Craig Hurlbert
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Craig Hurlbert has served as our Chief Executive Officer since December 2023 and as a member of our Board since November 2021. He previously served as our Senior Vice President of Strategy from June 2023 to December 2023 and our Co-Chief Executive Officer from November 2021 to June 2023. Mr. Hurlbert co-founded Local Bounti in August 2018. Mr. Hurlbert also co-founded BrightMark Partners, LLC, a growth equity and management firm providing capital and resources to venture, growth phase and middle-market businesses, and served as a Managing Partner from January 2014 to March 2021. Previously, Mr. Hurlbert served in various leadership roles at TAS Energy, a leading provider of high efficiency and modular cooling and energy systems for the data center, commercial, industrial, and power generation markets, including President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board. Mr. Hurlbert also held leadership roles at General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and North American Energy Services. Mr. Hurlbert is currently the Chairman of the Board at Clearas Water Recovery, a company utilizing patented, sustainable, and proprietary technology to solve high nutrient wastewater challenges in the municipal and industrial water markets. Mr. Hurlbert earned his B.S. in Finance from San Diego State University and his M.B.A. from California State University-Long Beach.
Travis Joyner
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Travis Joyner has served as our Chief Technology Officer since June 2023 and has served as a member of our Board since November 2021. He previously served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer from November 2021 to June 2023. Mr. Joyner co-founded Local Bounti in August 2018. Mr. Joyner also co-founded BrightMark Partners, LLC, a growth equity and management firm providing capital and resources to venture, growth phase and middle-market businesses, and served as a Managing Partner from January 2014 to March 2021. At BrightMark Partners, LLC, Mr. Joyner was an active director for many portfolio companies, driving with growth plan execution, building core business infrastructure, and leading many successful debt and equity transactions. His areas of expertise include quantitative analysis, corporate strategy, technology development, market analysis, organizational design structure, market strategy, branding, and capital campaigns. Mr. Joyner earned a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, where his graduate focus was market research and statistics, a Certificate of Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from the University of Montana, and his B.A. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, graduating with distinction.
Edward Forst
Lead Independent Director
Edward Forst has served as a member of the Board since November 2018. Mr. Forst served as Chairman, Partner, and member of the Investment Committee at Lion Capital from January 2020 until his retirement in September 2023. Mr. Forst previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) from January 2014 to September 2015, leading the commercial real estate firm across more than 60 countries. Prior to this, Mr. Forst was a Management Committee Partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co. (NYSE: GS), where he served as the Co-CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and before that as the Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice President of the firm. Mr. Forst also served as the Chairman of Goldman's Global Debt Underwriting Committee for seven years. Mr. Forst was also the Executive Vice President and Principal Operating Officer of Harvard University during the financial crisis, as well as Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Mr. Forst sits on the boards of The Feinstein Institute of Northwell Health, the Yale School of Management, and the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. Mr. Forst has also served on the board of the Harvard Management Company, as Treasurer of Carnegie Hall, and as the Chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). Mr. Forst earned his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his A.B. in Economics from Harvard University.
Pamela Brewster
Director
Pamela Brewster has served as a member of the Board since November 2021. Ms. Brewster also served as a member of the Board of our predecessor company from November 2020 to November 2021. Ms. Brewster is the Principal at Orange Strategies LLC, a political and government affairs consulting firm. Ms. Brewster founded Orange Strategies in 2014 following 14 years as Vice President of Government Affairs at the Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW), where she was responsible for managing Schwab’s state and local government relations efforts; overseeing Schwab PAC, the company’s political action committee; and acting as the company’s in-house political advisor. She continues to provide advisory and consulting services to Charles R. Schwab. Previously, Ms. Brewster worked at the public relations firm of Alexander Ogilvy, where she was the head of the firm’s Tech Policy Communications practice. At Alexander, she represented a variety of high-tech clients. Prior to joining Alexander, Ms. Brewster worked in Washington, D.C., representing telecommunications and technology interests on Capitol Hill. Ms. Brewster earned a B.A. in political science from the University of California at Davis and a M.A. in public administration and policy from the American University in Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Carr-Smith
Director
Jennifer Carr-Smith has served as a member of the Board since May 2023. Ms. Carr-Smith has served as President of JCS Advisory Services, LLC, a firm providing advisory services to high-growth companies in the consumer space since April 2018. From July 2021 to November 2023, Ms. Carr-Smith served as Co-Founder and President of Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., a company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Previously, Ms. Carr-Smith was General Manager/Senior Vice President North America Local of Groupon, Inc. (NYSE: GRPN), Chief Executive Officer/President of Peapod Online Grocer, LLC, and Chief Operating Officer of each of J. Crew Direct, giggle, and Gilt.com. Ms. Carr-Smith serves as a Non-Executive Director of Woolworths Group (OTCMKTS: WOLWF) and previously served as Chair of the Board of Blue Apron Holding, Inc. (Nasdaq: APRN). Ms. Carr-Smith holds a B.A. degree in economics from Brown University and an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School.
Mark Nelson
Director
Mark J. Nelson. Mark J. Nelson has served as a member of the Board since March 2021. Mr. Nelson served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at Beyond Meat, Inc. (Nasdaq: BYND), a producer of plant-based meat substitutes, from May 2017 to May 2021, and from December 2015 to March 2017, he served in various capacities at the company, including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary. From March 2017 to May 2017, Mr. Nelson served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Biolase (Nasdaq: BIOL), a medical device company, and from April 2013 to November 2015, he was Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Farmer Bros. Co. (Nasdaq: FARM), a manufacturer, wholesaler and distributor of coffee, tea, spices, and culinary products. Mr. Nelson started his career at General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) as a member of GE's Financial Management Program and worked at Thermo Fisher, a biotechnology product development company (NYSE: TMO), and served in various leadership positions at Newport Corporation, a formerly publicly traded global supplier of advanced technology products and systems. Mr. Nelson currently serves as a director of The Real Good Food Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGF). Mr. Nelson has a B.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and an M.B.A. degree from Babson College.
Matthew Nordby
Director
Matthew Nordby has served as a member of the Board since November 2021. Mr. Nordby is the Founder and Managing Partner of Flume Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on investing in enterprise technology companies. Prior to founding Flume in April 2023, Mr. Nordby served as a Partner at Lion Capital, where he remains an advisor, from January 2019 to April 2023. Previously, Mr. Nordby served as President of Playboy Enterprises (Nasdaq: PLBY), leading their global licensing business to over $1.5 billion in annual revenue. He also served as an executive in the technology industry which included building software start-up Greenplum, acquired by EMC in 2010. He launched his career at Sun Microsystems where he held various leadership positions. Mr. Nordby received his B.A. from Auburn University.