CEO: Chief Eternal Optimist with Kevin Rutherford Kevin Rutherford

Wayne Wu is a General Partner at VMG Partners. VMG Partners works intimately with founders and leaders of branded consumer product companies, providing the resources and guidance needed to propel them to their next level of growth and value. 

Beyond capital, Wayne provides a value-added investment philosophy that pulls from his decades of experience, strategic guidance, and passionate focus to help our brands accelerate growth, increase brand awareness, and achieve their own definition of success. VMG has worked closely and successfully with brands such as Ancient Nutrition, Drunk Elephant, Humm Kombucha, Justin's, KIND, Nature's Bakery, Perfect Snacks, Quest, and Spindrift, to name a few. 

Wayne is energized by the next generation of innovative, consumer product entrepreneurs, and looks forward to helping them fully realize their vision. Wayne is based in San Francisco, CA.

At Nestlé Health Science, the mission is to empower healthier lives through nutrition. As the CEO of NHSc U.S., Abigail Buckwalter has the goal to bring this purpose to life and deliver innovative solutions that transform the lives of consumers and patients.

Buckwalter has been with NHSc since its inception, and for more than a decade she is still fueled every day by the people, purpose, and potential.

Listen to this educational episode as two CEOs, Kevin and Abigail, drop important lessons on leadership in this amazing conversation. 

About host Kevin Rutherford
Kevin is a human-centric leader helping you to unlock your team’s full potential by creating a dynamic and engaging work environment. Joined by other thought leaders, they will share tools they have used to create highly successful teams through culture-first leadership.
Kevin Rutherford is a CEO, board member, public speaker and team culture expert who believes in the power of people. As CEO of two different companies, he shaped their company cultures resulting in recognition as one of ‘Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work’ for a total of six years. Known as the Chief Eternal Optimist, he has made it his mission to create a working environment where everyone can succeed and thrive. Join Kevin on a journey to help you and your team become the very best they can be.

Seth Goldman, the Founder and CEO of Just Ice Tea, and the mastermind behind the iconic Honest Tea brand (which he later sold to Coca-Cola) sits down and talk about business, culture, and even a quick chat on running 10 miles after eating 20 donuts. 

Following the acquisition of Honest Tea, Coca-Cola chose to discontinue the brand, leaving a void in the market. Undeterred, Seth embarked on his second journey in reinventing the ice tea industry with Just Ice Tea. Remarkably, Seth and his team took Just Ice Tea from concept to commercialization in under 4 months—an impressive feat in itself. 

What's truly remarkable about Seth's story is not just his entrepreneurial resilience but also his leadership and team culture ethos. Despite facing challenges, Seth remained steadfast in his belief that there was a demand for beverages crafted with integrity and superior taste.

If the journey of Just Ice Tea doesn't pique your interest, Seth's approach to leadership and team culture certainly will. Tune in to the full episode as Seth and Kevin unravel this fascinating story.
About host Kevin Rutherford
Kevin is a human-centric leader helping you to unlock your team’s full potential by creating a dynamic and engaging work environment. Joined by other thought leaders, they will share tools they have used to create highly successful teams through culture-first leadership.
Kevin Rutherford is a CEO, board member, public speaker and team culture expert who believes in the power of people. As CEO of two different companies, he shaped their company cultures resulting in recognition as one of ‘Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work’ for a total of six years. Known as the Chief Eternal Optimist, he has made it his mission to create a working environment where everyone can succeed and thrive. Join Kevin on a journey to help you and your team become the very best they can be.

Roy Notowitz knows a thing about culture and fit, he runs one of the top recruiting companies in the country. Listen to this episode as Roy and Kevin discuss how to find great people who will help you build your company into a force.

About host Kevin Rutherford
Kevin is a human-centric leader helping you to unlock your team’s full potential by creating a dynamic and engaging work environment. Joined by other thought leaders, they will share tools they have used to create highly successful teams through culture-first leadership.
Kevin Rutherford is a CEO, board member, public speaker and team culture expert who believes in the power of people. As CEO of two different companies, he shaped their company cultures resulting in recognition as one of ‘Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work’ for a total of six years. Known as the Chief Eternal Optimist, he has made it his mission to create a working environment where everyone can succeed and thrive. Join Kevin on a journey to help you and your team become the very best they can be.

Sean Riley flipping burgers and then in construction before he started his side hustle on the weekends that quickly grew into a $150M business. Dude Wipes are a disposable wipe product manufactured by Dude Products, a personal care brand based in Chicago.

In episode of the CEO podcast, Kevin and Sean talk about all aspects of being in the C-Suite, brand marketing, company culture and more!

About host Kevin Rutherford
Kevin is a human-centric leader helping you to unlock your team’s full potential by creating a dynamic and engaging work environment. Joined by other thought leaders, they will share tools they have used to create highly successful teams through culture-first leadership.
Kevin Rutherford is a CEO, board member, public speaker and team culture expert who believes in the power of people. As CEO of two different companies, he shaped their company cultures resulting in recognition as one of ‘Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work’ for a total of six years. Known as the Chief Eternal Optimist, he has made it his mission to create a working environment where everyone can succeed and thrive. Join Kevin on a journey to help you and your team become the very best they can be.

In 1995, Mike Fata had no idea how to lose weight the healthy way. He fell for the low-fat fad diet as his go-to solution. 

Then he set-off to get ‘healthy’ by cutting the fat and ramping up an exercise plan, but soon realized that he'd gone too far. He lost too much weight, felt lethargic all the time and was overall…still unhealthy. 
A lot of experimentation later,  Mike discovered that hemp hearts offered the right combination of essential fats to enhance his diet, allowed him to build the strength and start feeling amazing every day.

That’s how he ended up co-founding Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods in 1998, and began my journey to dedicate over 25 years of his life studying and practicing natural health.

About host Kevin Rutherford
Kevin is a human-centric leader helping you to unlock your team’s full potential by creating a dynamic and engaging work environment. Joined by other thought leaders, they will share tools they have used to create highly successful teams through culture-first leadership.
Kevin Rutherford is a CEO, board member, public speaker and team culture expert who believes in the power of people. As CEO of two different companies, he shaped their company cultures resulting in recognition as one of ‘Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work’ for a total of six years. Known as the Chief Eternal Optimist, he has made it his mission to create a working environment where everyone can succeed and thrive. Join Kevin on a journey to help you and your team become the very best they can be.