KEEN Growth Capital (KEEN), an impact investing fund focused on food, beverage and wellness CPG categories, announced the addition of strategic, new talent in operations, sales and finance. The new team members include, Ed Cremean, vp, operations, Simone Luke, vp, strategic sales; and Sally Maxwell, senior financial planner & analyst.
 
Jerry Bello, managing partner, KEEN Growth Capital said, “We have innovative companies with great potential in our portfolio and it takes dedicated and motivated professionals to help them establish their place in the market and grow them into widely beloved brands. Our core existing team will only be complemented with these new additions – building out a specialized go-to-market infantry.”
 
Jonathan Smiga, KEEN Growth Capital Managing Partner added, “These strategic additions are meant to provide functional support to KEEN Growth Capital portfolio companies. Their goal is to fuel growth, capture speed to market opportunities and generate increased market penetration and growth. Ultimately, we seek to deliver better-than-market returns to our investors.”
 
Ed Cremean has 35 years in the food industry and most recently worked with Snyder’s-Lance (the second largest salty snack maker in the US) as vp of business development & customer service. Cremean brings deep experience in operations, manufacturing, business development, sales and marketing.
 
Simone Luke has more than 30 years of experience in customer development with an extensive background in CPG and service industries. Most recently, she has focused on leading the selling efforts for emerging brands, including working on some brands in the Keen Growth Capital portfolio as part of the ProForm Group.
 
Sally Maxwell brings a diverse wealth of financial expertise to KEEN, with 15+ years of experience. A seasoned professional with backgrounds creating and refining budgets, forecasts, margin analysis, productivity metrics, data analysis and long-term planning.
 
KEEN Growth Capital portfolio companies include (alphabetical order): Advanced Micronutrition, DAHlicious Organic, Go Raw, MEDOLAC, Nosh Mates, O’DANG Hummus, SNAX-SATIONAL Brands, The Jersey Tomato Co., and Ticks-N-All.