September 28th, 2017: Fall Food & Beverage Forum

Jeff Brunello directs the overall growth strategy for the company and is responsible for all of Le Boulanger’s business operations including production, distribution, wholesale, retail, catering, sales and finance.

Jeff has held positions throughout Le Boulanger, from retail counter service and wholesale distribution to executive positions including senior vice president and vice president of business development. Jeff has been an integral member of the executive team leading Le Boulanger’s growth in wholesale and catering divisions which distributes Le Boulanger’s award-winning bakery products to 700 corporate customers across the greater Bay Area from Napa to Sacramento to Monterey.

Jeff received a B.S. degree in Agri-business, with a concentration in Finance and Real Estate, from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Umesh Johari is the Director of Business Strategy and Analytics for the San Francisco 49ers, where he works on analytics, business development, and internal consulting projects.  Umesh also supports Levi’s Stadium’s food & beverage operations and non-NFL events business.  Prior to joining the 49ers, Umesh was a consultant in the San Francisco office of the Boston Consulting Group.  He started his career working in economic consulting at Analysis Group’s Los Angeles offices.  Umesh received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in creative writing from the University of Southern California.

Oscar Ledezma is Director of Corporate Development M&A at The Clorox Company. He has more than two decades of experience in the CPG industry and has held multiple leadership positions in finance. Oscar has lived and worked in Asia, Latin America and Oceania and prior to relocating to California, two years ago, Oscar was Country General Manager in the Clorox’s International Division. His current responsibilities include identification of potential M&A targets, including execution, integration and transition planning for acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. He holds a MBA from University of Rochester in New York and a Bachelor of Economics from Central University of Caracas, Venezuela.

Kara's Cupcakes is the vision of executive pastry chef, Kara Lind. As an advertising sales executive and passionate home baker, Kara realized the importance of following her dreams and enrolled in pastry school. A small word of mouth cupcake catering business soon was born. It quickly became so popular that demand for her cupcakes exceeded her ability to fill the orders. Before long, the first Kara's Cupcakes bakery and retail store opened in San Francisco, followed by more across Northern California. Today, a mom and entrepreneur with nine busy bakeries selling her famous cupcakes, Kara can still be found most mornings working in the kitchen with her dedicated pastry staff. 

Since 2006, Kara’s Cupcakes has continued its focus not only on its local and sustainable business and baking practices, but also ongoing philanthropy donating over 5 million cupcakes  to the community and local charities. Last year, the company gave away more than 450,000 cupcakes to feed the needy and over $30K to local charities for schools, non-profit organizations, etc. The company’s sustainable focus and green practices led to its most recent award for "Beyond the Check - Community Partnership in Sustainability" by the San Francisco Business Times.

Le Boulanger is a family owned business founded over 35 years ago. We are first and foremost “Bakers” delivering fresh bread one neighborhood at a time. Our heritage and connection to old world baking traditions have given us meaningful relationships with local farmers and growers. This has allowed us to thrive with over 50 diverse recipes and 75 varieties of breads.

Our first location (of Bay Area 14 cafes) is in Los Altos which serves as a refreshed model for local communities. We acquired a 33,000 square foot production facility in Sunnyvale, CA to allow us to meet increased market demand. Le Boulanger's clients range from local restaurants, schools and national food services companies to several grocery chains such as Wholefoods. Le Boulanger takes pride in servicing all major marquee technology companies and world famous sports franchises in Northern California.

Denise Tran is the founder and CEO of Bun Mee Vietnamese Sandwich Eatery, a gourmet banh mi fast casual restaurant, with two locations in San Francisco and a third location opening in the fall of 2017 at Terminal 3, SFO International Airport. 

Founded in 2011, Bun Mee has been nationally recognized as being innovators in the fast casual restaurant space introducing creative chef driven banh mi and banh mi-inspired sandwiches with mass appeal.  Bun Mee is projected to gross over $7.5 million in sales in 2018. 

Prior to founding Bun Mee, Denise practiced corporate law for nearly five years at the law firm of Aoki Sakamoto Grant LLP in Seattle, Washington.  During her legal career she was selected to be a fellow of the prestigious Leaders of the Washington State Bar program and served on several not-for-profit boards such as: the Seattle Bravo Opera Board as Board Member, the International District Housing Alliance as Board Member, the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington as President, and the Asian American Bar Association of Washington as a board member. 

John joined Farmhouse Culture in May 2016. In what is his 5th role as a CFO, John brings over 28 years of experience in the Food and Beverage industry including brands such as Dave’s Killer Bread, Darigold, Tree Top and HOT POCKETS®. John played a central role in the sale of Dave’s Killer Bread to Flowers Foods. Aside from his team’s many finance responsibilities, John also oversees FHC’s Human Resources and Information Systems initiatives.