sector. At KarpReilly, Ryan is responsible for a variety of portfolio companies in the Consumer & Retail space, including beverage company LifeAID, restaurants Eureka! and Patxi’s Pizza, retailers EbLens and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, and apparel companies Linksoul and Mack Weldon. Ryan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Management and a B.A.S. in Computer Science.

• Drew Skolnik, Analyst, KarpReilly
• Ryan Greene, Vice President, KarpReilly

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• Jody Levy

  , Co-Founder & Creative Director, WTRMLN WTR

  

  Jody Levy

  Co-Founder & Creative Director, WTRMLN WTR

  Jody Levy is the Co-founder and Creative Director of World Waters | WTRMLN WTR a company and brand committed to redefining how and what we drink to nourish our bodies and sustain our ecosystem. World Waters first product WTRMLN WTR (watermelon water) was created out of a solve for the hundreds of millions of pounds of unused watermelons in the United States. These waste melons are either ugly, misshapen, sunburned but otherwise perfect to press nutrient-dense, hydrating WTRMLN WTR. WTRMLN WTR is a hot pink juicy drink that is packed with electrolytes, vitamins, lycopene, anti-oxidants, magnesium, iron, L-Cittruline and more. WTRMLN WTR consists of nothing but raw watermelon and a drop of organic lemon juice. No added water, and no added sugar. WTRMLN WTR is cold-pressed and never heated with no additives, no preservatives, absolutely nothing artificial! The mission of World Waters and WTRMLN WTR is to educate people about why clean healthy eating is so important for the health and sustainability of our communities. Jody Levy is also a director and executive producer and has been in the world of experience design since 2001. Jody has been creating unique events, interactive environments, brands, products, and multi-sensory installations that connect people in engaging ways. Her professional focus is all about the integration of art and technology. Jody is a creative director and executive producer and her work includes the design and production of live theatrical events, touring stages, hospitality environments, interactive installations, immersive brand activations, and non-traditional marketing and social campaigns. Clients include American Idol, Chrysler, The Coachella Music Festival, Ford Motor Company, Heineken, Hewlett Packard, Lexus, MAC Cosmetics, Mos Def, Museum Of Modern Art, The Museum of Science and Industry Chicago, Palm, Paramount Pictures, Project Runway, San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art, Scion, Shades Optical, Toyota, W Hotels and many other international brands. Jody is an entrepreneur, artist, designer, director, producer, educator and writer from the Detroit area who lives in New York City.

• Jody Levy, Co-Founder & Creative Director, WTRMLN WTR

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• Melissa Baker

  , CEO & Founding Partner, Fenwick Brands

  

  Melissa Baker

  CEO & Founding Partner, Fenwick Brands

  Melissa Baker is CEO and Founding Partner of Fenwick Brands, a consumer focused equity investor headquartered in Birmingham, AL. Fenwick differentiates themselves as a team of experienced operators who provide expertise equity to emerging brands across diverse categories. Fenwick partners are hands-on with their investments, leveraging over 100 years of combined operating and management experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. At Fenwick, Melissa currently serves as the President of Moore’s Marinade & Wing Sauces and sits on the Board of Directors for their current investments in Powell & Mahoney and The Jackfruit Company. Prior to Fenwick, Melissa has a tenured career in consumer packaged goods as a serial operator and has held leadership roles within entrepreneurial start-ups, private-equity backed and publically-traded businesses. Irrespective of business size or market position, Melissa shepherded the growth of those brands, leading them to successful exits.

• Melissa Baker, CEO & Founding Partner, Fenwick Brands

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• Adam Lowry

  , Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Ripple

  

  Adam Lowry

  Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Ripple

  Adam Lowry co-founded Ripple Foods after years of experience creating businesses that benefit the environment and society. Ripple's Adam Lowry is not the Canadian hockey player Adam Lowry, but he does lead a team of trailblazers who are accelerating the future of the plant-based lifestyle through products that transform the dairy-alternative market. Before founding Ripple, Adam made his name fighting dirt as Co-Founder and Chief Greenskeeper of Method Products. At Method, he brought sustainable innovation to their product lines, design, sourcing, production, and marketing. Prior to changing the way you clean your home, Adam was a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science, where he developed software products to help us better understand climate change. For all these efforts, Adam has been honored as one of Fortune’s “40 Under 40,” and received the Clinton Global Initiative’s Global Citizen Award in 2013. He is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and an Aspen Institute Catto Environmental Fellow. When he’s not serving Ripple, Adam serves on the boards of AeroFarms, LLC, an urban agriculture company currently building the world’s largest vertical farm, and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. He is the author of two books, including The method Method: Seven Obsessions that Helped Our Scrappy Start-up Turn an Industry Upside Down. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University. Go Trees!

• Dr. Neil Renninger

  , Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Ripple

  

  Dr. Neil Renninger

  Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Ripple

  Dr. Neil Renninger co-founded Ripple Foods to disrupt an industry that is one of the most significant emitters of greenhouse gases and water utilizers in the world. Before that, he was a member of the infamous MIT Blackjack Team – counting cards at casinos worldwide. Take Neil with you on your next trip to Vegas. In between playing blackjack and founding Ripple, he co-founded Amyris, Inc., a renewable products company. Neil was Chief Technical Officer and a member of the Board of Directors from its founding through its IPO. At Amyris, Neil led efforts to develop a production process for an anti-malarial compound that is now used to make more than 100 million treatments annually. He then focused on climate change, developing processes for converting plant sugars into things like jet fuel. With Neil at the helm, Amyris was recognized as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, while Neil was named one of the world’s top innovators under 35 by Technology Review Magazine. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, adding up to a full decade of higher education.

• Adam Lowry, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Ripple
• Dr. Neil Renninger, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Ripple

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• Orion Melehan

  , Co-Founder & CEO, LifeAID Beverage Co.

  

  Orion Melehan

  Co-Founder & CEO, LifeAID Beverage Co.

  Orion Melehan is the co-founder and CEO of LifeAID Beverage Company, a fast-growing producer of functional beverages. A beverage outsider with a big idea, Orion borrowed $30,000 from his 401(k) to fund LifeAID with his friend and co-founder Dr. Aaron Hinde in 2011 - while the economy was still in crisis. In the five short years since, the growth of LifeAID has been explosive. Their products are now sold in hundreds of golf courses and thousands of Crossfit gyms in the U.S. and throughout the world. They have 300,000+ engaged social media followers, and have been featured in the Wall Street Journal. Today LifeAID is worth tens of millions of dollars and was just ranked in the Inc 500 fastest growing companies in America. Ask Orion and he’ll tell you their growth is just getting underway. This was all accomplished by first nailing their concept, product and branding and then creating hundreds of thousands of raving fans and selling millions of cans before ever hitting a conventional retail shelf. Orion and his family live in Santa Cruz, CA where he was also born and raised. He believes that the Santa Cruz free thinking lifestyle and wealth of outdoor recreational activities played a big part in the LifeAID concept. Orion graduated from UC Santa Barbara and prior to launching LifeAID had his own practice as a Certified Financial Planner. In his personal time he enjoys Djing, traveling, personal development, CrossFit, golf and is a regular attendee at Burning Man – all activities that are enhanced by the products he sells.

• Orion Melehan, Co-Founder & CEO, LifeAID Beverage Co.

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• Arif Fazal

  , Founder & Managing Director, Blueberry Ventures

• Arif Fazal, Founder & Managing Director, Blueberry Ventures

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• Courtney Reum

  , Co-Founder, M13

  

  Courtney Reum

  Co-Founder, M13

  Courtney Reum is the co-founder of M13, a brand development and investment company accelerating businesses at the nexus of consumer products, technology, and media. Courtney and his brother Carter Reum are collaborators and brothers from Chicago, both launched their careers at Goldman Sachs. Leaving investment banking with an idea to create “a better way to drink,” the Reums built VEEV Spirit, a 70 proof vodka alternative, from that idea into one of the pioneering artisanal alcohol brands in the spirits industry, helping to popularize the açaí berry in the United States and into one of the fastest growing independent spirit brands in the country. Building on VEEV’s success, they launched VitaFrute™ Cocktails by VEEV®, the first line of certified organic ready-to- drink cocktails. While growing both brands, the brothers began investing in other companies providing first hand experience, guidance and capitalization to many emerging businesses. Early investments include Bonobos, Birchox, Warby Parker, Pinterest, Lyft, Krave Jerky, Kevita, and numerous others. In 2016, Carter and Courtney sold a majority stake of VEEV Spirits to a larger company allowing them to found M13 and focus on their entrepreneurial stewardship of consumer brands. Both Carter and Courtney have been profiled by several entrepreneurial groups such as the “30 Under 30” list, the INC “500 fastest growing private companies in America,” Richard Branson’s best-selling book “Screw Business as Usual” and most recently the Goldman Sachs Builders + Innovators 100 “Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs” of 2014 & again in 2015. They are also currently featured in the first year curriculum at Harvard Business School through the case study, “VEEV on the Rocks.” Courtney holds a B.A. with distinction from Columbia University in New York and is an alumni of Harvard Business School. Courtney is also an active member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO) internationally and locally in Los Angeles through the Bel-Air Chapter. Courtney served as one of the Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Commissioners for the Los Angeles Convention Center & Tourism Authority and is philanthropically involved as a Board Member of the LA Opera and City Year organization helping underserved schools.

• Courtney Reum, Co-Founder, M13

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