Beverage School Registration & Networking

Introduction

Design

• Kelly Criswell

  , Chief Creative Officer, The GRO Agency

  

  Kelly Criswell

  Chief Creative Officer, The GRO Agency

  Kelly Criswell is a visionary and creative leader, shepherding The GRO Agency as the Chief Creative Officer based in the Los Angeles office. With a fierce love of beverage branding and a 16+ year career in CPG brand development and packaging design, Kelly will relentlessly push brands to the next level for success on shelf. Over her career she has worked with such notable brands as Dunkin’ Donuts, Nestlé, Premier Nutrition, Diageo, and Red Bull. Her latest modus operandi is harnessing her extensive experience in CPG to help entrepreneurs and start-ups launch their brands. Her current passion project is Kabaki Kenyan Purple Tea- she has teamed up with the founder Martin and helped him position, brand, package, and develop go-to-market strategy for a 2018 launch. When she’s not obsessively taking photos in grocery stores (say hi if you see her!) she’s painting or hiking with her two kids.

• Kelly Criswell, Chief Creative Officer, The GRO Agency

Launching in Retail

• Hector Gonzalez Jr.

  , Director of Merchandising, Gonzalez Northgate Markets
• Robert Macias

  , VP of Field Operations, L.A. Libations

  

  Robert Macias

  VP of Field Operations, L.A. Libations

  Born in Los Angeles, California, Robert Macias was raised in the San Fernando Valley. Robert attended San Fernando Valley College. Soon afterwards, Robert started working at Pickwick Records where he held positions of warehouse supervisor, to sales representative. Robert was instrumental in persuading the Pickwick buyers from a mainstream purchasing pattern to the new the exploding new wave and punk rock scene. Robert was recognized for his bold and visionary views. In 1984, Robert started working for Coca-Cola. Hired as a merchandiser, Robert was quickly moved to sales and held positions throughout the Los Angeles basin. Robert was promoted to District Sales Manager in 1990. In 1996 Robert was appointed to Sales Manager at Los Angeles Sales Center with the objective to build the same culture that he achieved while a District Manager in Sylmar. Robert reengineered the entire sales system and changed the face of sales center. Robert introduced the "Men in Black" reset team. The "Men in Black" were identified as the best of the best merchandisers, but lacked either the desired formal education, training and leadership. With the help of District Managers, Robert developed a weekly training program revolved around communication, business math, volume trends and the ability to rise above. The Men in Black worked closely with the Sales Team, and were assigned key areas in Los Angeles. The objective was to dominate the trade with selected best selling brands, and introducing new beverages. In 1999 Robert was promoted to Branch Manager, Downey Production Center, Downey, California. From 1999 to 2005, Robert managed the Downey, City of Industry, Ventura/Bishop, Sylmar/Lancaster and the Los Angeles Sales Center. It was in Los Angeles, as the Sales Center Manager, where Robert developed many visionary platforms. Robert was the only Sales Center Manager appointed to the company's Atlanta Based Diversity and Inclusion Council. Robert was instrumental in creating Blue Demon energy drink and through area focused taste tests, recommended to the brand team, switching the Coke Zero package from a white package to a black package. Robert also recommended the target audience by reviewing data, and using "no sugar" as the tagline. The sampling platform was Classic Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero. In 2016 Robert joined LA Libations as Brand Manager for Arriba Horchata. Robert introduced Arriba to Vallarta Markets, all three SKU's and in over 33 outlets. Since January, 2017 Robert now manages the LAL Field Team as the VP of Field Operations. Robert quickly introduced Repsly, which tracks guidance and results. Robert teaches his team productivity data, and to treat each business with the same tactics Robert learned from his experiences and methods he learned in his 32 years at Coca-Cola. They have successfully developed key areas in the Southern California area. Robert and his team have lead and participated in numerous meetings sharing "the secret sauce", and in trade visits showing others how to win the marketplace. Robert is an active cyclist, kayak fisherman and music fan, Robert lives in Santa Clarita with his wife of 23 years and their son Neil and beautiful daughter Susha. Robert's has two older sons, Rawley who owns Rouleur Brewery in Carlsbad, and Drew who is a Key Account Manager for Stone Brewing, Southern California.

• Hector Gonzalez Jr., Director of Merchandising, Gonzalez Northgate Markets
• Robert Macias, VP of Field Operations, L.A. Libations

The Life of The Entrepreneur

• Austin Allan

  , Founder, Tio Gazpacho

• Austin Allan, Founder, Tio Gazpacho

Break

Marketing at Launch

• Arthur Gallego

  , Principal, Gallego & Co.

  

  Arthur Gallego

  Principal, Gallego & Co.

  Arthur Gallego runs Gallego & Co., a marketing consulting firm specializing in natural and emerging food & beverage brands. Gallego is a familiar name if you drink coconut water: he helped launch Vita Coco in 2004 and has worked with the brand ever since. He also works with Bulletproof 360; UGLY Drinks; LIFEAID Beverage Co. and Chomps meat snacks. Gallego is a well-regarded marketing strategist, branding and communications expert and has been a regular guest on MSNBC and been quoted by CBS News, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

• Arthur Gallego, Principal, Gallego & Co.

Cap Tables and Dilution: What Investment Means

• Jeremy Halpern

  , Partner & Director of Business Development, Nutter

  

  Jeremy Halpern

  Partner & Director of Business Development, Nutter

  Jeremy Halpern is a partner and co-chairs and serves as the Director of Business Development for Nutter’s Emerging Companies Group. Jeremy’s practice focuses on emerging companies, private equity, venture capital and angel financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, executive and team compensation matters, and general start-up support. Serving as the firm’s entrepreneur-in-residence, Jeremy often works on strategy and corporate development matters with companies, investors, and executives in technology, life sciences and the food and beverage industry. Jeremy is an active angel investor and is a member of the board of The Capital Network, a Boston based non-profit serving entrepreneurs seeking high growth capital. Jeremy serves on the Advisory Board and the Executive Education Committee of the MBI Health Program and on the Advisory Board of Pintley, a MassChallenge 2011 finalist company providing marketing solutions to the craft brewers and bars. He continues to serve as a mentor at MassChallenge and LearnLaunch, an expert advisor at the Innovation Hub at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and as a speaker, reviewer, judge or mentor for MIT HackingMedicine, HackingPediatrics, the Mass Tech Transfer Center, the Mass Life Science Center, M2D2, BranchFood and Startup Institute. Previously Jeremy served on the Board and Investment Committee of MassVentures, an early stage venture capital fund funding technology companies in Massachusetts. Jeremy taught entrepreneurial leadership at Tufts University for nine years and cofounded a company in the mobile technology synchronization space. Jeremy received his B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of California, Berkeley, and his J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles.

• Jeremy Halpern, Partner & Director of Business Development, Nutter

Hiring and Company Structure

• Dustin Cherry

  , Client Strategist, Force Brands

• Dustin Cherry, Client Strategist, Force Brands

Roundtable Networking Session

Breakfast & Registration

Data Dive: How Independent Brands Spend to Drive Beverage Categories

• Andrew Henkel

  , Senior VP, Brand Growth Solutions, SPINS

  

  Andrew Henkel

  Senior VP, Brand Growth Solutions, SPINS

  Andrew joined SPINS in 2015 to help the most innovative health & wellness brands in the industry grow even faster. The Brand Growth Solutions team now advises a broad portfolio of high-performing brands and investors on marketing, sales, innovation, and M&A. The team leverages SPINS’ industry- leading market data in combination with robust consumer information, analytics, and strategic analyses to generate powerful insights and develop profitable growth solutions for our clients. Andrew brings a passion for the Natural and Specialty Products Industry, plus over twenty years of consumer brand experience in strategy, marketing, and innovation leadership roles at McKinsey, Kraft, and PepsiCo.

• Andrew Henkel, Senior VP, Brand Growth Solutions, SPINS

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Growing and Staying the Course: A Conversation about Guayaki

• David Karr

  , Chief Brand Cebador/Co-founder, Guayakí Yerba Mate

  

  David Karr

  Chief Brand Cebador/Co-founder, Guayakí Yerba Mate

  David Karr is the Chief Brand Cebador of Guayaki SRP, inc., a company he co-founded with Alex Pryor, his “soul brother” in 1996. As the brand steward, David is responsible for the look, feel and story of Guayaki and is committed to creating sustainable, regenerating enterprises that nourish the planet and humanity. He lives on his community farm on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada with his wife Jennifer Lloyd and two boys Alex and Rio.

• David Karr, Chief Brand Cebador/Co-founder, Guayakí Yerba Mate

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Deal Breakdown: Why Dean Foods Sought Good Karma

• Doug Radi

  , President & CEO, Good Karma Foods

  

  Doug Radi

  President & CEO, Good Karma Foods

  Doug is a classical, ‘big company’ packaged goods marketer turned growth entrepreneur in the natural products industry. He currently serves as President and CEO of Good Karma Foods, one of the fastest growing Brands in the plant-based dairy category. Prior to Good Karma, Doug served as interim General Manager of Rudi’s Organic Bakery after the successful sale to The Hain Celestial Group. During his tenure at Rudi’s, Doug was responsible for all key growth initiatives, acting as SVP of Sales & Marketing where he was able to more than double revenue in less than 4 years. He has 22 years of experience in various consumer products categories, including healthcare, snack foods, frozen, dairy, and organic. Doug has held various leadership positions with many leading consumer brands such as Rudi’s Organic Bakery, Silk Soymilk, Horizon Organic, and Doritos. Passionate about the natural products industry, Doug is a past President of Naturally Boulder, serves on a number of small company boards, and regularly mentors emerging brand entrepreneurs. He has an undergraduate degree from Colorado State University and a MBA in Marketing from Wake Forest University.

• Sharon Kieffer

  , Managing Partner, 2x Consumer Products Growth Partners

  

  Sharon Kieffer

  Managing Partner, 2x Consumer Products Growth Partners

  Sharon Kieffer has spent the majority of her 20+ year career as a successful innovator and business builder in the consumer packaged goods industry. As an executive at PepsiCo and Kraft Foods she leveraged her strong consumer and business insights to create and build over $2 billion of new CPG businesses around the globe. Most notably she worked to launch Aquafina and Starbucks ready to drink beverages in the US and expand the Philadelphia and Kraft cheese brands into new categories internationally. Today, she is focused on working alongside entrepreneurs to help create the next generation of differentiated and high growth CPG businesses. As a partner at 2x Consumer Products Growth Partners, Sharon led the investment in Good Karma and continues to sit on the Board of Directors. Sharon began her marketing career in advertising at Leo Burnett, working on personal care and paper businesses. She spent the next 18+ years rising through the ranks in Marketing and Innovation at Kraft Foods, Fort James and PepsiCo. Most recently, Sharon was the VP of Global Innovation at PepsiCo where she led disruptive innovation efforts for the Quaker brand and Global Nutrition Group around the world. Sharon received both a B.B.A. and an M.B.A from the University of Wisconsin. She enjoys spending time with her husband and twin boys and pursuing her passions of athletics, the outdoors and health and wellness. She is an avid Badger and Packer fan, has completed two marathons, biked through Italy and enjoys hiking whenever possible.

• Alex Jacobs

  , VP Corporate Development & Strategy, Dean Foods Company

• Doug Radi, President & CEO, Good Karma Foods
• Sharon Kieffer, Managing Partner, 2x Consumer Products Growth Partners
• Alex Jacobs, VP Corporate Development & Strategy, Dean Foods Company

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Networking Break & Livestream Studio

New Beverage Showdown Finals I

• Kellam Mattie

  , VP of Marketing & Innovation, VEB Coca-Cola
• Ken Sadowsky

  , Sr. Beverage Advisor, Verlinvest

  

  Ken Sadowsky

  Sr. Beverage Advisor, Verlinvest

  Ken Sadowsky is known by insiders in the beverage business as “the beverage whisperer” for having an incredible track record of investing in and advising many of the fastest-growing and most successful new beverages over the last 20 years, including Glaceau/VitaminWater, VitaCoco, and Bai. Prior to becoming a prominent investor and advisor in the industry, Ken was a principal of Atlas Distributing Inc., overseeing the non-alcoholic beverage division that he developed. The division was founded in 1988 and sales were $50k that year. In 2007, sales were over $16 million and the total company sales were in excess of $75 million.

• Vanessa Walker

  , Founder, Millennial Brands
• John Craven

  , CEO & Founder, BevNET

  

  John Craven

  CEO & Founder, BevNET

  As founder and CEO of BevNET, John Craven is a widely-recognized authority on the beverage industry and he is frequently cited in mainstream media. His vision shapes the editorial, publishing, and positioning of all of BevNET's properties, including BevNET.com, BevNET Magazine, Brewbound.com, BevNET FBU and their associated conferences. John is a graduate of Boston College with a BS in Marketing and Computer Science.

• Kellam Mattie, VP of Marketing & Innovation, VEB Coca-Cola
• Ken Sadowsky, Sr. Beverage Advisor, Verlinvest
• Vanessa Walker, Founder, Millennial Brands
• John Craven, CEO & Founder, BevNET

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Taking the Risk: On Women in Beverage

• Sheryl O'Loughlin

  , CEO, REBBL

  

  Sheryl O'Loughlin

  CEO, REBBL

  In 2017, Sheryl O'Loughlin introduced her book, Killing It: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart. She is currently the CEO of REBBL, the first super herb adaptogen beverage company. REBBL partners with Not for Sale, a non-profit dedicated to eliminating human trafficking. Sheryl was the CEO of Clif Bar and Company and co-founded and served as CEO for Plum, Inc. She has held positions in the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Sonoma State University, and she currently serves the boards of Once Upon a Farm, the Harvest Summit, and Conscious Capitalism. She is a member of the Forbes San Francisco Business Council and One Step Closer to a Sustainable Community (OSC2). Sheryl earned her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She lives in California with her husband, Patrick, and their two sons.

• Sharelle Klaus

  , Founder & CEO, Dry Soda

  

  Sharelle Klaus

  Founder & CEO, Dry Soda

  As the visionary behind DRY Soda Company, Sharelle Klaus has always had a passion for the culinary world and celebrating each part of a meal – including the beverage. After having four children, she didn’t want to let a lack of wine or cocktails stop her from creating a great pairing. Klaus recognized an absence of refreshing, clean, non-alcoholic options in the market, and became determined to create the first line of less-sweet sodas that was worthy of meal pairing and premium mixology. She believed savory and sweet flavors more commonly used in cuisine could offer exciting compliments to her favorite meals. In 2005, Klaus crafted the first batches of DRY Sparkling soda in her home kitchen and officially launched DRY Soda Co. a few months later. In 2018, she launched DRY Soda Co.’s second brand – DRY Zero Sugar organic sodas – to bring that same elevated experience to consumers seeking a better sugar-free soda option. Klaus brings nearly two decades of entrepreneurial, financial and technology industry experience to her role as CEO at DRY, and oversees all marketing, strategic planning and innovation for the brand. With guidance from some of the Pacific Northwest’s best chefs and a savvy corporate team, Klaus pioneered a new category of sparkling beverages, fearlessly leading DRY’s aggressive growth in a male dominated industry. Prior to founding DRY, Klaus worked as a consultant for Infrastructure Management Group and Price Waterhouse. She also served as president of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, where she drove strategic development of programs, events and fundraising for the organization’s 250+ Seattle-area members. Klaus has been featured by ParentMap, Huffpost, Forbes, BevNET, Seattle Magazine, Imbibe, and was honored by Seattle Business Magazine as one of its 2018 CEOs of the year. With a keen appreciation for humor and wit, Klaus is an avid supporter of entrepreneurship and frequently speaks at professional conferences, workshops, and the University of Washington Business School, where she also participates as a judge for the Michael G. Foster’s School’s well-known business plan competitions. She has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Seattle Pacific University Business School, the Board of Directors at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the Board of the Seattle Lung Force. Klaus graduated from Seattle Pacific University with an undergraduate degree in political science, and currently resides in Seattle, Wash.

• Vanessa Walker

  , Founder, Millennial Brands

• Sheryl O'Loughlin, CEO, REBBL
• Sharelle Klaus, Founder & CEO, Dry Soda
• Vanessa Walker, Founder, Millennial Brands

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Beating the Break Room

• Alicia LeBeouf

  , SVP of Marketing, Communications, and Culinary Operations, The Compass Group

  

  Alicia LeBeouf

  SVP of Marketing, Communications, and Culinary Operations, The Compass Group

  Alicia LeBeouf is the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Culinary Operations for Canteen, a sector of Compass Group North America which accounts for over $4B in managed volume and the largest footprint of automated unattended merchandising (vending), markets, and coffee solutions through corporate and franchise locations in the United States. In this role, Alicia is primarily responsible for supporting the brand’s transition from traditional vending to a consumer-driven unattended retail platform and facilitating its efforts to curate unique breakroom programs for corporations, entertainment venues and other public spaces. Alicia also oversees Canteen’s “grab-and-go” food portfolio and partnerships with food delivery service platforms. Prior to this role, Alicia held several roles at Target Corporation (Minneapolis, MN), the most recent of which she was the Senior Director of Store Operations, where she led strategy and operational development efforts for store openings, closings, in-store innovation and the creation of small store formats (Target Express). During her tenure at Target, Alicia also held roles focusing on consumer engagement initiatives, innovation, public-private partnerships and the transition of Target’s pharmacy portfolio to CVS. Alicia holds B.A. and M.A degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Economics and Public Administration, respectively. She enjoys spending time with her husband and trying to keep up with her 2 year old son MJ and 6 month old daughter Sydney. When she has spare time, Alicia can be found in the gym, reading a good book or honing her culinary skills in the kitchen.

• Alicia LeBeouf, SVP of Marketing, Communications, and Culinary Operations, The Compass Group

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Lunch & Livestream Studio

New Beverage Showdown Finals II

• Kellam Mattie

  , VP of Marketing & Innovation, VEB Coca-Cola
• Ken Sadowsky

  , Sr. Beverage Advisor, Verlinvest

  

  Ken Sadowsky

  Sr. Beverage Advisor, Verlinvest

  Ken Sadowsky is known by insiders in the beverage business as “the beverage whisperer” for having an incredible track record of investing in and advising many of the fastest-growing and most successful new beverages over the last 20 years, including Glaceau/VitaminWater, VitaCoco, and Bai. Prior to becoming a prominent investor and advisor in the industry, Ken was a principal of Atlas Distributing Inc., overseeing the non-alcoholic beverage division that he developed. The division was founded in 1988 and sales were $50k that year. In 2007, sales were over $16 million and the total company sales were in excess of $75 million.

• Vanessa Walker

  , Founder, Millennial Brands
• John Craven

  , CEO & Founder, BevNET

  

  John Craven

  CEO & Founder, BevNET

  As founder and CEO of BevNET, John Craven is a widely-recognized authority on the beverage industry and he is frequently cited in mainstream media. His vision shapes the editorial, publishing, and positioning of all of BevNET's properties, including BevNET.com, BevNET Magazine, Brewbound.com, BevNET FBU and their associated conferences. John is a graduate of Boston College with a BS in Marketing and Computer Science.

• Kellam Mattie, VP of Marketing & Innovation, VEB Coca-Cola
• Ken Sadowsky, Sr. Beverage Advisor, Verlinvest
• Vanessa Walker, Founder, Millennial Brands
• John Craven, CEO & Founder, BevNET

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L.A. Libations at 10: What We've Learned

• Danny Stepper

  , Co-Founder & CEO, L.A. Libations
• Pat Bolden

  , President & Co-Founder, L.A. Libations

  

  Pat Bolden

  President & Co-Founder, L.A. Libations

  Patrick Bolden is a business expert with 24 years of beverage experience. Alcohol, non-alcohol, traditional, non-traditional, on and off premise are many aspects of the beverage industry that are familiar to Pat. Pat is the Co-Founder and President of L.A. Libations. After a short stint playing professional basketball, Pat began in beverage by working for 7up / Rc Bottling in 1993. He worked in a variety of different roles there from field sales to operations to national accounts. After 7 years he transitioned to the Coca Cola Company into their trade development department and called on national accounts such as BP ampm, Target, Walmart and Sam’s Club. In 2005, Pat took on a National Account Manager role at Heineken USA. Learning the ins and outs and legalities of the alcoholic beverage industry was challenging but rewarding. This experience allowed Pat to be much better-rounded within the beverage channel but also understand how to create a new approach to being innovative and disruptive. In 2009 Pat, Danny and Dino started this organization to position “better for you and healthy alternative” products in mainstream retail accounts. Pat’s strength are his deep nationwide retail relationships. He has always said “providing value is the key to true partnership.” Innovation and incubation continue to be the phases of beverage brands where Pat’s experience shines. His passion to integrate beverages that are centered on health and wellness into mainstream outlets is what drives him to trail blaze in this industry and his results speak for themself.

• Dino Sarti

  , Co-Founder, L.A. Libations

  

  Dino Sarti

  Co-Founder, L.A. Libations

  Dino Sarti is the chief executive officer of L.A. Aloe, LLC, makers of Aloe Gloe, and the co-founder of L.A. Libations, the premier national beverage development and sales organization specializing in super premium beverage brands in early phase development. Dino’s professional background includes 20 years of experience in the beverage industry from operations to customer management and brand development. His sales management experience covers every channel of trade and virtually every chain retailer nationwide. He acquired knowledge of complex distribution systems while managing a direct store delivery sales force for Coca-Cola in Southern California. Dino then went on to develop channel specific selling strategies as an account executive for Coca-Cola calling on national retailers. After completing an MBA at Pepperdine, Dino caught the entrepreneurial bug and joined Icelandic Glacial water as vice president of national sales where he played a key role in securing an investment from Anheuser-Busch and then rolling the brand out across the A-B national network. Dino’s tenure in emerging brands revealed a void in the market – early phase brands lack a portfolio approach and do not have the economies of scale to afford or justify a dedicated national team. In addition, large and established companies lack the processes and capabilities for incubating emerging, growth oriented brands. This void in the market and associated opportunities gave birth to the idea of L.A. Libations, a brand developer, and incubator. The L.A. Libations model proved highly successful.

• Danny Stepper, Co-Founder & CEO, L.A. Libations
• Pat Bolden, President & Co-Founder, L.A. Libations
• Dino Sarti, Co-Founder, L.A. Libations

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Building Trust Between Investors and Founders

• Sheryl O'Loughlin

  , CEO, REBBL

  

  Sheryl O'Loughlin

  CEO, REBBL

  In 2017, Sheryl O'Loughlin introduced her book, Killing It: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart. She is currently the CEO of REBBL, the first super herb adaptogen beverage company. REBBL partners with Not for Sale, a non-profit dedicated to eliminating human trafficking. Sheryl was the CEO of Clif Bar and Company and co-founded and served as CEO for Plum, Inc. She has held positions in the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Sonoma State University, and she currently serves the boards of Once Upon a Farm, the Harvest Summit, and Conscious Capitalism. She is a member of the Forbes San Francisco Business Council and One Step Closer to a Sustainable Community (OSC2). Sheryl earned her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She lives in California with her husband, Patrick, and their two sons.

• Duane Primozich

  , Co-Founder & Managing Partner, BIGR Ventures

  

  Duane Primozich

  Co-Founder & Managing Partner, BIGR Ventures

  Duane began his career in natural foods nearly two decades ago. In that time he has served in management positions for several prominent natural foods companies, including Frontier Natural Products Co-op and WhiteWave. In 2004 Duane co-founded Pixie Mate, a specialty tea business, and from 2007 to 2015 he held several senior management positions for Boulder Brands, ultimately serving as the Executive Vice President of the Balance segment for Boulder Brands, responsible for 3 of the 6 businesses in the portfolio. Concurrent to this, Duane was the Managing Director of the Boulder Brands Investment Group from 2013 to 2015. Duane’s general business management and entrepreneurial experience make him particularly well-suited to assist portfolio companies in their business operations, strategic planning and marketing and sales initiatives. Duane currently sits or has sat on the Board of Directors of Suja Juice, EPIC, Temple Turmeric, Primizie, Live Soda, Bonafide Provisions, Rebbl, Bobo’s Oat Bars, High Brew Coffee and Thorne Nature Experience, a Boulder-based environmental education non-profit.

• Sheryl O'Loughlin, CEO, REBBL
• Duane Primozich, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, BIGR Ventures

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Right-Timing Raises and Sales

• Nick Giannuzzi

  , Managing Partner, The Giannuzzi Group, LLP

  

  Nick Giannuzzi

  Managing Partner, The Giannuzzi Group, LLP

  From Harvard University to New York University School of Law to a chic business residence in the Meatpacking District of NYC, Nicholas Giannuzzi is a partner and founder of The Giannuzzi Group, LLP. Started in 2011, the “Giannuzzi Group” has since become the leading law firm for nearly 500 high-growth consumer brand companies in the natural, better for you food and beverage industry. Among the firm's many clients – both present and historic – are some of the industry’s most successful and fastest growing companies such as Glaceau (creator of VitaminWater and SmartWater), Pirate’s Booty, Pretzel Crisps, Vita Coco, Siggi’s, WTRMLN WTR, Mamma Chia, Sir Kensington’s, Hint, Califia Farms, Krave, HappyBaby, Chameleon Cold Brew, Essentia, Rhythm Superfoods, Peeled, Runa, Oatmega, Sugarfina, Juice Press and many more. In addition to day-to-day legal services, advice and guidance the Giannuzzi Group has assisted its clients in over 500 financing transaction and in nearly 50 exits to strategics and PE funds, including but not limited to sales to Coke, Pepsi, General Mills, Group Danone, Hersheys, Hain Celestial, Amplify, Bacardi, White Wave and many other multi-national companies and some of the largest PE funds. In the last year, the firm has overseen the sale of KRAVE Jerky to The Hershey Company, the partial sale of Suja Juice to The Coca-Cola Company, the acquisition of Wallaby Yogurt by WhiteWave Foods, the sale of YummyEarth to the Riverside Company and the firm is currently working on multiple sales transactions in the 100s of millions of dollars for its other food and beverage clients. The Giannuzzi Group has an un-paralleled understanding of the industry and works tirelessly to serve its clients and to create positive relationships with all of the investors, co-packers, distributors, brokers, acquirers, service providers and difference makers throughout the industry so that we can shares these relationships with our clients.

• Nick Giannuzzi, Managing Partner, The Giannuzzi Group, LLP

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Presentation of New Beverage Showdown Winner

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