Our Team
Manny Stern
Mr. Stern has an advanced degree
in Physics from New York University and started his career as a research
physicist for IBM.
In 1970, after 16 years of
progressively more responsible field and line management positions, Mr.
Stern left IBM to pursue his lifelong interest in food. He launched
Country Epicure, a premium commercial dessert bakery. It quickly
achieved critical acclaim and became the prime supplier of gourmet
desserts to many finer restaurants, hotels, and food service companies
throughout the U.S. and abroad. Country Epicure also created and
developed new products for a number of leading multi-national food
giants such as Heinz, Campbell’s, Kraft-General Foods, NutriSystems, and
Diet Center.
In 1989, Mr. Stern sold his
interest in Country Epicure, continuing his involvement in the food
industry, first as an international consultant and problem-solver, then
in the exclusive development and manufacture of nutritionally tailored
foods for major hospitals, strong regional and national food service
clients, and international manufacturers and marketers such as H. J.
Heinz, Weight Watchers, the Diet Center and NutriSystems, for their new
and established consumer brands.
Since early 2000, Manny devoted
his time to the development of functional foods that addressed the
nutritional needs of women.
Danny Warshay
Danny Warshay has devoted
his career to building, managing and harvesting high-growth
entrepreneurial ventures. He is the founder and managing director
of DEW Ventures, a platform he is using to launch and develop a
variety of new, quickly growing companies.
Through
DEW Ventures, Danny has co-founded:
- LoyalTec — a technology
company that develops direct-to-consumer, loyalty-based
marketing programs.
- Culinova — a food company
that develops great-tasting foods that have functional and
health benefits.
- RoundOne — a media
company providing trusted and well-packaged resources for
aspiring entrepreneurs.
Danny began his
entrepreneurial pursuits while in college as co-founder of
Clearview Software, the developer of the SmartForms suite of
Macintosh applications software. Apple Computer acquired Clearview
in 1989. He then co-developed Specialized Systems and Software, a
custom software development firm sold to Medline Industries.
Danny led the growth of
Anchor Communications, a startup magazine and Internet publishing
company sold in two parts to A.H. Belo Corporation and Miller
Publishing Group. While at Anchor, Danny served as publisher of
the company's regional titles including Rhode Island Monthly and
spearheaded the launch of its first Internet products including
RhodeIsland.com. He also served as Chief Operating Officer of
Anchor’s first national products, Getaways magazine and
GetawaysOnline.com Internet travel service.
As co-founder and managing
director of Health Business Partners — the nutrition industry’s
premier venture capital and financial advisory firm — Danny built
and led the firm's direct investment practice.
Danny’s corporate experience
came at Procter & Gamble as a member of the Duncan Hines Brand
Management team where he managed the development and marketing of
new products.
Danny has served on the
boards of Integrative Medicine Communications, SPINS, Nutrition
Business Journal, Complexions Rx and More.com, and was a founding
board member of the Brown University Entrepreneurship Program
where he is now a Trustee Emeritus. He currently serves on the
boards of Rhode Islanders Sponsoring Education (RISE) — a
non-profit that provides mentoring, social service support and
educational opportunity for the children of incarcerated parents;
of the Jewish Community Center of Rhode Island; and of the Brown
University Hillel Foundation where for four years he served as
President during the foundation’s $12 million capital campaign and
construction of its 28,000 square foot new facility.
Danny received a B.A. in
History, magna cum laude, from Brown University, and an M.B.A.
from Harvard Business School.
In addition to spending time
with his wonderful wife and three terrific children, Danny loves
the mental and physical challenges and rewards of vinyasa yoga.
And as difficult as it is, he is an avid (and tortured) Cleveland
sports fan.
Loren D. Israelsen
Loren Israelsen is
President of LDI Group, Inc., a specialized consulting firm that
deals exclusively with dietary supplements, functional foods and
phytomedicine issues. He has been a respected leader in the
ongoing political and regulatory issues facing the nutrition
industry.
After graduating from law
school, Loren joined Nature’s Way Products, Inc., as general
counsel, and over the course of a ten-year career served in
various senior capacities, including president of the company. He
has also served as Vice President/General Counsel to the American
Herbal Products Association, co-counsel to the European American
Phytomedicines Coalition (EAPC), industry liaison to FDA’s Expert
Advisory Committee on Ephedra, advisor to the Natural Products
Quality Assurance Alliance, and advisor to the NIH Office of
Dietary Supplements.
Since 1992, he has served
as Executive Director of the Utah Natural Products Alliance (UNPA),
which was instrumental in development and passage of the Dietary
Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). He recently
served as the first U.S. issue manager for dietary supplements to
the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD). He also sits as a
founding member of the International Alliance of Dietary/Food
Supplement Associations (IADSA) Executive Committee. Since 1998,
he has been special liaison to the FDA Food Advisory Committee -
Sub Group on Dietary Supplements.
Len Geller
Len Geller is an
international consultant with vast expertise in areas of strategic
planning, food service, multi-unit retailing, franchising,
purchasing and distribution. His past clients include Duskin Co.,
Ltd. Of Osaka, Japan, AT&T and the Academy of Learning of Toronto,
Canada and many others. Previously, he served as Senior Vice
President for Dunkin Donuts, Inc where he directed that company's
international expansion, driving division sales to over $100
million. Prior to his 19-year tenure with Dunkin' Donuts, Mr.
Geller acted as a Regional Director for the McDonalds' Corporation
and served as Operational Executive with Federated Department
Stores. Mr. Geller received his B.S./B.A. in Business
Administration from Boston University and attended the
Agribusiness Program at Harvard Business School.
Yoni Barnhard, M.D.
Dr. Barnhard has a strong
business and medical background. Co-Founder and CEO of two separate
Biotechnolgy and Biopharmaceutical businesses, he has directed and
overseen most aspects of business and scientific development including
issues related to clinical trials, regulatory affairs and contract
manufacturing.
Dr. Barnhard completed a
residency in OBGYN in 1992 and a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine
in 1994 at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is presently an
Assistant Professor of OBGYN/Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center overseeing the
management of all high-risk pregnancies among more than 5,000 women in a
very mixed socio-economics milieu.. He has co-authored medical patents
and has over 20 publications in peer-review OB literature including
several papers on various aspects of maternal health and fetal growth.
Dr. Barnhard has lectured on women’s health in the U.S., throughout
Europe, Israel and Japan.
Kevin Vigilante, MD, MPH
Kevin Vigilante is Clinical
Associate Professor of Medicine at the Brown University School of
Medicine. While recently on sabbatical he provided health care
consulting services to Booz Allen Hamilton. In that capacity he played a
leadership role in the CARES study, which helped the Veterans
Administration project future needs and services for the year 2010. He
has also recently consulted to the NIH’s National Center for Minority
Health and Health Disparities where he has assisted in developing their
strategic plan for research for the next 5 years.
While at Brown, Vigilante has
been Director of Emergency and Ambulatory Services at the Miriam
Hospital, and created innovative care network for at-risk inner-city
populations. This program was a significant part of a strategy that the
Journal of the America Medical Association has called a national model
for correctional care.
Vigilante has published widely
from the academic literature to the NY Times on topics ranging from
nutrition, to HIV, to health policy, and recently published a book on
diet and nutrition called Low Fat Lies, High Fat Frauds. A recognized
expert in nutrition he appears frequently on radio and TV, including
Good Morning America and 20/20.
An entrepreneur, Vigilante
started a highly successful restaurant in New Haven, developed an
on-line weight management program utilizing the Mediterranean diet, was
Medical Director of BroadcastHealth.com, and was an affiliate of Health
Business Partners, a venture capital group focusing largely on the
nutrition and nutraceutical market.
A former congressional candidate,
Vigilante was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 50 outstanding
leaders in America under the age of 40. He graduated from Johns Hopkins
with a degree in philosophy, received his MD from Cornell, did his
residency at Yale and received his Masters in Public Health from
Harvard.
Tom
Morley Jr.
Mr. Morley is responsible for
contract manufacturing; He is a board member of Michigan-based Morley
Candy Makers and chairman of TM Morley, Inc., a refrigerated
transportation company serving the food industry. Previously, he has
served as chief executive officer and chairman of Morley Candy Makers.
Tom studied confectionery food science at the University of Wisconsin.
He is affiliated with the National Confectioner’s Association (NCA), the
Pennsylvania Manufacturer Confectioner’s Association (PMCA), the
Chocolate Manufacturer’s Association (CMA) and the Institute of Food
Technologists (IFT). Tom is actively engaged in the development of "low
carb" sugar free/no sugar added products for category leaders like
Atkins.
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