Rodney J. Clark is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Aspect Consumer Partners, a boutique M&A, strategic and corporate finance advisory firm based in San Francisco, California. Rodney is passionate about providing companies and entrepreneurs with the right advice to help them grow and succeed, and has spent the past 25 years focused on advising companies in Food & Beverage, Consumer Products, Health, Wellness & Lifestyle companies. His experience includes a wide variety of strategic and financial advisory assignments including, buy- and sell-side mergers and acquisitions, public offerings and private placements and Rodney has completed over $68 billion in M&A and financing transactions across a number of key industries. Rodney lives with his wife and two children in Marin County, California, and in his spare time he enjoys trail running, hiking, yoga and reading.

Steve Gaither is the EVP of Growth and Strategy for 1o8, a creative meets commerce agency for CPG that focuses on brand strategy, creative and digital performance marketing. He was the founder of JB Chicago, a CPG focused branding and creative agency in 2000 with a client roster that included Unilever, Goodbelly and Dish Network. Steve exited the agency to C.A. Fortune in 2019, where he ran the Branding unit and became CMO of the larger organization. As a mentor at the Good Food Business Accelerator, ICNC, the Food Foundry, Chicagoland Food and Bev, and The Hatchery, his relationships with entrepreneurs led him to cofound the Windy City Troublemakers, an emerging brand meetup and podcast. Steve is also a partner in Vosges Chocolate, a partner in Spiral Sun Ventures and Windy City Food Brands, where he and his fellow CPG experts provided the capital and go-to market strategies that help brands accelerate their growth. Steve graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Architecture and Planning. He resides in Munster, Indiana with his wife and three children.

Joe Overall is a seasoned brand strategist specializing in helping new and emerging brands unlock their growth potential. With a strong foundation in eCommerce insights and analytics, Joe brings a deep understanding of industry dynamics and market trends. His expertise enables brands to carve out their unique path forward and tell a compelling story that resonates with their target audience. Joe is passionate about elevating brand experiences, driving impactful growth in the ever-evolving landscape.

As a consultant since 1998, Bob Burke provides assistance in bringing natural, organic and specialty products to market across most classes of trade. This includes work in strategic planning, growth strategies, writing sales, marketing and business plans, budgeting, pricing, building distribution, broker selection and management, organizational development, strategic options, financing, branding, trade spending management and assistance around M&A, due diligence and venture strategy groups. He is also the co-author and co-publisher of the Natural Products Field Manual, Ninth Edition. Prior to consulting, Bob was with Stonyfield Farm Yogurt for 11 years as Vice President, Sales & Corporate Development and Vice President, Marketing & Sales. He has held marketing positions with Colombo, Inc. and Sperry Top-Sider. He received an MBA from Babson College.

Cybele Pascal is the Founder of Cybele's Free-to-Eat, a top selling, nationally distributed line of allergy-friendly snacks that are gluten-free and free from the top nine allergens. Cybele provides executive leadership to her team by overseeing sales and market growth strategies, product innovation, quality control, marketing and consumer relations decisions. Cybele is also the author of three best-selling cookbooks, Allergy-Free & Easy Cooking, The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook, and The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook. She has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show, The Food Network, the Today show, Good Morning America, PBS, NPR and most recently, QVC to launch her new line of products, Ancient Grain Pops which is her first collaboration with Free to Eat’s new partner, Awakened Foods. Cybele lives in Los Angeles with her two sons, and enjoys hiking and yoga in her spare time.

Joanie has dedicated her career to the CPG industry, concentrating on strategically leveraging data to help brands succeed. Her experience includes past roles at Nielsen, and now SPINS where she has worked for 3+ years. At SPINS, Joanie manages two services dedicated to supporting small and emerging brands in the market. Outside of work, Joanie loves to attend CorePower classes and explore new and innovative restaurants in Chicago.