Co-Founders

Max MacKenzie

CEO, Co-Founder

Max MacKenzie is the CEO and President of Sprout Foods, Inc., which he co-founded in 2004. As a founding member, Max developed the company's business plan, designed the patented packaging as well as the Company's product strategy.

Max has over 15 years experience as an entrepreneur and has several U.S. and International Patents pending for consumer products. He also currently sits on the Board of Directors of Shared Abundance, a charity he co-founded that will help feed children that are victims of disaster or live in depressed areas of the world.

Max served on the Community Needs Assessment Committee of the Stamford-Greenwich Connecticut United Way, providing financial analysis and oversight of United Way funds for local charities. He has volunteered for the Greenwich Red Cross, the Greenwich chapter of Kids in Crisis, the Beth Israel Medical Center's Pediatric Brain Cancer Center, and New York Cares.

Max was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and NYU. He currently lives in New York City and is married to Jillian Matlock Mackenzie who also works for Sprout Foods.

Tyler Florence

Co-Founder, Executive Chef

Tyler Florence creates extraordinary meals with uncomplicated recipes, universal flavors, and fresh, organic foods. He is a regular fixture on the Food Network, with shows Food 911, How to Boil Water, and Tyler's Ultimate, and also makes regular appearances on the Today Show and Oprah.

He is the author of 5 books, most recently Dinner at My Place and Stirring the Pot. A graduate of the College of Culinary Arts of Johnson & Wales University in 1991, Tyler has received an honorary doctorate from the university honoring his achievements in the field.

In June 2008, Tyler and his wife Tolan opened Tyler Florence - Mill Valley, a kitchen and lifestyle retail store in downtown Mill Valley, CA. They are parents to Miles, Hayden and Dorothy.

Visit Tyler's Page

Board of Directors

Dennis Hersch

Non-Executive Chairman of the Board

Dennis Hersch joined Davis Polk & Wardwell and became a partner in 1978. From 1987 through 2005 he headed Davis Polk’s mergers and acquisitions practice. In December 2005 he joined JP Morgan as Global Chairman of Mergers and Acquisitions. In February 2008, Dennis became a business advisor to Leslie Wexner, founder and Chairman of Limited Brands. Dennis is a member of the Boards of Directors of Limited Brands, Clearwire Corporation, a trustee of The Wexner Foundation and a director of The Horticultural Society of New York (chairman 2003-2006).

David McKane

David was involved in Sprout as an advisor during the development phase beginning in early 2006. David serves as a valuable source of guidance by lending his many years of consumer and agri-products knowledge to the development and management of Sprout Foods.

David McKane served as a Senior Executive at Schick Inc. from 1979-84. He served as CEO of A.I. Friedman, Inc. NYC - 1985-87. David currently is Managing General Partner Riverland and Indian Sun, LLC. Westport, CT. In addition to serving as an Advisor to Sprout, David sits on the Board of Directors of Oakhurst Dairy, Portland, Maine, which is one of the country’s largest milk producers.
He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth.

Walter Freedman

Mr. Freedman has had a diversified work experience primarily focused on consumer goods and corporate services. He was with Sara Lee Corp., as MIS Director of Kitchens of Sara Lee; VP of Corporate Development at headquarters; and President of the Fuller Brush Company, a Sara Lee Corp. subsidiary.  Subsequently, Freedman co-invested in and was CEO of Yoplait USA.  In that capacity he was the leader of the launch of Yoplait yogurt in the US and its sale to General Mills.  He also was an investor and board representative for the controlling shareholders of Leaf Confectionary helping it to profitability and its successful sale to the Finnish company, Huhtamaki Oy.

Mr. Freedman was COO of Wheels, Inc., a leading corporate vehicle fleet-management Company.  Freedman led a diversification strategy for Wheels’ ownership and purchased IVI Travel, one of the four leading corporate travel firms nationally.  As CEO of IVI, he led the turnaround of the company and built it, creating an international company with sales of well over one billion dollars.  The company was known for its leadership in corporate travel management.  Freedman orchestrated the sale of the company, then called BTI Americas, to EDS.

Freedman presently is an investor and a consultant to private equity firms.  He serves as a board member and advisor in a number of the portfolio companies. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth.

Freedman is involved with several not-for-profits boards and various philanthropic charities.

Timothy George

Tim George is a Managing Director of Greenhill. Tim was previously a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, where, among other positions, he founded and ran its Global Food, Beverage and Consumer Products Group. Prior to that, he was the Assistant Treasurer of J.P.Morgan & Co. and a Vice-President of Goldman, Sachs & Co. Tim is a member of the Management Committee of Greenhill & Co.

Staff

Jillian MacKenzie

Creative Director / Chief Footprint Officer

Jillian’s work with Sprout Foods combines her love of the environment and children. She has experience in the areas of Intellectual Property, hospitality and art.As Creative Director she is responsible for working with Sprout’s design team developing the website and packaging designs. As “Chief Footprint Officer” she is responsible for the assessment of the company’s values, and ways to continue towards becoming a carbon neutral company. Jillian also participates in Sprout’s customer service, and enjoys responding directly to customer’s calls and emails. She is a very dedicated wife, aunt, cousin, and godmother.

Dan Heiges

VP of Food Production

Dan will be the first person to tell you he has one of the best jobs in the world. As the head of food production he works closely with Tyler to maintain the authenticity of our recipes from farm to pouch. With an extensive background in Food Safety and Product Development, Dan has been responsible for launching or reformulating over 1,000 Natural and Organic products during his career. Prior to joining Sprout Foods he served as Director of Research & Development, Quality Assurance and Corporate Standards at Wild Oats Markets. Although his two children, Evan and Mia, stopped eating baby food a few years ago, they still find ways to enjoy dad’s work, like when he whips up a batch of Sprout Roasted Apple and Blueberry Smoothies. The family resides in Boulder, CO.

Richard F. Harford

Vice President, Sales

With over 20 years of sales expertise in the retail sector, Richard will be crucial in driving Sprout's revenues.

Richard has been instrumental in strategic sales development for multi-million dollar companies such as Marcal Manufacturing, Georgia-Pacific Corp., Nestle Food and endless others. He led and directed a $400 million dollar business in the North American Retail Sales Division with Marcal Manufacturing and successfully restructured the sales agency network, increasing market distribution over 50%.

Richard is also founder of his own consulting firm, RFH Consulting, based out of Connecticut. He has taken on retail clients with his specialized disciplines in Sales, Trade Marketing and Channel/Customer Marketing initiatives.

Currently residing in Connecticut, Richard is married with 3 boys and 1 girl.

Annette Alvarado

Vice President of Human Resources

Annette joins us with over 12 years experience in the HR field. Holding a BA in Business Administration, her expertise derived from various industries in advertising, retail, technology and media publishing. As our Senior HR Executive, she will be responsible for the overall function of the human resources department including compensation, performance management, training and development, all while overseeing the design and development of organizational strategies, affecting the entire Company. She will also be crucial in attracting key talent to join Sprout's growing team of professionals.

Annette is a native New Yorker who enjoys traveling, spending time with her family and working on charitable events.

Sabina Rahman

Controller

Sabina Rahman has joined Sprout, as Controller and will be overseeing all aspects of the Finance Department. Sabina has spent over 20 years in the financial services sector as VP of Finance at Deutsche Bank and as VP of Finance at Morgan Stanley.

Prior to joining Sprout Foods, Sabina managed her own consulting firm, K&S Inc. Her firm specialized in providing part-time CFO/Controller services to small and growing companies.

As a member of Junior League, Sabina founded the "New Mom's Group" where mothers were educated in early childhood development through child psychology and healthy nutrition, all beginning from child birth. In turn, all problems associated with childhood obesity and poor nutrition were addressed. This initiative has now been implemented nationwide and carried on by other members of Junior League, which she is very proud of.

Currently she resides in New York City, along with her seven-year-old son.

Nicole Bohorad

Head of Corporate Marketing

Nicole's experience as a mom to a former preemie has built her passion to help children develop to their potential. Nicole is responsible for Sprout's corporate brand and product strategy and marketing communications across advertising, retail, promotions and events. Prior to joining Sprout Foods, she led Strategic Marketing & Business Development for the National Basketball Association and ESPN for 13 years. She is a Partner in and most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for Parentville.com. She has a BA from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. Nicole is working on a parenting handbook developed from her experiences and supports child health and safety causes including March of Dimes and First Candle.

Sunita Kumar

Head of Digital Brand Marketing

Sunita joined Sprout to combine her love of emerging media with her passion for promoting health. As Head of Digital Brand Marketing, her role will be to drive awareness, engagement, and love of Sprout across as many mediums as possible – including online, in store, and through social and mobile channels. Sunita comes to Sprout with 6 years of marketing experience in CPG Brand Management, Direct Marketing, and Digital Marketing, working with brands such as L'Oreal, HSBC, American Express, and Amazon.

On her spare time, you will find Sunita indulging in her many loves such as cooking, skiing, Bikram yoga, and talking about the benefits of fruits and vegetables. She holds a degree in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA in Marketing and Corporate Strategy from the Ross School of Business.

Collin McTigue

Director of Logistics

As Director of Logistics, Collin’s responsibilities include coordinating transportation of raw materials and finished goods, vendor selection, negotiating ingredient costs, and inventory management. With an extensive background in natural and organic consumer goods, Collin has managed many aspects of developing and growing a national brand. Prior to joining Sprout Foods, he served as Private Label Sourcing Manager at Wild Oats Markets and Private Label Brand Manager at Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy.
He is a graduate of Virginia Tech.

Michelle Muse

Director of Quality Assurance

Michelle's primary objective will be to ensure the quality and safety standards of all of Sprout's baby food products. Holding a Masters in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Michelle refined her expertise with such well-known companies as Quiznos, Masterfoods and General Mills.

Michelle enjoys snowboarding, going to concerts, walking her dachshunds, and volunteering at the Children's Hospital.

Alexandra Lauricella

Executive Assistant to the CEO

Alexandra is excited and honored to join the Sprout Team as an Executive Assistant. She holds a B.S. from Fairfield University in International Business and brings a fresh perspective and much enthusiasm to Sprout Foods. Most recently working with the country's leading development firm, Related Company™, Alexandra assisted the President and Vice President of Sales in the sale of luxury condominiums across the United States.

Alexandra grew up in an Italian-American household that helped her cultivate her passion for food. When she is not assisting the CEO to make Sprout the best baby food company in existence; she enjoys snowboarding, acting, and traveling.

Stephanie Perez

Executive Assistant

Stephanie joins the Sprout team, incorporating two of her favorites; babies and food. She provides administrative support for various departments in the company including customer service and sales. A recent graduate from Binghamton University with a Bachelor in Psychology, Stephanie has prior experience in childcare, from volunteering at summer camps, after school programs, and in human resources.

On her spare time, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her family, two dogs, running, traveling, and reading.

Advisors

Christine L. Frissora, MD, FACP

Dr. Frissora is a great source of advice on issues related to the digestive system, a child’s digestive development and how that relates to our recipe development. Besides being an expert on the digestive system, Dr. Frissora has been on television as a health consultant and, is a mother of two sets of twins.

Christine Frissora, M.D., FACP, is a faculty member of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, New York. She was elected a fellow of the American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine for her achievements in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology and Hepatology. She is an Assistant Attending Physician at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr Frissora is certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Frissora is the President of the Office of Women in Medicine and Science, The Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Steve Hafner

Steve has served as an advisor to Sprout since the middle of 2006 and has provided great insight into the launching and funding of Sprout. Steve will lend his expertise to both the launch process of Sprout in the areas of marketing, as well as the development and implementation of our e-commerce portal.

Steve Hafner is currently the Co-Founder and CEO of Kayak.com, the online travel search engine. Steve helped found Orbitz, Inc., the online travel agency site, in November 1999. As a member of the original start-up team, Steve helped develop and implement the company's business strategy.

Consultants and Associates

Greg Torborg

Greg has extensive experience in corporate transactional work. He has handled an array of mergers and acquisitions on behalf of U.S. and international corporations. He also represents software production companies, television/video production entities and new media companies in commercial transactions, financing agreements and day-to-day business affairs. Additionally, Greg is skilled in the drafting and negotiation of trademark and technology licenses on behalf of high-profile clients.

Greg earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Columbia University and his Juris Doctor from Fordham University. He is a member of the Sports Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association and the National Sports Marketing Network. Greg is licensed to practice law in New York, Florida, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. He resides in Manhasset, New York with his wife, Karen, and two children.

Andrew W. Samaan

Andrew is an attorney with expertise in capital formation, transaction analysis, negotiation and execution. He advises clients on corporate transactions, and various other transactions from both a financial and legal perspective. Aside from his expertise in representing investors and owners, Andrew has extensive experience in corporate transactional work. He has worked in excess of $5 billion in mergers and acquisitions transactions and issuance of corporate securities on behalf of U.S. and international corporations. Andrew has advised new media companies in capital formation, intellectual property matters and on-going operations.

Andrew earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Loyola College and his Juris Doctor/MBA from Fordham University. He is a member of the Sports Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association. He is licensed to practice law in New York, Connecticut and the District of Columbia. Andrew resides in Pelham, New York with his wife, Mollie, and two children.

Edward Etkin

Patent, Trademark and Copyright Attorney

Jesse Sammis IV

Third Branch Equity Advisors

ArchPoint

Food Broker and Customer Service

ArchPoint Sales is a traditional food broker with an emphasis on building brands. Their focus is to bring innovative solutions and provide added value to the brands they represent through their national sales broker network. The company was started in 2007 by 3 partners: – Richard Spoon, who has spent the last 5 years consulting with consumer product companies all over the globe in the development and execution of corporate growth strategies. Prior to consulting, Richard worked for both Procter & Gamble and Campbell Soup in various sales leadership positions. Richard continues to lead ArchPoint. The 2nd partner, Jesse Edelman, also started his career at Procter & Gamble and then spent 5 years in San Antonio with Luke Soules/Southwest, long considered one of the best independent food brokers in the U.S. After various sales leadership positions with Webvan, Heinz and Jarden Home Brands, where he built a national broker network, Jesse joined Richard to start ArchPoint in 2007. The final partner is Tim Bramble, who serves as the President of ArchPoint Sales. Tim began his consumer products career 33 years ago as a sales representative for Scott Paper. After time with Ocean Spray and Atari, Tim joined Luke Soules/Southwest in 1983. Acosta bought Luke Soules/Southwest in 2002, and Tim was named Senior VP/HEB Team Lead and held that position until March 2007 when he left, and along with Richard and Jesse, started ArchPoint Sales.”

J.H. Cohn, LLP

Accounting and Auditing Firm

Contributors

Co-Founder

Marisa Polvino

Creative

Annica Lydenberg, Dirty Bandits – Designer and Website Design
Alex Gatje – Designer
John Lee - Photographer
Kevin Crafts – Food Stylist