Koia president and CFO Michael Woolard is on to his next venture, announcing on LinkedIn that he has left the plant-based protein beverage company to start his own consulting business.
Last week, Woolard announced that he had ended his tenure at Koia in May, after more than six years with the brand, and had founded his own contract business, tentatively called Foundational CPG.
Reached by BevNET this week, Woolard said he is in the process of formalizing the new business and the name was a somewhat impromptu choice as he went to update his LinkedIn profile, but it also reflects his approach to building businesses and his goal of providing clients with the foundational tools necessary to be financially successful and sustainable in the long run.
“People are missing the foundational tools,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be heavy lifting, but you need the tools. you need some basic things to help you drive and feel confident in your decision making, and feel confident when you turn around to your investors and say ‘Here’s the analysis we did, and here’s why I’m taking this step or making this investment.’”
Woolard has over 20 years of experience in executive roles, largely in finance positions across multiple industries. He joined Koia in 2019 and in that time helped to lead the brand’s conversion to vertically integrated production and to achieve profitability.
Although he’s now moving on, Woolard said he is still a shareholder in the brand and believes it is now well-positioned on a strong growth trajectory.
“I believe that they’re going to grow tremendously over the next couple years and create a lot of value, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “I believe that, as a team, we put in all the foundational tools and structure and processes needed to support that growth. And if you don’t have those foundational tools, a lot of times you’re limiting your growth.”
According to Koia co-founder and CEO Chris Hunter, Woolard’s CFO role is now being filled by investor and board observer Karen Howland, a managing director for Rose Park Advisors, while the existing team will “fill any operational gaps” that Woolard was handling in his role as President.
“At Koia, we have entered the next phase of growth for the company,” Hunter told BevNET in an email. “As we continue to see strong velocity and distribution growth on the base refrigerated line, and expand into shelf stable nutrition shakes, our high protein elite line, kids, and protein powders, the brand, and company itself, continues to evolve.”
“We appreciated Mike’s partnership and support as CFO over the past 6 years and wish him the best in his next venture.”
Woolard said he now hopes to bring his decades of experience to other companies, with a focus on small and mid-sized businesses, adding that he believes companies of all sizes are often lacking in the same areas when it comes to financial planning and structure.
He has developed specific tools for use in Excel and Google Sheets that customers can make use of while also drawing from market data to improve strategies.
“I’ve basically ran all departments [through my career] as a CEO, as president – I know what naturally happens,” he said. “So again, I’m calling those the foundational tools that every company needs that are not heavy lifting like because that’s always a concern.”