Heather K. Terry is the Co-founder & CEO of GoodSam PBC. She has been a CPG mentor and angel investor, the author of From Broadway to Wall Street, a Partner and the Chief Strategy Officer of BeyondBrands (a top tier CPG consulting agency focused on natural products in NYC), and the host of the Scaling with Soul podcast (on hiatus).

For over a decade, she’s been immersed in the complexities and nuances of the consumer-packaged goods vertical. First as the co-founder of NibMor Chocolate. Next, as the mastermind behind the expansion of popular clean beauty and wellness brands including S.W. Basics, Pulp Pantry, GoodSam, Organic Bath Company and more. She has been a highly-sought after advisor to many up-and-coming wellness products on a mission to land coveted spots on the shelves of national retailers like Whole Foods and Target.

Her expertise has been featured at WELL Insiders, WELL Summit, ALT Summit, The Wild Rose Collective, the Rising Women Conference, Good Housekeepings Raise the Green Bar Summit and the Regenerative Rising Summit. She is a graduate of the International Culinary Center in NYC and has an MFA from Rutgers University.

12 years industry experiencing starting off in fine dining with a specialty of Classic French Pastry Arts. Segueing into wholesale produce distribution and sustainability then 7 years of restaurant purchasing, cost control and menu development at NYC based restaurant groups.
The past year overseeing annual $52M spend of F&B category for Soho House, North America spanning 7 cities. Strategy, Vendor Management and Cost saving initiatives are my main responsibilities daily.

As Director at ECP, Melissa oversees a number of existing portfolio companies in addition to sourcing new investments for the firm. Prior to joining Emil Capital in 2020, Melissa spent several years in brand management at General Mills and Danone. She started her career in finance with roles at Ares Management in the Private Debt group and Wells Fargo Securities on the Leveraged Finance team. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Washington & Lee University and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Outside of work she enjoys anything in the mountains. Additionally, her passion for the food and beverage industry extends to a love of craft beer, good wine, and new (or undiscovered) restaurants.

John Lawson is the Senior Local Forager for Whole Foods Market Northeast Region. John enjoys supporting diverse brands & entrepreneurs, working with suppliers of all sizes to build a partnership with Whole Foods Market; product development; and developing strategy for marketing, promotion, & growth. John has worked in different roles at Whole Foods Market for more than 18 years.

Currently leading VC at Mondelez, Tapan has long experience in the CPG space with sales and marketing roles at Glaceau, The Campbell Soup Co, and Energy Kitchen and VC experience at AF Ventures and Pepsico. Tapan currently lives in Connecticut with his wife and two daughters.