Jeni Britton is a pioneering entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and one of the most original voices in American food and brand culture. She founded Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in 2002 in an Ohio farmers’ market, transforming it into a national phenomenon with over 90 scoop shops and retail presence in thousands of grocery stores across the U.S. Known for its inventive flavors, ingredient integrity, and joyful design, Jeni’s helped define a new era of modern American food brands. A champion of sustainability and human-centered innovation, Jeni’s latest venture, Floura & Co., reinvents fresh produce trimmings—like watermelon rind and apple cores—into delicious, fiber-rich snacks that help close the fiber gap and combat chronic illness in America. As with Jeni’s, the mission is bigger than food: it’s about well-being, beauty, and reclaiming what nourishes us. Jeni is a 2017 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a U.S. Culinary Diplomat. Her leadership style blends artistry and pragmatism, intuition and data. She speaks powerfully on entrepreneurship, creativity, sustainability, brand-building, and the power of pleasure and beauty to transform lives and businesses. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, and spends as much time in the forest as possible.

Todd Davis’s journey with Kroger started in 1995 as a fresh-faced Courtesy Clerk, and it didn’t take long for his hard work to pay off—he was promoted to Produce Clerk that same year. By 1996, Todd had already stepped into his first leadership role as a Produce Manager, setting the stage for a career full of growth and fresh opportunities. Fast forward through the years, and Todd’s resume reads like a tour of the grocery world. From Assistant Store Leader in 2001 to Division CAO Specialist in Houston, Produce Field Specialist, and more, Todd has worn a lot of hats. His knack for innovation shone through when he became the District Produce Coordinator in 2010 and then a Produce Subject Matter Expert at the General Office in 2011. By 2019, Todd was leading stores in Houston, and in 2023, he took on a new challenge as Store Leader in Excess at King Soopers. Today, he’s the King Soopers/City Market Division Natural Foods/Local Category Manager, where he blends his passion for fresh products with a flair for creative merchandising. But there’s more to Todd than his impressive career. He’s driven by a calling to help others grow, both professionally and personally. He’s all about those deep, meaningful conversations where everyone walks away with something new. Todd’s curiosity is boundless, he’s got an itch to study quantum physics and a soft spot for Thanos (yes, that Thanos), who could both save and destroy with a snap. When he’s not shaping the future of grocery, Todd’s geeking out on documentaries, diving into self-improvement books, or soaking up stories from strangers that offer fresh perspectives. You might be surprised to know that Todd’s hip-hop collection is the largest in North America—who knew? A self-proclaimed "Inspirational Speaker," Todd aims to inspire and assist others in reaching their goals. Todd is grateful for life and family. Todd loves to inspire others and will always be curious. His advice to his younger self? “Be patient, plan accordingly, and believe.” Todd is a leader who knows that growth and innovation go hand in hand.

Eric Skae serves as CEO of Carbone Fine Food, maker of the fastest-growing national pasta sauce. The only major center-store CPG brand that bridges pop culture, tastemakers, influencers, celebrities, events and social media, Eric has led Carbone to the #2 position in Natural and #6 in Grocery in four short years since its 2021 launch. The results are 100% YOY growth and unique status as the only leading pasta sauce brand that indexes high with both Gen Z and millennials – all against Eric’s goal of making Carbone a billion-dollar brand.

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.

Joining Gelson’s in 2007 as a Dairy/Deli/Frozen Category Manager, Rich’s team is currently responsible for all Center Store product assortment, promotions and merchandising at Gelson’s. This includes products in Grocery, Dairy, Frozen, Deli, Non-foods, Liquor and Specialty Cheese. He previously spent 21 years at Vons for a total of over 39 years in the industry. During his time at Gelson’s, Rich and his team have been recognized for sourcing innovative new items and trends. This would include being First to Market with well-known brands like CVT, Health-ade, Califia, Chica’s, Caulipower and Impossible Burger’s national retail launch. Gelson’s is proud to work with small, local brands trying to start out in the industry and is willing to assist in educating brands on the right way to go to market. Rich holds his BA in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara, a Masters in Food Industry Leadership from USC and is also a graduate of the USC Food Industry Management Program.

Brad partners with leading growth-stage food and beverage companies as an active Board member working with high performance CEOs to optimize their leadership effectiveness across all business dimensions in order to build/scale dynamic brands and create high value, category winning companies effectively positioned to sustainably drive strong, profitable growth and/or exit to strategic acquirers. Current Boards: Country Archer, Gimme Foods, Biena and Barney Butter. Prior Boards from early/growth stage through to Company Exit: Kevita (Pepsi), Simple Mills (Flowers Foods), Krave (Hershey), Flying Embers (JuneShine), Health Warrior (Pepsi), RightRice (Planting Hope), Zola (Karp Reilly), Fishpeople (Bornstein Seafood), Chameleon Cold Brew (Nestle), Red’s All Natural (Bansk Group) and Aura Bora (Next in Natural) … with cumulative exit value surpassing $1.5 billion. After time spent in management consulting and investment banking, Brad’s food/bev journey began over twenty-five years ago as the Founder/CEO of the Fantasia Fresh Juice Co. which he built into a leading superpremium fresh juice/smoothie brand culminating in a merger with Naked Juice and subsequent acquisition by Pepsi. He holds an MBA from the Stanford GSB and a true passion for unlocking the power of human transformation and possibility in life and leadership.

Mollye Santulli is an investor at Springdale Ventures, an early-stage venture fund backing the next generation of consumer brands. She began her career in finance at General Mills and Simple Mills before earning her MBA from Harvard Business School. At Springdale, she leads sourcing, diligence, and investments across food, beverage, wellness, and personal care, and works closely with founders post-investment on fundraising, hiring, and go-to-market strategy. She also serves on the associate board of Naturally Chicago and Chicago Seed, supporting early-stage founders in the region.  

Karen Ivanis-Rogers is the Sr. Director of the Albertsons Venture Group. She joined Albertsons eight years ago specifically for this role, working alongside Jim Foltz. Karen feels incredibly fortunate to be in this position.  In her role, Karen collaborates with Jim on evaluating and signing new investments and working directly with portfolio companies to accelerate their growth. She also serves as an observer on six boards.  Prior to Albertsons Ventures, Karen worked in CPG with the bigger brands at Johnson and Johnson, Clorox, Nestle Foods, Del Monte and Nature Made Vitamins.    Karen is particularly proud of the Innovation Launchpad, a program she initiated two years ago. Since its inception, Albertsons has processed applications from over 1,500 brands, set up 110 brands to compete, and awarded over half a million dollars in prizes. The Launchpad has successfully connected these brands with merchants across the company and promoted them online. The diversity statistics of the Launchpad brands, including women-owned and minority-owned businesses, are impressive.  In 2024, Karen was thrilled to be recognized as a Nosh Notable on behalf of the Launchpad work.   Karen lives in the Oakland Hills with her husband.

Brody is the forager manager at Sprouts Farmer’s Market, an Arizona-based natural specialty store that spans across 24 states and has over 450 locations. Brody is responsible for bringing innovative and differentiated products into Sprouts to help the company lead the CPG market in innovation and to assist with the incubation of smaller brands. He prepares these emerging brands for national launches on the Innovation Center, delighting customers with unique and fun experiences they can only find while shopping at Sprouts. Brody brings 14 years of retail experience, 13 of which are in the natural specialty industry with Sprouts. Brody nurtures his strong passion for natural and innovative products by helping small brands grow into formidable competitors in an ever-expanding market.