ARTESA - Key Persons
April Welsh manages Nutriati's Culinary Center, where she works with our R&D team on incorporating Artesa Chickpea Flour and Artesa Chickpea Protein into formulations that meet customer expectations for organoleptics and processing -as well as developing new prototypes for the food, beverage and supplement markets. Prior to joining Nutriati, April worked as a Sr. Food Technologist at Ganeden Biotech and a Product Developer at Agrana Fruit US. April has a Bachelor of Food and Environmental Nutrition from The University of Akron. In her spare time she enjoys making pizza at home and traveling.
Bob is an experienced Food Industry Sales, Marketing, and Management professional driven by a strong desire to help his customers and his teams achieve success. He takes pride in building long term relationships and in being regarded as a trusted partner. With numerous professional accomplishments giving rise to extensive travel experience from leading global teams, Bob has truly seen how food is the unifying thread that connects us all, personally and professionally. Inspired by Nutriati's team culture and its mission to improve the quality of the food supply with healthier, better tasting plant-based options, Bob is eager to bring his love of food, passion and energy to helping the Nutriati team achieve the next level of success.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and President, Manna Tree Partners
Brent is a leading authority in Operational Excellence. With 20 years of experience as a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, he has developed a unique and diverse skill set that makes him one of the most highly-regarded Operational Excellence experts. Brent has experience with all sizes of companies across a diverse range of industries and has served in various management roles at GE Capital and Newmont Mining. At Newmont, he was the executive leader responsible for building the company's Operational Excellence program across five continents, which yielded hundreds of millions of dollars in value-added benefits to the organization. At Manna Tree Partners, Brent leverages his extensive experience in working with businesses by leading the deals team. Taking an engineering approach, he applies systems, analytics, and rigor to the deal due diligence process and portfolio management execution.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder of Circadia Ventures LLP
- Managing Partner, Tate & Lyle Ventures
David is a co-founder of Circadia Ventures LLP which manages Tate & Lyle Ventures LP a London-based fund backed by the global food ingredients company Tate & Lyle PLC. He has a background in investment banking with a specific focus on the food industry. David spent 14 years as an equity research analyst specifically focused on the food processing industry before co-founding Stamford Partners in 1998. Stamford Partners is a leading investment banking firm providing merger & acquisition and strategic consulting services to the European food industry. David has also held several senior management positions in the European equities operations of NatWest Markets and Bank of America Securities, as well as acting as a consultant to HSBC and the VC industry. Currently, he serves on the Board of BioFilm Holdings Ltd. as well as Nutriati.
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations / Chemical Engineer
Kris joined Nutriati with a passion for the company's mission. Formally educated as a Chemical Engineer and possessing an extensive background in the fitness and nutrition industry, he found a home in Nutriati where he could merge and apply the fields he both loves and excels in. Kris was initially enlisted with Nutriati to conceptualize, develop and commercialize new products for the ingredient marketplace. As the company has grown, Kris has continued to serve a key role in the scientific and technical aspects employed within Nutriati, and now directs daily operations which includes managing the Nutriati food lab, process research and development, capital projects, and all manufacturing efforts.
Laurie is our resident Culinary Scientist at Nutriati's Culinary Center, where she creates everything imaginable with Artesa ingredients. She works alongside customers to design prototypes and formulations to jump start them on development. Laurie has a food-centered background, working years in all food service from catering and farm to table to fine dining. She received degrees in Culinary Arts and Culinary Science from The Culinary Institute of America. After college, she jumped into big food by interning at Sabra Dipping Company's culinary and research team where she saw first-hand the operations of product development of a consumer-facing brand.
Job Titles:
- Nutriati Chair, CEO & Co - Founder Smile Beverage Werks PBC
Michael is the CEO and Co-Founder of Smile Beverage Werks PBC, a sustainable packaging materials company as well as Chairman of his family office with the Fenway LLC companies. He has held many Executive roles in the areas of CEO, sales and general management. Michael has spent time leading brands including, B&G Foods, Snapple, Balance Bar, Ben & Jerry's and others. He is a highly successful and cross functionally trained, consumer packaged goods CEO/Board member with both entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial experiences from startups to $10 billion blue chip companies. Specializing in change management and innovation where emphasis on leadership, new business development, authentic marketing, strategic profit growth and manufacturing knowledge are needed.
Job Titles:
- Chief Innovation Officer
- Co - Founder
Michael has committed his career to exploring global food culture while linking agriculture with food science, nutrition, and product development. After spending over two decades in leadership roles at major food companies, Michael is driven to improve our food supply by offering new approaches to product development and nutrition. "We have recognized a fundamental shift taking place in the food and beverage community, driven by consumer purchasing habits toward better tasting and healthier plant-based foods. The entire Nutriati team is excited to be an important part of this community, working to positively impact social and environmental food issues while building a profitable and sustainable business focused on plant-based foods. Nutriati will work to make our nutritious and tasty products accessible to all."
Michael Todd is a veteran of the food ingredients industry having spent the last decade working in executive roles at SunOpta and the Archer Daniels Midland Company. While at SunOpta, he had responsibility for the Sunflower, Soybean, and Ingredients businesses and their six manufacturing facilities in the Midwest USA. He also helped expand SunOpta's portfolio of consumer plant-based snacks and developed conventional and organic supply chains for the company - including working with chickpea-based ingredients. Prior to SunOpta, Michael spent five years at the Archer Daniels Midland Company in a range of sourcing and business development positions. Michael was awarded a B.A in Economics from Harvard University. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University, Johnson Graduate School of Management.
Michele Joined Nutriati in late 2020 as Quality Director, focusing on Food safety, regulatory and best practices.Michele has a degree from The Culinary Institute of America as a professionally trained chef and has brought her love for culinary arts to the team. She has over 14 years in manufacturing, having held various roles in quality and operations. Michele is certified as an SQF practitioner and PCQI. In her free time, she loves to travel and visit national parks.
Sarah has been with Nutriati since January 2020, as the Documentation Specialist. She graduated from Johnson & Wales University with a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. She has 5 years in quality, specifically food manufacturing and has successfully completed HACCP Operator training. Sarah has been a great asset to the Nutriati team with her overall technical knowledge and organizational skills. She enjoys spending time with her children and taking them to amusement parks in her spare time.
Scott brings more than 30 years of experience from a wide variety of companies in the retail food, construction, architectural, real estate, and marketing industries. Scott was previously with The Fahrenheit Group, a national full-service advisory firm. At NRV, Scott is responsible for originating and evaluating deal opportunities, as well as developing solutions to share knowledge and resources with portfolio companies. Prior to joining Fahrenheit, Scott managed marketing, business development, and client advocacy for 3north Architects and founded and served as CEO of a residential design and construction firm. Scott began his career at Ukrop's Super Markets, Inc. serving as vice president of marketing and category management where he led the company's pioneering efforts in the 1990s with card-based relationship marketing.
Tatum brings a diverse professional background to Nutriati. Offering a unique blend of point-of-care delivery in the healthcare space and supply chain logistics from running her own successful handbag business, she has a passion for creating efficiencies and impact along the healthy lifestyle value chain. Prior to Nutriati, she founded Jutatu, a national wholesaler of responsibly-sourced, custom jute handbags and associated accessories branded for comen on-the-go who value fashionable simplicity, their community, and their environment. Before that, she was a transplant and Orthopedic nurse at a national-recognized hospital as well as an ENT nurse at a private, local practice. At Nutriati Tatum is responsible for office administration, managing the value chain logistics, and takes an active role with senior management in executing strategic priorities for the company. She received her nursing certification from Roper Hospital in SC, and her bachelor of science in psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- President Tadvise, LLC
Tom is a Partner with Open Prairie and will utilize experience from his 30 year career in agribusiness with Tate & Lyle to identify and assess investment opportunities and assist portfolio companies in development of strategic objectives resulting in operational efficiencies and value creation for stakeholders. He is the Founder and President of Tadvise, an independent consulting firm that works with corporate and private equity clients, ranging in size from small businesses to Fortune 100, to improve performance and accelerate profitability. At Tate & Lyle, a leading multi-billion global agribusiness company providing high quality, specialty ingredients solutions to the food, beverage, health and wellness industries, Tom held a variety of leadership positions. As Senior Vice President of Food and Industrial Ingredients for the Americas, he was responsible for all commercial aspects of the $2 billion division covering North and South America and specialty businesses in Asia, Australia and South Africa, achieving record sales. Tom was also Senior Vice President of Food Ingredients for the Americas, an $800 million business unit with operations on five different continents. In this role, he produced double-digit margin growth in each year of his tenure, managed multiple new product launches, developed merger and joint venture strategies and directed several acquisitions. While serving as Vice President of Sales for Food Ingredients for the Americas, Tom managed all components of sales and marketing for the $400 million business. He received his Executive MBA from the University of Illinois and has a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Denver.