Jordan Gaspar, our Chief Executive Officer and director since our formation, January 12, 2021, has over a decade of successful venture investment experience and has been the Managing Partner of AF Ventures since its founding in 2014. Ms. Gaspar has built AF Ventures, a 100% woman-owned and operated fund, from the ground up into the most active fund investing in packaged food and beverage today. She has spearheaded investments into some of the fastest growing and most well-recognized food and beverage brands today including Alpha Foods, Four Sigmatic, and Harmless Harvest, among others. She has also overseen AF Ventures’ entrance into new verticals such as personal care, as demonstrated by AF Ventures’ investment in LOLA. Over several years of investment activity, Ms. Gaspar has established strong partnerships with stakeholders across the consumer landscape including multinational food companies, distribution businesses, brand founders, entrepreneurs, marketing experts, and third-party service providers. Prior to founding AF Ventures, Ms. Gaspar was an attorney at Morrison Cohen LLP where she advised venture and private equity firms and their portfolio companies, as well as SPACs, on acquisitions, sales, mergers, and financings. She graduated from Columbia College and received her J.D. from Fordham Law School. Ms. Gaspar currently sits on the board or acts as a board observer to several innovative, better-for-you consumer products companies including Alpha Foods, Clio, Four Sigmatic, KidFresh, Koia, LOLA, Proud Source Water and Gainful. We believe Ms. Gaspar is qualified to serve on our board because of her proven investing track record in the better-for-you food and beverage industry, her fund-building experience, and her widespread network across the consumer ecosystem, from distributors to retailers and third-party service providers.
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Christopher Bradley, our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary since inception, is a Managing Director at Mistral, which he joined in 2008. Mr. Bradley brings over 20 years of experience identifying acquisition candidates, due diligence experience including accounting and financial modeling acumen, and a background in deal structuring. He currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Tastemaker Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: TMKRU), a blank check company that completed its $276 million initial public offering on January 12, 2021, and Haymaker III, a blank check company that initially filed a registration statement for its initial public offering February 12, 2021. From 2019 until its business combination in December of 2020, Mr. Bradley served as the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Haymaker II. From 2017 until its business combination in March 2019, he was an officer of Haymaker I. In 2016, Mr. Bradley co-founded and has since served as a member of the board of directors of The Beacon Consumer Incubator Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in consumer technology companies. Mr. Bradley has also previously served on the board of directors of Creminelli Fine Meats, LLC, a privately held premium-priced charcuterie wholesaler, from 2016 to January 2020, The Lovesac Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOVE) from 2010 to 2018, Country Pure Foods from 2010 to 2014, Bout Time Wine LLC from 2014 to 2015 and Xpress Spa Group, Inc from 2012 to 2014. Mr. Bradley has also guided Mistral portfolio companies in an operational role and, through Mistral, served on the board of Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ: JMBA) from 2009 to 2013. Prior to Mistral, Mr. Bradley served as an investment banker at Banc of America Securities from 2005 to 2006, a Manager in Burger King’s strategy group in 2004, and a Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers management consulting practice from 1999 to 2004. Mr. Bradley earned an A.B. from the University of Chicago and an M.B.A. from The Harvard Business School.
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