What were your early interests as a child?

I was into a lot of things: sports, reading, drawing, graphic design, carpentry, engineering,etc.
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A Renaissance child! Who were your early influences?

My grandparents helped raise me because my parents worked full time. Both grandfathers were incredibly handy and worked hard. My father was the first kid on his block to own a television because his father built it in the basement! My mother’s father was constantly inventing things and problem solving in his garage workshop.
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So building things is in your DNA.

For sure. I was also raised in Marin County and went to UC Berkeley, the culture and values of the farm-to-table, organic, and ‘natural’ movements had a significant impact. Alice Waters and Michael Pollan were local heroes.
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Do you remember your favorite childhood food brands?

Uh… Lucky Charms, Jones Soda, and Hot Pockets?
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Alice and Michael are weeping right now.

I was a late bloomer.
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Today you work with entrepreneurs to help build brands. What part of that attracts you most?

I really love building on each entrepreneur’s dream and contributing to their drive to provide consumers with better options. Every founder is unique. Each one truly cares about their legacy.
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You started your career in finance. How is working with brands different?

As an investment banker (M&A), it was harder to articulate to my parents, grandparents, friends, etc. exactly what I did on a daily basis.
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And you have dinner with your family every Sunday so…

I do! It’s easy to explain the human benefit behind consumer products investing—how we help fuel growth and bring exciting, healthy options to the market. We always say we’re helping to move people along a curve from Coke/Pepsi/Frito to Water/Green Tea/ Nuts.
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Well, you’ve certainly come a long way from Hot Pockets.

We’re all on a learning curve.

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