Mark Rampolla is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at GroundForce Capital. Mark plays an integral and active role in all aspects of GroundForce Capital’s business, including, but not limited to, the overall management of all firm operations, deal sourcing, and leading deal diligence. Additionally, Mark represents GroundForce Capital on the following boards: Vive Organic, OWYN, Liquid Death, ZICO Rising, Flying Embers, The Collaborative, Partake Brewing, and REBBL/Chameleon Coffee.

Prior to founding GroundForce Capital, Mark was the Founder and CEO of ZICO Beverages, one of the trailblazers of today’s billion-dollar global coconut water category. Under Mark’s leadership, ZICO delivered nine years of explosive growth, became one of the fastest growing beverage brands in the world and was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 2013.

Prior to launching ZICO, Mark held a variety of management positions for International Paper, including global marketing manager for the $100M aseptic packaging division and managing director for the Beverage Packaging and Food Service divisions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mark’s innate interest in understanding cultures around the globe led him to managing five joint-venture plants that generated $100M in revenue, as well as overseeing more than 300 employees and customers in 20 countries.

With a passion for learning what drives entrepreneurs, Mark has advised more than 100 CEOs, helped raise more than $1B and personally invested in more than 30 social-impact startups across, food, beverage, technology, and energy. Throughout his career, Mark has served on the boards of directors of more than 30 companies, as well as a board member and chairman for the Trade and Economic Policy committee for the American Chamber of Commerce of El Salvador during the CAFTA negotiations.

Mark began his career as a small-business development volunteer for the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. Despite having gone no further South or East than Florida until he was 21, Mark has visited somewhere between 30-40 countries visited and is working hard to become a polyglot someday. When not advising CEOs on growth strategies or big life decisions, Mark can be found in, on, or under the sea or going up, down or around a mountain. If he’s forced to stay put, he’s tending his succulent garden, writing, or getting crushed by his daughters in Boggle.

Mark is a graduate of Marquette University and has an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a Master’s of Environmental Management, also from Duke.

Dan Gluck is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at GroundForce Capital. Having joined in January 2018, Dan decided to leverage his experience as an institutional investor, entrepreneur in the CPG food sector, and passion for health and wellness. Dan plays an integral and active role in all aspects of GroundForce Capital’s business, including, but not limited to, the overall management of all firm operations, deal sourcing, and leading deal diligence. Dan also represents GroundForce Capital on the following portfolio company boards: Miyoko’s, Zico Rising, Your Super, Thistle, Jot Coffee, and Rae Wellness.

Driven by his deep passion for physical fitness, sports, and competitive races, prior to joining GroundForce Capital, Dan was Co-Founder and Board Chairman of Health Warrior, a plant-based superfood CPG food company, which was created in 2012. The company’s debut product was a 100 calorie Chia bar which became the #1 best-selling new bar in the natural channel in 2013. Today, Health Warrior products are sold in ~13,000 stores complemented by a robust DTC platform.

Dan’s early-stage operational experience includes early trend spotting, product innovation, branding, organizational development, sales strategy, and financing. Health Warrior was purchased by PepsiCo in October 2018.

From 2001 to 2015, Dan was a Portfolio Manager, Partner, and Executive Committee Member at Weiss Multi-Strategy Partners, an investment management firm based in NYC. As a Partner and Executive Committee Member, Dan created and implemented strategic business initiatives for the firm and helped it grow from a family office to a multi-billion dollar SEC registered investment adviser. At peak, Dan was personally responsible for managing $1B of gross AUM and invested in a wide breadth of companies, across the capital structure, and with investments spanning the globe from the U.S., LatAM, Europe, Middle East, to Asia.

Dan lives in Mill Valley near GroundForce Capital's Bay Area office with his wife and two children. He spends his free time running, mountain biking, and hiking with his family. Dan graduated from Colgate University with a Bachelor of Arts in 2000.

Eric leads GroundForce Capital’s sustainability technology investing team, and is actively involved in shaping the strategy as well as leading the full investment lifecycle. He has been a climate investor for over ten years and made over 25 growth investments, including in ProducePay, TemperPack, and Afresh, amongst others. As an investor and board member who enjoys collaborating closely with management teams, he is most noted for helping transform finance departments into strategic functions, along with developing customer insights, value propositions, and go-to-market strategies. With GroundForce Capital, Eric sees an opportunity to uniquely drive impact and returns across consumer driven supply chains. By leveraging deep industry expertise and differentiated technologies, GroundForce Capital can help improve alignment of incentives between mid-to-upstream stakeholders and evolving end consumer demands, thereby unlocking new levels of efficiency, sustainability, and value creation.

Prior to joining GroundForce Capital, Eric was a Managing Director at Vidavo Capital Partners, a growth equity investment firm specialized in profitable growth technology companies improving the sustainability, security, safety, and health of the agrifood system. Prior to Vidavo, Eric was a Partner at Greenhouse Capital, a growth equity investment firm specializing in B2B climate technologies. Eric helped develop Greenhouse Capital’s then unique, purpose-built strategy of investing in high-growth technology companies to drive efficiency, resiliency and new means of value creation across legacy industrial supply chains and infrastructure, including food & agriculture, energy, waste, water, transportation, and the built environment. Prior to Greenhouse Capital, Eric was an investment professional at Robin Lane Capital, a lower middle-market growth equity family office focused on the consumer goods sector.

Eric spent the early years of his career in corporate strategy and M&A consulting, where he advised strategic and financial buy-side clients on multi-billion-dollar public and private transactions across Europe and the U.S. These previous roles include CFO of MobiledgeX, a mobile-edge software platform incubated within Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners; Head of Finance and Operations at Neura, an AI behavioral intelligence platform for transportation, retail, health and other applications; Corporate Strategy Manager at Philips; and M&A Transactions Advisory Group Manager at PwC in the Netherlands.

Eric earned an MBA from the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business, and also attended London Business School.  He holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arizona, and also attended Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

​Eric grew up in Arizona, and after living in Amsterdam, London, Hong Kong and Chicago, he currently lives in Mill Valley, California. An active outdoorsman, he is an avid skier and enjoys hiking, mountain biking, and going on new adventures with his two small children. He is also a board member of Justice Outside.

As COO and a member of the leadership team, Kathryn works closely with the General Partners and the executive team on running the firm. Kathryn leads investor relations, firm growth strategy, and marketing. In addition, she is responsible for all aspects related to impact and ESG, including building institutional frameworks, integrating regulatory considerations, and spearheading the firm's entry into climate-focused investment themes based on institutional demand. Kathryn also works closely with the Partners on day-to-day culture by leading change management to drive transparency across the organization as the firm expands. Kathryn is passionate about personal growth and uses her inquisitive nature surrounding technology, world events, and interpersonal dynamics to help drive the firm forward.

Kathryn brings 20 years of experience in the financial industry within both public and private markets, fourteen of which have been in institutional asset management. She started her career in New York as an analyst at Bank Julius Baer, a $450b asset management firm and private bank, covering distressed hedge funds in the early 2000s before becoming a Senior Hedge Fund Research analyst where she was responsible for investing in long/short equity and relative value arbitrage hedge fund strategies in the U.S. and Europe. After Julius Baer, Kathryn spent over seven years at GAM, a $75b asset management firm, as Director of Institutional Sales where she and her partners spearheaded the entry of the firm’s hedge fund of funds business into the U.S. institutional market through pension funds, foundations and endowments, and investment consultants.

With parents who are entrepreneurs, Kathryn grew up in an environment where exploring business opportunities and self-starting was the norm. While at GAM and after the financial crisis, she noticed that there was a large gap in knowledge between Main Street and Wall Street when it came to financial education. In 2013 she saw an opportunity in the market and used her passion for finance, marketing, digital media, comedy, and took a leap. Kathryn left the asset management industry after thirteen years and founded a financial media company which she ran for three and a half years.

Her empathy for entrepreneurs and deep interest in the financial markets eventually led her to the private markets, and her role at GroundForce Capital specifically, where she marries her asset management experience with her passion for entrepreneurs, operational execution, risk taking, and the financial markets.

Having recently moved from Santa Monica, Kathryn lives in Mill Valley near GroundForce Capital’s Bay Area office. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BS from the Haas School of Business and serves on the board of the Mill Valley Library Foundation.

Laura serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at GroundForce Capital where she brings over 15 years of expertise in private equity, finance, and accounting to drive strategic initiatives within the leadership team.

She began her career in PwC's Asset and Wealth Management practice where she gained experience in audit, technical accounting, automation, and consulting. In her most recent role at PwC, Laura served as an outsourced controller to an $800 billion global investment firm, demonstrating her ability to manage complex financial operations. Prior to joining GroundForce, Laura led the fund finance and management company finance teams at Top Tier Capital Partners.

A California native, Laura lives in Marin County with her husband and two daughters, Olivia and June. Outside of work, Laura is a certified yoga instructor with a deep-seated passion for wellbeing and mindfulness. Whether on her yoga mat, at the local CrossFit gym, or hiking at sunrise, Laura embraces an active lifestyle that complements her dedication to both personal and professional growth.

George leads GroundForce Capital’s investment team and is actively involved in shaping strategy, sourcing and assessing new investment opportunities, and working closely with portfolio companies to drive growth. Throughout his career, he has worked with hundreds of consumer-focused brands and organizations across a variety of advisory, operating, and investing roles. He enjoys combining his passion for creativity with building and growing great brands and businesses. In addition to serving as a member of the firm’s investment committee, he currently represents GroundForce Capital on the boards of Bobbie, SYSTM Foods, Partake Brewing, and The Collaborative.

Prior to joining GroundForce Capital, George was a Principal at Eurazeo, a global private equity firm with over $30 billion of AUM. As one of the original team members of Eurazeo’s consumer growth equity fund, Eurazeo Brands, he helped create a strategy, build a team, and invest $800 million across over a dozen businesses. Prior to Eurazeo, George began his investing career with VMG Partners, and previously held roles in corporate development at Heineken and investment banking at Rothschild.

Having moved to the U.S. at a young age, George grew up with diverse perspectives and a curiosity for all things global, leading him to study international affairs, business, and language at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. After identifying his interest in investing, he earned an MBA from the Wharton School and an MA in International Studies from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.

George is an adventure-seeker both at home and in his travels. He is based in New York City and Shelter Island, NY. In his free time, he and his husband enjoy working on their 1800s house, sailing around Shelter Island, and running and biking in an attempt to wear out their 2 year old Field Spaniel.

As a consumer-focused investor, Logan has combined his passion for creativity and for helping others into a career focused on building and growing great businesses. At GroundForce Capital, he is a leader on the firm’s investment team and is actively involved in shaping strategy, sourcing new investment opportunities, and working closely with our portfolio companies to drive growth.

Prior to joining GroundForce Capital, Logan was an investment professional at Vance Street Capital, a middle-market private equity firm focused on partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams across various industries to accelerate revenue growth and improve operations. Prior to Vance Street, Logan began his finance career at Evercore, a leading global independent investment bank, and previously was a Deals Strategy consultant at PwC.

Logan graduated with High Honors from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, where he earned a B.S. in Finance.

In his free time, he enjoys soaking in the California sunshine jogging or hiking, exploring new cities, rooting on his favorite sports teams (go Hoosiers!), and contributing as a mentor in the Los Angeles community.

As a Vice President at GroundForce Capital, Adam is a leader on the firm’s investment team and is actively involved in shaping strategy, sourcing new investment opportunities, and working closely with our portfolio companies to drive growth. His role enables him to combine his passion for strong consumer brands with his excitement to meet and learn from amazing founders and managers of businesses.

Prior to joining GroundForce Capital, Adam was an investment professional at TSG Consumer Partners, a private equity firm with $20 billion of AUM focused on partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams in the Consumer sector to accelerate growth and scale leading brands. Prior to TSG Consumer, Adam was an investment professional at Kainos Capital, a middle-market private equity fund focused on the food and beverage space. Prior to Kainos, Adam began his finance career at Perella Weinberg Partners, a leading global investment bank focusing on M&A transaction advisory.

Adam graduated Summa Cum Laude from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, where he earned a B.S. in Finance with Honors. He is originally from Texas but moved around growing up, living in Rome, IT; Vancouver, BC; Scottsdale, AZ; New York, NY and now lives in San Francisco, CA working out of GroundForce Capital’s Mill Valley office.

Adam’s favorite place to be is outside, preferably engaging in an exciting (and adrenaline-fueled) activity. In his free time, he enjoys all things outdoor from skiing and surfing to long distance running and backpacking while taking every chance he gets to explore a new country.

Graham is a Senior Associate at GroundForce Capital, where he is a key member of the investment team and responsible for sourcing new opportunities, conducting due diligence, executing transactions, and supporting our portfolio companies as they grow and reach their goals. His role allows him to couple personal interests in health and wellness with skills garnered throughout his career, all while partnering with entrepreneurs and learning from their unwavering passion and creativity.

Prior to joining the firm, Graham was an Associate at Martis Capital, a growth-oriented middle-market private equity firm focused on partnering with founder-led companies and management teams in the healthcare sector. Previously, Graham worked in investment banking at BTIG, a global financial services firm, where he advised companies across industries on M&A transactions and private placements. Graham began his career at FT Partners, an investment bank focused exclusively on the financial technology sector.

Graham graduated cum laude from Occidental College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in Mathematics.

Having spent his winters on skis since he was 3 years old, Graham remains an avid skier and enjoys weekend trips to Tahoe and other skiing destinations. If there’s no snow on the ground, you can find him golfing (or at least trying to), traveling, sharing wine with friends, or searching for the next best restaurant in San Francisco.

As an Associate at GroundForce Capital, Kelly is a key member of the investment team who identifies companies, conducts diligence, executes transactions, and supports existing portfolio companies. Her role allows her to combine her intellectual curiosity and passion to create meaningful impact with her financial background to empower disruptive, purpose-driven companies to achieve their full potential.

Kelly graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in finance and was a member of the women’s varsity volleyball team. Before joining GroundForce Capital, Kelly was an investment banking Associate at Citigroup.

Energized by the mission of GroundForce Capital, Kelly joined the firm in 2021. She believes that financial results are inextricably linked to the impact a company makes on the world and that investing in companies offering healthier, more sustainable options generates a greater return for all.

Growing up as a competitive athlete, Kelly has always been passionate about health and wellness. She currently lives in Hermosa Beach, California and loves hiking, bike rides, long beach days, traveling, and laughing with family and her closest friends.

Sarah is a Director of Investor Relations and Marketing at GroundForce Capital, reporting to the COO. She is supporting the COO with oversight of investor relations, marketing, operations, impact, as well as the firm’s growth strategy. Sarah's role at GroundForce Capital aligns perfectly with her passion for health, wellness, and sustainability, enabling her to integrate her professional skills with her personal interests.

Sarah joins GroundForce Capital from Sweetgreen where she served as the right hand to the Chief Operating Officer and Chief People Officer. Sarah supported Sweetgreen’s Executive team through the IPO process, and she spearheaded strategic initiatives for the Operations and People teams.

Prior to joining Sweetgreen, Sarah was an Associate on the Business Development and Fundraising team at Lone Star Funds and Hudson Advisors. Previously, she was an Investment Banking Analyst at Maxim Group where she focused on equity capital raising for public and private companies in consumer, healthcare, and technology sectors. Sarah's career started in business development at Altrum Honors, leading sales initiatives across North America.

A Toronto native, Sarah has lived in major cities across the United States, including an 8-year stint in New York City, 2 years in Los Angeles, and she currently resides in San Francisco. In her free time, Sarah is building Modern Angels, a community and database of 200+ female and non-binary angel investors.

Like many Canadians, Sarah loves the outdoors! She is a marathon runner, cyclist and loves live music. Sarah is inspired by food, fitness and travel.

Nicola D'Alton joined GroundForce Capital in 2023 as an Executive Assistant, leveraging her experience gained in the fast-paced financial industry of New York City. Nicola enjoys hiking, beach days and frequent visits to Erewhon. Nicola’s true passion is committed to climate change initiatives, health, and wellness, striving to make a positive impact on the world.

Tahra Makinson-Sanders joined the team as an Executive Assistant in 2022. Mission driven work has been at her core. After a career in journalism, working for a national park and starting her own women’s sportswear business, Tahra found GroundForce Capital to be a perfect fit. Working with a team that is passionate about fitness, healthy lifestyles and the power of food has been her dream come true.

Adam Lowry is a former climate scientist and the founder of several mission-driven businesses, including Method Products, Ripple Foods, and Sugarbreak, all public benefit corporations.  Adam designs businesses with sustainability principles at their core, so that their growth produces positive social and environmental impacts.  His businesses have eliminated more than a million tons of GHG emissions and thousand tons of plastic waste, saved more than 100 billion gallons of water, and created hundreds of green manufacturing jobs on four continents; all while creating more than a billion dollars in shareholder value.

Adam’s companies have been named #7 on the Inc 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the US; #16 on Fast Company’s Fast 50 World’s Most Innovative Companies; and twice named to the Global CleanTech 100.  Adam has contributed countless innovations to the sustainable business space that span from packaging to green chemistry to urban revitalization.

Adam has been honored as recipient of The Circular Economy Award from the World Economic Forum and the Global Citizen Award from the Clinton Global Initiative for his leadership in the private sector.  Adam is a Catto Environmental Fellow at the Aspen Institute and holds a B.S. Chemical Engineering from Stanford University.

Mr. Muth is a senior leader with strong background in building winning organizational cultures with both large and small companies.

Most recently he served as the Chief Growth Officer at Beyond Meat from May 2017 until June 2021. Muth led the company’s growth initiatives and was instrumental in engineering a high performing sales and marketing organization. Under Muth’s leadership, the company rapidly grew Net Revenues from $16M in 2016 to over $400 in 2020 by expanding distribution into over 120,000 retail, restaurant and foodservice outlets in more than 80 countries worldwide.

Prior to joining Beyond Meat, Mr. Muth had a long career in the beverage industry. From 2014 to 2016, he led the creation of a new entrepreneurial sales/commercial organization, Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB), within the Coca-Cola Company as Senior Vice-President with revenue increases of over 200%. From 2010 to 2014, Muth was Vice President of Sales at the Honest Beverage Company after its acquisition by Coke growing revenues from $35 million to over $230 million. From 2004 to 2010 Muth was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at The Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Prior to 2004 Muth served as the Vice President/General Manager of Joseph E. Seagram’s global non-alcoholic beverages business unit.

Muth began his career as a Truck Driver/Route Salesman for The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York where he progressively advanced his career with promotions to District Sales Manager, Division Sales Manager, Director of Brand Management and Branch General Manager.

Muth serves as a board director at Vive Organics, Partake Foods, ZICO Rising and Infinite Foods. Muth is a graduate of Montclair State University with a BS degree in Marketing and Management and where he currently serves on their business advisory board. Muth also has an MBA in Finance from Fairleigh Dickenson University.

Rebecca Messina has been an operating advisor since 2020 and currently serves on the board of two GroundForce Capital portfolio companies: Vive Organic and Zico. She has deep experience in building global brands and teams and most recently served as Uber Technologies first ever CMO. While at Uber, Rebecca was also part of the Executive Leadership team that took the Company public in 2019.

Prior to joining Uber, Rebecca was the SVP and Global CMO at Beam Suntory, the third largest spirits company famous for brands like Jim Beam, Makers Mark, a large craft portfolio, and Japanese whisky brands like Hibiki and Yamazaki.

With more than two decades of experience in roles around the world at The Coca-Cola Company, Rebecca built a deep foundation growing global brands from the ground up. In addition to her extensive experience with the Company's biggest brands, Rebecca was also the CMO of the internal incubator, Venturing and Emerging Brands, where she led marketing for the portfolio of high growth brands including Fairlife, Zico, Honest Tea and others.

Until 2024, Danielle Jezienicki was Vice President of Sustainability for Grove Collaborative, the world's first plastic-neutral retailer. As Grove's first Head of Sustainability, Danielle built the sustainability program and the industry's first plastic intensity metric (recognized for leadership in reporting around plastic use) and all measurement, managing all ESG disclosures through the company's IPO in June of 2022, as well as its move away from single-use plastic and towards Net Zero by 2030.

Prior to Grove, Danielle was the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) where she supervised ESG reporting and sustainability initiatives for the Company and its West Coast brands including the Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma brands. Prior to her brand experience, she worked at impact investment firm, Sonen Capital, as an Impact Analyst responsible for evaluating impact across asset classes and impact themes. She holds an MBA in Sustainable Management at Presidio Graduate School and BA (honors) in Political Science from Brown University.

Danielle recently founded her consulting practice, Impact FWD, where she supports investors and brands as a fractional head of impact and sustainability. In this role, she helps define and operationalize sustainability strategies across investments, portfolio companies, and brands. Current clients include GroundForce Capital, Nespresso, Cabinet Health, and Lulu and Georgia as well as advisory relationships with EQT Partners and rePurpose Global. Danielle has expertise in impact investment diligence as well as operating expertise across consumer products, packaging, waste/materials, circularity, and supply chain.

André Martin, PhD, has held key C-level leadership, advisory, and board roles dedicated to employee engagement and culture in some of the biggest consumer brands in the world including Target, Nike, Google, Mars Incorporated, and Disney.

Whether his teams were unleashing the potential of Target’s 350,000 employees by helping to build a more purpose-driven culture, activating a consumer-focused digital transformation at Nike by delivering a more value-driven, leader-led culture, or building a principle-led culture at Mars that resulted in five consecutive Gallup Great Place to Work awards, André’s mission has always been to help make growth companies as engaging as the consumer brands they create.

When he isn’t helping companies thrive, Andre is a guest lecturer at top universities on culture, design thinking and innovation, a committed husband and father of two wonderful children, an owner of a sustainable mushroom farm in the Ozark Mountains, and can otherwise be found hiking the rain-soaked trails around Portland with his two English labs (Bode and the Fonz).

Ken Romanzi is a seasoned packaged food and beverage industry executive with 40 years of marketing, sales, operations and general management experience across numerous global brands and entrepreneurial ventures. Ken has a track record of delivering breakthrough results by building brands through superior marketing and innovation and driving synergistic acquisitions across many businesses and go-to-market systems.

Most recently, Ken was President, CEO and Director of B&G Foods (NYSE: BGS), a $2 billion public food company of over 50 iconic food brands.  During his tenure at B&G, company sales and earnings increased +25% and +35% respectively. Ken led the acquisition of 3 businesses during his tenure as well as navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, making B&G the fastest growing major food company for the year.

Ken began his career in marketing at Frito-Lay (PepsiCo) where he worked on iconic brands such as Doritos, Cheetos and Ruffles and pioneered the concept of regional/customer marketing.  He subsequently held senior marketing and sales roles at Cadbury Schweppes and Nabisco, and served as CEO of Balduccis.com, a gourmet food, direct-to-consumer business, and CEO of The Ultimate Juice Company, where he was the prime force behind the national expansion of Naked Juice.  From 2004-2015, he was COO of Ocean Spray Cranberries, where he led a major turnaround of the company, increasing sales nearly 50% (+$700 million) and doubling profits for this 700-member, cranberry farmer cooperative.  Following Ocean Spray, Ken served as President of Fresh Foods at WhiteWave, where he led Earthbound Farm Organics, the largest organic salad producer in the US.

Ken is a graduate of Babson College with a bachelor of science in finance and accounting and is a member of its Board of Trustees where he chairs the governance committee.  Ken and his wife live in Colorado where they enjoy numerous outdoor activities including platform tennis, tennis, golf, hiking and skiing.

Kevin Boylan was a Co-Founder and Senior Advisor at PowerPlant Partners and is an Advisor at GroundForce Capital. Kevin co-founded Veggie Grill, the largest 100% plant-based restaurant company in the United States. He co-architected the brand and concept and led all aspects of financing the company’s growth. Veggie Grill has been named one of the “25 Most Innovative Consumer Brands” by Forbes.

Prior to entering the food arena, Kevin was the founder and CEO for 15 years of Standard Capital Group (“SCG”). SCG was an investment banking firm that provided investment banking services to middle market companies. SCG offered a range of services including private debt and equity financings, merger and acquisition advice, and sale advisory. The company specialized in arranging both private debt and equity capital from $10M to $150M. SCG arranged capital for transactions including refinancing/debt consolidation, management buyouts, leveraged recapitalization, and acquisition financing. SCG raised capital for companies in industries including business services, consumer products, distribution, healthcare, and industrial products.

Prior to founding SCG, Kevin spent 10 years at investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert where he worked his way to Senior Vice President in the High Yield & Convertible Securities department under Michael Milken. Collectively, Kevin participated in the structuring and placement of 100’s of financings across a myriad of industries during his 25 years on Wall Street.

Kevin has a BS in Business Administration from Arizona State University and currently serves on the advisory boards of The Good Food Institute, Tufts University Friedman School for Entrepreneurship, and UCLA School of Law Resnick Program for Food Law and Policy.

T.K. Pillan was a Co-Founding Partner at PowerPlant Partners and is an Advisor at GroundForce Capital. T.K represented the following boards as either a member or observer: Zero Egg, Nutriati, and Veggie Grill.

T.K. co-founded Veggie Grill, the largest 100% plant-based restaurant company in the United States. With his passion for Veganisim primarily driven by his Mother's food-is-medicine philosophy, T.K co-architected the brand and led all aspects of early company growth. Veggie Grill has been named one of the “25 Most Innovative Consumer Brands” by Forbes. His Mother's constant sharing of eastern wisdom, while letting him find his own way in American culture, allowed T.K. to find a true calling in the creation of Veggie Grill and its mission to change American food culture for the better.

Prior to entering the food arena, T.K. co-founded Guidance Solutions, one of L.A.’s first e-commerce development firms. As EVP and Board Member, he led the technology services firm from start-up through rapid growth including managing sales & marketing, client services, strategic planning, and finance at various stages. Guidance was recognized by Deloitte & Touche as one of the 15 fastest growing technology companies in Los Angeles in 1999, 2000 and 2001. The company continues to operate today.

T.K. earned an engineering degree from MIT and an MBA from UCLA.