Michael Bush
Mike has more than 25 years of experience leading venture-backed businesses in the natural products, healthcare and bioinformatics industries. As president and CEO of probiotic innovator Ganeden, Michael grew the market of the company’s patented ingredient to over 65 countries and more than 1,000 SKUS, culminating with the 2017 merger with Kerry, Inc. Additionally, he founded a national business growth consultancy firm, co-founded a national biomedical services firm and led acquisitions and merger activities for a global medical services company.
Len Monheit
A recognized industry analyst and thought leader, Len Monheit has over 20 years experience in the natural products and dietary supplement industry, with over 15 years background in digital media. Monheit has participated in dozens of speaking engagements across four continents, talking about best business practices, industry trends across the health and wellness industries, and success factors for international business development.
With a background in Biopharma and biotechnology, and as General Manager of a contract research and analytical lab, Monheit, in 1999, co-founded NPIcenter, which grew over the subsequent 8 years, to be the largest online media enterprise in the North American Natural Products industry. Selling that to Penton Media’s New Hope Natural Media in 2006, Monheit joined Penton/New Hope as digital media director, ingredient portfolio manager, market leader and ultimately Executive Director of Strategic Business Development.
Taking on the role of General Manager, US, with UK-based William Reed Business Media, Monheit, over three years, introduced two new annual conferences to the US (Food Vision and Probiota) and was responsible for a tradeshow launch (The Healthy & Natural Show) in Chicago in May of 2016. Monheit had responsibility for all of William Reed’s activities in the Americas, including FoodNavigator-USA, NutraIngredients-USA, as well as Pharma and Cosmetics publications, in addition to international partnerships and growth projects.
Kevin Honaker
Kevin Honaker is co-founder and CEO of BiomeSense, an early stage life sciences startup developing a novel biosensor that enables continuous gut microbiome tracking in the home. Kevin has worked in health care for the past 7 years and is passionate about identifying, developing and commercializing new technologies that can improve health. Prior to joining BiomeSense, he led operations for PrescriptIQ, a pharmacogenomics startup, primarily responsible for strategic planning, finance, and product development. Kevin earned an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Kate Brunson
Justin Sonnenburg
Dr. Sonnenburg's lab is interested in the basic principles that govern interactions within the intestinal microbiota and between the microbiota and the host. To pursue these aims, they colonize germ-free (gnotobiotic) mice with simplified, model microbial communities, apply systems approaches (e.g. functional genomics), and use genetic tools for the host and microbes to gain mechanistic insight into emergent properties of the host-microbial super-organism.
José Carlos Garcia Garcia
Garrett Ruhland
Dr Diana Oram
David Gauger
David Gauger is co-founded of Gauger + Associates, a marketing communications firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm provides strategic planning, branding, package design, interactive marketing, content creation and advertising programs for a wide variety of visionary businesses. Much of the Agency’s work is for CPG and ingredient manufacturers in the health and wellness sector.
David has taught Green & Social Marketing, Advertising, Graphic Design and Advanced Visual Communications at the university level. His agency’s work has garnered hundreds of creative awards in the US, Europe and Asia.
Dale Pfost
Dale Pfost, PhD, has 35 years of experience as an entrepreneur, investor and business executive. His areas of expertise include biotechnology, high-tech, corporate strategy and corporate governance. Dale has been the founding CEO of five biotechnology companies, three of which became publicly traded with valuations of over $2 billion. Dale has successfully completed 22 financings with dollar totals in the hundreds of millions. He has overseen M&A deals for nine companies and served as a director at multiple public and private firms.
Dale was recently the US-based General Partner at Advent Life Sciences, a leading life sciences venture capital fund in London, and is the acting CEO of a microbiome company, Microbiome Therapeutics. Dale has extensive experience in successfully growing early-stage companies to exits via trade-sales or IPO, including Infinitek/Biomek (sold to SmithKline Beckman), Oxford GlycoSciences (eventual IPO), Orchid BioSciences (IPO), Acuity Pharmaceuticals (reverse merger to form OPKO Heath), Receptor BioLogix (sold to Symphogen).
He has served as a director at about 10 private and public firms, is the co-author of multiple scientific papers and an inventor on 10 patents. Dale has been active in supporting angel investors and local life science start-ups. He earned a BS degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a PhD in physics from Brown University. He has homes in New Orleans and Los Altos, California, and holds a private pilot license.