Cambio Roasters® is not just another coffee company; it is a mission-driven enterprise dedicated to revolutionizing the coffee industry with sustainability at its core. At the heart of this mission is the passionate and innovative Cambio Team.
These rebels with a cause are committed to creating a positive impact on both the environment and the coffee industry.
The Visionaries Behind Cambio Roasters
Kevin Hartley, CEO and Co-Founder
Kevin Hartley, CEO and co-founder of Cambio Roasters, brings an impressive background as a former C-suite executive at Keurig Green Mountain®, where he played a key role in growing the company to a $14 billion enterprise.
With a passion for sustainable business practices and innovation, Kevin drives Cambio Roasters’ mission to revolutionize the coffee industry one eco-friendly organic coffee pod at a time. His expertise in the coffee sector and commitment to environmental stewardship shape Cambio Roasters' efforts to reduce single-use pod waste and promote sustainable coffee consumption.
Ann Hutson, Co-Founder
Ann Hutson, Co-Founder, is an accomplished senior level manager with extensive background in Strategic Marketing, Program Management, Marketing Communications, and E-commerce. Her experience in developing strong teams and fostering cross-functional collaboration, result in energized and engaged employees.
Ann's dedication to improving the lives of coffee farming families and commitment to environmental sustainability are central to Cambio Roasters' mission. Passionate about making a difference through both business success and community involvement, she has ensured that 20% of the company's profits support struggling coffee-farming families, setting Cambio Roasters apart from other brands that contribute only a small fraction of their profits to such causes.
Rick Estabrook, Senior VP of Research and Development and Packaging
Richard (Rick) Estabrook, Senior VP of R&D and Packaging at Cambio Roasters, is an innovative packaging professional with over 40 years of experience. Rick's career spans global companies such as Ocean Spray Cranberries, Tetra Pak, and Keurig Green Mountain®. He is a named inventor in over 13 patents, demonstrating his expertise in packaging material sciences and associated conversion and manufacturing processes. Rick's leadership in R&D and innovation teams has been instrumental in taking lab concepts to commercial success. His passion for understanding "how things work" and subsequent novel innovations to processes and materials make him a valuable asset to Cambio Roasters.
Mike Cunningham, Chief Operating Officer
Michael Cunningham, brings over 35 years of executive leadership experience across multiple global Fortune 500 companies in the CPG and appliance industry. Michael's expertise in enterprise information systems, IoT, digital strategy, and execution has been pivotal in driving Cambio Roasters' operational excellence.
Previously, Michael served as Chief Digital and Chief Information Officer of Keurig Green Mountain, where he led significant business reengineering initiatives, including a $100M SAP implementation that optimized supply chain operations. Michael's leadership at Cambio Roasters ensures that the company continues to innovate and excel in delivering sustainable coffee solutions.
Cambio's Audacious Goal
Redefining Coffee Consumption
Cambio Roasters aims to redefine coffee consumption by creating sustainable and environmentally friendly coffee pods. With the alarming statistic that 20 billion coffee pods are discarded annually, Cambio Roasters is on a mission to reduce this environmental footprint significantly.
Their goal is to be responsible for 1% of the K-Cup market, which translates to 200 million K-Cups and a $150 million brand within the next five years.
Triple Bottom Line Approach
Cambio Roasters operates with a triple bottom line mentality, focusing on people, planet, and profit. This approach ensures that every decision made benefits not only the company but also the communities involved in coffee production and the environment. By prioritizing ethical sourcing, fair trade practices, and sustainable packaging, Cambio Roasters is setting a new standard in the coffee industry.
Solving Societal Problems
Addressing Single-Use Plastic Waste
One of the most pressing issues in the coffee industry is the waste generated by single-use plastic coffee pods. Cambio Roasters is tackling this problem head-on by developing innovative coffee pods that are designed for easy recycling. These pods provide a superior oxygen barrier, ensuring better-tasting coffee while being environmentally friendly.
Supporting Coffee Farming Communities
Cambio Roasters is deeply committed to supporting coffee farming communities. By directing 20% of their profits towards initiatives that help struggling coffee farmers, they are making a tangible difference in the lives of those who produce the coffee we enjoy. This commitment to social responsibility is a cornerstone of Cambio Roasters' mission and sets them apart in the industry.
Achieving Their Goal
Celebrating Milestones
In 2023, Cambio Roasters achieved a significant milestone by securing distribution in over 1,000 grocery stores. This achievement not only increased the company’s reach but also brought them closer to their goal of making a substantial environmental impact. Their efforts were recognized with the prestigious iF Design Award for their sustainable coffee packaging, further affirming their commitment to innovation and sustainability.
The Cambio Team, led by Kevin Hartley and Ann Hutson, is a group of dedicated and passionate individuals committed to revolutionizing the coffee industry. Their audacious goal of creating sustainable coffee pods and reducing single-use plastics is driven by a deep commitment to people, the planet, and profit.
Through innovative solutions and unwavering dedication, they are proving that a small team of rebels with a cause can make a significant difference. By staying true to their core values and pushing the boundaries of eco-friendly design, Cambio Roasters is poised to make a lasting impact on the coffee industry.
Notes and Resources—
Additional bios:
Bios & Headshots - This attached advisory board document will give you info for Dave Sachs and Lindsey Bolger, if you need it. (I don't think we need to include Frank.) You may want to include Rick Estabrook though, who is our Senior VP of R&D and Packaging (and Aluminum Pod Guru). I've attached his bio as well.
Also attached is Mike's full bio - I've asked him to send me a more updated photo of himself. Hopefully he has something we can use.
Also, I don't know how you plan to use these either, but Blaine Paxton is the other key member on our team. He's our Senior VP of Supply Chain Management. He wouldn't speak for the company, but he's a key player.
Richard M. Estabrook - Senior VP of R&D and Packaging
Richard (Rick) Estabrook is an innovative broad-based Packaging Professional. Having experience and education with a multitude of packaging material sciences and their associated conversion and manufacturing processes. During his 40+ year career, Rick has worked for Global Companies such as Ocean Spray Cranberries, Tetra Pak, and Keurig Green Mountain, including a JV between AB InBev & Keurig.
Primarily working in Research & Development and Innovation Teams throughout his career, Rick is a named inventor in 13+ patents, including Design, Utility, and Method patents. That said, Rick is also a skilled leader who has marshalled inventions from laboratory concepts through commercialization and into the marketplace.
Rick launched his career with hands-on capital equipment experiences at both Ocean Spray Cranberries (traditional and established Pkg technologies) and Tetra Pak (pioneer and global leader in Aseptic Pkg). Those foundational experiences drove a life-long passion for understanding “How Things Work” and subsequent novel innovations to processes and/or materials. Additionally, Rick is adept at building and leading R&D and Quality Organizations.
While Rick has been primarily technically focused, he honed his business acumen while at Ocean Spray serving in a Business Development role responsible for 13 Markets in Asia (5+ yrs).
Rick met and worked alongside Kevin Hartley while at Keurig Green Mountain. During that time, he contributed to numerous product pipeline ideas for hot-brewed Keurig technology such as Campbell Soups/ramen noodles from K-cups, Theraflu, baby formulas, and others. Simultaneously, Rick contributed to the Keurig Kold technology which led to the Coca Cola Company investments and the AB InBev Joint Venture (Drinkworks).
In Summary, Rick is the rare animal having High EQ, big-picture business perspective, and possessing a creative technical mind. He especially enjoys start-ups, inventing, and unique purpose-driven opportunities. He brings the “anything is possible” and “get it done” attitude to all he does.
Michael Cunningham - Chief Operating Officer
Michael Cunningham brings over 35 years of executive leadership across multiple global fortune 500 companies in CPG and appliance industry driving enterprise information systems, IOT, digital strategy and execution.
Michael Joined Cambio as a partner at Diogenes Capital and leads the Diogenes technology practice and is leading the Cambio Roasters investment. As a part of Diogenes, served as President of CrowdVision Inc., a leading automated pedestrian analytics and insights company.
Previously, Michael was Chief Digital and Chief Information Officer of Keurig Green Mountain, a personal beverage system company with an expansive family of more than 80 brands and 575 beverage varieties. It employs 6,000 people and is a private business owned by an investment group led by JAB Holding Company.
Keurig experienced explosive growth, with revenues going from $100m to $5b in just a few years. Every single aspect of the business was outgrown and then rebuilt as the company went from start-up to key supplier for Walmart, and drove a revolution in the retail coffee category.
The business reengineering that Michael led included creation of a Switzerland global coffee trading company, cold channel supply chain capabilities, plant floor automation and total rebuild of the top 100 revenue US internet ecommerce platform. This was underpinned by a $100M SAP implementation that freed a half billion dollars of supply chain working capital and paid for itself by the time it was completed.
Michael joined Keurig when its stock price was $17 a share and remained with the company through its acquisition by JAB at $93 a share.
Michael joined Keurig from Kraft Foods where he served as Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, Global Information Services. In his role at Kraft, he led application strategy, enterprise architecture, hosting infrastructure, end-user computing, telecoms and innovation.
He also developed the global “go-forward” Kraft Foods enterprise architecture, and he led changes to an HP outsourcing agreement that reduced annual operating costs by one-third ($100 million) and significantly improved agility.
From 2008 until moving to Kraft upon the Cadbury acquisition, he served as Cadbury’s CTO and Senior Vice President of Global IT Services based in London. In that role, he reduced IT spend by more than 400 basis points while increasing IT customer satisfaction scores in every category.
He led a complete overhaul of the company’s global IT organizational structure, leading to a dramatic increase in the IT business’ contribution to Cadbury’s overall global strategy. He also stabilized key long-term outsourcing agreements in areas including application support.
Prior to his role as Cadbury’s CTO, he held overall regional CIO positions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. He also held roles in Cadbury’s senior IT process engineering and technology development.
Michael has served on advisory boards for Hewlett-Packard, SAP and Ayla Technologies.
