NBJ Summit: Wednesday, July 26th 2023
Information
7:00 AM – 11:00 AM Coffee Station
Sponsored by: Disruption Labs
Location: Palos Verdes Prefunction
7:10 AM – 8:10 AM Breakfast
Sponsored by: Sabinsa
Location: Palos Verdes Terrace
8:10 AM – 8:20 AM Opening Remarks
NBJ Summit Co-Chair: Rick Polito, Editor-in-Chief, Nutrition Business Journal
Location: Palos Verdes 1-5
8:20 AM – 9:20 AM Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence
Keynote Speaker: Erica Dhawan, Award Winning Keynote Speaker and Author on Collaboration, Cotential
Sponsored by: KEMIN
We typically associate success with speed and smarts. But in today’s hypercompetitive world, even those gifts aren’t enough. Collaboration expert Erica Dhawan argues that the game changer is a thoroughly modern skill called Connectional Intelligence (CxQ). As radical a concept as Emotional Intelligence was in the 90s, Connectional Intelligence is turning people into superconnectors who accelerate innovation, break down silos and foster breakthrough impact.
This dynamic, engaging, high-energy, fast-paced session will help participants understand the practice of using connectional intelligence as the key to purposeful collaboration, resilience, and business success. Attendees will shift the notion of collaboration from more meetings and emails to productive engagement that improves speed and quality of service, increases subject matter expertise and specialist sharing across silos, reduces cross-team dysfunction and delay, and eliminates duplicative work. Attendees will learn new insights and tools to accelerate the connected power of teams, become more agile and innovative, and drive breakthrough ideas and outcomes.
9:20 AM – 9:40 AM State of the Industry: M&A and Financial Markets Overview
Speaker: William Hood, Managing Director & Founding Partner, William Hood & Company
Although the long-term picture is very bright, the VMS industry recorded lower investment and M&A activity in 2022 and the first half of 2023, resulting from high inflation, rising interest rates, jittery financial markets and geopolitical turbulence. Well-known nutrition industry investment banker and investor William Hood breaks down the historic activity and the current state of play, sharing his perspectives on where we are going in the future.
9:40 AM – 10:10 AM Refreshment Break & Book Signing
Sponsored by: Naturmega
Location: Palos Verdes Prefunction
10:10 AM – 10:50 AM State of the Industry: Investments & Fundraising
Moderator: William Hood, Managing Director & Founding Partner, William Hood & Company
Speakers: Jordan Gaspar, Founder & Managing Partner, AF Ventures
Amin Maredia, Former CEO of Sprouts, Co-Founder, Meaningful Partners
Dean Kelly, CEO, Gainful
How do early and mid-stage companies get funded? Who is funding them and what are they looking for in growing businesses? What is the current environment for fundraising and how have they adapted? Led by William Hood, this panel of seasoned investors and entrepreneurs will draw upon decades of experience and case studies to discuss these questions and more in a thought-provoking session.
10:50 AM – 11:30 AM Leadership Reflections: Functional Mushrooms
Moderator: Thomas Aarts, Co-Founder, Nutrition Business Journal
Speakers: Najla Guthrie, President & CEO, KGK Science
Sandra Carter, Ph.D., Founder, President, M2 Ingredients and Om Mushroom Superfood
Cory Rosenberg, Founder, President & CEO, First Person
Mushrooms are a diverse ingredient class with great potential for the health of consumers and the supplement industry as a growth engine. Mushrooms have emerged as the multifunctional ingredient movement of the moment, with promise for immunity, cognitive health, mood benefits, and more. In this leadership session, panelists will also discuss how they match the benefit to the format in everything from powders and pills to teas and gummies. Learn where the market is growing, where the science is leading, and who the most interested consumers will be.
11:30 AM – 11:35 AM Closing Remarks and Announcements
NBJ Summit Co-Chair: Rick Polito, Editor-in-Chief, Nutrition Business Journal
11:35 AM – 12:45 PM Lunch
Sponsored by: Cepham
Location: Palos Verdes Terrace
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM Lunch & Learn: Science and Industry Responsibility in Microdosing and Psychedelics
Sponsored by: Cepham
Location: Palos Verdes 1-5
Moderator: Rick Polito, Editor-in-Chief, Nutrition Business Journal
Speakers: Nick Bitz, N.D., SVP Product Development, Neurohacker Collective
Joseph Claussen, Co-Founder and Director of Ingredients, First Person
Najla Guthrie, President & CEO, KGK Science
Loree Sutton, M.D., Retired Brigadier General and Psychiatrist
Decades after promising psychiatric research on the benefits of psychedelics for was quashed in the proto-culture wars of the 1960s, mushroom, LSD and other drugs have emerged from the recreational world to claim benefits for mental health. From shaman-led ayahuasca retreats to Silicon Valley insiders microdosing on LSD and mushrooms, there is a vast under-the-radar market, but the connection to supplements is far from clear. This panel will discuss how supplements and psychedelics can compliment each other without blurring the lines between drugs and neutraceuticals. Questions include whether companies can stand with a foot on both sides of that blur and whether marketing products as “psychedelic adjacent” is responsible. Attendees can look forward to a lively and freewheeling discussion fit for a Lunch & Learn model.
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM Activities
Terranea Pool Party Sponsored by: Pharmavite |Location: Cielo Point Pool
Chair Massage + Eye Testing Sponsored by: EyePromise
Porsche Driving Experience Sponsored by: GELITA | Location: Porsche Driving Center Los Angeles
9:00 AM – 5:30 PM One-on-One Business Networking Meetings
Sponsored by: Kerry, Inc.
Location: Palos Verdes 6 & 7
Let's network! This is the dedicated time for your pre-booked 30-minute one-on-one networking meetings. If you haven’t booked meetings yet, click on the “Attendees” tab now to connect, chat and book meetings with both in-person and virtual attendees. In-person meetings will take place in Palos Verdes 6 & 7, while virtual meetings will take place on the Swapcard platform.
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM NBJ Awards Reception
Sponsored by: HBTA
Wine Sponsored by: Radicle Science
Mocktails Sponsored by: FutureCeuticals
Photobooth Sponsored by: Nutriventia
Location: Point Lawn & Terrace
7:30 PM – 10:00 PM NBJ Awards Dinner
Sponsored by: RFI Ingredients
Location: Catalina Lawn & Terrace