Team (12/1) — Relentless Consumer Partners

Success happens when intuitive creativity & steadfast authenticity collide with proven business practices.

Relentless Team

John Burns

Chief Executive Officer

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

Scott Caras

President

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

Daisy Vu

Funder Operations

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

Dennis Baldwin

Venture Partner

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

Art Drogue

Venture Partner

Art Drogue is a CPG industry veteran serving in corporate roles at General Mills in sales and marketing positions, Nabisco in domestic and international positions including Sr VP of International Sales, and Unilever leading the $12 billion U.S. Foods and Personal Care sales organization and retiring as Sr. V.P of Sales for the $18 billion U.S, Canada and Latin America organization.
His professional affiliations have included Chairman of the Global Marketing Committee for the Consumer Goods Forum based in Paris, member of the Grocery Manufacturers of America Sales Council, serving as a Director of ENACTUS and the NACDS foundation. He also has been awarded the William H. Albers Industry Relations Award for his many years of leadership in the CPG Industry. He has served on the board of SPAR Group, as Chairman of Yasso until its’ sale in 2017, on the board of JM Global Holdings, on the board of TABS, a CPG analytics company, and as an Operating Partner at Raptor Consumer Fund investing in early stage CPG brands.
He is currently serving on the board of Ruiz Foods, the largest Mexican Frozen Food brand in the U.S, Demers Foods and Atlas Bars among others.. He has worked with several early stage CPG businesses with a focus on healthier, better for you products serving consumer needs and interests.

John Frascotti

Venture Partner

Mr. Frascotti currently serves on the Board of Directors of Party City Holdings, Inc. (PRTY), The Children’s Place (PLCE), and the SeriousFun Children's Network, and recently joined the Board of Advisors of Dephy, Inc. Prior to his retirement from Hasbro in March 2021, Mr. Frascotti was Hasbro’s President and Chief Operating Officer and a member of Hasbro’s Board of Directors. He led a global organization, doing business in over 140 countries, focused on creating and delivering the world’s best play and entertainment experiences across Hasbro’s Brand Blueprint, including toys and games, immersive entertainment experiences, digital gaming, and consumer products.
Mr. Frascotti was instrumental in leading Hasbro’s transformation from a traditional toy and game manufacturer into a global entertainment and play leader. Mr. Frascotti played a critical role in the re-imagination and re-invention of Hasbro’s world-class portfolio of Franchise, Gaming, Partner and Emerging Brands, and the expansion of Hasbro into several emerging global markets. During his tenure, Hasbro achieved consistent sales and profit growth and increased its dividend in 11 of 13 years. Hasbro’s market capitalization increased from $3.2B when Mr. Frascotti joined Hasbro in January 2008 to $12.8B at the end of 2020, achieving a high of $15.6B in 2019. Mr. Frascotti joined Hasbro in 2008 as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, became President of Hasbro Brands in 2014, and became President of Hasbro in 2017.
In 2018, he was also named Chief Operating Officer, and became a member of Hasbro’s Board of Directors. Under Mr. Frascotti’ s leadership, Hasbro emerged as an ESG leader, having been recognized for 9 consecutive years as one of the “Top 25 Best Corporate Citizens” and for 10 consecutive years as one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” due to Hasbro’s commitments to climate change; environmental sustainability; diversity, equity and inclusion; human rights and ethical sourcing; and transparency. In addition, Hasbro has been recognized as #9 of the “50 Best ESG Companies” and as one of the “Top 50 of America’s Most Responsible Companies.”
Mr. Frascotti served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Toy Association; chairman of Hasbro’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Executive Steering Committee; chairman of Hasbro’s IP Security Committee; a member of Hasbro’s Global Information Systems Steering Committee; and a Board Member of the Hasbro Children’s Fund. He also was a member of the Board of Directors of Discovery Family Channel, a joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications.

Amanda Helming

Venture Partner

Amanda Helming is Chief Marketing Officer at United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI), the largest publicly-traded grocery distributor in America (~$27 billion in annual sales), where she currently oversees marketing along with a portfolio of 20+ owned brands and 5,000 SKU’s, making it a billion dollar plus Top 50 CPG in the United States. Prior to that, Amanda was one of the chief strategists for Dunkin’ Brands, as VP Brand Strategy & Marketing, where she helped lead the company’s transformation to be the most loved, on-the-go coffee brand over the past decade. She previously spent time at General Mills in brand marketing and at Disney & ESPN in sales and marketing where she negotiated long-term distribution deals with cable operators, bringing award-winning sports and family programming to millions of households world-wide. She has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a BA from Middlebury College in Vermont. She now resides in Hingham, MA with her husband and two kids.

Blaine Hurst

Venture Partner

Blaine Hurst, recently retired Vice Chairman and CEO of Panera Bread, a member of the Fast Casual Hall of Fame, a four-time Fast Casual Mover and Shaker, is a one of highest impact restaurant leaders of recent times, leading two of the largest restaurants in the U.S. Now, as an Executive Board Member of Hero Bread, an ultra-low net carb bread products company, Blaine is intent on helping people eat healthier without compromise. At Panera, he led the team that revolutionized guest experience through technology, (Panera 2.0), rolling out the largest loyalty program in the industry – MyPanera, on-line ordering, rapid pickup, and delivery from 2010 to 2019. He and his team grew Panera’s catering business to be the largest in the nation. As a result, Panera was named the most innovative restaurant and named the 23rd most innovative of all companies by FastCompany. As Blaine’s responsibilities expanded, he was named President then CEO before his retirement. As President of Papa John’s in the 90’s, he oversaw its rapid growth from 450 stores to nearly 3,000 in the US and 9 international markets. And in 1998, he rolled out the first online ordering system available nationwide for any restaurant chain, generating more than $1 billion of annual revenue. Blaine was previously a partner with Ernst & Young and founded one of their two research centers. Blaine is an advisor to several early restaurant and technology companies and a retired board member of Women in Foodservice Forum, a board member of Oath Pizza and an investor/advisor for the Shepherd Hotel, a hotel project in Clemson, SC that has partnered with ClemsonLIFE in the employment of individuals with special gifts. He is the author of 8 patents, has been a frequent speaker on the national stage and is a thought leader for restaurants, food-tech, technology, leadership and diversity and inclusion. He is a proud Kentucky Colonel.

Adam Kaufman

Venture Partner / Advisor

Adam has over 25 years’ experience around consumer facing brands. Adam has held senior level roles in both large companies and startup CPG brands. His ability to leverage a financial foundation and an operating mindset has allowed him to support brands of varying sizes from $20 million up to $20 billion. Adam started his career in PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting before moving into a role with the adidas Group and then with Welch Foods. As the CFO of Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt he was part of a successful business turnaround and exit that drove a 6x return for key investors. Adam is currently the President and CFO of Grillo’s Pickles. At Grillo’s Pickles, he helped navigate a global pandemic while at the same time driving 100% growth and managing a successful exit to IFG Foods in under 3 years.

Bob Keller

Venture Partner

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

James McCann

Venture Partner

James McCann is the Founder & CEO of Food Retail Ventures LLC which has invested in over thirty of the most exciting early stage companies in the food and retail technology area. He serves as a Board Director for a number of these investment companies including; Afresh; Atlas Bars; Fetch Rewards; Foodmaven; Fillogic; Flashfood; Green Rabbit; Halla; and Weee. Prior to becoming an early stage investor, James spent 20 years in the food and grocery industry and was the CEO of several Tesco businesses in Europe and Asia, Carrefour’s French business and Ahold’s US business. In his spare time he loves flying and is a trustee at Dana-Farber cancer institute in Boston.

Tara McRae

Venture Partner

Tara is a creative and performance-driven executive skilled at managing all forms of digital, brand, marketing, and commercial activities. She possesses a proven track record of success in growing digital and traditional businesses while enhancing the brand. Tara is currently the global CMDO of Clarks overseeing marketing, creative, digital, and brand collaborations and partnerships. She was with the brand from 2016 to early 2020 in several marketing, strategy, and ecommerce roles. Tara came back to the brand at a pivotal time with the company in early 2021 as their Global CMDO in 2022. From January 2020 to January 2021, Tara served at TB12’s first ever CMO. She jumped right into the fast-paced start-up environment providing the proper amount of experience and structure in evolving the brand and building marketing, product, and service plans and stories to bring awareness to the TB12 brand, product, and service. Prior to Clarks and TB12, she spent ten years at PUMA, where she held several roles across sports and US marketing teams, strategic planning, and brand management. Tara began her career in marketing and media planning for Bose Corporation in consumer electronics and prior to that, enjoyed an early career in agency life in Los Angeles. Recognized across the industry, Tara was named in 2015’s Top 50 Women in Brand Marketing by Brand Innovators, followed by the Top 100 in 2016. That same year, and the following three years, she was included among Footwear News’ Power 100 Most Influential Designers, Influencers, and Leaders in the Shoe Industry. In 2021, Tara was selected to the The Lead’s Direct 60 for DTC innovation. Tara also dedicates time as a marketing advisor with Team IMPACT, a non-profit that believes that no child should be sidelined by sickness. She resides in Massachusetts with her wife Candice who is an elementary school educator, her two children, Lyla and Gavin and their energetic doodle, Rocco.

Ben Rawitz

Venture Partner

Art Drogue is a CPG industry veteran serving in corporate roles at General Mills in sales and marketing positions, Nabisco in domestic and international positions including Sr VP of International Sales, and Unilever leading the $12 billion U.S. Foods and Personal Care sales organization and retiring as Sr. V.P of Sales for the $18 billion U.S, Canada and Latin America organization.
His professional affiliations have included Chairman of the Global Marketing Committee for the Consumer Goods Forum based in Paris, member of the Grocery Manufacturers of America Sales Council, serving as a Director of ENACTUS and the NACDS foundation. He also has been awarded the William H. Albers Industry Relations Award for his many years of leadership in the CPG Industry. He has served on the board of SPAR Group, as Chairman of Yasso until its’ sale in 2017, on the board of JM Global Holdings, on the board of TABS, a CPG analytics company, and as an Operating Partner at Raptor Consumer Fund investing in early stage CPG brands.
He is currently serving on the board of Ruiz Foods, the largest Mexican Frozen Food brand in the U.S, Demers Foods and Atlas Bars among others.. He has worked with several early stage CPG businesses with a focus on healthier, better for you products serving consumer needs and interests.