Carlos is a highly experienced international R&D Executive in consumer products with deep knowledge of Foods and Beverages. Carlos has successfully created new-to-the-world innovation for new products and new technologies with strong IP (Intellectual Property) protection globally. Prior to joining Campbell Soup as the Senior Vice President of Global R&D and Quality 2013, Carlos founded CJB and Associates, a successful high level R&D consulting firm.

In 2018 after five years as the head of R&D for Campbell, Carlos restarted CJB and Associates with an amazing team of highly experienced food professionals. Carlos started his career at Procter & Gamble. He joined PepsiCo in 1996 as VP of R&D and eventually rose to SVP of R&D for PepsiCo’s 27 Billion dollar food business. Carlos sits on several advisory boards for both profit and nonprofit organizations.

Serial entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in contract manufacturing and DtC CPG. Founded Fulcrum Exports, managing dozens of products through inception, manufacturing, and distribution across North American and Asian markets. Founder of several Natural Language Processing AI based SaaS firms including Intelliwine, Journeyman AI, and Reflecticore. Native of Napa Valley and son of small restaurant owners, David is passionate about big ideas at the intersection of technology and food systems.

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Dave is a highly successful scientist and engineer with over 35years of extensive experience developing food and beverage products for Quaker Foods.  He has a Bachelor ofScience from Truman State, a Master’s in Food Science from the University ofIllinois and an MBA from DePaul University.  Dave specializes in cold formed and baked bars by serving as the R&D lead on cross functional project teams from ideation to commercialization and launch. Dave also has critical experiences developing RTECereals, hot cereals, frozen foods, syrups and mixes, pet foods, beverages, and snack products.  In addition, he is experienced with ingredient functionality by formulating complexed products including low fat, reduced sugar, heart health, gluten free, keto, etc.  

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David Woollard has 35 years of experience working with the application of topical ingredients, giving him a comprehensive understanding of the techniques and innovations involved with flavour application.

He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1985, after receiving his degree in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College, London. In 1987, he joined seasoning and spraying specialist Arcall, becoming Chief Executive in 1997. He was responsible for leading the design and development of the revolutionary spinning disc and spray gun techniques for Arcall’s full range of spraying products. Arcall created coating and seasoning solutions for brand giants such as Kellogg’s, Frito-Lay, Kraft, Pepperidge Farm and Nestle, as well as other well-known food companies in the US and over 60 countries around the world. Arcall became part of TNA Solutions in 2011.

In 2019, David set out on his consulting enterprise, Partners with Progress, providing support for seasoning and spraying systems with his unique experience and expertise.

Edith Elizondo is a Food Science Engineer from Tecnologico de Monterrey and with multi-industry experience in quality systems, as well as plant and process certification. Edith has worked as an Intern in the quality assurance department of Mexico's largest convenience store, Oxxo, later on as Plant Quality Engineer in Johnson Controls Power Solutions, then returned to the food industry to be HEB Mexico's Quality Assurance Engineer. In addition to her quality assurance expertise Edith will be a project manager for CJB and Associates.

Eugenio has over 25 years of experience in the snack food, pet food, pet treats, aquaculture feeds industries with vast experience in formulation, process design and engineering, process scale up, product commercialization, and consumer research. He is considered a world expert in extrusion with several multi-million-dollar product launches, and recipient of several technology breakthrough awards. Eugenio received his Ph.D. in Grain Science (Extrusion), MS in Nutrition, and BS all from Kansas State University. He currently has 23 patents.

Fransiska has 20 years of beverage product development experience. Her specialties are formulation, concept ideation, ingredient application, product commercialization and process implementation of all type of beverage products, especially aseptic. Other than working in the USA, she has worked and launched products in several countries such as Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador. Fransiska is a highly, experienced product development professional with proven results as an innovation leader and food professional who leverages consumer insight and business strategy.

Megan Shea brings a unique blend of entrepreneurial experience blended with classical CPG background.  She specializes in concept development through launch strategy for emerging brands and large companies looking to launch challenger brands.

Previously, Megan was the Co-Founder and CEO of The Soulfull Project, PBC a B Corp certified company whose mission is to make wholesome, nourishing food accessible to all and increase community engagement. For every serving of The Soulfull Project’s hot cereal purchased a serving is donated to a food bank in the same region.  She also was the CEO for Don’t Go Nuts an allergen free line of bars and spreads for kids. Megan led a pivot to an e-commerce platform driving triple digit growth.

Prior to The Soulfull Project, Megan spent five years with Nestle USA in Los Angeles working in sales and marketing.  After Nestle, Megan moved to New Jersey and spent 5 years working at The Campbell Soup Company leading innovation teams and marketing for new product development.  In 2018, Megan was named a Top 50 Women in Business in New Jersey by NJBiz Magazine. She is currently the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Food Bank of South Jersey.

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Michele is a R&D leader in the food/beverage sector focusing on new product and package development, design to value, and commercialization.  She has led teams across multiple product categories including condiments and sauces, shelf stable meals and sides, frozen meals and snacks, and shelf stable beverages.  A chemical engineer by training she has significant experience with optimization of R&D processes including stage gate and the impact on speed to market.  Michele was most recently the Head of Kids Snacks and Beverages at Kraft Heinz North America.

Nicole has led an impressive career in Regulatory Affairs for the Food and Dietary Supplements industries, and she has significant experience with labeling and claims substantiation. Nicole has her Master of Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. She has held Food Safety and Regulatory leadership positions in frozen meals, beverages, seafood, agriculture products, fillings and syrups, vitamins and gummies, and powder supplements. Nicole is passionate about health and wellness. Before her regulatory experience, she spent ten years as a Process Engineer for Nestlé.

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Randy has 20+ years of leadership success driving transformational improvements for global organizations. Randy has a proven track record in driving sustainable success for companies on a consistent basis. Responsible for igniting results, decreasing costs, increasing revenues and elevating the performance of workforces around the globe to achieve record growth, and quickly develop action plans to scale-up for expansion or sale, Randy can deliver on aggressive objectives. His work experience includes Kraft, Conagra, Hearthside, Wixon and more.

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Roberto Pineda Casique is a Biotech Engineer, MBA and MS in global Marketing Management. Roberto has Entrepreneurial experience having sold 2 companies by age 27. Previous experience working both in Fortune 100 companies and in successful startups , he is passionate about the food and beverage industry working with CJB & Associates involved in project management and marketing. 

Roberto Pineda is a senior R&D professional with proven results  over 26 years of international experience in successful Innovation, R&D, and Product Development in the Food Industry and 8 years in Manufacturing and Quality Control Operations. Roberto ran the highly successful PepsiCo / Gamesa R&D organization for many years. He has broad food expertise and is especially strong in the baked snacks category.

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Stacy is passionate about all things accounting. She has over 25 years of accounting experience, which spans multiple industries including shipping, logistics, and manufacturing. She has also owned and operated an independent accounting firm, Triple S Bookkeeping, since 2009. As the Chief Accounting Officer, she records transactions and provides financial reports to CPAs. When Stacy isn’t working,  you’ll find her antique shopping, doing crafts with her children, and traveling with her family.

Adelmo has 25+ years of experience in product and process development in the food and pet food industry and a proven track record of success in development and introduction of innovative and profitable food products across the US and Latin America markets.

Accomplished in leading cross-functional teams through effective development of new or improved products, quality metrics, ingredient technology, enterprise-level cost-saving programs, and commercialization programs.

Leveraged expertise in protein and starch nutrition and functionality for human and pet food applications as well as a broad range of technologies across grain-based processes, such as bran bleaching, emulsion, and nano-emulsion, cereal extrusion/gun puffing, flaked, milled, sheeted, and shredded cerealtechnologies.

Able to communicate effectively in English and Spanish on both technical and business aspects of product development and commercialization; inventor US patents and co-author of more than 15 publications and patent applications.

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Adriana QAdriana Quintanar Guzmán, received her Ph.D. in Food Science from the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico. She has worked for the snack industry for the last 15 years and was researcher at the Food Science Department of the National Polytechnic Institute for 18 years. Dr. Quintanar is also Director/Owner of a Consulting Services Company which serves to the salty snack industry since 2007, specifically in the tortilla and corn chip production and the nixtamalization process.

Dr. Hagan holds a Ph.D. in Food Science, MS in Nutritional Science and a BS in Molecular Genetics all from the University of Illinois.  Most recently he led global R&D for the Gum & Candy division, one of the three global categories at Mondelez International, responsible for a staff of 380 located across 22 countries.  Previously, he worked at Kraft Foods, Cadbury, Warner-Lambert and Quaker Oats.   He has also held key leadership roles in Global Innovation Marketing, New Business Development, Global Brand Management and was Managing Director of the prestigious UK-based Reading Scientific Services Laboratories (RSSL) supporting the Pharma and food industry in the EU.  His consumer goods experience spans Sugar Confectionery, Gum, Chocolate, Snacks, Main Meals, Frozen Novelties, Cultured Dairy, and Beverages.  

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George Vutetakis is an authority in plant-based food manufacturing and regenerative soil-to-shelf applications. Chef George applies his culinary experience as an award-winning vegan chef/restaurateur to the manufacture of clean label, organic and plant based products.  He has broad experience with scaled CPG ecosystems and vertically integrated agriculture-to-consumer product design, as well as multi-process food design for thermal, cold-chain and foodservice applications.

Greg is a Research and Development Executive and Innovator with extensive Product Development, Project Management and Strategy experience. 

Previously, Greg was Senior Director of Project and Portfolio Management at Nature's Bounty where he created and led a Project Management Office for commercialization of their innovations.  He also rebuilt and gained adoption of the Stage Gate process enabling more efficient use of organization resources and higher commercialization success rate. Previous experience includes working for and with major multi-nationals such as Kraft Foods, Starbucks, McDonald's and others for nearly 30 years, he possesses deep expertise but also has a 'just do it' bias to quickly achieve results in fast-paced start-up cultures.   

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PASSIONATE CONSUMER ADVOCATE —Pioneering the Future of the Cooking and Kitchen Experience.

Jane joined Campbell as a Senior Product Specialist; in her 27-year tenure she has worked with every Campbell brand.  Jane has a keen understanding of consumers’ cooking needs and behaviors across the globe, having shared best practices for recipe development with Campbell teams in Mexico, Belgium, Australia and Canada. Jane has led the Consumer Test Kitchen for the past 9 years.  Her mission is to bring to life the consumer’s kitchen and their cooking experiences, with the mantra: “It starts with the consumer... and ends with the food”.

As a leader of the Campbell’s Consumer Test Kitchen, Jane provided consumer cooking insights and trends to the broader Campbell business and ensuring home kitchen realities and the mindset of a consumer are central to Campbell’s recipe and product development. While leading the Consumer Test Kitchen, Jane created best practices for recipe development, created the consumer test kitchen quality seal and envisioned a “Consumer First” mindset to drive business success for each brand.

In the last four years at Campbell’s, Jane launched a cross-functional, enterprise-wide Kitchen of the Future Team to keep a finger on the pulse of trending technology that will elevate meal planning, shopping and preparation experiences over the next 15+ years.

The team researched and identified appliance manufacturers, kitchen start-ups and internet food communities to partner with those that will optimize testing opportunities.

Jane also led the testing of new Smart Connected Kitchen Tools and provided valuable feedback to start-ups. Anticipated to generate future revenue to fund further testing.

Prior to Campbell’s, Jane was a Home Economist/Nutritionist for Durkee French Foods and Consumer Relations Specialist at North American Philips Corp.  where she tested and evaluated their small kitchen appliances.

Jane graduated from Winthrop University with a BS in Home Economics with concentration in Food and Nutrition and a minor in Business. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Jeff brings a practical approach to food safety providing assistance in areas such as hazard analyses and food safety plans; product design for safety and stability; manufacturing plant GMP / food safety gap assessments; microbiological controls and troubleshooting; environmental monitoring program development, hygienic design and zoning; supply chain verification; sanitation verification and run time validations; and allergen assessments and labeling. Jeff received both his BS and MS degrees inBiology from the University of Memphis. He started his career in the food industry at Ralston Purina's soy protein plant in Memphis, TN as part of theQuality Assurance team. He also spent 23 years with Frito Lay before retiring as the Director of R&D Food Safety for PepsiCo North America.

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Lisa Thorsten brings extensive experience in the consumer foods business as a Regulatory Affairs leader. She is the former Global Lead for Regulatory Affairs, Ingredient Management and Product Lifecycle Management at Campbell Soup Company. Lisa brings hands-on experience in nearly every aspect of product design & commercialization to her passion for regulatory work. Her direct interaction with FDA and USDA allows brand owners to make informed decisions and navigate seemingly complex requirements for bringing their foods to market. Lisa has her M.S. in Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs from Temple University and B.S. in Nutrition from Penn State University. www.linkedin.com/in/lisathorsten.

Lyle has a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Rice University. Lyle has expertise in virtually every unit operation in food processing. He has worked across several food categories including RTE Cereals, pet food, snack foods, and baby food. He has packaging experience including biodegradable. Lyle also has his own consulting company Lyle R Land Consulting.

Mike brings over 25 years of proven experience in designing and leading innovation organizations across the continuum from core renovation to creating leading disruptive innovation start-ups, most recently as VP of Disruptive Innovation at Campbells. He has successfully lead development and launch of numerous +$100MM businesses and has co-authored comprehensive innovation processes. In addition to innovation leadership roles at Campbells and General Mills, Mike continues to mentor to start-ups and advises challenger companies across food, personal care, and health.

Neil, a Swiss-American, has his Ph.D. from ETH Zurich. Neil has managed several cutting edge research projects throughout the world. He has extensive experience in catalysis, nanoparticles, surfactants, chemical engineering, chemistry and food science in general. Neil has hands-on experience in getting R&D to the pilot scale in the food and chemical industry.

Pravin has his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and has extensive experience in process knowledge of potato and corn based products to deliver new and existing products in pilot plants and large scale manufacturing plants. Pravin served in lead technical positions at Frito Lay.

Bob Drotman has his Ph.D. in the Biological sciences and has extensive management experience in regulatory affairs and compliance, microbiology, industrial hygiene, food science, sensory science, analytical chemistry, toxicology, nutrition and others. Bob has held Food Safety and Regulatory leadership positions at Procter & Gamble, Mary Kay Cosmetics and Frito-Lay.

Sola holds a Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of Leeds, England and is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).  An expert in fruit and vegetable science and technology, he has extensive experience in the private business sector, USDA research and the land grant universities system. He is the author of more than 170 technical publications and editor of 2 multidisciplinary books.

Tom is a world class expert in fats, oils and lipids product, process development and commercialization for food, pharmaceutical and industrial applications. Tom is a chemical engineer with extensive innovation and technical leadership experience at Procter & Gamble, Bunge, and Frito-Lay/PepsiCo as Director R&D and Senior Research Fellow.  

He has been on the Editorial Advisory Board for the 5th and 6th editions of Bailey’s Edible Oil & Fat Products as well as authoring other publications. Tom is also President, Crossroads Innovation, LLC.

Highly analytical professional with a broad and in-depth background providing leadership in Research and Development (R&D) with demonstrated strategic leadership for product, process and packaging development and brand maintenance.  Extensive cross-functional experience with marketing, finance, operations, sales, consumer insights, product supply, contract manufacturing and purchasing.