Gigi is the managing director of FoodFutureCo, first scale-up accelerator that helps companies who are making an impact across the food ecosystem grow and face the scary chasm of early-stage growth. She is passionate about food and children and serves as an adviser in the food, health, wellness and sustainability space to both early-stage companies as well as non-profits. Gigi is the founder of Plum Organics and was most recently the CEO of the children's national non-profit Healthy Child Healthy World. Gigi is also an expert on socially conscious and sustainable business practices and entrepreneurship, and was an adviser to B Lab. In addition, she is an adviser and board member to numerous early-stage food companies. Gigi serves on the friends board of Good Plus Foundation and the advisory boards for Arabella Advisors Good Food Ventures and the Force for Good Accelerator Fund. She lives in New York City with her husband and 13-year-old son.
Chef Markus began his career at what was supposed to be a summer apprenticeship at Restaurant Daniel with Chef Daniel Boulud, a French restaurant located on the Upper East Side of New York City. This experience, as well as his work with Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, provided classic training in French tradition. Over the past 23 years, Chef Markus has fine-tuned his culinary expertise with a special focus on clean, organic, non-GMO and sustainable sourcing practices and intensely flavorful, nutrient-dense cooking. Advocating for a transparency between guests and the food served to them is Chef Markus’s personal and professional mission. Erik was actively involved with the Cultiva Youth Project, which teaches underprivileged teens how to grow organic vegetables, basic cooking skills and techniques to make use of the food they grow. He is also an active member of Chefs Collaborative, a national organization of chefs dedicated to making sustainable sourcing practices more accessible through education. For the last two years he has served as a member of the Sustainable Business Leadership Council for the Menus of Change Conference put on by the Culinary Institute of America in partnership with the Chan School of Public Health at Harvard. Recently, he served as executive brand chef of True Food Kitchen in Phoenix. Chef Markus is now the culinary director for Boulder, Colorado-based FATE Brewing Company, bringing his deep rooted passion for sustainable practices, sourcing and education to bear in developing and sharing new dishes.
Cheryl Hughes is a 35-year veteran of the natural products industry, and has owned and operated her own retail store, The Whole Wheatery, since 1983. She has been a certified nutritionist more than 30 years. The Whole Wheatery is a 10,00 square foot store and restaurant in the high desert of Southern California. Cheryl began her industry service on a local level getting elected on the Go West board of the Natural Products Association in 1984 and later served on the national board of NPA. She was the president of that region during the passage of DSHEA. During that time she helped organize the nationwide retail store blackout to exemplify the significance of not having access to dietary supplements. She testified to Congressman Galleghly on that issue and went to both Washington DC and Sacramento several times on that bill and other industry concerns. Cheryl has been a member of Organic Trade Association for almost two decades. She is a current board member of the Independent Natural Foods Retailers Association (INFRA) and part of the Natural Share group of FMI (Food Market Institute). Cheryl and her store have been honored with several industry awards, including the Cliff Adler "Heart in Business Award" of which she is most proud.
Prior to his role at BFG, Ben worked at The Yucaipa Companies, a private equity and venture capital firm founded by Ron Burkle focused on middle-market companies and growth capital. In addition, Ben spent five years working in New York for the hedge funds Hutchin Hill Capital and Oak Hill Advisors. He began his career in investment banking at UBS focusing on mergers and acquisitions. Ben was born and raised in Philadelphia and attended Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT. Ben received his BA from Duke University and lives in Boulder, CO, where he is also a competitive triathlete.
As culinary director at Sterling-Rice Group, Liz provides the culinary and strategic thought leadership on CPG food and food service client accounts. She’s responsible for uncovering, tracking and predicting the future of food and beverage, and authors the annual publication "Top Ten Cutting Edge Culinary Trends." Liz is also the founder of Tank Talkers, a speaker’s bureau comprising entrepreneurs who have appeared on the hit ABC TV show, "Shark Tank," and Balm Chicky Balm Balm, a 70’s inspired lip balm brand. Moskow also served as restaurant and dining critic for the Boulder Daily Camera, owned and operated her own marketing and communications consultancy, and was the owner/operator of a full-service restaurant and catering business at the age of 23. Moskow earned a bachelor's degree in hospitality management from Florida International University and holds a degree in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America in New York.
Steve Taormina is a 20+ year veteran to the natural products industry. He’s worked for Wild Oats, Whole Foods, and New Hope Network as the standards director for the Natural Products Expos. Steve joined NSF International’s business development team for their new Consumer Values Verified program in September 2015. He focuses on Non-GMO Project verification, NSF True North, and gluten-free certifications.
Steve Taormina is a 20+ year veteran to the natural products industry. He’s worked for Wild Oats, Whole Foods, and New Hope Network as the standards director for the Natural Products Expos. Steve joined NSF International’s business development team for their new Consumer Values Verified program in September 2015. He focuses on Non-GMO Project verification, NSF True North, and gluten-free certifications.
Natural Product Expo West 2017 is almost here, which means it's almost time to award the most innovative, inspiring and integrity-driven products in the natural products industry with NEXTY Awards!
If you'll be an exhibitor at Expo West, there are still a few days to nominate your product for a coveted NEXTY Award. But hurry—nominations are only open until Friday, January 20.
The judging will take place in Boulder in early February, and the NEXTY winners will be awarded on the show floor in Anaheim on Saturday, March 11. Meet this year's group of outstanding industry influencers who will serve as the judges (along with the New Hope content team and SRG culinary team) for the Expo West 2017 NEXTY Awards.
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