Program 2022

Adam is a dedicated and passionate professional, working as Director of Research & Development at Chobani. He has been with Chobani R&D since Jul 2013. Adam holds a Master’s degree in Food Science from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, working with the venerable Dr. MaryAnne Drake. He has 15+ years of work experience in the food and beverage industry primarily focused on the dairy R&D function.  He has developed or managed nearly every dairy food innovation coming from Chobani during his tenure and takes great pride in the sensory qualities of his team’s products.

On a personal note, Adam is married to Kristin for 14 years with 3 busy and amazing children. Adam enjoys taking advantage of a life in the West with cycling, running and snowboarding all while mixing in a healthy appreciation of scotch, beer and bourbon.

Mr. DeVillena has been in the poultry industry since 1999, when he started working with the U.S. FDA - Center for Veterinary Medicine, the Food Safety Lab at the University of Maryland and later at Perdue Farms in Georgetown, Delaware. He has been with Wayne Farms LLC for 17+ years. During this time, he has held roles in operations, quality assurance and food safety at various locations. He worked as QA supervisor, QA manager, plant manager and operations manager with Wayne Farms before moving into his current role of Director of Quality Assurance and Food Safety. Mr. DeVillena received his BS in food science and his professional degree in food engineering from Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Lima, Peru; and his MS in food science from the University of Maryland. He is currently pursuing his PhD from Texas Tech University and has been a PhD candidate since June 2021. His expected graduation is May 2022.

Ray joined Prinova in 2016 to lead the quality programs for the flavor division. The department’s scope then expanded to include leading food safety and regulatory for Prinova USA. Currently, Ray is the Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory and serves as a member on the executive team. 

His responsibilities include leading global standard councils that develop policies and programs to ensure quality and regulatory compliance, sustainability and a food safety culture.

Before joining Prinova, Ray began his career with FlavorFocus, LCC currently known as Brookside Flavors. He held quality control, operational and R&D resonsibilities and by the end of his tenure he was the head of quality and regulatory affairs. In this role he was responsible food safety, quality assurance, quality control, regulatory and safety.

Ray received a bachelor’s degree in Health Science and minors in Biology, Chemistry, and Physiology from Aurora University, Aurora, Illinois, and a master’s of business administration from Loyola University – Chicago Quinlan School of Business.

Doug Bouton is the cofounder of Halo Top, the iconic low-calorie ice cream brand that grew to more than $300 million in sales and became the #1 selling ice cream in the United States, outselling the likes of Ben & Jerry’s, Haagen-Dazs, and Breyers. Halo Top sold its business to Wells Enterprises in September 2019, after which Doug spun out Halo Top’s international operations into Halo Top International where he currently serves as CEO. Halo Top is sold in more than 30 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Chile, Russia, Korea, and China. In 2021, Doug launched Gatsby Chocolate, the first-ever and only low-calorie chocolate brand that’s positioned to disrupt the chocolate and confectionery category much like Halo Top disrupted the ice cream category. Doug studied mathematics and theology in college and, after graduating, he attended law school where he received his law degree.

Michael Frankel is Vice President of Sales, North America for Selerant Corporation, a leading global provider of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions for process manufacturers in the food and beverage, personal care and specialty chemical industries. Michael has been with Selerant since 2011 and has over 15 years of highly successful PLM sales experience working with leading global companies to both justify and automate their product development processes. The topic of his presentation on “Analytics Utilization in PLM for Decision Support and Project Visibility" a is critical component of consideration in the extended value of PLM for food manufacturers.

Ryan Smith is Executive Vice President of Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, leading the Solutions & Ingredients Division within the organization.  Previously, Ryan held leadership positions at Kerry, AB Mauri, and Coca-Cola Enterprises.  With over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry-leading cross-functional teams across Sales, Manufacturing, Operations, and R&D, Ryan has a proven track record of results across multiple multi-national organizations.  Ryan is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and serves on industry and community boards.

Kate Pomeroy is the Head of Innovation for Pernod Ricard North America, a leading Beverage Alcohol Company with brands such as Jameson, Absolut, Malibu, Kahlúa, The Glenlivet, Altos and Avion Tequila and G.H. Mumm Champagne. Recent launches include new RTD cocktails for Malibu and Absolut, as well as the first RTDs from Jameson; new Jameson Orange which just launched in January; and Avion Cristalino – a new aged, yet clear, ultra premium, extra anejo tequila.

Prior to heading up the innovation team, Kate was VP Marketing for many of the brands the portfolio – including Jameson, Absolut, Malibu, Tequilas and Kahlúa.  In previous roles, she also led Consumer Insights and led the vision for D+I as the Company’s first Chief Diversity Officer.

Before landing in the drinks industry, Kate spent 10 years in advertising as a  Strategic Planner at Young and Rubicam and DMB+B, where she led brand planning across many food and beverage brands including Crystal Light, Campbell’s Chunky Soup, V8, Prego and Jell-O.

Racheli is an executive manager with rich and diverse experience in the Israeli start-up scene both in private and public sector. She is passionate about innovation and making an impact on people’s lives through the judicious use of technology and life sciences.

Dr. Swati Kalgaonkar is Associate Director, Nutrition Research Program, at the Almond Board of California (ABC). She has extensive nutritional clinical research experience and her primary focus at ABC is oversight of ABC contracted nutrition research, public policy analysis and synthesis, and information dissemination in support of the almond industry’s global strategies.

Chef Allison Rittman has over 25 years of experience in the food industry specializing in product and menu development, national account presentations and culinary trends. In 2007, Chef Rittman established the Culinary Culture, an Austin-based company specializing in culinary focused product development. She is an active member of the Research Chef’s Association (RCA), American Culinary Federation, and the Institute of Food Technologists. She was awarded the President’s Award in 2008 and 2016 and is a past board member of the RCA.

o   CHAOS PILOT ✨ Expert at bringing structure, divergent thinking and convergent action to the chaos ✨INNOVATIVE and PASSIONATE leader who loves to spend her time using HUMAN INSIGHTS to connect the dots and EXPERIMENT on solutions fit for the FUTURE ✨ Superpowers include CURIOSITY, COLLABORATION,  CREATION and a commitment to CONNECTION (people and ideas)
o   EXPERIENCE: Passionate change maker that thrives on operating on the frontier and pushing the business into new places and spaces.  More than 20 years experience across Local and Global Sales and Marketing roles.  Recent roles have focused on Human Intelligence and Strategy.   Currently leading a Global Agile Innovation team who are focused on delivering our future innovation pipeline for the next 3-5 years.  Previous role was in our Global Digital Acceleration Team focused on building digital marketing and commerce capabilities within our markets around the world
o   Previously presented at ESOMAR conferences and Panels on Digital Moments that Matter and Agile research and across many research and digital forums
o   Member of Digital Shelf Institute Executive Forum, Zappi Insights Alliance, Voxpopme Customer Advisory board and Trendhunter Innovator Exchange

Insights leader. Creative mind. Big picture thinker. Chaos Pilot and agile problem solver.

Experience: 16 years of experience in insights, sales, and marketing in local and global roles across different FMCG categories.

Currently part of the Global Agile Innovation team focused on building the innovation pipeline for the next 3-5 years.

Methodology tester and pilot enthusiast. Sustainability advocate.

Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Stacey Hartnett left her hometown to attend college at the University of Connecticut School of Business, majoring in Marketing and International Studies. Following graduation, Hartnett kicked off her career in New York where she forged a path for herself in sales and participated in an account management development track at News Corp. In this role, Hartnett acquired an understanding of traditional shopper marketing tactics in a rotational program by working with clients like Mars and Post, ultimately kickstarting her passion in the CPG space. After 2+ years in this position, Hartnett forecasted a shift in traditional marketing tactics and budgeting as companies slowly began to lean into the digital space.

With this shift on the horizon, Hartnett joined Rise Interactive, a growing Chicago boutique digital agency. As Associate Director of E-Commerce and Retail, Hartnett gained expertise in all things digital media, analytics, and UX through a number of noteworthy clients including Ulta Beauty, Pandora Jewelry, Michael's, Follett and more. There, Hartnett developed a comprehensive understanding of digital channels including paid search, paid social, programmatic/display, affiliate, email, onsite UX and CRO. Hartnett eventually shifted her role within the agency to oversee the Paid Social function. Leading a team of 18 individuals, she developed and drove the company’s media buying strategy, building platform partnerships – which included a number of CPG accounts – across the entire agency book.

After four and a half years at Rise, and with a desire to focus solely on CPG, Hartnett accepted a role with Chomps in 2019 as a digital media buyer. Her role quickly evolved, to Director of Ecommerce, in which Hartnett oversaw all E-Commerce and ROI strategy as it relates to digital marketing. Hartnett’s tenacity is demonstrated in numbers, as she helped drive a 291% increase in E-Commerce Sales (2019 v. 2021) and a 32% decrease in CAC from paid media (2019 v. 2021). Based in the Chicago office, Hartnett’s primary areas of focus at Chomps include a data-driven approach to testing, innovation, growth planning and channel development, with a passion for building strong teams and effective cross-functional collaboration.

On a mission to upgrade America’s favorite snacks by replacing the old-school base of corn with powerful peas, PeaTos CEO and founder Nick Desai launched the revolutionary brand into the spotlight in 2019. In its first year, PeaTos generated more than seven-figures in sales with retail distribution secured in the produce section and snack aisles at more than 4,000 traditional grocery stores nationwide.  Coupled with massive e-commerce growth, PeaTos quickly became the fastest-growing snack brand in its category.

With a reputation for challenging the status quo and a sought-after industry disruptor known for pushing boundaries, Desai is shaking up the category with his no-holds barred approach to revolutionize the $29 billion salty snack market monopolized by PepsiCo subsidiary, Frito Lay, in a classic David vs Goliath battle.

“PeaTos is delivering the taste, sensory experience, and feelings of comfort food nostalgia that snacks like Cheetos® and Funyuns® offer but without all the junk that comes with eating those snacks,” says Desai, “Honestly if customers don’t feel 100 percent satisfied, I’ll personally send them a bag of Cheetos.”

Assembling some of the brightest minds in snack manufacturing, Desai developed the popular PeaTos by using proprietary technology to extrude pulses instead of corn, replacing artificial ingredients with natural ones but mimicking the texture, sensory experience and taste profile of America’s most popular snack brands.  PeaTos offers “junk” food snacks without the junk.

Prior to creating a breakthrough brand, Desai was an entertainment attorney before transitioning into investment banking and ultimately private equity.  Leading the acquisition and turnaround of a snack food manufacturer in 2011, he entered the food and consumer space and in 2016 led the acquisition of World Peas Brand which resulted in the launch of PeaTos.

Today, Desai and the PeaTos line have captured the hearts of consumers and the attention of Vogue, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NBC’s TODAY show and more.

An undergraduate of the University of California, Irvine, Desai earned his advanced JD/MBA degrees from Loyola Marymount University and was a UC Regents Scholar at the University of California, Irvine.

Abbas is a regionally acclaimed Marketer with experience in Pakistan and across MENA markets. He is known for his passion for growing brands and businesses while leading capability development for his team as well as entire industry. He is one of the most awarded marketers at Coca-Cola Company having won 3 Global Innovation Awards from the Board of Directors over last two years. Currently he leads marketing for Pakistan which is among top 20 markets for Coca-Cola globally. He is leading development of core brands about unique purpose, establishing new ways of experiential and digital marketing and inspiring the organization for exponential 10X thinking. Under Abbas's leadership, Coca-Cola became Marketer of the Year at the Effies in 2018, and had won 10+ awards previously in Campaign Asia, Dragons Asia and PAS. Abbas led campaigns such as Coke Studio which is the largest digital asset of the Coca-Cola Company globally with 7B+ minutes of watch time. He also designed Coke Fest, which is the largest experiential marketing platform in Asia. He has been leading innovation agenda with brand launches of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Dasani water, Roar and Cappy over last 3 years. Abbas is committed to developing capability of his team and the community he lives in. He is marketing capability lead for Coca-Cola Middle East North Africa, with responsibility for 50+ marketers across 24 countries. He is also General Secretary for Pakistan Advertising Council which leads Media Monitoring standards, advertising trainings and government relations on behalf of entire industry. He is also on the board of LUMS (his Alma Mater) Alumni, which provides industry perspective on recruitment of new MBA students as well as providing industry knowledge to graduating MBA classes.

With a background in Computer Science, Mathematics and Cognitive Science, Henry has worked on a variety of projects that include a machine learning algorithm to classify supernovae for the UC Berkeley Astrophysics department and a patented algorithm that has distributed over $7M in awards to mobile gamers. He is a member of Forbes magazine’s Technology Council and a regular guest in magazines and podcasts on AI and retail innovation. Henry's day-to-day at Halla involves constantly improving the Taste Intelligence machine learning algorithms and leading internal technology operations.

Vien-An (An) Friedel is a CPG technical leader with over 20 years of progressive growth across key brands within the food and beverage consumer goods industry, leading high-performing teams in product development, manufacturing, and program management with Fortune 500 CPG companies.  A certified PMP®, An leverages a unique background merging diverse and broad knowledge in food processing technologies, ingredient functionalities, food safety, culinary arts, and operational initiatives to deliver new product innovations and drive meaningful process improvements. 

An joined Monster Beverage Company in 2022 as the Global Formulation Governance Director in the New Product Development Department.  Prior to Monster Beverage, An held cross-functional roles across diverse product platforms that included R&D, QA, Food Safety, Project Management, Process Engineering, Environmental Compliance, and Operational Safety.  A few past companies included PepsiCo, Campbell Soup, Dole Sunshine, Sara Lee, and Albertsons.

An is a co-inventor on a U.S. Patent and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.  

Fun Fact:  An loves spending her free time experiencing new foods, flavors, and cultures with her husband and walking her fur-baby German Shepherd.

Andria is a leading growth expert and Food & Beverage Executive with  over 20 years of brand innovation and consumer insights experience across 5 Fortune 1000 companies food companies in the intensely competitive CPG space.

She has a proven track record of growth on over 12 brands and 30 categories across food and beverage and at top tier food companies like include Sara Lee, Kellogg, Keebler, and M&M/Mars.

She has built two Innovation Centers of Excellence from scratch in her roles as Vice President of Innovation & Strategy at Sara Lee and Vice President of Innovation & Consumer Insights at Johnsonville.

At Johnsonville, she led operations of a freestanding, independent operating unit focused on generating growth and consumer insights. At Sara Lee, she led the entire food & beverage North America Retail and Foodservice businesses during the transformation with a $1 billion growth P&L. 

Andria is known for scaling for growth and delivering  over $2  billion in revenue from sustaining innovation launches  like Cheez-It Cheddar Jack,  Ball Park Burgers and Gripz.

Andria leverages her deep expertise in innovation, brand and  strategy by providing advisory services to companies looking to accelerate growth, serving on the boards of Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network, Matot Inc., Neuco, Wesco and University of Florida Business School and speaking on cutting edge topics in the industry.

Andre Menezes is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Next Gen, a Singapore-based food tech company with a mission to create delicious and satisfying food products, all with the power of plants.

A Brazilian native, Andre has spent his career working in various capacities and multiple countries, creating long-lasting relationships along the way. A passionate learner, he's delved into multiple verticals including energy, private equity, agribusiness, and of course, deeply into the F&B space.

Prior to co-founding Next Gen, Andre served as General Manager of Country Foods Singapore, the largest meat distributor and processor in the country, as well as the company responsible for scaling Impossible Foods from a newcomer on the scene, to a household name in the region. Through this work, he met co-founder, Timo Recker, which led to the idea and establishment of Next Gen in Singapore.

Andre has worked in food and beverage for nearly a decade, including seven years at BRF, the largest poultry exporter in the world, and has risen in recent years to become a pioneer in the plant-based scene in Asia. His knowledge in distribution and processing F&B products has been recognized by leading food tech companies around the world. Andre is driven not only by the mission of Next Gen, but the potential to leave a lasting, positive impact for future generations to come.

Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., CHE, CRC is Professor in the Department of Food and Hospitality Management in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University and Director of the Drexel Food Lab. He was the inaugural James Beard Foundation Impact Fellow, leading a national curriculum effort on food waste reduction for chefs and culinary educators and was named a Food Waste Warrior by Foodtank. Before moving to Drexel, Deutsch built the culinary arts program at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York (CUNY) and the Ph.D. concentration in food studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and School of Public Health. At Drexel, he directs the Drexel Food Lab, a culinary innovation and food product research and development lab focused on solving real world food system problems in the areas of sustainability, health promotion, and inclusive dining. He is the author or editor of eight books including Barbecue: A Global History (with Megan Elias), Culinary Improvisation, and Gastropolis: Food and Culture in New York City (with Annie Hauck-Lawson) and numerous articles in journals of food studies, public health and hospitality education. He earned his Ph.D. in Food Studies and Food Management from New York University (2004), his culinary degree from the Culinary Institute of America (AOS, Culinary Arts, 1997), and is an alumnus of Drexel University (BS, Hospitality Management, 1999). A classically trained chef, Deutsch worked in a variety of settings including product development, small luxury inns and restaurants. When not in the kitchen, he can be found behind his tuba.

Deni currently works as the global director of food safety for one of the largest Agricultural and food commodity companies in the world (Archer Daniels Midland Co). In this role, he oversees human and animal food safety, with a global value chain that includes approximately 450 crop procurement locations, more than 330 food/feed ingredient manufacturing facilities, 62 innovation centers, and the world’s premier crop transportation network. ADM was named the world’s most-admired food-production company by Fortune magazine for three consecutive years: 2009, 2010 and 2011.

With extensive experience in food safety and quality management systems, Dr Odugbemi had previously worked for several companies including, Pepsi bottling, Weston Foods, the Kroger Co and most recently Wayne farms. Dr Odugbemi serves on several professional committees and advisory boards.

Fabien Robert is currently head of zone AMS for Nestlé Quality Assurance centres. He has worked for Nestlé for 20 years, dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life and contributing to a healthier, sustainable future. His past positions within Nestlé have included the Analytical Services Manager and Food Safety Platform Leader in Corporate international HQ, Project Manager in the corporate Nestle Nutrition Operation department, and Project Manager in the corporate Regulatory and Scientific Affairs department.  He previously worked 9 years in R&D at the Nestle research Center in Lausanne (Switzerland). Fabien is a graduate of the University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in France, where he earned, amongst others, his Ph.D in Organic Chemistry. Following his university completion in France, Fabien earned his post-doctorates in Bio-Organic Chemistry and Organometallic Chemistry from Université de Genève/Sciences II & III in Switzerland. Fabien earns 56 publications in peers reviewed scientific journal and is an experienced speaker in scientific congress in food chemistry and food safety.

Doug Bouton is the cofounder of Halo Top, the iconic low-calorie ice cream brand that grew to more than $300 million in sales and became the #1 selling ice cream in the United States, outselling the likes of Ben & Jerry’s, Haagen-Dazs, and Breyers. Halo Top sold its business to Wells Enterprises in September 2019, after which Doug spun out Halo Top’s international operations into Halo Top International where he currently serves as CEO. Halo Top is sold in more than 30 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Chile, Russia, Korea, and China. In 2021, Doug launched Gatsby Chocolate, the first-ever and only low-calorie chocolate brand that’s positioned to disrupt the chocolate and confectionery category much like Halo Top disrupted the ice cream category. Doug studied mathematics and theology in college and, after graduating, he attended law school where he received his law degree.

Ravi Jhala serves as the Global Head of Commercial at Perfect Day, a consumer biology company on a mission to create a kinder, greener tomorrow by developing new ways to make the foods you love today — starting in the dairy aisle. In his role, he is responsible for leading the commercial team in bringing and fostering sustainable business partnerships with companies big and small who are using our protein as a tool to reach their sustainability targets, greening the supply chain together.

Ravi is passionate about food innovation, with nearly two decades of experience managing product development, R&D, and commercialization functions. His expertise touches every element of the food industry, including product and process development projects for global leaders in retail, food service, and food ingredients. His ability to work seamlessly with supply and demand chain functions has allowed his teams to move quickly and efficiently towards significant breakthroughs.

Ravi joined Perfect Day as the Head of Food Development, before being promoted to lead the Commercial team. He joined from Schreiber Dynamix Dairies, where he served as the Head of R&D and Product Development, responsible for new product development and innovations. Prior to that, he held R&D roles at Chobani, Wells’ Enterprises and Sargento Foods, and was a key driver of the most significant discoveries and products at these food leaders.

Ravi earned his MS in Food and Biomaterials Processing from South Dakota State University and his Bachelor’s in Dairy Technology from Anand Agricultural University. He is passionate about the future of animal-free food and Perfect Day’s vision of building a more equitable, resilient, and diverse food system for all of us.

Patrick Pilz has been advising companies on computer technology applications in the food industry for over three decades. He started his professional career as a butcher and food engineer before joining the emerging software industry. He has co-authored a book on quality management, helped develop world standards on traceability and has published articles in leading magazines around the world. He is currently advising companies on innovation automation as a business consultant at Centric Software.

Frederic is a Technology as a Business Solution expert in the Global Grocery Industry. With diverse experiences and in-depth knowledge of the Retail, Brand Development Management, Manufacturing and Food Service applications. His focus is on assisting retailers and manufacturers to leverage Centric PLM to deliver more, innovative & sustainable amazing products faster to market.

As CEO of Halla, Inc. (The Taste Intelligence Company), Spencer Price leads Halla’s strategic vision, growth plan, and value offering, and works to build robust, symbiotic relationships with customers, vendors, and investors. He has been featured in media including The Food Institute, TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, Venture Beat, Today’s Grocer, Total Retail, Grocery Dive, and many more publications. Spencer has been a speaker at Grocery Shop, EuroShop, and The Spoon Customize events. He is also the recipient of a GenNext award from Progressive Grocer magazine, recognizing the best and brightest young leaders of the Grocery Industry.

Brittany is the Director of Product Development for Simmons Pet Food.  At Simmons, Brittany leads a team responsible for formulation and ongoing maintenance of over 2000 formulas across 100 different brands.  Brittany has a strong background in food chemistry and ingredient functionality, with a continued interest to drive forward new innovative technologies and concepts. Brittany’s graduate work focused on the impact of processing on bioactive compounds in fruits and vegetables.  Her passion for Pet Food product development started when was a college intern with Simmons Pet Food. Before joining Simmons, Brittany worked for the USDA-ARS where her work was centered on the chemistry and post-harvest quality of peanuts.  Brittany received her BS and PhD in Food Science from the University of Arkansas.

Marc co-founded AeroFarms, the world leader for indoor vertical farming. Recognized by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies and Brands That Matter, and by Time Magazine for Best Inventions in Food, AeroFarms is a mission-driven company and Certified B-Corporation focused on growing the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity. Dedicated to improving our food systems, Marc has been recognized by Produce News for their Vanguard Awards for the Top 35 Innovators Ever Who Have Shaped the Produce Industry and by Eating Well magazine as one of their American Food Heroes.

With his B.A. from Columbia College and M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, Marc is the Chair for the CEA Food Safety Coalition and Co-Chair for Chefs Collaborative and is a member of the FDA Romaine Advisory Task Force, International Fresh Produce Association Grower/Shipper Council, Food Systems Advisory Council for the Culinary Institute of America, and Columbia University Alumni Advisory Group.

Adam is a dedicated and passionate professional, working as Director of Research & Development at Chobani. He has been with Chobani R&D since Jul 2013. Adam holds a Master’s degree in Food Science from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, working with the venerable Dr. MaryAnne Drake. He has 15+ years of work experience in the food and beverage industry primarily focused on the dairy R&D function.  He has developed or managed nearly every dairy food innovation coming from Chobani during his tenure and takes great pride in the sensory qualities of his team’s products.

On a personal note, Adam is married to Kristin for 14 years with 3 busy and amazing children. Adam enjoys taking advantage of a life in the West with cycling, running and snowboarding all while mixing in a healthy appreciation of scotch, beer and bourbon.

·      Working in Foresights projects for the global and regional operations of Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever, Diageo, Kellogg's, LVMH, ABInBev, Netflix, Master Card, among others since 2011.

·      Postgraduate degrees in Global Business and Business Strategy and Innovation, both from The University of Oxford.

·      Op-Ed Columnist for Forbes since 2015.

·      More than one hundred socioeconomic, cultural, consumer, and industry futures and trend reviews.

·      First Book: ‘STOP THE TRENDS: What we did, omitted and should do to achieve a prosperous future’.

Adam Maxwell is the CEO at Voyage Foods. Adam fell in love with food at a young age –  he worked in fine dining throughout his adolescence and well into his time as a student at McGill University where he studied food chemistry. Throughout his career, Adam has led a multitude of projects for global brands, R&D departments and manufacturing expansion, and launched dozens of products. This has culminated in Voyage Foods, where Adam leads a team of talented food scientists and CPG experts working to revolutionize the food industry.

Chris Hellmann was the Global Vice President and General Manager, Freestyle Division at The Coca-Cola Company. In this role, he is responsible for leading North America’s Equipment Innovation Center and technical R/D team encompassing strategy, customer and commercial leadership, innovation, equipment & software engineering, supply chain development and e-business to advance the global growth of this vital Company platform. There are currently +50,000 Freestyle dispensers globally and the Equipment Innovaton center operates as a vital innovation hub for The Coca-Cola Company. Chris is responsible for the Freestyle P/L which represents a $1b business for the Coca-Cola Company. Prior to this role, he was the Global VP leading the SUBWAY Restaurant business overseeing all of the Coca-Cola business and contractual agreements for approximately 45,000 customer outlets in 100 countries. He was responsible for leading sales, marketing, finance and operations as well as managing the Company P/L for this customer business. Previous to the above role, Chris was Vice President, Global Commercial Execution. In this position, he was focused against the Europe and Eurasia Coca-Cola Business units and was responsible for building Customer Leadership Capabilities for both Bottler and Company associates. He built and deployed The Coca-Cola Modern Trade Customer Management System across the global system. Chris was previously Marketing Director for Coca-Cola North America, responsible for planning and executing marketing plans for large-scale Coca-Cola Foodservice customers in the Northeast Region. Chris also served as a Segment Marketing Manager, where he was responsible for identifying and developing new opportunities for growth among U.S. customers in the casual dining trade channel. Chris joined Coca-Cola North America as a Marketing Manager and later as Assistant Brand Manager for brands including Minute Maid, PowerAde and Hi-C. Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Chris held several positions in advertising and marketing, most notably BBDO South, where he was responsible for developing and executing marketing and advertising campaigns. Chris received a B.S. in Journalism from Ohio University, and a Masters in Marketing from Johns Hopkins University – Carey School of Business.

Aylon is an expert in the alternative protein industry and has spoken regularly on food innovation at conferences and schools such as Harvard, MIT, Yale, Berkeley, and Stanford. In his work at the Good Food Institute, Aylon incubated dozens of startups and advised investors and strategic partners on the protein alternative space. Aylon has co-founded two startups and has worked with companies such as Kraft Heinz, Nestle, and Kellogg’s.

•  Successfully built and exited 3 food brands with over 500m in total sales.
• Led mature, multi-billion dollar CPG brands / organizations 
• Deep manufacturing experience: 25+ years and been in 120+ food manufacturing plants including Asia, Latin America and Europe.h
• Built one of the largest social communities of any food brand while at Real Good Foods. 
• Featured on numerous podcasts and speaking events including Nosh.
• Naturally Curious. Seeking a better way and to change how we nourish / feed our families.

Bryan Freeman is the Executive Chairman of Real Good Foods and has been leading the company since 2017, a few months after the company was founded.  Bryan credits a large part of the success in his 25+ years of experience in the food industry (CPG) to his realization that he had built his career making food that, while delicious, was not healthy. His family’s consumption of these products furthered this thinking and lit a fire to strive to make a positive impact through nutrition, promoting an accessible, better-for-you lifestyle. Bryan is proud that his contributions have positioned Real Good Foods in a place to make a difference, giving consumers access to a better lifestyle without sacrificing indulgence - and he has never looked back.

Bryan gained an interest in food entrepreneurship while at Law School, opening a coffee kiosk to help pay for his student loans. The growth and expansion of his coffee business led to him selling soft pretzels - a business that grew to the point of manufacturing and selling these pretzels to movie theatres, Targets and Walmarts. Carrying on his entrepreneurial ways, Bryan has since built and sold three companies to large publicly traded strategics and served as a trusted advisor to well-known PE firms, leading Bryan to work on the SLT at AdvancePierre Foods through its IPO as well as its sale to Tyson Foods for a reported $4.2 billion in 2017. He then moved to Real Good Foods as CEO from 2017 to 2020, helping grow the company from D2C startup to one of the largest BFY frozen food businesses in the US. Real Good Foods has become one of the fastest growing companies in frozen during his tenure while also publicly listing on the Nasdaq in Nov. 2021, thriving due to a differentiated digital marketing & innovation approach. Today, he is the Executive Chairman of Real Good Foods where he continues to drive the company’s leadership and growth in Health & Wellness frozen food.

Originally from just outside of Fresno, CA, Bryan picked up and moved to Los Angeles and attended UCLA, graduating with a BA in International Economics. Bryan also earned his MBA in finance at Loyola Marymount University and Juris Doctor at Loyola Law School. Bryan splits his time between La Canada, CA and Park City, UT. He loves to learn new things and is currently obsessed with Fly Fishing and Archery.