I am an accomplished founder who built a company from an idea into the leading creator and manufacturer of premium chocolate gifts. In 2017 I sold this very profitable business to a private equity group.
My experience in the premium food and gift sector began through my early ventures as an importer of premium foods. In 1994 I founded Saxon Chocolates with a vision to create a new category: premium, design-focused, giftable confections. Over the years we developed hundreds of collections, always focusing on premium chocolate gifts. Many of our products became award winners and gained international recognition, including being named as Oprah’s Favorites.

At the time of the transaction, Saxon Chocolates had HACCP gold status with state of the art equipment. Saxon specializes in creating custom programs for retail partners including Indigo, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Crate & Barrel, and William Sonoma, in addition to building strategies for multichannel platforms including TSC, QVC and HSN. It was our early adoption of trends and understanding of design and packaging that made us unique in the category.

Strong values were my compass as I built my team, and I have earned an impeccable reputation based on my high integrity and track record. I applied many proven automotive manufacturing systems to improve efficiency and to a build a culture of continuous improvement.
In June 2017, I sold Saxon Chocolates to Founders Group of Food Companies. It has since been resold to John Vince Foods of Toronto.

In my next chapter I have been helping young companies getting to market faster. I am a advisor and board member of selected companies, have invested in some early stage companies and recently created a new chocolate brand targeting TV and online shopping.

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  Advisor in Altitude Accelerator

  Elevate, Innovate, Accelerate