Mel Landis is the President of OLIPOP, the leading functional soda brand founded in 2018. With more than three decades of experience at industry-leading brands, Mel has helped drive growth across a range of business models both domestically and internationally. Prior to joining OLIPOP, he held executive roles at Coca-Cola, BodyArmor, The Clorox Company and Kraft General Foods, where he played a key role in sales growth, marketing and commercial strategy. Throughout his career, Mel has focused on improving enterprise productivity and financial performance through organizational redesign, cost reduction and re-allocation of capital to growth investments. Mel graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Business Administration, and currently resides in Florida with his family.

Madeline Haydon is the Founder of nutpods, the best-selling plant-based coffee creamer brand. Madeline developed nutpods based on a personal need:  a rich and creamy, dairy-free coffee creamer without artificial ingredients or sugar.  nutpods has since grown to be the #2 all channel brand in the exploding plant-based, non-dairy creamer category by cultivating and leveraging a passionate consumer following.  Initially launched as a Kickstarter project, nutpods is now one of the fastest growing brands of refrigerated plant-based creamers in national retailers and still the #1 selling brand on Amazon.    In 2023 Madeline was named to Inc Magazine’s 200 female founders who are building the companies of tomorrow list and in 2019 was selected as an Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year – PNW Region”. nutpods was also ranked #13 on the 2019 Inc 5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies and was also selected as the Amazon “Small Business of the Year”. In 2024, nutpods announced its sale to M-PearlRock Partners and Madeline happily transitioned to a board role to help guide the brand to its next chapter of growth. Madeline holds a BS from the University of Washington and an MBA from Seattle University.

Mubarak “Bar” Malik spent 10 years working in the NBA as an Athletic Performance Coach for the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. Throughout his career, Bar has trained and worked with big names like Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony,  Wayne Ellington, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Seacrest, Halle Berry and Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates. With a background in Athletic Performance and Sports Science, and his extensive experience with nutrition, Bar developed Barcode while working for the Knicks to optimize the performance of his players. He saw the need for a healthier alternative to the popular sports drinks that already exist, and Barcode is the first plant-based, hydration drink on the market with added benefits and ingredients like Vitamin D from a shiitake mushroom, B6, B12, magnesium and adaptogens. Barcode has now become one of the fastest growing functional beverages in the market.

Marisa Bertha is Chief Strategy Officer at Liquid Death, the healthy beverage company and one of the fastest-growing non-alcoholic brands. Since joining in 2022, she has driven the company’s growth strategies by accelerating top line sales, expanding retail distribution, and successfully entering additional beverage categories. She leads fundraising and investor relations efforts, helping the company raise over $150 million and achieve a $1.4 billion valuation. Prior to Liquid Death, Marisa spent nearly a decade at 7-Eleven, where she served as Vice President of Growth and Head of 7-Ventures, the company’s corporate venture arm. She managed sourcing, diligence, and deal structuring for dozens of investments, primarily high-growth beverage brands. Her portfolio achieved top quartile venture capital returns and had three exits. She served as a board observer for three portfolio companies. In parallel to leading the venture arm, Marisa pioneered the 7-Eleven emerging brands strategy, built the merchant team from the ground up, launched the nationally recognized annual Brands with Heart showcase, and tested hundreds of better-for-you products in thousands of 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Marisa began her career at Deloitte Consulting working with Fortune 500 clients in the retail and TMT sectors. She holds a BBA from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She is a 2025 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Marisa resides in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and two energetic children.

Scout brings a dynamic blend of academic excellence and industry prowess to the non-alcoholic beverage space. With a degree in Neuroscience from MIT, Scout's professional journey spans over seven years in management consulting at McKinsey and venture capital at M13. In 2020, Scout co-founded a highly successful better-for-you CPG brand, DEUX, innovating a functional alternative with edible cookie dough. During the pandemic, Scout sought ways to sustain a balanced lifestyle, navigating the challenge of enjoying an occasional glass of wine while prioritizing her morning Peloton classes. During this time, Scout began exploring non-alcoholic drinks that allowed her to relax without sacrificing the next day. She quickly recognized the industry's potential for growth among consumers just like her. In 2021, Scout connected with the De Soi team before the brand's official launch. At the age of 27, she assumed the role of CEO, alongside co-founders Katy Perry and Morgan McLachlan. Under Scout's leadership, De Soi's presence in retail has grown to over 6,000 doors, with retail revenue up 150% YoY and big names that include Whole Foods Market, Target, Sprouts Farmers Market, Publix, Fresh Thyme, BevMo, and Total Wine & More.

Ralph D. Crowley Jr. is the President and CEO of Polar Beverages, the largest privately owned sparkling beverage bottler in the country. He has been in this position since 1992. Under Ralph’s leadership, Polar has grown from $18M to over $1B. Key acquisitions of manufacturing facilities that accelerated the grow of the company included Adirondack Beverages in Scotia NY, Polar South of Fitzgerald Georgia, and Polar Texas Bottling in Temple Texas. Ralph and his siblings also own Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, Massachusetts. Ralph was President from 1981 till 1982 when he stepped down to become the Treasurer in 1992. Ralph received his BA from Bowdoin College and his MBA from Clark University.

Jared Jacobs is a Partner at CAVU, a leading consumer investment firm that has backed iconic brands such as Poppi and Vital Proteins. He currently serves on the Boards of Once Upon a Farm, Recess, Gymkhana Fine Foods, Beekeeper’s Naturals and Native Pet, among others. Jared was recognized by Forbes in their “30 Under 30” list for Venture Capital in 2020. Prior to joining CAVU, Jared was an Associate at AEA Investors. He started his career as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley in the M&A group.

Rosa is a food fanatic and former investor-turned-food entrepreneur. She’s a believer in “food as medicine” but doesn’t believe you need to give up taste for health. Inspired by the herbal tonics her Chinese grandma brewed for her while growing up, she’s on a mission to make wellness accessible by combining ancient nutrition with modern flavors. Prior to embarking on her entrepreneurial journey and founding wildwonder, Rosa was a private equity and venture investor at Warburg Pincus and investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Rosa is a Fulbright Scholar and holds a MBA from Stanford University. She’s been named Inc’s Female Founder 250 and San Francisco Business Times 40 Under 40 Honoree.

Kurt is a retail industry veteran with extensive experience in beverage across the supplier landscape, grocery industry, and category leadership across convenience. In his current capacity as Head of North America Merchandising for Couche-Tard, he is leading efforts to drive growth across all strategic in-store product categories, with a heavy focus on packaged and dispensed beverages.

Sallie oversees Diageo’s investments in North America and sits on boards of various portfolio companies. Formerly, she helped launch and was Head of SAP.iO New York (corporate venture and innovation arm of SAP). She worked with SAP’s Corporate Development team on startup and growth equity investment and M&A opportunities. Prior to SAP, Sallie was a VP at SeedInvest where she was Head of the Venture Capital team. She was also CFO and Head of Business Development at Savile Row Society, a men’s e-commerce startup. Sallie began her career in financial services at Morgan Stanley Technology Investment Banking in Silicon Valley and General Atlantic in NYC. She graduated from the Haas Business Program at UC Berkeley. Sallie has been recognized by CNBC & America on Tech as a leader in Venture Capital and NYC Women in Fintech as a Top 50 Women Transforming FinTech. She is a frequent public speaker and has been invited to speak at Nasdaq, AdWeek, Retail X, NFT.NYC, SmartCon, Miami Hack Week, Solana, VC Summit, Women's Alternative Investment Summit, Supply Chain Revolution, and various business schools such as Fordham, Cornell Johnson, IESE, Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley.

Charlie graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a film degree. After a stint in Los Angeles he decided that food was his ultimate passion. He has been with Whole Foods for twelve years. He started in the stores working his way up from the very most entry level position. He was on the Exclusive Brands Team for over 5 years developing private label products and managing the P&L for many different categories. He became the Senior Category Manager for Refrigerated Beverages in 2021, which includes Juice, Refrigerated Coffee, and Functional Beverage. Charlie is also a trained Certified Cheese Professional. For anyone who needs cheese board advice, he is your guy. Charlie is routinely plotting his next travel destination with his Fiancée and is an avid movie goer.

Sahra Nguyen (“nu-win”) is the Founder & CEO of Nguyen Coffee Supply, America's first specialty Vietnamese coffee company and proud champion of the resilient robusta bean. Since 2018, the company has been importing green coffee through direct trade relationships and roasting in Brooklyn, NY. Nguyen fervently leads the company's mission to transform the industry through diversity, sustainability & cultural integrity, as evident through their work to destigmatize Vietnamese coffee and elevate robusta growing communities. Nguyen is often credited as the leader of the Vietnamese coffee movement in North America and has served as an expert voice on Good Morning America, Bloomberg TV, NY1, CNBC, The Drew Barrymore Show, and CBS Saturday Morning. She has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Forbes, VICE, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, and countless other media. A Vietnamese-American first generation entrepreneur-activist, Nguyen is also a member of the Gold House Collective Food & Beverage 2020 cohort, a leading network to celebrate and elevate the Asian American community. In 2021, Nguyen graced the July cover of Food & Wine as one of their 25 Game Changers and in 2023, she graced the cover of Inc. Magazine as one of their Most Dynamic Women Entrepreneurs. Additionally, the 2023 Sprudgie Awards awarded Nguyen "Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence" for writing a new chapter in the story of Vietnamese coffee in America, and in June 2023 Crain's NY's "Diversity and Inclusion Awards" recognized Nguyen as an Emerging Leader. Sahra Nguyen's narrative shifting work through national media, social media and active involvement in industry events (ie. TEDx Speaker in 2019, inaugural member of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Vietnam Chapter in 2020, a speaker at the Specialty Coffee Association Expo in 2022 and 2024, a speaker at Sintercafe’s International Coffee Week in 2023) has disseminated information about robusta coffee to a broad audience, reshaping perceptions within the retail sector and becoming a beacon of change in the industry Nguyen Coffee Supply products are available in all 50 states at Target, Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods Market, Gopuff, Krogers’ QFC, H-E-B, Nugget Markets, Bristol Farms, and more. Nguyen Coffee Supply also ships direct-to-customers in the U.S. through their website, Amazon, FreshDirect, Getir and Weee!.. Products are also available in restaurants and cafés including the iconic Boba Guys chain, in New York City, Washington D.C., Seattle, Boston, Kansas City and Los Angeles.