Graham Anderson
Partner & Managing Director
Graham spent the majority of his career as a GP & Partner at EuclidSR, a $250MM venture fund focused on healthcare and IT. Subsequent to leaving Euclid he briefly ran a small fund that he launched to invest in private secondaries. Graham was Founder & President of Lillia Corp, a cosmeceutical company, and has recently consulted to Henckel . Graham is a former President of the NY Venture Capital Association, graduated BA cum laude from Yale College, holds a JD from the Yale Law School.
Email: [email protected]
Stu Strumwasser
Partner & Managing Director
Stu became a vegetarian in 1980 at the age of 14. His background combines over twenty-five years of Wall Street experience (15 years at major firms like Paine Webber and Oppenheimer & Co.) and ten years running Green Circle. He also spent six years as the Founder and CEO of Snow Beverages, a natural soda company, and co-founded an internet technology startup. He speaks on raising capital and entrepreneurship, has been quoted broadly on food & bev in leading media outlets such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Mergermarket, The Washington Post, Bevnet, Food Navigator, etc., and is a mentor for several Foodtech accelerators.
Email: [email protected]
Bakley Smith, CFA
Director
Bakley has over 17 years of experience in covering consumer-facing businesses. Bakley served as an equity research analyst with Bank of America and then Jefferies and Co., focused on the healthy lifestyle, food and drug retailing, packaged food and beverage sectors. He was also the CFO of a successful online education business. He is originally from Atlanta, Georgia and is a graduate of Wesleyan University
Email: [email protected]
Francesco Lorenzetti
Associate
Francesco graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in finance in May 2019. Prior to joining Green Circle he was a wealth management intern at UBS’ headquarters. Francesco was an athlete through high school and continues to take a keen interest in nutrition, personal fitness, playing basketball, and going to sports events. At Green Circle, Francesco assists with research, financial modeling, marketing, and admin. He loves playing a part in helping young, conscientious brands to achieve their goals.
Email: [email protected]
Scientific Advisors
Dr. Bruno Xavier
Extension Assoc./Process Authority Cornell University Food Science Dept.
Dr. Bruno Xavier is a Food Engineer with a PhD in Microbiology (Cornell University, 2008). Previously worked as a post-doctorate associate at the Milk Quality Improvement Program (Cornell University, 2008-2009), and as a university professor (UFSJ, 2009-2016), where he taught courses related to Biotechnology and Industrial Microbiology. Currently works as an Extension Associate and Processing Authority at the Cornell Food Venture Center, which provides product development and safety validation services to food companies in NY State and beyond, helping to bring more than 2000 products to market yearly.
Scott Forsberg
Ingredient Consultant, Forsberg Group LLC
Scott is the founder of Forsberg Group LLC, a natural products consultancy group and a 30 year veteran of the industry. Scott is active in industry trade groups both in the U.S. and abroad. He served a three-year elected term on the Board of Directors of the American Herbal Products Association and served as that organization’s Government Relations Committee Chair. As an avid outdoorsman and scientist, he believes that combining the best of nature and science is the key to a healthy sustainable future.
Miriam Maxwell
Research Fellow, Global Scientific & Regulatory Affairs – Ocean Spray
An accomplished scientist specializing in domestic/international regulatory compliance leadership with extensive experience in legal analysis/interpretative summaries of proposed and final regulations as well as implementation plans to comply with current and upcoming global law. Practical background in vendor certification, food processing/lab analysis, GMP’s, FDA/USDA/EU standards and international compliance. Proven skills in creating global regulatory infrastructure, building/managing global teams, systems and procedures as well as creating complete raw materials database used for global product labeling, kosher determination/submissions, R&D, and purchasing decisions.
Operational Advisors
Eric Skae
CEO of Carbone Fine Foods, Managing Partner, The Bricktown Group, Food & Beverages
Eric is the CEO of Carbone Fine Foods. He is also the Founder and Managing Partner of The Bricktown Group. Eric is a well-known, veteran operator in the natural food and beverage industries. As CEO of Rao’s Specialty Foods, in just around a year Eric positioned, and ran a process, to successfully sell the business in June of 2017 for what was reportedly over $400MM. He was the founder and CEO of publicly traded New Leaf Brands Inc. from Sept. 2008 to Feb. 2012. Prior to that, Eric held senior-level sales, marketing and distribution roles at companies including Fresh Samantha, Hansen Beverage Company, and Arizona Beverages.
David Luks
Founder, Honeydrop Beverages, Beverages and Foodtech
David is the founder of Honeydrop Beverages, a line of cold pressed raw honey lemonades sold in leading retailers throughout the United States. Previously, David spent over eight years with PepsiCo where he developed marketing campaigns, launched new products and managed the Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi’s Energy Drink Portfolio and SoBe Beverage brands. Prior to PepsiCo, David worked with ACNielsen, where he consulted for such CPG clients as Colgate Palmolive, the Hain Food Group and Revlon. Most recently, he consulted for Instacart, the leading internet-based grocery delivery company. He received a MBA from Georgetown University and a BS from Skidmore College. He has a weakness for anything made with gluten.
Gregor Forbes
Founder, Acorn Consulting
Owner of Acorns2oaks a consultancy based in Geneva Switzerland specializing in plant-based and sustainable foods. Previously was CEO of Explore Cuisine (BFY pasta) and Managing Director of Sproud (plant-based milk) Prior to joining Explore led Pearson Education’s Europe / Asia / Africa division a unit operating in 36 countries with a team of 600 employees. Greg started his career at Procter & Gamble and spent 25 years in sales , marketing and general management positions and assignments in UK , Ukraine , China and Switzerland where he led the $1 billion Global Development Markets. Educated in Singapore and competed studied with a BA(Hons) in Management Studies at University of Leeds -UK .
