Jeffrey S. Rubenstein is a recognized leader in the consumer sector with over 24 years of experience driving transformative growth for both global and entrepreneurial brands. As an operator and engaged investor, he has a strong track record of scaling high-potential businesses from their early stages to impactful exits, generating $7.9 billion in aggregate enterprise value across five strategic acquisitions or successful public offerings. Mr. Rubenstein is an inspiring team leader who uses organizational structure, a disciplined performance orientation, and a modern marketing and retail engagement model to turn emerging, better-for-you brands into household names. In September 2025, Mr. Rubenstein was named Co-Founder and CEO at Khloud, the protein snack brand started by Khloe Kardashian. Khloud has already established a solid foundation in culture and at retail, and it is poised for significant growth. Mr. Rubenstein will oversee all aspects of business operations as the Company scales and engages a new generation of snackers. Before Khloud, Mr. Rubenstein served as President and Chief Growth Officer at Poppi Soda. As the brand’s first full-time employee, Mr. Rubenstein is credited with driving Poppi’s rapid retail success, from pre-revenue to a $2B+ acquisition by PepsiCo in May 2025. Throughout his 5.5 year tenure with the brand, Mr. Rubenstein oversaw the Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Operations teams, led the International expansion effort, and partnered with PepsiCo North America CEO on post-merger integration. Poppi has been well documented as a cultural phenomenon and case study in legacy category disruption, with one of the fastest revenue growth stories in CPG history. Prior to Poppi, Mr. Rubenstein was Division President at Health-Ade Kombucha, helping integrate Coca-Cola as a lead investor while delivering breakthrough innovation, building a path to profitability, and driving double-digit sales growth. Before Health-Ade, Mr. Rubenstein was Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of National Account Sales at WTRMLN WTR, a pioneer in cold pressed juice whose most visible investors were Coca-Cola and musician Beyoncé. Prior to WTRMLN WTR, Mr. Rubenstein was Senior Vice President of Marketing and National Account Sales for Vita Coco, the worldwide leader in coconut water. He helped the brand evolve from a niche, natural food idea with revenues under $10M into a strong global business with a 2014 partial sale to Red Bull China and a current post IPO value of $2.2B. He spent the early part of his career in Brand Management at The Coca-Cola Company. Mr. Rubenstein holds a degree from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. He is an active investor and/or advisor to a number of consumer businesses, including Thrive Market, CANN, Ryze Coffee, and Lucky Energy, and he is a regular participant in industry conferences and panels, including at Harvard Business School. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife Loren and their two children, Olivia and Jack.

Kristin Piper is the Vice President over Walmart’s Wellness Merchandising organization, leading teams that expand access to essential wellness products through technology, supplier partnerships, and creative solutions. In her current role, she has overseen the addition of an exciting assortment of trusted and innovative wellness brands, helping customers find solutions that fit their needs across vitamins, supplements, digestive health, performance, and nutrition — including high-protein options like drinks and bars. With more than 12 years at Walmart, Kristin has led teams through transformative initiatives spanning financial services, directed spend, and wellness merchandising. She is passionate about empowering teams to navigate complexity and deliver solutions that make critical products and services more accessible to customers everywhere.

Nearly 13 years ago John Lowe took the leap from General Electric Company to the then four-shop, $1M ice cream company based on his belief that Jeni Britton was a generational talent making the world’s greatest ice creams. John bet that their talents were a perfect yin and yang, such that they could grow a business that would create outsized benefits for its customers, employees and investors. Today, the company has more than 1,400 team members who carry out the company’s two-part mission of making better ice creams and bringing people together. The company owns and operates 67 scoop shops from LA to Philadelphia, has national distribution of its pints on the freezer shelves of America's finest retailers, and has developed the nation’s largest direct-to-consumer ice cream shipping business. In the months prior to the pandemic, the company was featured on the cover of QSR Magazine and was named by B Lab as of one three “Community - Best for the World” honorees. Internally, John drives a culture of performance, kindness and fun. From creating Team Jeni’s “Force For Good” operating efforts to ensure the company drives anti-racism efforts for years to come, to his creation of the Jeni’s Sabbatical Program - a one month paid vacation for every team member every three years of service. In 2016, John was honored by the Specialty Food Association with its Business Leadership Award. Perhaps most telling about John’s leadership, on John’s 10th anniversary with the company, Jeni and the company surprised him with a rooftop party and revealed a giant wallscape in downtown Columbus thanking him for “Ten awesome years as our CEO” and for “being a leader of integrity and heart.” He is a long-serving outside director of White Castle Company and Watershed Distillery. John has but one hobby: he loves coaching his three sons’ basketball teams. Jack, 17, Alex, 14, and Luke, 11, are of varied athletic giftedness, but are learning the benefits of tenacity, hustle and the daily grind. He is married to their mother, Catherine L. Strauss, a business advisor, trial attorney and Managing Partner of IceMiller’s 80-person Columbus office.

Lauren Ressel Castro is the Lead Director of Healthy Consumables and Grocery at CVS Health, where she partners with emerging brands to drive growth and innovation in the better-for-you food and beverage sector. Lauren has contributed to the transformation of CVS as a destination for health foods, driving notable growth for both the CVS business and the brands she champions. Over 13+ years, Lauren has directed media, merchandising, and corporate strategy initiatives across both high-growth startups and Fortune 50 organizations, redefining what healthier living means for today’s consumer. Prior to joining CVS Health, Lauren led marketing efforts as Head of Digital Media for emerging health food brands. She developed her media expertise in the startup world of ad tech, where she built a $7M annual content marketing business from a team of two. She has created communication strategies for iconic brands ranging from kombucha to soda, and remains committed to storytelling and brand building. An advocate for holistic health, Lauren is a certified fitness instructor and coaches 80+ students weekly to achieve their peak performance. Lauren holds a degree in Communications, Business, and Marketing from Northwestern University and is based in Los Angeles, CA.

Becca Millstein is the CEO & Co-Founder of Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co. She co-created the company in 2020 during Covid-19, after recognizing a glaring hole in quality, sustainable tinned fish available in the U.S. market. She was recently named as one of Forbes 30 under 30 and has been interviewed by Eater, Cherry Bombe, Nylon, and more, and recently appeared on Shark Tank. She’s currently based in Los Angeles.

Eugene Kang’s journey started in his Korean immigrant parents’ Los Angeles convenience stores where he learned the value of food, community and hard work. Later, on a spring break road trip, he discovered a delicious, hand-crafted beef jerky stand and returned home with an idea that soon became a full-fledged company. He acquired Archer (then Country Archer Provisions) when he was only 22 years old. Fourteen years later, Archer is the No. 1 premium jerky brand in the U.S., known for its real, responsibly sourced ingredients and clean-label products that stand out in a crowded market. Archer’s explosive success is a driving force in the growth of the overall meat snack category. Under Kang’s leadership, Archer’s 90% year-over-year growth in 2024 outpaced the category's 5.8% growth, and the company is on track for $500 million in top-line revenue by the end of 2026.  A pivotal moment for the company came in 2017 when Kang made the decision to expand Archer’s product portfolio from jerky to meat sticks – that bet is paying off; the stick business is booming. In 2024, Archer’s meat stick sales grew by 187.4%, making the company one of the primary drivers of the overall meat stick category growth.  In the first half of 2025, under Kang’s leadership, the company underwent a bold brand refresh, which elevated it in a competitive marketplace. Archer also announced a sponsorship of the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers, which brought Archer products to concession stands throughout Dodger Stadium. In the second half of the year, the company will launch its first national marketing campaign and open its second manufacturing facility that will nearly double its production to meet surging demand and further vertically integrate its operations, an approach Kang strongly champions. 

Luke grew up in Cape Elizabeth, ME – a third generation lobsterman. He attended college at Georgetown University, after which he moved to New York to start a career in investment banking. He was remiss to find that every lobster roll available was overpriced, drowning in mayo, and diluted with celery. He craved a real Maine-style roll and simply couldn’t find one. In 2009, Luke turned to his roots and longstanding relationship with the Maine lobstering community to cut out the middleman and bring Maine lobster to the heart of NYC, with the help of his father, lobsterman and the first licensed lobster processor in the state of Maine, Jeff Holden, and later joined by his brothers Bryan and Mike. Luke’s lobster is a vertically integrated seafood business. Luke’s Lobster has investments in Maine wharfs and Coops, its own state of the art seafood production facility, ecommerce and consumer packaged good businesses and has grown its restaurant business beyond its founding city of New York City, with homes in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, Newport, Tokyo, Singapore and Maine. What sets Luke's Lobster apart is its commitment to sustainability and traceability. They pride themselves on working directly with fishermen to ensure that their seafood is responsibly harvested, supporting local communities and protecting marine ecosystems. Luke sits on the board of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. In 2018, Luke’s Lobster furthered its commitment to sustainability and socially conscious business practices by becoming a certified B Corporation®. The same year, Luke’s was named the Global Supplier of the Year by Whole Foods Market and received the Purpose Driven Empowerment award by the retailer. Luke Holden has been named one of Real Leaders 2018 Top 100. Over the years, Luke has also been included on the Forbes’ 30 under 30, Inc 30 under 30, Zagat’s 30 under 30, and Crain’s 40 under 40, and was most recently interviewed on NPR’s How I Built This podcast and The Today Show. In 2024, Luke’s received Travel + Leisure’s Global Vision Award. Luke lives in South Portland, Maine with his wife, Laisee and three daughters, Poppy, Banks, and Hadley, and loves sharing his passion for fishing and the ocean with all four of them.