Brandon Hernandez is a Senior Partner at Whole Brain Consulting, which operates nationally out of its two offices in Colorado and Chicago. After earning his degree in Biology from Colorado State University (Go Rams! – Please don’t hold it against him, Boulder!), Brandon began his career in food safety, supply chain, R&D and general plant operations management at Zateca Foods. He spent a number of years working his way through the operational, research and development, supply chain, and quality assurance aspects of food manufacturing, and now plans to use those skills in the Boulder/CPG communities. Brandon enjoys spending his free time with family and friends, snowboarding, and playing soccer. He, and Whole Brain, look forward to serving the CPG community to the best of his ability for years to come.

Pete Picetti is a highly experienced insurance professional who has spent over three decades working in the Property & Casualty (P&C) sector. Serving as Senior Vice President at Heffernan Insurance Brokers, he is recognized as a prominent niche leader, specializing in insurance for consumer packaged goods (CPG) and the food and beverage industry.



As a trusted business partner, Pete is dedicated to helping his clients navigate the complexities of insurance products while offering valuable insights on HR, field operations, budgeting matters, and risk transfer.



Before his successful insurance career, Pete dedicated five years to the Coast Guard. His commitment to “duty and service” has greatly influenced his professional career and dedication to building strong client relationships.

Pete currently resides along the California coast with his wife and is the proud father of three children. Pete finds immense joy in being a loving grandparent to his two grandchildren.

Jim is the Chief Operating Officer for MISTA, the world’s leading food innovation platform. He is a 30-year CPG veteran with mix of large company and start-up experience. He started his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble. During his 10 years at P&G, including 7 overseas, Jim built a variety of brands and categories. While at Coca-Cola, Jim led a $2 billion-dollar portfolio of brands, including the Sprite, PowerAde and Minute Maid brands. As an SVP at Visa, Jim led the repositioning of the Visa brand and introduced a brand management system to the marketing function. Over the last several years he has focused on bringing his experience to helping small to medium sized companies scale. He was one of the first executives at the fin-tech start-up Yodlee, which went public in 2015. While at Bare Escentuals, he led product and marketing and helped position the company for a successful sale to cosmetics giant Shiseido. Most recently, he led the expansion of start-up Caveman Foods, helping them to become a leading provider of Paleo snacks. Jim received his MBA from Cornell University and lives with his wife and two children in Burlingame, CA.

General counsel and business advisor with more than 15 years of experience providing fractional legal and strategic consulting services to company founders, executives, and senior managers. Extensive experience in the food product development and manufacturing industry, organizing and helping lead both startups and new ventures in mature companies.