Shawn Jensen

Food and Beverage Partner at Moss Adams LLP

Shawn started his career at Moss Adams 1999 with a focus on serving food and beverage companies. Currently, he leads the Food & Beverage Practice in Northern California and works with numerous food manufacturing and processing companies in the region.

He actively helps clients implement their visions and business strategies. Shawn believes in a hands-on approach and spends much of his time in the field assisting clients with business issues, technical accounting issues, internal controls, implementation of corporate accounting policies and procedures, and financial management.

He has extensive experience working with closely-held family businesses and private equity portfolio companies and reporting to boards of directors, audit committees, owners, and management. Shawn has assisted in both the sale and acquisition of numerous food processing companies. He is a member of the firm’s business combination subject matter expert group which provides guidance to clients in accounting for and reporting business combinations.

Ericka Karner

Chief Growth Officer at Kuli Kuli Foods

Ericka has over 25 years of marketing, sales and general management experience in the consumer goods industry. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA from UCLA. Ericka’s career has included positions at large companies like Kraft and Nestle, but start-ups have been where she feels most at home for the last decade. At Kuli Kuli, Ericka’s focus is to drive profitable growth through innovation and strategic sales expansion. She is passionate about the Kuli Kuli mission to improve the lives of women across the globe with both business opportunities as well as healthy food options.

Andy Kay

CEO at Manzana

Andy is a Brit who has split his career between roles in the UK, France and the US. He spent his early years in finance roles in various FMCG companies, before becoming General Manager of innocent drinks in France in 2011. In 2013 he left innocent to join the French farming co-operative Agrial as their UK CFO, then jumped the pond in late 2017 to become their US CFO and since 2021 US CEO, based at Manzana’s site in Sebastopol, with a remit stretching to a dairy in New York and a hard cider business in Seattle, with a few organic orchards to manage as well. Andy brings a strong international perspective to NNC board as well as sound financial and commercial acumen.

John Mackie

Partner at CMPR LLP

John Mackie is a Founding Director of FIG and serves as its pro-bono counsel and corporate Secretary. His firm, Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross LLP (CMPR) is a Founding Sponsor of FIG. John is a Partner in CMPR, a law firm based in Santa Rosa that specializes in the issues of business. John helped to found CMPR after holding a number of positions in government (last as Deputy Secretary of Business, Transportation & Housing for the State of California) and as a Partner in several other law firms.

His own practice is concentrated in food and beverage businesses, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and real estate. John has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations, including Sonoma Academy, The Oliver Ranch Foundation, LBC, Sonoma County Museum, North Bay Angels, Building Markets and others.

Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross LLP is a founding sponsor of FIG. It is a law firm based in Santa Rosa that specializes in the issues of business. This also includes issues related to non-profit organizations, such as trade groups and educational, cultural and philanthropic organizations. The firm’s practice areas includes the food and beverage industries; start-up enterprises and business organization; mergers, acquisitions and finance; intellectual property; employment counselling; real estate and land use; commercial litigation; affordable housing and other areas of expertise.

Shelly Malik

Counsel at DWT

Shelly Malik is a dedicated startup lawyer who represents emerging companies, investors, and strategic acquirers in several industries, including food and beverage, digital health, energy, financial services, and technology. She regularly negotiates complex corporate transactions such as venture financings, mergers and acquisitions, tender offers, and corporate restructurings. Shelly also has extensive experience creating and negotiating capitalization and distribution models for various corporate transactions and often acts as outside counsel to her clients on general corporate governance matters.

In addition to Shelly's corporate work, she is also passionate about DE&I and is heavily involved in the firm's Food and Beverage JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) leadership committee and the Corporate and Business Transactions internal DE&I committee. This passion expands to her work as co-lead of the firm's Project W Legal Team, making quality legal advice more accessible to female founders of emerging companies.

Ian Malone

Director at Aspect Consumer Partners

Ian Malone is a Director and a founding member of Aspect Consumer Partners. He has over 18 years of finance, investment banking, M&A and operational experience in consumer products, food & beverage, real estate and technology. Ian specializes in advising growing consumer products companies on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and other important strategic matters, with a particular emphasis on companies in the food, beverage, wine, beauty and personal care sectors.

Prior to co-founding Aspect Consumer Partners, Ian was a Senior Vice President with Global Wine Partners, where he led execution on a number of M&A transactions in the wine and craft beer industries. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Premier Pacific Vineyards, one of the largest developers of premium vineyards, where he worked in corporate strategy, finance and portfolio management. Ian began his investment banking career at UBS Investment Bank advising companies in the Technology sector on M&A and corporate finance. Ian received his Bachelor of Arts from Kenyon College, and also attended Oxford University (St. Catherine’s College).

Ben Mand

CEO at Guayakí Yerba Mate

Ben Mand is CEO of Guayakí Yerba Mate. Prior to joining Guayakí, Ben was CEO of Harmless Harvest. At Harmless Harvest, Ben successfully transformed Harmless Harvest by tripling sales, radically streamlined the supply chain, and ultimately transformed an unprofitable business into a profitable and scalable company. Ben also led the successful acquisition of Harmless Harvest by Danone. Perhaps most importantly, Ben’s passion and commitment to the company’s mission-led objectives has resulted in assistance to >38k people in Thailand via Fair For Life initiatives, a transition to >50% regenerative organic farming, conversion to 100% rPET bottles, and bringing Harmless Harvest dramatically closer to its goal of 100% zero-waste.

Over the past 20 years, Ben has worked in various brand marketing and innovation roles at leading companies including General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, and Interbrand. He has made an impact as a change agent, driving improvements in health, sustainability, and social impact while delivering consistent sales and profit growth. Prior to joining Harmless Harvest, Ben oversaw all marketing, innovation and creative strategy for Plum Organics, a leading organic baby food brand. Under Ben’s tenure, the brand quickly accelerated from #3 to #1 in the category.

Ben is a seasoned speaker and has been featured at industry events including SXSW, Natural Products Expo and Advertising Week, speaking about everything from socially-minded business practices to marketing with empathy.

Noel McArdell

Senior Vice President and Market Executive at Bank of America

Noel McArdell is a Senior Vice President and Market Manager for the Bay Area Business Banking team at Bank of America. In this capacity, Noel leads a team of financial specialists focused on delivering strategic advice with an emphasis on understanding a client’s industry and unique needs to ensure delivery of integrated financial solutions to help them attain their goals no matter how simple or complex.

Noel’s mission is to help companies and local communities thrive by making financial lives better. Bringing over 20 years of banking experience, Noel joined Bank of America in 2007. Prior to her role as a Market Manager, she worked as a Middle Market Client Manager with the Greater Bay Area. Throughout her banking career, Noel has served many mid-sized companies throughout the Bay Area to support their commercial banking needs.

Originally from Marin County, Noel graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Economy of Industrial Societies from University of Berkeley. In addition to her degree from Berkeley, Noel also attended the University of California, Paris, where she conducted an economic comparative study of France and the European Union while studying French. She now resides in the Marin area with her family.

Drew McGowan

President at Open Heart Marketing & Communications

Drew is a purpose-driven leader with strategic communications, brand marketing, influencer marketing, and partnership experience with an emphasis on driving change through authentic storytelling that connects brands with consumers’ hearts and minds. He brings a unique perspective to marketing via his diverse career path including corporate, agency, nonprofit, and government organizations.

Drew previously worked at Mezzetta where he led communications and focused on planning and executing communications at the company, brand, and product levels via PR, partnerships, messaging, and storytelling. He also ran a consulting practice helping brands develop marketing and communications programs working with brands such as MasterClass, and e.l.f. Beauty.

Previously, Drew led influencer marketing and communications at Clif Bar & Company, partnerships for Another Planet Entertainment, as well as entertainment marketing for The Clorox Company. He also spent 9 years in the agency world and helped start a nonprofit building playgrounds across the country.

Drew serves on the Board of Directors of the Influencer Marketing Association, is a Council Member for Chico State’s Digital Marketing Program, and a Board Member of Town Business. Drew lives in Oakland, Calif., with his wife, 2 boys, and a rowdy dog named Rowdy. He continually thinks about sustainability, particularly around the evolution of food and how it affects our society. He’s also a member of a competitive BBQ team that’s won 3 world championships while living a plant-based lifestyle.

Ryan Musser

Assurance Partner, CPA at BPM LLP

Ryan leads the consumer business group at BPM, a CPA & advisory firm based in San Francisco. He focuses on assurance work in the consumer space, and additionally provides technical accounting advisory services across industries. He also has expertise in SEC reporting, business combinations and similar complex accounting areas. Ryan has a personal interest in finance and helping clients achieve their business and financial reporting goals.

Larisa Rapoport

Principal at Baker Tilly

Larisa is an audit partner with a focus in the manufacturing and distribution industry, including consumer products and food and beverage, as well as the technology industry. With over 20 years of experience, she has served middle-market privately held companies in a variety of industries. Her experience has been developed through her work domestically and internationally, with years of accounting experience in Israel. Specific Experience:

Areas of expertise include accounting and financial reporting, internal controls and fraud risk assessments, agreed-upon procedures, acquisitions and consolidations. Assists clients with audits, reviews, and accounting matters such as share-based payments, revenue recognition, variable considerations, software capitalization, equity transactions, debt restructuring and recapitalization. Provides strategic business advice to management and technical accounting support to controllers and CFOs of privately held organizations. Performs assurance engagements and coordinates additional services for her clients, including corporate and individual tax and business advisory. Performs various business consulting engagements such as CFO advisory and mergers and acquisition projects. Named one of the Most Influential Women in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times in 2017.

Joe Rico

Senior Vice President at Bank of America

Joe Rico is Senior Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager at Bank of America, where he leads a team focused on delivering strategic financial solutions to help businesses thrive. With over 20 years of experience serving mid-sized companies across Northern California, Joe brings deep expertise in commercial lending, business financial analysis, strategic planning, and community development. Passionate about creating a more sustainable future, he volunteers with organizations dedicated to higher education for underserved communities and mentors individuals and colleagues through his involvement with www.10000degrees.org. Joe served as treasurer for 2 years on the board of DrawBridge, an arts program for homeless children based in Marin County.

Originally from Southern California, Joe now resides in Mill Valley, Ca and is committed to strengthening local communities through collaboration and service.

Paul Schieffer

President at Amy’s Kitchen

Paul Schiefer is President of Amy’s Kitchen, where he leads the senior leadership team and oversees key functions including sales, marketing, supply chain, finance, technology and employee engagement. Over his nearly 20 years with the company, Paul has played a central role in its growth and sustainability efforts, including international expansion and achieving B Corp certification.

He also serves on the Board of the Organic Trade Association and is active in the B Corp and ESG communities. As a long-time leader at Amy’s Kitchen and part of the founding family, he is proud to carry Andy & Rachel’s legacy forward. Paul is dedicated to the company’s mission of making food that is both delicious and good for the planet.

Tessa Schrupp

CMO at Drink Wholesome

Tessa Schrupp is a native New Hampshirite, drawn to the West Coast by the allure of a vibrant food scene and a community of sustainability-minded folks. She’s a liberal arts graduate of Colby College and has immersed herself in various facets of the Northern California food and beverage scene. After working a Sonoma wine harvest in the fall of 2020, Tessa moved full-time to San Francisco and found employment at Postcard Communications with a focus on food and beverage clients. Past clients include CPG brands, restaurants, and food-tech clients like Hog Island Oyster Co., the Omakase Restaurant Group, Umaro Foods, and Heidrun Meadery. In the spring and summer of 2023, Tessa worked as a contractor for Twrl Milk Tea, supporting account management and marketing.

Most recently, she took a role as the Chief Marketing Officer at drink wholesome, a DTC, gut-friendly protein powder company. Tessa makes her home in the Presidio of San Francisco and brings a wide range of skills, event planning + brand collaborations among them, as well as enthusiasm for the natural foods industry, to the proverbial table. Her favorite foods include poke, chocolate soufflé, and raclette.

Jason Seeber

Multi-Brand Operator at and Founder of Continuum AI

Jason Seeber is an entrepreneur and operator focused on helping organizations adopt AI in practical, responsible ways. He is the founder of Wine Spies and is currently building a new company focused on helping leaders move from ad hoc AI experimentation to clear, governed systems that scale. Jason serves as the AI Forum Lead and as a National Board Delegate for Naturally NorCal, with a focus on AI as a leadership and operating responsibility.

Will Seppi

President & CEO at Costeaux Bakery

Will Seppi is the President & CEO of Costeaux. He is the second generation to step into the baking business following in the footsteps of his father and mother, Karl and Nancy Seppi. Prior to re-joining Costeaux in October of 2004, Mr. Seppi was the Corporate Controller of Celerity Group, Inc. a leader in design and manufacturing of gas and chemical delivery modules integral to the manufacturing of semiconductors. Under his leadership, Costeaux has grown into a regional producer and distributor of craft bakery items and operator of several company branded retail bakery cafes.

Costeaux French Bakery has been a Healdsburg establishment since 1923 and has been owned and operated by the Seppi family since 1981. Mr. Seppi graduated with a BS in Accountancy from Villanova University. Will and his wife, Brandy, reside in Healdsburg with their three children.

James Taschetta

COO at MISTA

Jim is the Chief Operating Officer for MISTA, the world’s leading food innovation platform. He is a 30-year CPG veteran with a mix of large company and start-up experience. He started his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble. During his 10 years at P&G, including 7 overseas, Jim built a variety of brands and categories. While at Coca-Cola, Jim led a $2 billion-dollar portfolio of brands, including the Sprite, PowerAde and Minute Maid brands. As an SVP at Visa, Jim led the repositioning of the Visa brand and introduced a brand management system to the marketing function.

Over the last several years he has focused on bringing his experience to helping small to medium-sized companies scale. He was one of the first executives at the fin-tech start-up Yodlee, which went public in 2015. While at Bare Escentuals, he led product and marketing and helped position the company for a successful sale to cosmetics giant Shiseido. Most recently, he led the expansion of start-up Caveman Foods, helping them to become a leading provider of Paleo snacks. Jim received his MBA from Cornell University and lives with his wife and two children in Burlingame, CA.

Anna Ten Elshof

Technical Account Manager at IMCD US Foods Inc.

Anna is a young face in the food industry. She graduated in 2020 from University of California, Davis with her Bachelor’s in Food Science and Technology with an Emphasis in Brewing Science. Starting her career in the flavor world, Anna specialized in sports nutrition. Out of the gate, she had the opportunity to help develop a variety of food and beverages, working with some of the top leaders in the nutrition category. In addition to R&D, she developed and managed marketing campaigns for the products launched, growing an immense passion for evaluating industry and consumer trends.

Currently, Anna works at IMCD US Foods, a Global Specialty Ingredient Supplier, as a Technical Account Manager providing ingredient solutions to manufacturers across the United States. Anna resides in the East Bay with her fiancé and two cats. In her free time, she enjoys trialing new recipes for her cookbook, being active outside, and visiting all the amazing breweries in the Bay Area. She is an advocate for continued learning and will find herself reading about the food system, food processes, and what healthy means these days when she is not exploring parts of California she has not yet travelled.

Vanessa Toy

Founder at Cultivate Creations

Vanessa is the Founder of Cultivate Creations, a boutique marketing, strategy, and innovation consulting firm focused on driving expansive growth for emerging and established natural and organic brands. She is a consummate advocate for the consumer perspective and loves smart design, breakthrough integrated marketing, and innovative ideas. Cultivate Creations has a deep appreciation for a 360 approach to everything it does, and takes the time and thought necessary to ensure that its work and ideas speak to consumers, retailers, sales organizations, trade partners, press, and internal audiences.

Morgan Wiscombe

Sr. Exec. Search Consultant at 3P Partners

Morgan Wiscombe is a Senior Consultant at 3P Partners, an executive search firm serving the food and agribusiness industry. In her role, Morgan oversees a client portfolio and conducts candidate outreach for leadership hires. With more than 7 years in the food, beverage, and agribusiness space, Morgan is known for her thoughtful, relationship-centered approach and her dedication to the food and ag industry. She is particularly passionate about helping people understand where nutritious food comes from and the agricultural practices behind it.

Before joining 3P Partners, Morgan built a successful career in the wine industry, leading sales and marketing for an award-winning winery in Santa Barbara. Earlier in her career, she supported Rio Farms and Gill Ranch, a specialty crop farming and harvesting operation. Morgan is a member of the Western Grower’s Women Program, Yolo County YF&R, and currently serves as a board member on the Yolo County Workforce Innovation Board.