Board of Directors

Board of Directors

James E. Kras.

Mr. Kras is one of our founders, serving as Chief Executive Officer and a Director since our inception in March 2020. Mr. Kras served as President and Chief Marketing Officer of Edible Garden Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unrivaled Brands (formerly Terra Tech), from March 2016 to March 2020. Previously, Mr. Kras held senior leadership positions in marketing at global leaders Ajinomoto and The Nature’s Bounty Company. Mr. Kras started his career on Madison Avenue in advertising with companies including Grey Advertising, Omnicom Group and Dentsu/Carat. As our Chief Executive Officer and one of our founders, Mr. Kras brings to the Board of Directors extensive knowledge of our products, structure, and culture as well as years of expertise in the industry.

Michael James.

Mr. James is one of our founders, serving as Chief Financial Officer and a Director since our inception in March 2020. Mr. James also currently serves on the board of directors of Guided Therapeutics, Inc. as chairman, audit committee chair, and as a member of the compensation committee. Mr. James previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Unrivaled Brands, Inc. (formerly Terra Tech) from February 2012 to March 2020. In addition to this role, Mr. James served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Inergetics, Inc. from June 2012 until January 2016. Previously, Mr. James served as Chief Executive Officer of Nestor, Inc. (“Nestor”), where he successfully completed a financial restructuring of Nestor prior to its sale in September 2009 from the Receiver’s Estate in the Superior Court of the State of Rhode Island. He also served on Nestor’s Board of Directors from 2006 to 2009. Mr. James was the Managing Partner of Kuekenhof Capital Management, LLC, a private investment management company, from 1999 to 2015. During his career, Mr. James has served as a Partner at Moore Capital Management, Inc., a premier private investment management company; Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at Buffalo Partners, L.P., a private investment management company; and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of National Discount Brokers. Mr. James began his career in 1980 as a staff accountant with Eisner, LLP. Mr. James is a retired CPA. As our Chief Financial Officer and one of our founders, Mr. James brings to the Board of Directors extensive knowledge of our financial structure, SEC compliance and corporate culture as well as years of expertise in the industry.

Mathew McConnell. Mr. McConnell has served as Chief Executive Officer of Marco Polo Securities, Inc.’s MPS Chaperone and Distribution business since March 2020. In this position, he oversees international equities, trading, and capital markets processes for this U.S. broker-dealer offering cross-border regulatory and distribution solutions to a robust network of local securities firms across the world. From 2018 to 2020, Mr. McConnell served as Managing Director, Head of Equity Capital Markets of Tellimer (Exotix Capital), including as a member of its U.S. executive committee. Prior to Tellimer, Mr. McConnell was Head of Capital Markets at Auerbach Grayson from 2014 to 2018. Mr. McConnell was chosen to serve as a director because of his extensive international financial and capital markets experience, which we believe will continue to be important as we implement our growth strategy.

Ryan Rogers. Mr. Rogers has spent nearly two decades working in the food retail industry in various merchandising, sales and sourcing positions. Since June 2021, he has served as a brand manager for FDM Sales, a brand development organization helping accelerate growth for food and beverage brands. Prior to joining FDM Sales, Mr. Roger spent 18 years at Target Corp, where he held merchandising and sourcing roles of increasing responsibility within its food division, including produce buyer, where he led the growth strategy for packaged salads, vegetarian, and healthy snacking. Mr. Rogers was chosen to serve as a director because of his extensive experience in our industry and his ability to help organizations like ours accelerate growth.

Deborah Pawlowski. Ms. Pawlowski brings more than thirty years of experience in investor relations, capital markets, marketing, strategic planning, leadership coaching and management. For over 20 years, she has served as the Founder, Chairman and CEO of KEI Advisors, LLC, an investor relations and business advisory firm. She has also held senior executive positions, leading the investor relations programs at National Fuel Gas Company, a diversified energy company, and American Precision Industries Inc., a former NYSE listed, diversified manufacturing company. Ms. Pawlowski is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where she received her B.S. in General Engineering. She received her M.B.A. and Leadership Coaching Certification from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. She is currently a director for the Allegany Insurance Group and member of the Board and Secretary of the Combat Wounded Veterans Challenge. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), past President of the NIRI Virtual Chapter, and currently serves as Advocacy Ambassador for the NIRI Virtual Chapter Board. Ms. Pawlowski is an inaugural NIRI Investor Relations Charter recipient, earning the right to use the Investor Relations Charter (IRC™) credential.

Ms. Pawlowski experience will be invaluable to the Company as we continue to grow our footprint, add new distribution partners, and expand our communications strategy. Importantly, we are gaining traction among both retailers and customers due to our focus on sustainability and our Zero-Waste Inspired® approach