Susan Bodett / Venture Lead USA

Susan has over 30 years of food industry experience as an R&D professional in food, packaging technology and innovation. She spent 24 years at Kraft Foods, where she conducted basic flavor research, technology development, and packaging innovation. As an early adopter of open innovation approaches, Susan gained significant experience in technology scouting, research and supplier collaborations, and integration. At Pilot Lite, Susan provides project management and support for many Pilot Lite clients, including McCain, Coca-Cola, and Johnsonville. She has overarching responsibilities for coordination and team support on all Pilot Lite engagements. Susan has a BSc in Environmental Science from Northwestern University.

Patrick Muthoka / Venture Lead Africa

Patrick has considerable experience in validating and launching businesses in Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda. He has also worked with global CPG brands in the Food and Beverage industry as well as Consumer Healthcare sector. He has significant experience working with semi-wholesalers and distributors across the informal traditional markets across Africa.  In particular, for Pilot Lite, Patrick supported the test market launch and commercialisation of an affordable nutrition product into Nairobi as proof of concept for Kenya and the wider African market.

Muyiwa Oke / Venture Lead Africa

With significant experience in validating and launching businesses in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa,  Muyiwa has worked with global CPG brands in the Food and Beverage industry as well as for the Consumer Healthcare sector. In addition, he is well connected with semi-wholesalers and  distributors across the informal traditional markets across Africa.  For Pilot Lite, Muyiwa was involved in the test market launch of a new distribution network and products into Lagos.

Min Zhou / China Advisor

As a scientist turned venture capitalist and entrepreneur, Min is passionate about investments that consider advanced materials and manufacturing, energy efficiency, environment protection etc.  Having been educated both in China and the USA, she enjoys playing an active role bridging East and West, and fimly believes that innovation and entrepreneurship create a better world for al.  Min is a proud founding member of ‘Shanghai Stratefic Emerging Industries Foundation’ (SEIF), a not-for-profit organisation that is dedicated to fostering innovation and organises the annual ‘Innovation China’ conferences with his attended by VCs, entrepreneurs and academics.

Michael Norton / Venture Lead USA

For the past 20 years, Michael has immersed himself in the innovation ecosystem working as an entrepreneur or in service of the startup community to improve entrepreneurial education and support systems through programming, resource development, and event production. In addition to establishing his own recording studio, Michael also founded an innovative startup focused on creating a suite of digital publishing tools. He served as managing director of marketing for Startup San Diego and has organized or facilitated 65+ Techstars Startup Weekend Events throughout North America and Australia, producing countless innovative businesses. He also worked as the director of business development and operations for Norton Professional Services headquartered in San Diego. At Pilot Lite, Michael designs and executes go-to-market strategies for emerging brands and products in the consumer healthcare space, focusing on direct-to-consumer engagement using paid advertising, social, e-commerce, and results-focused digital-first tactics. 

Leslie Maclin / Venture Lead USA

Leslie is a senior food industry innovation leader collaborating with global & challenger brands to design disruptive new food brands and businesses. She specializes in leveraging investment-stage emerging food and packaging technology and adapting capitalized legacy technology to generate business growth. Leslie recently served as the Global CMO for The Simple Root, an exciting veggie-centric plant-based brand and successful Pilot Lite Capital venture. She has led innovation initiatives for clients including Sargento, Molson-Coors, Kraft-Heinz, Corteva, ConAgra, Ocean Spray, Domino’s Pizza, Hormel Foods, Simplot, The American Egg Board, ARAMARK and more. She previously served in senior leadership roles at KraftHeinz Breakthrough Innovation and at Kellogg’s.

Jacqueline Patchen / Venture Lead USA

Jacqueline specializes in event production & strategic partnerships/sponsorships, with a focus on the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (17), innovation, start ups, blockchain and event management. Throughout her career, she has developed and maintained partnerships with brands and emerging products dedicated to wellness and consumer experience. She is an expert at facilitating critical consumer feedback through in-person events, collaborative engagements with aligned partners, and e-commerce to elicit early insights for refining and improving product offerings. She also designs strategic consumer experiences that enhance brand and product rollouts. Jacqueline is multilingual and has a bachelor's degree in international studies from Manhattan College.

Daniella Felgueres / Venture Support LATAM, EU

Daniella manages projects for PIlot Lite. She has a bachelor's degree in nutrition sciences from the University Iberoamericana and a master's degree in global health from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. She has more than four years of experience providing nutrition services in clinical settings.

Daniel Lauri / Venture Lead USA, LATAM

Daniel is an experienced marketing, commercial, and business development professional who combines corporate marketing strategy with entrepreneurial execution. He has a proven track record in strategic product positioning, innovation (35+ new launches), and product development for global CPG/FMCG brands, including PepsiCo, Nestlé, and Coca-Cola. Daniel has launched two new businesses and consulted for B2B and B2C companies on strategy, marketing, e-commerce, and accelerating growth across LATAM. For Pilot Lite, he served as a field expert and led local teams for a 16-month MVP test for a global client, helping accelerate their learning agenda and testing in new markets. Daniel is bilingual in Spanish/English and holds an MBA from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester, NY.

Daniel Johnsen / Venture Lead USA

With a passion for problem-solving, technology adoption, learning, and relationship building, Daniel has focused his career on recruitment strategies, retention initiatives, leadership development, and organizational design. He champions the creation and implementation of systems designed to generate analytics, streamline processes, and create efficiencies. He has rich experience in entrepreneurialism, having served as an entrepreneur in residence and program facilities at Australia's SmartHub, a 16-week pre-accelerator. He founded several businesses, including ShakeSpot, which provides on-demand pre- and post-workout drinks through an interactive kiosk, and Tetra One Source, a self-funded startup that licensed patented technology to remediate soil and water contaminated by heavy metals. As a Client Manager at The Oliver Group, Michael partnered and consulted with organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 100s, evaluating and improving their talent management life cycle. At Pilot Lite, Michael creates and executes go-to-market strategies for emerging brands and products in the consumer healthcare space, focusing on direct-to-consumer engagement using paid advertising, social, e-commerce, and results-focused digital first tactics. In addition to devising strategies to identify and enhance brand and product rollout targets, he develops and oversees vendor relationships to execute quickly, on time, and on budget--with room for creative approaches. Michael earned a bachelor's degree in computer information systems and an MBA from the University of Louisville.

Daniel Clarke / Executive Partner

Daniel lives and breathes strategy for business, brands, marketing, and innovation. Throughout his career, he has established a proven track record of driving top-line growth via laser-focused strategies and insight-led marketing, as well as designing, launching, and incubating innovation that delivers incrementality. These achievements reflect his ability to understand what consumers want and to design and monetize product/services to meet those needs via a compelling branded or value-added solution. Daniel began his career as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble, leading a team on brands such as Pampers and Hugo Boss fragrances and working in roles across Europe, the Middle East, and India. Following his role as Global Marketing Director for Coty, Daniel joined Pernod Ricard in innovation and brand director roles. As Pernod Ricard's Head of Marketing for Incubation Brands (or New Brand Ventures), he oversaw strategic planning and marketing for 10 brands by qualifying scalable commercial formulas encompassing brand equity, lean marketing plans/tools, and sales fundamentals. For fiscal year 20220-2021, Daniel achieved a portfolio growth of >30% vs YA while leading a team of 20. He earned a bachelor of commerce degree in business from the University of Edinburgh and Queen's University.

Clara Casaretto / Venture Support LATAM

Andrea Guani / Venture Lead LATAM

Andrea is an experienced professional with over 20 years of expertise in multinational corporations specializing in commercial roles. She has holistic experience, having honed skills in sales, marketing, procurement, and HR. She has a keen focus on results, analytical thinking, and process optimization, and a demonstrated ability to effectively consolidate teams and provide strong leadership. Andrea has a proven track record of spearheading digital transformation projects in dynamic and growing environments.

Adrian Mutton / India Advisor

With 20+ years’ experience of international business, with a particular focus on India and other key emerging markets, Adrian is dedicated in supporting international organisations with ambitions of entering India and developing new revenue opportunities. He has gone on to successfully support international SMEs, multinationals, universities and colleges wishing to enter and expand their activities in India. He and his Indian team display a straightforward, efficient and effective service to its clients via its teams in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. Adrian’s specialisms include market entry, professional services, company incorporation, distribution and supplier liaison, staff recruitment, employment law and outsourcing.