William Rosenzweig

Mr. Rosenzweig has 20 years of experience as an investor, entrepreneur and educator. Mr. Rosenzweig was most recently co-founder and Managing Director of Great Spirit Ventures (“GSV” or “GSV Fund I”), a $20 million venture fund focused in the consumer-driven health sector and co-founder and CEO of Brand New Brands, a $15 million functional food accelerator fund. Thus far, Brand New Brands has resourcefully and speedily commercialized four new companies.

Prior to co-founding GSV, Mr. Rosenzweig actively participated in creating successful food and consumer-driven health companies as an investor or member of senior management. In 1990, Mr. Rosenzweig co-founded and served as President, CEO, and Minister of Progress of The Republic of Tea, an award-winning specialty tea company that is often credited with creating the premium tea category in the United States. The company grew very rapidly and was acquired in 1994. In 1995, Mr. Rosenzweig was named Senior Vice President of Odwalla (1994-1997), the nation’s largest fresh juice company where he directed the brand and strategy of the company. His prior work experience includes roles as Vice President of Nakamichi (1985-1989); Partner and CEO of Hambrecht Vineyards and Wineries (1998-2001); Chairman of Winetasting.com (1998-2001); and Co-Founder of Venture Strategy Partners (1997-2000). In 2004, he founded Kingdom of Herbs, a purveyor of organic products for home and garden at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.Mr. Rosenzweig was on the faculty at the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley from 1999 to 2006, where he has taught the MBA course in Social Entrepreneurship. He was named a teaching fellow by Dean Laura Tyson in 1999.

He serves as faculty advisor to the Global Social Venture Competition and has been a visiting faculty member at London Business School and a guest lecturer at Stanford, Columbia, University of California, Davis, University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles. He has received several awards for teaching from both the Haas School of Business at Berkeley and from London Business School. Mr. Rosenzweig also served as an advisor and consultant to the Rockefeller Foundation’s ProVenEx Fund, an investment vehicle seeking “double bottom line returns” in for-profit businesses. He was the co-project director and co-author of Rockefeller Foundation-sponsored research on Social Impact Assessment and design methodologies for measuring and monetizing the social value generated through social focused businesses. Mr. Rosenzweig is the co-author of The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Business (Doubleday 1992, 1994), a best selling book that chronicles the start up of a new company. He is on the board of directors of Brand New Brands, LightFull Foods, Attune Foods, Dreamerz Foods, Efficas, World of Good and The Natural Dentist. He serves as Co-Chairman of Net Impact and is on the advisory boards of UC Connect, Acumen Fund and SustainAbility.

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Vision for Venturing Ecosystem to Generate Global Health Innovation, Physic Ventures, 2008