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CPG Leaders Guiding Industry Growth
Emerge Advisory Group

CPG Leaders Guiding Industry Growth

The Emerge Advisory Group is made up of  CPG, food and grocery industry leaders who are passionate about helping small food and beverage manufacturers scale sustainably and profitably. The Emerge Advisory Group helps to guide educational content and program offerings to best support early-stage founders, strengthen the overall industry and foster a healthier food system.

Emerge Advisory Group

Bob Burke

Principal, Natural Products Consulting

As a consultant since 1998, Bob provides assistance in bringing natural, organic and specialty products to market across most classes of trade. This includes work in growth strategies, writing sales and business plans, budgeting, pricing, building distribution, broker selection and management, organizational development, strategic options, financing, branding, trade spending management, US market entry plans for international companies and assistance around M&A, due diligence and venture strategy groups.

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Bob Burke
Principal, Natural Products Consulting
Bob specializes in bringing natural, organic and specialty products to market. Prior to consulting, Bob was the VP, Sales & Corporate Development with Stonyfield Farm, and has held marketing positions with Colombo, Inc. and Sperry Top-Sider. Bob was named one of the “Top 25 Business Builders of the Natural Products Industry for the last 25 years” by Natural Foods Merchandiser Magazine. Co-author of the Natural Products Field Manual, 8th Edition. www.naturalconsulting.com

Betsy Gillette

Sales Management Expert

A 20-year industry veteran in conventional and natural retail, Betsy helps emerging and mid-sized Natural & Organic brands gain distribution at retail, develop promotional and trade strategies, solidify channel strategies, and manage broker relationships.

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Betsy Gillette
Sales Management Expert
Synergy is the sales force for brands that don't have their own. Betsy and her team assist brands with pricing and promotional strategy, broker management, the category review process, and data & analytics. Synergy assigns a lead person to help with overall strategy and to be the core communicator within the team. And we have a team of seasoned CPG sales professionals to manage natural and organic retailers in their assigned territory. Betsy is a 20-year industry veteran having experience in both conventional and natural retail with Jewel Food Stores in Chicago and Wild Oats in Boulder. Additionally she has held positions on the manufacturing side, with White Wave Foods and in distribution at UNFI. For the past 4 years Betsy held key roles at IGNITE Sales Management, most recently as SVP of Sales, where she helped emerging and mid-sized Natural and Organic brands gain distribution at retail, develop promotional and trade strategies, solidify channel strategies, and manage broker relationships. Additionally she managed the IGNITE portfolio of brands at Whole Foods Market, representing over $100MM in retail sales.

Kristin Keller

Specialty Grocery Store Co-owner

Kristin shares her deep experience in the natural, specialty, and functional food space. Her expertise is in brand development, sales, and marketing for consumer-packaged goods companies. She loves building powerhouse brands; understanding the customer journey is her favorite part of the process.

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Kristin Keller
Specialty Grocery Store Co-owner
Mable is a wholesale platform to help retailers, brands and distributors do business together. Our mission is to make it easier for retailers to stock & restock shelves, easier for brands to reach more retailers cost effectively, and easier for distributors to offer a simple ordering solution for their customers.

John Maggiore

Principal, Maggiore's Sales & Marketing

John founded Maggiore’s Sales & Marketing in 2003 as a Food Brokerage and Consulting firm specializing in Natural and Specialty products. He previously worked for Stop & Shop as the Category Manager of Natural Food. As a Food Broker he represents Natural Food brands to supermarkets in New England. As a consultant John helps companies develop and implement their Sales Strategy.

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John Maggiore
Principal, Maggiore's Sales & Marketing

Betsy McGinn

CEO, McGinn eComm

Betsy provides eCommerce strategy expertise to CPG brands, ranging from launch stage to multi-billion dollar companies. In her experience with Amazon.com and other eCommerce partners, she guides brands through this channel, aligning marketing, finance, OPS, sales and other strategic teams. McGinn eComm has launched, optimized and recalibrated 50+ brands on Amazon.com, increasing their growth, revenue, and overall success.

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Betsy McGinn
CEO, McGinn eComm

Arthur Papazian

Business Consultant: Sales & Distribution

Business Strategist Guiding Emerging Brands with Sales & Distribution Growth. Experience and expertise in Specialty, Natural and Ethnic.

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Arthur Papazian
Business Consultant: Sales & Distribution
Business Strategist Guiding Emerging Brands with Sales & Distribution Growth. Experience and expertise in Specialty, Natural and Ethnic.

David Swintosky

Strategy & Investment Banking

Provides executive leadership, investment banking and strategic consulting to emerging brands. Background includes M&A, capital markets strategy, IPOs and secondary offerings of debt and equity, private debt and equity transactions, restructuring, board positions, corporate development and joint ventures.

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David Swintosky
Strategy & Investment Banking
David has twenty-seven years of professional experience in executive leadership, investment banking and strategic consulting. His background includes M&A, capital markets strategy, IPOs and secondary offerings of debt and equity, private debt and equity transactions, restructuring, board positions, corporate development and joint ventures.