Liv Foods, Inc., maker of LivBar, organic superfood energy bars, has hired Wade Brooks as its new CEO. Upon his arrival, Brooks raised a Series A investment round, led by Leatherwood Capital, to help grow the distribution channel and pursue a national product roll-out.
“LivBar has everything you want to see in a consumer packaged goods company, beyond their healthy and delicious superfood bars, they have regional distribution, excellent branding and packaging, and are certified USDA Organic. What LivBar lacked, was growth capital to move beyond the regional markets and address a national audience hungry for their bars,” said Brooks.
Brooks founded his first company in college and went on to become the first Apple Computer Value-Added Reseller in the United States. Since those early years, he has run three companies and performed turnarounds for two additional companies. He is also one of the founding board members of The Greater Sum Foundation, providing funding to early stage, scalable, non-profit organizations. Most recently, he was Associate Professor of Entrepreneurial Practice at Willamette University MBA, founding the world’s first university angel investment fund in 2008 and named Faculty Member of Year in 2016.
“We are extremely excited that Wade decided to come on as our full-time CEO,” said original founders, Jan and Gabe Johansen. “As our company continues to grow, it is imperative we have someone with entrepreneurial expertise, financial acumen, and management experience.”
LivBars are made with all natural, real-food ingredients, are 100% USDA Certified Organic, GMO-free, gluten free, other top allergen free (nut-free, soy-free, dairy-free, corn-free), and packaged in a compostable wrapper. All of the bars are vegetarian and two flavors are vegan.
