Bruce joined Humm in February 2018 with over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry and the desire to “get our great products in as many stores as possible.” He provides critical insights to assist Humm in opening new markets as the company continues to expand both nationally and internationally.
Bruce’s extensive work history includes previous successes in the organic and health food industry, including time as senior director of sales for Kashi, where he oversaw a $400 million sales budget. Additionally, Bruce worked with such marquee brands as Kraft, Heinz, Kellogg, Kashi, and Evolution Fresh.
Bruce lives in San Diego but can frequently be found in Bend. He enjoys distance running and attending concerts in his free time.
Jamie Danek
Jamie leads Humm with endless energy, abundant optimism and a big heart; traits that have enabled her to find success at numerous startups during a career spanning more than 21 years. Previously, Jamie founded and served as CEO and N ational S ales D irector of JLD Enterprises, a very successful consulting firm before pivoting to create EON Organics, a natural products company with distribution throughout the East Coast. Using the skills and knowledge gleaned from these successes, Jamie built Humm from the ground up and is now focused on defining strategy and leading the overall execution of Humm’s rapid expansion. Her passion to share the idea that great taste can be healthy is rivaled only by her desire to spread joy throughout the world. As a founding board member of Kombucha Brewers International, Jamie is a national leader driving positive advocacy for the kombucha sector. Jamie has a Bachelor of Science Degree in international marketing from Temple University. She is an avid traveler and spends as much time as possible outside, usually on her mountain bike.
Eric Plantenberg
Longtime friend of Michelle and Jamie’s, Eric was in the kitchen making Jamie and Michelle sandwiches when they decided to launch Humm in 2009. Eric was the Co-Founder and CEO of a premier personal development company where he spent 17 years working with Fortune 100 companies on topics such as leadership, goal setting and company culture. Eric joined Humm full-time in April 2013 and was instrumental in raising capital for the company’s first brewery, assembling the board of directors, and recruiting the current management team. In July 2015 he began leading our sales and marketing efforts and has been pivotal in securing Target as our first national partner and is managing Humm’s growth at Costco, Walmart and other major retailers. Eric has a B.S. in Consumer Science from the University of Wisconsin. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Eric has extensively traveled the planet, completed the Ironman four times and reached the summit of Mt. Everest.
Michelle Mitchell
Michelle’s passion for kombucha started over a decade ago and led to her founding Humm. She is the primary keeper and driver of Humm’s amazing culture and brand ethos within our staff-centric organization as well as overseeing brewing methods and ensuring that the taste profile of Humm’s kombucha is both excellent and consistent. She believes her mission is to bring love and light to the world and is instrumental in creating an air of positive energy and forging a culture of joy and freedom at Humm. Michelle worked for 6 years in sales and fundraising for Great American Opportunities and the Southwestern Company, earning top sales awards each year before founding Humm. She is fluent in Spanish and studied Arabic extensively while spending time in the Middle East. She has competed in three Ironman triathlons and spent 3 years traveling around the world before settling in Bend, OR. Michelle is a graduate of Central College where she studied Music and Spanish and Biology.
Brian Grossman
Brian, an attorney by trade, joined Humm in October 2014 as Vice President. Brian manages functions such as corporate development, legal, formation of key partnerships, corporate finance, investor relations and governance as well as serving as Corporate Secretary. Brian has over 23 years of professional experience working in start-up and early stage businesses. He most recently served as Vice President of BuckitDream.com. As Director Corporate Development at CDC Corporation, Brian identified and negotiated Asia distribution partnerships and the acquisition of enterprise software companies.
As a Co-Founder and Director of Platinum China Software, he was responsible for building the sales and marketing organization, legal matters, and that company’s Greater China expansion strategy, eventually orchestrating the successful sale of the company. Brian has a BA in Business Economics from Colorado College, a Juris Doctorate from Willamette University College of Law, and speaks Mandarin Chinese. As a Founder of non-profit KIDS In The GAME, Brian helps underserved youth have an opportunity to get active and participate in organized sports programs throughout the United States.
Kate Dunning
Kate brought her experience as a CPA and over 26 years of financial management experience working in manufacturing environments to Humm. Her expertise in financial planning and strategic pricing with big-box and major grocery retailers has been instrumental in assisting Humm’s rapid expansion.
Prior to joining Humm, Kate spent nine years as Director of Accounting and Finance for American Licorice, a fast-moving consumer products company. After bringing sales, marketing and operations together and helping to land several million dollar deals, she was tasked with leading a Marketing & Sales Finance team that was responsible for all pricing and trade promotions across all brands. After three years in that role, she headed up both Accounting and Finance, and M&S Finance.
Kate has a BA in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MBA from Portland State University.
Wade Nolte
Wade joined Humm in mid-January 2017 to oversee all manufacturing operations. In light of the new brewery coming on line, increased complexity and explosive growth in sales volume, Humm chose to bring in a seasoned senior manufacturing professional to oversee all production operations. Classically trained at Hormel Foods, he has over 27 years of experience managing food and beverage manufacturing operations. Wade served 14 years as Vice President of Operations of Century Foods International, a $300M a year wholly-owned subsidiary of Hormel managing operations, budgeting, plant P&L, purchasing, and strategic guidance of four facilities. Most recently he was Executive VP of Supply Chain for Twinlab Consolidated Corporation. He is an expert in supply chain management, process improvement, and logistics as well as a great team leader who takes pride in developing his staff. Wade has a BA in Business Management from Central College University of Iowa, an Executive MBA from the University of St. Thomas, and is a certified Six Sigma professional.
Scott Young
Scott’s work with Humm began in 2012 when Jamie hired him to build a unique draft unit that she could find no one else to build. An incredibly creative and out of the box thinker, Scott has been building everything Humm has needed ever since. Scott’s ingenuity has helped Humm make leaps and bounds in the production of kombucha. His many past businesses include pioneering a motorcycle export company throughout Europe and has spent the last 25 years building both commercial construction projects and managing and owning hundreds of rental properties. His construction company served as general contractor building out the Humm brewery in 2013. Scott joined Humm full-time in March 2015 providing senior level technical oversight of our brewing operations. He has focused on driving operational efficiencies and execution of capacity expansion while building the entire operations team, guiding facilities management, equipment maintenance, and safety procedures. Scott is currently managing all kombucha production R&D and is fully responsible for the build-out of Humm’s 44,000 sq ft new brewery. Scott is an avid outdoor enthusiast, loves to travel and spends endless hours mountain biking.
René Mitchell
René Mitchell joined Humm in 2016 as the Director of Marketing following 18 years as a partner at Bend-based branding agency, tbd inc., where she provided innovative solutions, effective leadership and strategic thinking for clients and brands: Deschutes Brewery, Oregon Chai, 21st Amendment Brewing Company, Odell Brewing Company and American Licorice. Most notably, René worked with the Humm founders to rebrand the beloved local brand, Kombucha Mama to Humm Kombucha, with the strategic objective of creating a more accessible and approachable brand for the masses. She is also a creative convener and believes that creativity is one of our greatest tools for challenging perception and creating conversation — René promotes arts, culture and social change for many arts organizations, including: ScaleHouse, a creative think tank, the Bend Design Conference and Caldera Arts. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (Advertising and Broadcasting) from the Edward R. Murrow School of Communications.
Sally Taylor
Sally brought over 25 years of consumer packaged goods experience with her when she joined Humm in 2016. Today, she leads the sales team and has been key to initiating and maintaining relationships with key retailers including Target, Walmart and Krogers.
Previous to her time at Humm, Sally lead national accounts for companies such as Columbus Foods, Perfetti Van Melle and Kettle Potato Chips. She has experience in multiple channels of trade, including conventional grocery, natural, mass merchandise, drug and convenience.
Sally graduated with a BS in Geology from Southern Methodist University. She enjoys running in her spare time and had completed three marathons.
