People on the move: ChromaDex, Deerland, BrandHive, and more
ChromaDex – Lisa Bratkovich, Chief Marketing Officer
Anti-aging supplement specialist ChromaDex appointed Lisa Bratkovich as its Chief Marketing Officer back in June.
She previously worked at Direct Upside Group, a direct-to-consumer marketing and customer experience consulting firm, where she has served as CEO and Principal since 2016. Prior to starting her own firm, Bratkovich spent 13 years at Guthy|Renker, where she served as Senior Vice President of Marketing.
Bratkovich has spent her career growing and refining the branding, marketing and customer experience of numerous direct-to-consumer products, most notably helping catapult brands at Guthy|Renker, such as Proactiv and Meaningful Beauty, each with hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.
“Lisa’s expertise in direct response and brand marketing, particularly in the anti-aging space, is what ChromaDex needs to make TRU NIAGEN a global brand,” says President & Chief Operating Officer Rob Fried.
“I have worked on many brands throughout my career, but I see an extraordinary opportunity to build TRU NIAGEN into a household name across the globe,” says Bratkovich. “We have unparalleled scientific research behind our product, and that will remain one of the most valuable marketing tools as we expand our robust direct-to-consumer marketing strategy.”
Bratkovich is a graduate of the University of California - Los Angeles and is a board member of Girls in Tech, Los Angeles, which empowers women with education, resources and tools to help advance their careers in technology. She is also a board member of Organization of Women Executives, a Southern California peer network of high-achieving, executive-level women.
Organic Technologies - Steve Frandsen, President and COO
Ohio-based manufacturing firm Organic Technologies promoted Steve Frandsen to president and COO last month.
In this role, he will be responsible for the oversight of day-to-day business, including strategic business units, manufacturing and supply chain, research and development, market regulatory, corporate engineering, environmental, health and safety, and special projects.
With over 35 years of experience in the global life sciences and chemical markets, he joined the company in early 2018 with immediate responsibility for the Vitamin E and sterols product lines.
He will report directly to Organic Technologies’ CEO David Wiley. “I’ve worked with Steve over the past 10 years and have the highest confidence in his leadership, integrity, and cultural fit with our company to help lead our operations as we rise to the challenges of the global market,” Wiley said.
B&D Nutritional – Mark Ash, Northeast Sales Manager
B&D Nutritional Ingredients, a California-based privately held, specialty ingredient sales and distribution company announced Mark Ash as the company’s new Northeast Sales Manager back in July.
Ash has been in the pharmaceutical and nutritional supplement industry for more than 15 years, starting off his career in quality assurance with West Pharmaceuticals before moving to their outside sales department.
He later went to Capsugel’s Health and Nutrition arm, as a Northeast Sales Manager, where he helped customers in their capsule filling operations while also helping customer research and development, as well as help product formulators to develop new product lines. He holds a B.S. from Bloomsburg University in management/marketing.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to work at B&D. From my years of being dedicated to the capsule filling side, I was always aware of B&D’s strong industry presence and offerings. Now I look forward to creating and developing new concept ideas with my customer base,” Ash said.
“Mark’s degree of connection in the Northeast is stronger than anyone we have had before,” comments Bill Van Dyke, President of B&D. “Mark’s relationships in the Northeast will further expand our presence in this market, and this will benefit all of our vendor partners.”
OmniActive Health Technologies – Larry Esposito, SVP, Business Head of the Americas
The India-headquartered OmniActive, maker of carotenoid ingredient Lutemax 2020 and branded curcumin CurcuWIN, announced in June that Larry Esposito is its new senior vice president, business head of the Americas.
Esposito has more than 30 years in specialty ingredients, with leading roles in business management, marketing, sales, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions.
Larry will be overseeing the US sales team and strategies responsible for driving growth in North and South America, reporting to Johan Kamphuis, President, Global Business.
OmniActive Health Technologies – Nicole Taber, Midwest Sales Manager
More personnel news from OmniActive, Nicole Taber is on board as Midwest Sales Manager, bringing 12 years of experience in sales and business development in the supplement industry.
She will be reporting to Darrec Jones, VP of business development, North America.
EpiCor / Embria Health Sciences – Brigitte Welsby, Regional Sales Manager, Eastern USA & Europe
With increasing distribution and sales worldwide, Embria Health Sciences welcomed Brigitte Welsby as Regional Sales Manager, Eastern USA & Europe, in June.
She previously worked for global companies such as Kerry Group and DuPont Nutrition and Health. Additionally, she has extensive international business experience, having lived and worked in Europe for more than a decade.
She will be responsible for growing the EpiCor and eXselen human nutritional health supplement businesses along the U.S. eastern seaboard, helping to develop food and beverage opportunities, and managing two European distributors — Gee Lawson/LEHVOSS (Western Europe) and Hermes Consilium (Central and Eastern Europe).
“ Her unique knowledge of the European market and network within the food and beverage category will open up new opportunities for EpiCor globally,” said Doug Reyes, Embria’s Sales and Marketing Manager.
“As a sales leader, Brigitte will provide Embria with valuable account management expertise and cross-functional relationship management experience with customers and distributors.”
BrandHive – Cuauhtemoc Sandoval, Account Director
The global branding firm BrandHive, which specializes in the healthy lifestyles industry has added marketing professional Cuauhtemoc (C-moc) Sandoval to its ranks. C-moc comes to BrandHive with over 10 years of experience managing traditional, digital, and integrated communications programs for both consumer and B2B clients.
C-moc has a long history with prestigious marketing and advertising agencies, including United Entertainment Group, Atmosphere Proximity | BBDO, MullenLowe Profero, and R/GA. His clients included high profile accounts such as Asics, Emirates Airline, Unilever, Lufthansa Airlines, Diageo’s Zacapa Rum, Sun Products Snuggle, and Ameriprise Financial.
C-moc graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business and has a bachelor’s degree in marketing.
Nutrasource – Susan Hewlings, Director of Scientific Affairs
Dr. Susan Hewlings, Ph.D., RD, joined contract research organization Nutrasource as Director of Scientific Affairs in May. In this role, Dr. Hewlings will help health product companies bring products to market worldwide.
She brings over 20 years in nutrition, sports nutrition, and scientific consulting for the dietary supplement and medical industries. She has a Ph.D. in Nutrition, a M.S. in Exercise Physiology from Florida State University, and is a Registered Dietitian.
Dr. Hewlings is a full-time professor at Central Michigan University and Co-Founder of Substantiation Sciences LLC where she assists companies in supporting their market launch strategies with scientific evidence. She is the author of Nutrition: Real People, Real Choices and has published multiple articles on dietary supplements, pharmacokinetics, and nutrition in peer-reviewed medical journals.
Deerland Enzymes & Probiotics – VP of Marketing and Strategy
Deerland Enzymes, an international enzyme and probiotic-based dietary supplement formulator and contract manufacturer, appointed Sam Michini as vice president of marketing and strategy in May.
He brings more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, vitamin, mineral and supplement industry. Most recently, Michini served as the vice president of sales, marketing and new product development for Delavau Pharmaceutical Partners in Philadelphia, PA.
Before that, he led commercialization and corporate strategy efforts for Dakota Life Sciences as executive vice president and chief commercial officer. He holds a degree in Communication from Niagara University.
