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Southern California Chapter Webinar | The Director's Lens: Critical Decisions Shaping the Future of CPG
Tuesday, March 03, 2026, 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM PDT
Category: Southern California

The Director's Lens: Critical Decisions Shaping the Future of CPG

We are excited to announce the launch of the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Special Interest Group! As the CPG landscape evolves through AI, data-driven innovation, and strategic partnerships, boards must adapt to new ways of connecting with consumers.

Please join the first in our series of quarterly virtual webinars. Our featured panelists, Caroline Levy, Victoria Sassine, and James White, along with moderator Catherine Nelson, will delve into the critical decisions shaping the future of CPG.

Registration:
PDA Members - $0
Non-Members - $30

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Panelists:

   

Caroline Levy
Board Director
Celsius Holdings, Athletic Brewing, and Icelandic Glacial

Caroline Levy is the founder of CLAS, an advisory firm in the consumer space. Ms. Levy serves as a public and private company Director on the boards of Celsius Holdings (CELH) and Health-Ade Kombucha, and is a member of the Audit and Nominating/Governance committees at Celsius and the Strategy Committee at Health-Ade. Caroline is also a director of Athletic Brewing Company, the largest non-alcoholic beer company in the US, and serves on the compensation committee. Ms. Levy had a renowned career as a consumer stock analyst for over thirty years, covering large and small companies across soft drinks, alcohol, cosmetics, household products, food, restaurants, and hotels. She was ranked by both the Institutional Investor and Wall Street Journal surveys as one of the top analysts in her sector. Her tenure has included senior analyst roles at Lehman Brothers, UBS, CLSA and Macquarie. At UBS, Caroline was promoted to COO of US research, where she chaired the investment review committee, directed the vetting process for investment banking transactions, and oversaw the over 100-person associate analyst team. Her strategic reports uncovered key consumer trends well before they became mainstream, such as “value in values” and the squeeze on mid-size companies to the benefit of small innovators and large retailers and brands. Her work with Citic’s on-the-ground team, “China Reality Research,” revealed unrecognized value in the Chinese operations of companies such as Estée Lauder, and uncovered risks in others (P&G in diapers). Ms. Levy’s network spans CEOs and executives across public and private brand-owners and distributors, allowing her to key into trends and risks across industries. Long-standing relationships with sell-side and buy-side analysts and portfolio managers, give Ms. Levy a clear view into shifting investing and valuation methods. Caroline joined the board of Celsius Holdings (CELH) in July 2020, a public company selling one of the fastest growing energy drinks in the category. She is a member of the audit and nominating/governance committees and was on the committee overseeing the transformational 2022 transaction with PepsiCo, in which PepsiCo invested 8% in CELH and became the sole distributor of the brand in the US. Ms. Levy serves on the board of Health-Ade Kombucha, a private-equity owned company which is the #2 player in the Kombucha market and a leader in gut health. Ms. Levy has advised nutritional supplement and enhanced water companies, and acted as a mentor to young companies in the healthy food and beverage spaces. Caroline is a member of Extraordinary Women on Boards (EWOB), an organization dedicated to educating and furthering the success of women on private and public for-profit boards. She is active in the Los Angeles circle of female founders in the consumer and wellness space. She is the mom of two daughters and a fabulous pup called Lulu.

     

Victoria Sassine
Board Director and Audit Chair
Pantheon, AMG Funds, PRG Group (Advisory)

 Victoria Sassine, CPA, MBA, is a public board director, with over 25 years of expertise in scaling business growth and operations in a myriad of sectors.  Throughout her executive career with Fortune 500 Companies ( Biogen, Philip Morris Companies, Kraft Foods,) her focus was on business transition, with an emphasis on   identifying market opportunities for growth. For the past fifteen years, Victoria has continued to propel shareholder value, by honing strategy and re imaging processes for both private and public firms. Currently, Victoria is the Audit Chair for Pantheon Private Equity Fund, a liquid alternative fund. Additionally, she serves as a Director for Affiliated Management Group Funds( NYSE: AMG), an asset management complex. Victoria is also an independent Board Director for Ticket Chocolate, a USA based chocolate manufacturer as well as PRG Group, a privately held general contractor. Victoria has a BSBA in Accounting and is a CPA. She earned her MBA from the Booth School at the University of Chicago.

     

James D White
Board Chair
The Honest Co., Cava, Greenlight, CECP, The Bay Club Co.
Schnuck Markets, The Simply Good Foods Co. 

James is a transformational leader with over 30 years as a CEO and operating executive in the Consumer Products, Retail and Restaurant industries. An experienced Board Director/Advisor with almost 20 years of experience in a dozen public and private board appointments. James currently serves as Board Chair at The Honest Company (NASDAQ:HNST), and is a Board Member at CAVA (NYSE:CAVA), Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL), Greenlight, and Schnucks Supermarkets. He previously served on the boards of Adtalem Global Education, Affirm (AFRM), Callidus Cloud, Hillshire Brands, Medallia, Panera Bread, and several other boards. His non-profit board experience includes Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) and Directors Academy, where he is a founding member. James also co-founded Culture Design Lab in 2019, which works with CEOs and leaders to design high-performing, resilient company cultures and organizations on purpose. He previously served on the non-profit boards of the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center, The Organic Center, and the Network of Executive Women. James has a proven track record of leading some of the world’s most iconic brands through transformation and on to growth. He is the former Chair, President, and CEO of Jamba Juice, where he led the successful turnaround and transformation of the company from a made-to-order smoothie shop to a global, healthy active lifestyle brand. Prior to his role at Jamba, He also held senior executive positions at Safeway Stores, Inc., the Gillette Company, and Nestlé-Purina PetCare. James holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Fontbonne University. He was invited back as Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2017 and conferred a Doctor of Humane Letters honor. He received a Bachelors of Science degree with a major in Marketing from the University of Missouri in 1983. James also participated in the Food Executive Program at Cornell University in 1997 and served as Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow at Stanford University in 2018.

      Catherine Nelson

Board Director and Founder
CMMB, Windmill Lane Advisors, LLC

Catherine Nelson is a senior executive, board director, and strategic advisor recognized for driving value within the Consumer Product Goods (CPG) sector. Currently leading Windmill Lane Advisors LLC, she provides independent, high-level guidance at the intersection of financial governance, risk management, and long-term strategy. An SEC-defined Audit Committee Financial Expert and Qualified Risk Director, she currently serves on the board of CMMB.

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