People Moves: VMG Partners Adds Brianna Rizzo as Talent Partner

VMG Partners Brings on Brianna Rizzo As Talent Partner

Private equity firm VMG Partners today announced the addition of Brianna Rizzo as Talent Partner, leading the firm’s talent strategy for its CPG-focused technology fund, VMG Catalyst.

Rizzo previously served as Principal, Talent at growth equity firm Stripes, focusing on branded consumer products and software companies. She has also held several advisory and board positions, including serving as board member for The Women on Boards (WOB) Project, where she worked with Cassie Burr, the executive director for the WOB Project and a Talent Partner at VMG.

“Brianna is the perfect addition to our growing talent team,” Burr said. “She brings years of technology and consumer experience that will be paramount as we strengthen our portfolio companies and ecosystem.”

Rizzo said she and Burr began their venture capital careers only months apart in 2015, and since then have worked together to “throw out industry norms and find new ways to leverage our networks for open roles, board seats, community gatherings and mentorship across the broader VC and PE ecosystem.”

“We quickly recognized working as a combined force could propel us even further and help us achieve goals, like adding more women to board rooms, holding investors accountable for instituting diversity metrics, all the while helping drive revenue for companies by helping them identify the right talent at the right inflection points,” she said.

Launched in 2019, VMG Catalyst invests in “entrepreneurs and companies responsible for the future of commerce,” Rizzo said, with a portfolio of digital consumer products, services and marketplaces including Asian e-grocer Weee! and direct-to-consumer baby food formula maker Bobbie. Catalyst currently is operating out of its $250 million Fund I and has a staff of seven employees across offices located in New York City and San Francisco.

As Talent Partner, Rizzo said she plans to “build a new talent playbook” for VMG Catalyst and work with the companies in its portfolio to “disrupt archaic industries.” The firm’s Talent Team serves as “ambassadors” for the firm’s network, according to VMG, by tracking relationships from interns to C-suite across various industries and offering guidance to its portfolio companies regarding hiring and organizational structure.

“We take pride in fostering deep relationships with people so we know when to connect them with our portfolio companies for a variety of reasons, whether it be potential full time or board opportunities, or to route them to one of our portfolio companies for potential partnerships, or commercial deals,” the company said.

As she works to assist companies in building out their teams, Rizzo said she’s learned to be cognizant of the time and effort entrepreneurs put into creating their brands and the “emotional connection” this ultimately creates.

“You can’t lose sight that teams, particularly in CPG, have spent years and years perfecting their product by putting their heart and soul into it and by spending countless hours listening to their consumers,” she said. “It’s important to understand there is an emotional investment, not just a business transaction that happens when you are building consumer teams.”

Bumble Bee Adds SVP of Strategy and Business Development

The Bumble Bee Seafood Company named Connie Shepherd SVP of strategy and business development, where she will oversee the company’s efforts to establish new revenue streams, while also leading sales, marketing, innovation and organizational strategy.

Shepherd most recently served as president and CEO of Cooper Consulting, providing insight for business across the CPG, health and academic industries. Her previous career experience includes leading North American channel business development at Starbucks and serving as VP of Hershey’s food and grocery channel, as well as senior sales roles at The Kellogg Company and Procter & Gamble.

“Connie’s extensive experience with channel, innovation and product strategies for household CPGs will be instrumental in optimizing our family of brands to align with continued shifts in consumer behavior,” Bumble Bee president and CEO Jan Tharp said in a press release.

Shepherd said she was interested in joining the company due to its commitment to “re-thinking how it sources, produces, delivers and markets products in order to fulfill a genuine purpose.” Earlier this summer, the company released its 2021 Seafood Future Report outlining its progress against sustainability goals established last year, which included two new nonprofit partnerships to support regenerative ocean practices.

“I can see that this brand is well-positioned for growth and that there is opportunity to continue to improve upon Bumble Bee’s long-term position as a category leader,” she said.

Shepherd joins Bumble Bee after a tumultuous few years for the company. In 2019 after a price fixing scandal, the company declared bankruptcy and was ultimately acquired by Taiwanese company FCF Co in early 2020. Since then, Tharp has worked to diversify the company’s business, becoming the distributor for plant-based seafood brand Good Catch, and spearheading a rebrand designed to reinvigorate the brand with younger consumers.

Former Clif Exec Joins The PLANeT Partnership as CMO

The PLANeT Partnership, a joint venture between PepsiCo and Beyond Meat, has added Liza Darnell as CMO. Darnell was previously senior director of the CLIF Brand Portfolio at Clif Bar & Company, managing its energy, snacking and performance brands.

The move marks a homecoming for Darnell, who previously worked for PepsiCo for roughly five years, serving as marketing director of transformation brands and co-founder of the company’s in-house digital strategy creative agency D3 Studios, creating content for brands such as Tostitos, Stacy’s and Funyuns.

Announced in January, The PLANeT Partnership will develop and market plant-based snacks and beverages, leveraging Beyond Meat’s plant-based protein innovation expertise and PepsiCo’s marketing and commercial network. Though The PLANeT Partnership has yet to announce its initial product launches, early indications are that they will likely focus on snacking and beverages.

The venture is based out of Beyond Meat’s El Segundo, California offices and led by PepsiCo veteran Daniel Moisan as CEO and Lisa Warnock as interim COO. Chuck Muth, Beyond Meat’s former Chief Growth Officer, departed the publicly traded company earlier this year but has remained on as chairman of The PLANeT Partnership.

Other People Moves include:

• Utz announced several changes to its executive management team, all effective on October 4. EVP and CFO Cary Devore will now serve as EVP and COO, a new position within Utz, with Akay Kataria taking over the EVP and CFO role. Jim Sponaugle, the company’s SVP of human resources and personnel development, has been appointed EVP and Chief People Officer.
• Private label and co-manufacturer Berner Food & Beverage named Kelly Diamond VP of operations.
• Andrea Lee joined Whisps as sales director after serving as account manager for Albertsons/Safeway at General Mills.
• Quantum Energy Squares named Joshua Gustafson direct of sales. Gustafson previously held sales director positions at Dang Foods and Tosi.
• John Kell has left his role as Media Lead at Chobani to join urban farming company Square Roots as director of communications.