TEAM

Sue Graziano Adams, Founder, CEO
Vision: Everyone eating great food, regardless of texture. Dining should continue to have dignity, regardless. Sue grew up in Bremerton, WA. and earned her BA in communication disorders at WSU. After a brief career with Xerox Corporation in sales, Sue moved to San Francisco and completed her masters degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology. Her clinical experience includes evaluating and treating primarily adults in each step of their recovery. She has worked hard to have those with swallowing difficulties return to the joy and dignity of eating good food regardless of it's texture. This began her vision of Blossom Foods. Sue lives in the bay area with her husband Chris, and their children Jack and Grace.

 

Juerg Aeschbach, Head Chef
The "Chef's Chef," Juerg Aeschbach is a seasoned contributor to the food product development industry with a career spanning over 35 years. He brings innovative and trend-conscious products to the market place, specializing in refrigerated, frozen and shelf-stable food products. Chef Aeschbach has worked in Research & Development, Plant Operations, Product Start-ups and Scale-ups. He's held senior positions at Del Monte and Venezia Italian Foods, and has developed successful food products for such notable clients as Albertsons, FIS-Nestlé, Wolfgang Puck Food Co., Richelieu Food Group, Chef John Folse & Company, and Blossom Foods. Chef Aeschbach is a member of the American Culinary Federation and the Research Chefs Association.

 

Sheila Coffey Kilty, Operations
Sheila Coffey Kilty comes to Blossom Foods with more than 15 years of Sales Planning and Distribution Management experience. Sheila earned her undergraduate degree at U.C. Berkeley. Sheila has extensive experience in the consumer products industry. In her 7 years with The Clorox Company, she managed the Walmart and Sam s replenishment team. Sheila also worked in the Logistics Planning group, overseeing corporate supply chain initiatives, and managed the implementation of a new business planning process across several business units. Sheila is very customer focused and understands the need to effectively manage the flow of information and products to ensure your success with Blossom Foods.

 

Natalie Gaines, Advisor
Natalie Gaines began her career in 1988 in Washington, DC at the National Rehabilitation Hospital evaluating and treating the adult population in swallowing disorders (dysphagia). Natalie became a leader of a 6 member team of specialist speech pathologists, spoke at the State and National Levels on dysphagia and served as a guest lecturer at George Washington University to the graduate program. She has since served in the acute care and rehabilitation settings in Berkeley California at the Alta Bates/Summit Medical Center as a Senior Speech Pathologist working with physicians, nurses, patients and their families on diet modifications as well as strengthening exercises for improving swallowing function and safety.

 

Bob Hill, Advisor
Bob has over 25 years of management and consulting experience, with most of the time spent in food and beverage companies. Bob has held management positions within Clorox, Quaker Oats, and Nestle, and was the President of Kerns Beverages, LLC - - the maker of Kerns Nectars, a national juice brand. Bob has also successfully consulted for companies across such industries as food & beverage, cleaning products, advertising, medical products, and computing peripherals. His consulting practice focused on strategic market planning, brand building, and new product development. Bob s education includes a BS degree from UC Berkeley ( 78) and a MBA from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University ( 83).