Melissa C. Plaisance

The Quaker Oats Co. manufactures beverages and other food products. It also manufactures bottled and canned soft drinks, granola bars and clusters, flour and flour mixes from purchased flour, rice cakes, cereals and uncooked rice products. The company was founded in 1877 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Birds Eye Foods, Inc. manufactures and distributes processed and frozen foods. It offers vegetable products under the brand names Birds Eye, Birds Eye Steamfresh, Birds Eye Voila!, Freshlike, C&W (California & Washington), and McKenzie's. The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Rochester, NY.

Benson Hill Holdings, Inc. operates a crop design platform to develop sustainable food and ingredients. It offers CropOS (Crop Operating System), a cognitive engine that provides decision support to accelerate crop improvement and enhance the sustainability of food, feed, fiber, and fuel production using plant biology, big data analytics and cloud computing. The company was founded by Matthew B. Crisp, Todd Mockler and Thomas P. Brutnell in 2012 and is headquartered in St. Louis, MO.

McKinsey & Co., Inc. provides management consulting services. It specializes in design, marketing and sales, analytics, operations, transformation and restructuring, risk, strategy and corporate finance, and sustainability and resource productivity. The company was founded by James O. McKinsey in 1926 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Leo Burnett Co., Inc. provides advertising services. It offers planning, creation, and management of advertising campaigns. The firm provides promotions, direct marketing services, multimedia and interactive marketing development. The company was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

GMRI, Inc. operates restaurants. It offers succulent fresh fish, seafood, beef, chicken, and combination platters. The company also offers salads, appetizers, desserts, and cocktail service. GMRI was founded by Bill Darden and Joe Lee in 1968 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL.

Big Heart Pet Brands, Inc. engages in the business of producing, distributing, and marketing branded and private label dry and wet pet food and pet snacks. Its products portfolio includes Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Kibbles ‘n Bits, 9Lives, Natural Balance, Pup-Peroni, and Milo’s Kitchen. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

Westchase District provides marketing research and public opinion polling services for businesses, developers and families. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

Crew Labs, Inc. provides mobile application services. It is an online marketing tool that provides real-time rewards to people in exchange for having them promote things via Twitter, Facebook and other social services. The company was founded in February 2012 by Rafa Olivarria Abis, Luke Chesser, Mikael Cho, Jacob T. Dejno, Stephanie Liverani and Angus Woodman and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Impossible Foods, Inc. engages in the production of meat, fish, and dairy from plants. It also offers burger, pork, and sausage. The company was founded by Patrick O. Brown and Monte Casino on July 16, 2011 and is headquartered in Redwood City, CA.

Iron Ox, Inc. engages in the construction of robotic greenhouses in distribution of produce to grocery stores and restaurants. The company was founded by Brandon Alexander and Jon Binney in 2015 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

AppHarvest Operations, Inc. is an applied technology company building some of the world’s largest indoor farms in Appalachia. The company combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology and is addressing key issues, including improving access for all to nutritious food, farming more sustainably, building a home-grown food supply, and increasing investment in Appalachia. The company was founded by Jonathan Webb in February 2017 and is headquartered in Lexington, KY.

WEBTOON Entertainment, Inc. engages in the provision of global storytelling platform. The firm offers creators and users to discover, create, and share new content. Its brands include Munpia, Yonder, Studio Lico, LINE, and Creator Studios. The company was founded by Jun-Koo Kim in 2005 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.