Boardroom Media (CEO News)
At CEO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top New York based CEO’ operating in the Food Processing space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Ben Pasternak
Founder, CEO of SIMULATE
Ben Pasternak is an Australian technology entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of SIMULATE, an American nutrition technology company, that has raised US$57M in investment to date. SIMULATE’s signature product, NUGGS, is a plant-based chicken nugget simulation, that launched in July 2019. Previously Pasternak founded Monkey, a popular social networking app that enabled teenagers to video chat with like-minded people.
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About SIMULATE: SIMULATE’s mission is to upgrade the world to a positive food system.
Ramon Laguarta
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo
Ramon Laguarta is Chief Executive Officer, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, with responsibility for leading our food and beverages businesses across Europe and our food business in Sub-Saharan Africa. This role was effective in January 2015. Prior to this role, from November 2008, Ramon was President, PepsiCo Eastern Europe Region. Before that, from 2006 to 2008, he served as Commercial Vice President of Europe. From 2002 to 2006, he was General Manager for Iberia Snacks and Juices, and from 1999 to 2001 a General Manager for Greece Snacks and Marketing Vice President for Spain Snacks. Ramon joined PepsiCo in January 1996. Previous to PepsiCo, he worked for Chupa Chups, S.A., a Spanish leading confectionery company, where he held a number of international roles in Europe and the U.S. Ramon holds an MBA from ESADE Business School in Spain and a Master’s in International Management (M&M) from Thunderbird School of Global Management in the U.S.
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Laxman Narasimhan
Chief Executive Officer, Latin America of PepsiCo
Laxman Narasimhan is the chief executive officer of PepsiCo Latin America. PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $63 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. PepsiCo’s main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. Laxman assumed the position in September 2014. He leads PepsiCo’s food and beverage business across Latin America and reports to PepsiCo Chairman and CEO, Indra Nooyi. The business covers PepsiCo’s food and beverage businesses in Mexico, Brazil, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. He previously served as the senior vice president and CFO of PepsiCo Americas Foods based in Purchase, New York, which covered the important businesses of Frito-Lay, Quaker and PepsiCo’s Latin America Foods. Prior to PepsiCo, Laxman was a director and location manager of McKinsey’s New Delhi Office. He worked with McKinsey for 19 years around the world, including rotations in Cleveland, Tokyo, Toronto, San Francisco and New Delhi. He had responsibility for consumer-facing industries in India, co-led the Global Consumer and Shopper Insights Practice and led McKinsey’s research on the emerging market consumer. He has worked across multiple industries, including consumer, retail, energy, manufacturing, technology and healthcare. Previously, Laxman co-led the Global Retail Knowledge Council of McKinsey’s Retail Practice.
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About PepsiCo: PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide.
Bowie Cheung
Co-founder & CEO of Pepper
Bowie is the co-founder and CEO of Pepper, where he’s partnering with restaurant wholesalers across the country to build a more transparent, technology powered food supply chain. Before co-founding Pepper in 2019, Bowie was the first General Manager for Uber Eats and Director of US & Canada Operations at Uber Technologies, and prior to that a management consultant at Bain & Company. He holds degrees in engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business.
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About Pepper: Building the digital operating system for the food supply chain
Hamdi Ulukaya
Founder & CEO of Chobani
Hamdi Ulukaya is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Chobani. After moving to New York from his native Turkey, Hamdi found that in America, yogurt just wasn’t as delicious and widely available as it was back home. Hamdi believed everyone deserved better options, so he set about making delicious, nutritious, natural and accessible Greek yogurt right here in the U.S. The rest, as they say, is history. America’s number one Greek yogurt is made with only natural ingredients. Always has been, always will be. In 2005, Hamdi happened upon an ad for a recently closed yogurt plant. For him, the find was fate, and he knew in his heart he wanted to buy it. The Chobani® dream finally had a home. For the next two years, Hamdi focused on every step of the process. He carefully built his team, which included hiring a master yogurt maker to ensure quality from the ground up. Just nine years after Chobani started, it has become the #1 Greek yogurt brand in the U.S.
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About Chobani, Chobani Food Incubator: Chobani produces and markets Greek yogurt.
Matthew Wadiak
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cooks Venture
Matthew Wadiak has been pursuing his passion for food for over 20 years. He began his career by cooking for chefs Charlie Trotter and Paul Bertolli and later spent several years sourcing and importing rare ingredients, such as white truffles, for chefs and food companies around the world. In 2004, Matthew founded Cooks’ Venture, a catering and events company. As Executive Chef, he and his team hosted and cooked for culinary events for a wide array of clientele including Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Matthew’s ideals of cooking have always been based on sustainability, local ingredients, and simple yet expertly prepared cuisine. Matthew is a graduate of The Culinary institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and believes that the best food is made at home.
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About Blue Apron, Cooks Venture: Cooks Venture is a vertically integrated agricultural company to operate solely on regenerative agriculture.
Mason Sexton
CEO & Founder of Soozy’s
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About Nomad Interactive, Soozy’s: Soozy’s is a food and beverage company that offers healthy and tasty grain-free baked goods.
Clare Reichenbach
CEO of James Beard Foundation
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About James Beard Foundation: The James Beard Foundation promotes the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors.
Frank Pica
CEO & Co-Founder of Native
Frank is the president and co-founder of Native AgTech. Previously, Frank was the vice president at ADYOULIKE for over one year.
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About Native: A platform using A.I. to understand consumer preferences and helping companies create products that people love!
Lori Gitomer
Co-Founder & CEO of Whipnotic
Lori Gitomer is the Co-Founder & CEO at Whip & Whimsy.
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About Whipnotic: Revolutionizing Whipped Cream. Whipnotic is a whipped cream company that aims to disrupt and modernize through flavor, color, and health.
Graham Fortgang
Co-Founder and CEO of MatchaBar
CEO, Co-founder, and younger brother, Graham comes from a long history of entrepreneurial endeavors – from throwing concerts at a young age, a stint in real estate, to being one of Central Park’s legendary caretakers, Graham has always had a desire TO DO. Graham studied briefly at NYU, concentrating in Marketing & Branding and ultimately bringing his experience to the table to create the MatchaBar brand!
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About MatchaBar: MatchaBar is a family-owned business run by two brothers committed to going above and beyond to bring the world a quality matcha product.
Mateo Marietti
CEO & Co-founder of CookUnity
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About CookUnity: CookUnity is a meal subscription and delivery platform that connects private chefs with consumers.
Ben Van Leeuwen
Founder/CEO of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
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About Van Leeuwen Ice Cream: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream is a maker of ice cream made from natural ingredients.
Steve Platt
CEO of BrightFarms
Steve Platt is the CEO at BrightFarms.
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About BrightFarms: BrightFarms is an indoor farming company that specializes in providing locally grown packaged salads.
Mark Ramadan
Chief Executive Officer of Hu Kitchen
Mark Ramadan is the CEO at Hu Kitchen.
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About Hu Kitchen: Paleo-inspired, high quality, low processed, clean food restaurants.
Yong Zhao
Co-Founder & CEO of Junzi Kitchen
Yong Zhao, co-founder: Yong grew up in Liaoning, received a BS at Peking University, and then received a MESc and deferred his doctoral program in environmental science at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. He takes most of the photos for Junzi Kitchen.
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About Junzi Kitchen: Founded by a group of graduates from Yale University, Junzi Kitchen offers a new generation Chinese fast casual dining experience.
Yong Zhao
Co-Founder & CEO of Junzi Kitchen
Yong Zhao, co-founder: Yong grew up in Liaoning, received a BS at Peking University, and then received a MESc and deferred his doctoral program in environmental science at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. He takes most of the photos for Junzi Kitchen.
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About Junzi Kitchen: Founded by a group of graduates from Yale University, Junzi Kitchen offers a new generation Chinese fast casual dining experience.
Sandro Roco
Founder & CEO of Sanzo
Sandro Roco is the Founder of Sanzo. Prior to that, he was the Mentor at First Round Capital and the Director of Strategic Initiatives of Bombfell.
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About Bombfell, Sanzo: Sanzo is the 1st Asian inspired sparkling water, using real fruit + no added sugar.
Benjamin Witte
Founder and CEO of Recess
Benjamin Witte is Founder & CEO at Recess.
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About Recess: Recess is a consumer wellness brand creating products and experiences designed to help people feel balanced, centered, and inspired.
Alvyn Severien
Co-founder and CEO of Algama
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About Algama: Nature’s solution for food’s future. We harvest algae to create food that’s good for both people and the planet.
Breezy Griffith
Co-founder and CEO of Skinny Dipped Almonds
Breezy Griffith is co-founder and CEO of Wild Things Snacks – Skinny Dipped Almonds. Breezy had an adventurous spirit and a can-do attitude. Breezy studied Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy at The University of British Columbia.
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About Skinny Dipped Almonds: Skinny Dipped Almonds makes chocolate-covered almond treats using high-end ingredients.
Jason Cohen
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Analytical Flavor Systems
Before starting Analytical Flavor Systems, Jason was the Founder and Executive Director of The Tea Institute at Penn State, which oversees 20+ researchers in 5 fields of study in traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Tea. Jason did his research in Sensory Science and Data Mining, eventually developing the Gastrograph system after 3 1/2 years of research. Jason is a professional coffee, tea, and beer taster, and when he is not trying new products, he enjoys rock climbing, ice climbing, and fencing.
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About Analytical Flavor Systems: Analytical Flavor Systems uses artificial intelligence to help companies predict and personalize flavor for new food products.
Brian Kelly
Founder & CEO of Kobeyaki Holdings
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About Kobeyaki Holdings: Kobeyaki Holdings is a chain of Japanese restaurant that provides healthy, creative, and delicious foods in a fast casual environment.
Camille Delebecque
CEO and Co-founder of Afineur
CEO and co-founder at Afineur, Partner and founder at Synbio Consulting.
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About Afineur, SOIL.BIO, Synbio Consulting: Afineur is developing fermentation technologies to enhance food flavor & nutritional profile.
Thomas J. Baldwin
CEO of Everyware Global
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About Everyware Global: EveryWare is a leading global marketer of tabletop and food preparation products for the consumer and foodservice markets.
Ravi Jolly
CEO & Founder of I Heart Keenwah
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About I Heart Keenwah: I Heart Keenwah is a quinoa company, dedicated to bringing delicious snacks and pantry staples to the market.
Brad Marshall
Chief Executive Officer of The Piggery
Brad Marshall started The Piggery with Heather Sandford in 2008. As the head of the meat processing division, he has developed a full line of meat products aimed at the health food market. As head of business development he designed the new USDA meat processing facility, successfully led a $1.25 million round of financing in 2013 and led the Piggery through the HACCP/USDA inspection process. As head of IT he is developing ERP systems to allow tight inventory tracking, accounting and business analysis. Brad has extensive knowledge of the natural pork market, including all areas from farrowing piglets to finishing hogs to butchering, meat processing and packaging. He has fostered relationships with local farms, slaughterhouses and meat processing equipment manufacturers to develop a company that can take local, pastured pork to the next level.
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About The Piggery: The Piggery sources pastured pork and turkey from it’s partner farms in upstate New York.
Colleen A. Costello
CEO & Co-Founder of Vyv
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About Unreasonable, Vyv: Vyv offers an antimicrobial light for germ control through safe, continuous LED products.
Jamie Duff
CEO & co-founder of Stolen Rum
I am a young, ambitious Chief Creative Officer and entrepreneur with a disciplined product driven strategic and creative focused brand approach. My background in law and marketing, experience in investment banking in London and with start-ups, and my passion for people, music/ DJ’ing, fashion and design all influence what I do. Stolen Rum’s Founder Jamie Duff Talks About How He Started the Delicious Brand – Galore
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About Stolen Rum: Stolen Rum is an independant rum company focussed upon producing innovative, world class rums presented with a strong design-led aesthetic.
Lorin Dixon
Founder and CEO of Zavery Cakes
Lorin won three straight state championships, was a McDonald’s All-American, was named Mrs. Basketball of New York, and NY Gatorade Player of the Year. Lorin went on to play for the University of Connecticut where she went to four straight Final Fours, was named to the All Big-East Freshman team, and won two National Championships including the back-to-back undefeated UConn Huskies National Championship teams in 2009 and 2010. After College Lorin played for the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock, Euroleague, and the Jamaican Olympic Team.
Lorin Dixon is the Founder and CEO of ZaveryCakes. Founded in 2020, ZaveryCakes is a pop culture kitchenware company specializing in providing a connection to pop culture through our detailed character products such as our food molds, waffle makers, edible shot glasses, and more designed to look exactly like your favorite pop culture icon, sports teams, tv show, and movie character. Providing tangible ways to bring your fandom and nostalgia to your kitchen table, improving everyday life as a leading brand for health-conscious consumers. We know that everyone is a fan of something, and we have something for everyone with a mission to turn boring food into something you actually love, giving a new meaning to being able to play with and enjoy your food.
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About Zavery Cakes: Zavery Cakes offers molds for pancakes.
Michael Levine
CEO of Global Food Solutions
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About Forbes New York Business Council, Global Food Solutions: Global Food Solutions is a progressive food service partner, uniquely positioned to create affordable and inspired foods.
Loren Brill
Founder & CEO of Sweet Loren’s
When Loren Brill was 22, she learned she had Stage II cancer, and started monitoring how certain foods made her feel. Heavily processed ones zapped her energy. She was able to find healthy alternatives to most–except for her favorite baked goods. So in 2011, she began making cookie dough without ingredients like refined sugar and flour, and consumers’ growing appetites for healthier alternatives helped Sweet Loren’s take off. In 2018, Brill released a vegan, kosher, non-GMO, gluten- and nut-free version; sales boomed.
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About HuffPost, Sweet Loren’s: Sweet Loren’s creates natural cookie dough.
Bertha Jimenez
Co-Founder & CEO of RISE Products
Bertha Jimenez is the co-founder and CEO of RISE Products. She holds a Ph.D. in technology management from New York University.
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About RISE Products: Rise is a green startup that upcycles spent barley from microbreweries into a tasty and healthy flour.
Ashley Marie Rouse
Founder/Owner, CEO of Trade Street Jam
Ashley Marie Rouse is the Owner and CEO of Trade Street Jam Co.
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About Trade Street Jam: Trade Street Jam creates culinary-inspired vegan jams for craft cocktails, BBQ sauces, glazes for meats or vegetables, salad, and more.
Brian Smith
Co-Founder & CEO of Ample Hills Creamery
Brian Smith serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Ample Hills Creamery, Inc.
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About Ample Hills Creamery: Ample Hills Creamery is a chain of ice cream shops filled with quirky and decadent creations.
Sean J. Folkson
Founder and CEO of Nightfood
Sean Folkson is the Founder and CEO at Nightfood.
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About Nightfood: Nightfood is a nighttime snack company that produces and distributes ice creams.
Meredith Gray
Founder and CEO of KiiNOA Snacks
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About KiiNOA Snacks: Inspired by travel and created from the best ingredients possible. KiiNOA is a light and flavorful treat .
John Burns
Founder and CEO of Jack and Jake’s
John Burns is Founder and CEO at Jack and Jake’s.
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About Jack and Jake’s: To provide high quality, safe and affordable local fresh foods from regional farmers and fishers to schools, universities & hospitals.
John Burns
Founder and CEO of Jack and Jake’s
John Burns is Founder and CEO at Jack and Jake’s.
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About Jack and Jake’s: To provide high quality, safe and affordable local fresh foods from regional farmers and fishers to schools, universities & hospitals.
Mark Murphy
CEO of Fairway Group Holdings
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About Fairway Group Holdings: Fairway Market is a high-growth food retailer.
