Tuesday, November 12th, 2019

2:45 PM - 3:45 PM

Track II: Ahmanson Hall

Food Innovators, Disruptors & Influencers: The Industry Change Agents and Start-Up Pioneers

Poull Brien, Partner/Co-Founder, Wild Fish Direct

Elina Fuhrman, founder, CEO + Chef, Soupelina

David J. Whelan, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Rebel Labs Inc.

Alex Canter, CEO, Ordermark

Clayton Wood, CEO, Picnic

Perrin Davidson, Publisher, LAeats, Moderator

Elina Fuhrman is a best-selling author and wellness warrior, Founder, CEO + Chef of Soupelina, and cancer conqueror. While revered among Hollywood elite and luminaries, Elina’s fresh approach to healthy eating has made her a sought-after talent, inspiring mentor and credible wellness expert. Elina is also an award-winning journalist who covered international news and wars for CNN, and traveled to Afghanistan to report from the front lines following the September 11th terrorist attacks. But it is her personal war against breast cancer that has inspired many and led to the creation of Soupelina http://www.soupelina.com/, the company that delivers healing organic plant-based soups and soup cleanses. On a mission to heal herself and treating cancer as a health opportunity, Elina relied on Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine, to guide her in learning about the power of herbs and plants, and

creating her own blends of therapeutic soups that targeted different health issues. She became a voracious student of all things health + wellness, integrating ancient healing traditions to transform a cancer diagnosis into vibrant living. Elina’s mission-driven company not only serves her community but also revolutionizes the way America looks at food with its food-as-medicine philosophy, sustainable and innovative cooking, known for elegant style, texture and layers of flavor. With names like LENTIL ME ENTERTAIN YOU, KALE-IFORNIA DREAMIN’ and I YAM WHO I YAM, Soupelina wants people to have fun while eating healthy. Elina’s invention of the Soup Cleanse and tongue-and-cheek line, Souping Is The New Juicing, have become headlines in publications like The New York Times, Vogue, Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP, Harper’s Bazaar, ABC’s Good Morning America and many others. Vogue wrote that “Soupelina has been gaining so much attention that even juice companies” have begun to stock “their own versions of soup cleanses.” ABC News dubbed Soupelina soups “soups with a purpose,” and VegNews reported that Soupelina’s “wellness-inspired” soups have “captured the hearts and taste buds of LA’s discerning diners.” Elina’s debut book, Soupelina’s Soup Cleanse (DaCapo Lifelong, 2016), has resonated with thousands of health seekers and foodies alike. It has been translated into multiple languages published throughout Europe. Elina has become Hollywood’s go-to vegan chef to help her clients find the perfect balance and restore health. Her celebrity fans include Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, Alicia Silverstone, Coco Rocha, LeAnn Rimes among others. Part visionary and part teacher. Elina translates her clients desires to eat + live healthy into a stylized culinary experience with genuine passion,authentic vision and knowledge of ingredients. A graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison, Elina lives in Los Angeles with her two daughters, singer/songwriter Madeline and actress, Isabelle. When she isn’t cooking, writing, or spending time with her daughters or traveling the world, you can find her on the beach meditating or thinking up a new recipe. Her favorite past times include dinners with family + friends, soaking up the California sunshine, and creating (and eating!)delicious food.

Poull Brien is an entrepreneur and media creator whose passion for storytelling matches his drive to launch successful brands. Poull is co-owner of Wild Fish Direct, the first and only sustainable seafood company dedicated to the fastest growing sector of the restaurant industry, healthy fast casual brands. Wild Fish Direct grew from Poull’s experience as show runner and creator of Catching Hell, an 11 hour broadcast television series about commercial spear fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as his development work on Dish Out of Water, a series concept with James Beard Award-winning chef Kerry Heffernan and National Geographic. Both projects were heavily influenced by Poull’s childhood fascination with fishing and the production background Poull acquired during his time in the Radio, TV and Film program at Northwestern University. Starting when he was ten-years old Poull spent every free moment on the water and all the moments in between dreaming about it. In his teens Poull ran a part time guide service, wrote for fishing magazines and hosted an outdoors show. His obsession with the water gradually gave way to his interest in creating compelling films. After graduating college, Poull eventually moved to New York City, where he worked in development and production in the film industry. After several shorts, he directed Charles Bradley: Soul of America, an award-winning documentary on the late, critically-acclaimed soul singer. Looking to move into television, Poull returned to the ocean for inspiration and launched his seafood company as a companion project. Poull realized that in Wild Fish Direct he could best utilize his diverse interests. He focused his efforts and built a list of clients including multi-unit brands Pokeworks, The Little Beet and Dig Inn. Today, Poull travels the country and the world sourcing for some of the biggest health focused brands in the business. He continues to shoot creative media to educate customers and help clients build loyalty and make healthier sourcing choices. In addition to his work with Wild Fish Direct, Poull is currently consulting on a documentary on red tide in Florida and is a partner in Jacto, an upcycled jewelry brand made from discarded fish skin and bone. When he’s not working, he enjoys throwing spontaneous sashimi parties in the photo studio he manages in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Alex Canter, CEO, Ordermark: Alex Canter is a restaurant industry innovator, in-demand speaker, and passionate advocate for restaurant operators and workers. He was raised in the kitchen of the world-famous Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles, where he and his team invented Ordermark. A fourth-generation restaurateur, the restaurant business has been in Alex’s blood for over 85 years. In addition to being the visionary and leader of Ordermark, Alex is active with the Techstars network and enjoys mentoring other restaurant technology entrepreneurs. A 2019 recipient of the Forbes 30 Under 30, Alex has previously led several technology ventures. Ordermark is a fast-growing technology company that helps restaurants maximize the benefits and utilize the capabilities of online ordering by sending orders from multiple third party online ordering providers and streamlining them to a single tablet and printer.

Clayton Wood is CEO at Seattle-based Picnic and is responsible for overall development and growth for the company. Wood’s passion as CEO is to build high-performance teams and fully realize the financial and business potential of the company for all constituents.Wood has served in key leadership positions in organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 100 organizations,across a variety of technology industries,including renewable energy, robotics and software. Wood has successfully taken companies from scratch to global publicly traded businesses or to successful acquisition.Prior to Picnic, he served C-suite positions as COO at IUNU, an award winning, venture-backed precision agriculture startup; CEO and President of Synapse Product Development; COO at Naverus; and COO/President at Xzeres Corp., a publicly-traded global leader in small scale wind energy. Wood spent 12 years at Allied Signal and Honeywell where his roles included stewarding both the airborne radio and flight data recorder business units.Wood holds an MBA from the University of Washington, as well as Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering fromTexas A&M