Our Team
Bill Atchinson
Bill has his MBA from Wharton and spent 15 years as a marketing executive managing some of America’s largest consumer brands within leading CPG companies including Miller Brewing, ConAgra/Healthy Choice, Dial, Corning and General Foods. He led brand teams that developed four new $100 million brands and won four New Product of the Year awards.
Building on that experience, Bill formed Growth Ventures in 1995 as a growth strategy consulting service and affiliated with the BDN consultancy. For the past 30 years he has been associated with leading growth brands and established a proven track record of building brands and businesses.
From 2016 - 2021, Bill partnered with Sunrise Strategic Partners I, working closely with the portfolio companies as an Advisor responsible for growth strategies and brand development for brands including Kodiak, Maple Hill, and pact. These three brands have grown from an average revenue at investment of $25M – to 2024 sales ranging from $85M and $470M.
After living in Arizona for over 20 years, Bill and his wife Deb moved to Los Angeles, California in 2013. Bill’s favorite hobbies include mountain biking, soccer, investing, and outdoor photography.
Bill Hooper
One of the best brand builders and consumer experts, Bill was the former President of Doner Advertising and has run his own independent marketing consultancy for over thirty years.
Bill was a member of the Board of Directors of Boulder Brands from its inception in 2007 until 2015. In addition, he served as senior marketing advisor to the Boulder Brands management team. Presently, he is an Advisor to Sunrise Strategic Partners and served on the Kodiak Board of Directors prior to its sale.
Bill’s background has been primarily in advertising agency management and consulting with emphasis on consumer product brands.
He played key roles in driving marketing strategy for Healthy Choice, Tropicana, Celestial Seasonings, Silk, Evol, Earth Balance, Udi's Gluten Free and Glutino.
Blake Waltrip
Blake began his career in corporate finance and investment banking prior to graduating with an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. He went on to pursue a career as a consumer packaged goods marketing and general management executive. Blake successfully transformed several brands and pioneered Nestle Beverage Company’s entry into category management. As VP Marketing and General Manager for Celestial Seasonings, he and his team successfully grew the brand by 50% over a two-year period prior to the sale of the company.
Blake’s background includes starting up a consumer focused e-commerce company as well as turn-around management experience with a European owned Consumer Goods Company. From 2002 to 2009 Blake was a Managing Partner at Growth Ventures where he leveraged his diverse experience to successfully grow client companies through his insights in market in, business development, sales management, and organizational leadership.
In 2009 Blake returned to Celestial Seasonings as the CMO driving growth through innovation while fulfilling the brand’s mission of being an environmentally and socially responsible business.
Blake joined Quinoa Corporation in 2013 where he was the CEO of the first company to export Quinoa from Bolivia and managed a range of products under the Ancient Harvest brand.
In 2016 Blake became CEO of the a2 Milk USA where and he his team led national launch of the brand and managed it through 2023 as it became one of the category’s leading growth brands. Blake next served as the CEO of private equity based non-dairy company where he led a successful turnaround of the brand.
Blake lives in Lafayette, Colorado with his wife and has two adult children. Blake has sat on the board of several growth stage consumer products companies, Naturally Boulder, and actively enjoys his lifestyle including hiking, skiing, reading, running, yoga, and meditation.
Kerin Kennedy
A seasoned leader in food innovation and research, Kerin brings over two decades of experience spearheading R&D, product development, and commercialization across a wide range of food and beverage platforms. She has led teams that have launched thousands of new products spanning from bakery and frozen items to beverages, snacks, and specialty nutrition lines. In the process her work has driven significant growth for numerous brands while also earning multiple patents for breakthrough formulations.
Kerin’s career spans senior roles at some of the most innovative and passionate organizations, where she has managed technical operations, directed cross-functional innovation teams, and cultivated strong vendor and co-packer partnerships across the globe. In 2002 she founded Mesh Food Labs and Innovation Group and has partnered with numerous clients including Tillamook, Kodiak, Lenny & Larry’s, Earthbound Farms, Danone, VMG, and McKinsey. Her collaborative leadership and expertise have resulted in a long run of breakthrough innovations. Through the numerous projects she has directed, Kerin has deep experience involving leading the development and commercialization of several successful product renovations and new products.
Passionate about challenging the status quo, Kerin continuously seeks opportunities to blend science with creativity to deliver clean label, allergen-free, and health-enhanced foods that delight consumers. Outside of work, Kerin is an avid hiker and a dedicated foster parent, committed to making a positive impact both professionally and personally.
Rob Atchinson
Rob is an Associate Partner at Growth Ventures and for the past several years he has co-managed all of the Growth Strategy, Brand Strategy, and Innovation Strategy projects with our clients.
In the past year, Rob has led the exploratory research on potential expansion markets and competitive brands for Sweet Loren’s, Farm Rich, and SeaPak. He also has played a key role in framing the competitive positioning strategy for One Mighty Mill’s stone milled bread and bagels as they are successfully flanking the BFY market in these large categories.
Rob has partnered the design, development, and analysis of over 20 studies on brand positioning, new products, packaging, advertising, and portfolio strategy in the past two years.
