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2026 Speakers
Keynote Session
AI, Unprompted: Hot Takes from the Consumer Front Lines
Every brand says they are “using AI.” Far fewer can tell you how it has fundamentally changed their business. We are opening the day with founders who are leading the way on implementation – inside their marketing, creative, supply chain, and org charts – for an unvarnished hour of hot takes on what’s delivering real returns, what quietly got killed, and where the technology, and more importantly, the opportunity, may be headed next.

Angela Vranich
Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Little Spoon
Angela Vranich is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Little Spoon, where she leads the company’s insights-driven product innovation strategy. She oversees consumer insights, product development, research, and every physical consumer-facing touchpoint, ensuring the brand’s products are thoughtfully designed to meet the evolving needs of modern families. Since launching Little Spoon, Angela has helped grow the company into the leading direct-to-consumer children’s food brand in the U.S., with more than 100 million meals sold nationwide and products now feeding roughly 3% of American babies.
Angela began her career in food-related television production, where she worked on creative planning and execution for culinary programming. She later followed her passion for food and wellness into the organic food industry, founding a company that led field marketing and grassroots activations for dozens of leading natural brands. In that role, she managed a team of more than 100 people across multiple regions, gaining hands-on experience across the food ecosystem.
Through that work, Angela recognized a major gap in the baby food category—products were shelf-stable, outdated, and disconnected from how modern parents wanted to feed their children. She set out to reinvent the category, co-founding Little Spoon to deliver fresh, nutritionally optimized baby food directly to families’ doors. Today, the brand has expanded across multiple product categories, launched nationwide in Target, and continues to pioneer convenience and quality in kids’ nutrition.
Angela V Keynote
Chad J Keynote

Chad Janis
Founder and CEO of Grüns
Chad Janis is the Founder and CEO of Grüns, a Stanford MBA graduate and former investor at Summit Partners, where he worked closely with some of the most successful consumer brands in the country. He founded Grüns with a clear mission to make daily nutrient support an easy, enjoyable ritual. Janis launched the company after recognizing that the supplement industry’s biggest barrier wasn’t awareness, but adherence. He scaled the business to become one of the largest brands in the U.S. Greens Supplement category, building a digitally native, culture-driven brand that resonates with consumers. Within three years of launch, Grüns was acquired by Unilever, cementing its place as one of the fastest-growing brands in the wellness space.
Heidi Z Keynote

Heidi Zak
Co-Founder and CEO of Thirdlove
Heidi is the Co-Founder and CEO of Thirdlove, a premium intimate apparel brand that helps women feel comfortable and confident starting with their first layer. The company is known for its inclusive sizing including its signature half-cup bras, as well as other elevated essentials including sports bras, underwear, and sleepwear. Over 20 million women have found their correct bra size through the virtual Fitting Room on thirdlove.com. Through its 'Bras for All' donation program the company has donated over $50 million of products to organizations such as Soles4Souls, I Support the Girls, and many others that help in relief and community efforts.
Before Thirdlove, Heidi was at Google, Aeropostale, McKinsey & Co., and Bank of America. She’s been recognized as one of Fortune’s 40 Under 40, EY Entrepreneur of the Year, National Retail Federation’s Disruptors, Fast Company’s Most Creative People, the American Image Award: Fashion Maverick, Inc 100 Female Founders and Goldman Sachs 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs. Heidi attended Duke University, earning her BA in economics, and has an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Business. She is an angel investor and advisor to over 20 startups, and is a member of the 2024 Henry Crown Fellows class within the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Matt J Keynote

Matt Johnson
CEO of The Feed.
Matt Johnson's career has always lived at the crossroads of sports and tech. He started as a Canadian national cycling champion, raced professionally in Europe for three years, then jumped into the tech world right as the internet boom took off. He went on to lead several startups and co-founded This Life, a family photo app acquired by Shutterfly in 2012. From 2008 to 2018, he was President of Slipstream Sports — the pro cycling team known as Garmin, Cannondale, and now EF Pro Cycling — where he raised over $200 million in sponsorships. Today he's CEO of The Feed, the company he founded, on a mission to build the largest marketplace for performance wellness.
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Shray Joshi
Founder and CEO of Good Peeps
Shray Joshi is the founder and CEO of Good Peeps, a CPG retail media agency helping consumer brands grow across digital marketplaces like Instacart, Walmart, DoorDash, and Target. But Shray’s journey into the consumer goods space didn’t follow a traditional path - he lost 150 pounds, left medical school, and turned his focus to building transformative food and beverage businesses that challenge the status quo.
Before launching Good Peeps, Shray led growth and marketing at some of the most recognizable names in better-for-you CPG, including Cha Cha Matcha, Health-Ade Kombucha (acquired), NUGGS, and Wilde Chips. His work helped scale these brands from emerging players into category leaders through bold marketing, sharp retail strategy, and authentic storytelling.
From there, Shray expanded his role in the CPG ecosystem, sitting on boards and advising and investing in a growing portfolio of consumer brands, including Grüns, Oats Overnight, and Sauz.
He’s been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 and is known for being the person brands call when they need to go from “figuring it out” to “scaling fast.”
With Good Peeps, Shray is helping brands turn complex retail ecosystems into clear paths to growth - bringing full-funnel strategy, speed, and heart to the future of CPG.
Roundtable Sessions
Beyond the Exit: Creative Paths to Liquidity, Growth, and Founder Optionality
The path to realizing value is no longer one-size-fits-all. Today’s founders have more options than ever to create liquidity, bring on strategic partners, and continue building on their own terms. This discussion will explore the evolving landscape beyond the traditional sale, including secondary transactions, family office partnerships, recapitalizations, and other creative structures helping founders balance growth, control, and long-term value creation.

Brian Goldberg
Managing Partner at Astō Consumer Partners
Brian Goldberg is a Managing Partner at Astō Consumer Partners. He is a CPG industry veteran with operator experience at Amplify Snacks and has been a C-level executive, board director, advisor, or investor in many successful CPG companies including Sweet Leaf Tea, Deep Eddy Vodka, Waterloo Sparkling Water, Kettle & Fire and Nutrabolt/C4. Previously, Brian was the Founding Partner of Redbud Ventures where he primarily focused on early-stage CPG brands. He is a Board Member of JDRF and Naturally Austin and a benefactor of Austin City Limits.

Elle Lanning
President at Camino Partners
At Camino Partners, Elle leads investments – setting high level asset allocation and driving execution across all asset classes, with a special focus on Camino’s direct investment platform. Drawing on years of experience as an operator at KIND, Elle works closely with partner companies to identify transformational opportunities at every stage of growth. Elle brings a practitioner’s lens to Camino’s tailored approach to brand partnerships. Under her leadership, Camino has closed investments in Belgian Boys, SOMOS, LiveWell, Well Labs+, and Barry’s. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for several Camino partner companies, including Belgian Boys, SOMOS, LiveWell, Well Labs + and Ellenos.
Elle spent over a decade helping architect KIND’s remarkable growth. In a range of cross-functional leadership roles, she was instrumental in scaling the company from $20 million to over $1 billion in retail sales, expanding the product line from six flavors to more than 100 offerings across six categories, and growing KIND’s presence from one country to over 30. As Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, she led the company’s M&A strategy, resulting in KIND’s strategic partnership with Mars and the acquisitions of Nature’s Bakery and Creative Snacks.

Janica Lane
Co-Head of Consumer Investment Banking at Piper Sandler
Janica Lane is co-head of the consumer group at Piper Sandler and leads food, beverage, and nutritional supplement investment banking.
Prior to joining Piper Sandler, Lane was a partner at Partnership Capital Growth, a boutique investment bank providing M&A and private placement services to health and wellness-oriented businesses. Prior to investment banking, Lane was a researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Environmental Science and Policy (CESP) and an equity research associate on Prudential Securities’ energy team.
Lane has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She received dual bachelor's degrees in international relations and Spanish with Phi Beta Kappa honors from Stanford University. She spent six months living in Santiago, Chile, as part of her undergraduate education and is fluent in Spanish.
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Elle
Architecting the Exit: What Do Great Founders Do Before the Deal?
We believe that the best exits are built long before a transaction begins. This conversation will aim to unpack how founders can intentionally prepare their companies, teams, financials, and personal goals for a successful liquidity event. Hear candid perspectives from both sides of the table on what can create value, what can derail a process, and how to build optionality before opportunity arrives.
Cassie
Chad
Kiva

Chad Janis
Founder and CEO of Grüns
Chad Janis is the Founder and CEO of Grüns, a Stanford MBA graduate and former investor at Summit Partners, where he worked closely with some of the most successful consumer brands in the country. He founded Grüns with a clear mission to make daily nutrient support an easy, enjoyable ritual. Janis launched the company after recognizing that the supplement industry’s biggest barrier wasn’t awareness, but adherence. He scaled the business to become one of the largest brands in the U.S. Greens Supplement category, building a digitally native, culture-driven brand that resonates with consumers. Within three years of launch, Grüns was acquired by Unilever, cementing its place as one of the fastest-growing brands in the wellness space.

Kiva Dickinson
Founder and Managing Partner at Selva Ventures
As Managing Partner, Kiva leads deal sourcing, execution and portfolio management efforts for Selva Ventures. He is primarily focused on Food, Beverage, VMS and Pet. He was a Board Member of Grüns (since acquired by Unilever), and is currently a Board Member of FoodNerd, Surely and Clevr, and is a Board Observer for OneSkin, Native Pet and Javvy. Prior to founding Selva Ventures Kiva was a Partner at CircleUp, where he joined during the launch of the Company’s first discretionary equity fund CircleUp Growth Partners. While at CircleUp Kiva led Series B investments in Nutpods (subsequently acquired by MPearlRock) and Liquid I.V. (subsequently acquired by Unilever), working closely with both companies following investment. Prior to CircleUp, Kiva was a private equity investor in San Francisco at TPG Capital. There, he focused on a combination of consumer and digital media companies. Kiva was involved in TPG’s Series B investments in Lynda.com (subsequently acquired by LinkedIn) and Ipsy. Prior to TPG, Kiva began his career in Los Angeles at Barclays in consumer-focused investment banking.

Facilitated by Cassie Puhalla
Managing Director of Client Advisory at Pathstone
Cassandra Puhalla is a Managing Director and shareholder at Pathstone. Cassandra serves as a trusted advisor to entrepreneurs and executives and helps provide effective solutions to meet clients’ unique financial and personal objectives.
Cassandra provides clients with customized and integrated wealth management solutions, including holistic balance sheet advisement, investment strategy development and implementation, concentrated position management, and wealth preservation and transfer planning.
Cassandra joins Pathstone from Crestone Capital. Prior to Crestone, Cassandra spent a decade at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in New York City, most recently working as an executive director and portfolio manager on the multi-asset solutions team. In this role, she was responsible for asset allocation, manager selection, and tactical decision making for over $100 billion dollars in retirement assets.
Cassandra received her Bachelor of Arts in Commerce, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship from Brown University. She is a CFA® charterholder and a member of both CFA® Institute and CFA® Society Colorado.
Cassandra serves on the board of directors for the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (“BMoCA”), as well as Cents Ability, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to educating and empowering high school students to achieve their goals through prudent and informed management of their financial resources.
Culture Compounds: Building Teams That Scale Beyond the Founder
The culture that helps a company start is not always the culture that helps it scale. As brands evolve from founder-led businesses to enduring organizations, leadership, talent, and operating principles become competitive advantages. This discussion explores how founders look to build high-performing teams, protect the DNA of their companies, and create cultures designed to grow through every stage.

Brian Tate
Founder and CEO of Oats Overnight
Brian Tate is the founder and CEO of Oats Overnight, a high-protein oatmeal brand he started in 2016 to make healthy eating easier to stick with. Before Oats Overnight, Brian spent more than a decade as a professional poker player, competing in the highest-stakes cash games in the world. Today, he leads a vertically integrated food company with 300,000 subscribers and a product development model built directly around customer feedback. Brian’s focus is building the next generation of CPG: customer-led, data-driven, and shaped by the people it serves.

Shray Joshi
Founder and CEO of Good Peeps
Shray Joshi is the founder and CEO of Good Peeps, a CPG retail media agency helping consumer brands grow across digital marketplaces like Instacart, Walmart, DoorDash, and Target. But Shray’s journey into the consumer goods space didn’t follow a traditional path - he lost 150 pounds, left medical school, and turned his focus to building transformative food and beverage businesses that challenge the status quo.
Before launching Good Peeps, Shray led growth and marketing at some of the most recognizable names in better-for-you CPG, including Cha Cha Matcha, Health-Ade Kombucha (acquired), NUGGS, and Wilde Chips. His work helped scale these brands from emerging players into category leaders through bold marketing, sharp retail strategy, and authentic storytelling.
From there, Shray expanded his role in the CPG ecosystem, sitting on boards and advising and investing in a growing portfolio of consumer brands, including Grüns, Oats Overnight, and Sauz.
He’s been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 and is known for being the person brands call when they need to go from “figuring it out” to “scaling fast.”
With Good Peeps, Shray is helping brands turn complex retail ecosystems into clear paths to growth - bringing full-funnel strategy, speed, and heart to the future of CPG.
Brian T
Shray
Writing the Next Chapter: Identity, Innovation, and Leadership at Every Stage of Scale
Every stage of growth demands a different version of the founder. What begins as product obsession and hustle eventually evolves into decisions about leadership, innovation, culture, and long-term vision. In this conversation, we will explore how founders continue to reinvent themselves and their companies as they scale, balancing the need to stay true to what made the business successful while adapting to new opportunities, challenges, and ambitions. Attendees can expect a candid discussion on identity, evolution, and the choices that shape a company's next chapter.
Angela

Angela Vranich
Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Little Spoon
Angela Vranich is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Little Spoon, where she leads the company’s insights-driven product innovation strategy. She oversees consumer insights, product development, research, and every physical consumer-facing touchpoint, ensuring the brand’s products are thoughtfully designed to meet the evolving needs of modern families. Since launching Little Spoon, Angela has helped grow the company into the leading direct-to-consumer children’s food brand in the U.S., with more than 100 million meals sold nationwide and products now feeding roughly 3% of American babies.
Angela began her career in food-related television production, where she worked on creative planning and execution for culinary programming. She later followed her passion for food and wellness into the organic food industry, founding a company that led field marketing and grassroots activations for dozens of leading natural brands. In that role, she managed a team of more than 100 people across multiple regions, gaining hands-on experience across the food ecosystem.
Through that work, Angela recognized a major gap in the baby food category—products were shelf-stable, outdated, and disconnected from how modern parents wanted to feed their children. She set out to reinvent the category, co-founding Little Spoon to deliver fresh, nutritionally optimized baby food directly to families’ doors. Today, the brand has expanded across multiple product categories, launched nationwide in Target, and continues to pioneer convenience and quality in kids’ nutrition.
Elizabeth

Elizabeth Stein
Founder and CEO of Purely Elizabeth
Elizabeth Stein is the Founder and CEO of Purely Elizabeth, a modern wellness brand redefining breakfast with nutrient-dense, thoughtfully crafted foods. Since founding the company in 2009, Stein has built Purely Elizabeth into the #1 granola brand in the United States, pioneering the use of ancient grains, sustainably sourced coconut oil, and functional ingredients. The brand's organic, non-GMO, and certified gluten-free portfolio now spans granola, oatmeal, cereal, and cookie granola, making wholesome eating accessible to everyone.
Stein's commitment to a better food system reaches well beyond the products on shelf. Purely Elizabeth has been B Corp Certified since 2015 and champions regenerative agriculture through its sourcing and partnerships with community-based organizations from Colorado to Sri Lanka.
Beyond her role as CEO, Stein is a certified holistic nutrition counselor, podcast host, and author of the forthcoming cookbook Nourish and Thrive.
Emily

Facilitated by Emily Mears
Managing Director of Client Advisory at Pathstone
Emily Mears is a Managing Director and shareholder at Pathstone. Emily serves as a trusted advisor and experienced thought partner to entrepreneurs, executives, and their families to help meet their personal and financial objectives and achieve peace of mind.
Emily is deeply passionate about helping clients achieve their overall lifestyle, financial, and philanthropic goals. She provides clients with customized and integrated wealth management solutions, including holistic balance sheet advisement, investment strategy development, portfolio implementation and management, concentrated position strategies, and next generation education.
Emily joins Pathstone from Crestone Capital. Prior to Crestone, Emily was a senior manager at Clayton Consulting Services in Denver, Colorado. In this role, she provided distressed asset advisory services to several prominent Wall Street investors, private equity firms, international financial firms, and central banks. Before this, Emily was a consultant at Navigant Consulting Inc. in Chicago, IL, where she coordinated with clients’ legal counsel on SEC investigations and Fortune 100 merger and acquisition transactions.
Emily received her Bachelor of Science in Finance from Miami University. Emily is on the board of Impact on Education, the foundation for the Boulder Valley School District. She also serves on the board of trustees and is co-chair of the Investment Committee for the Community Foundation Boulder County. She is also an advisory board member of O44 Way.
Brands That Matter: Creating Relevance That Lasts
Consumer expectations are evolving faster than ever, and the brands that endure are those that continue to stay culturally relevant while remaining true to what made them special. Join a candid conversation on the art and science of building beloved brands, from creating authentic connections and defining a distinct point of view to scaling with intention. Expect a discussion that explores not only strategy and execution, but also the intuition, creativity, and taste required to build something people truly care about.

Eric Ryan
Operating Partner at Greycroft
Eric joined Greycroft in 2025 and is based in Marin. He brings two decades of experience building and scaling emotionally resonant consumer brands. As the founder of Method, OLLY, and Welly, Eric has a track record of turning everyday categories into design-led, culture-forward movements. A former ad executive, he is known for blending creativity with commercial rigor—creating products people don’t just buy, but fall in love with. At Greycroft, Eric focuses on early-stage consumer investments, helping founders build with purpose, aesthetic, and long-term value in mind. Eric's innovative and socially responsible approach to business has earned him numerous awards and honors, including the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award, Vanity Fair’s Eco-Leader, Time Magazine’s Eco-Revolutionary, PETA’s Person of the Year, and the Clinton Global Citizen Award. In 2018, he received the NBJ Management Achievement Award for taking OLLY from launch to acquisition by Unilever in just a few years. He was also named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list.

Paul Earle
Co-Founder of GOODLES
Paul Earle is an entrepreneur, design wonk, writer and educator.
He is an active cofounder of a number of new-to-the-world brands, most notably GOODLES® macaroni & cheese, today one of the fastest-growing brands in the United States. Paul’s partners include a number of extraordinary entrepreneurs and product makers; designers and writers; sophisticated venture capital funds; and a number of notable public figures.
Earlier in his career, Paul was Executive Director of Farmhouse, the innovation center at the global creative agency Leo Burnett. Among a number of achievements there was his team's creation – from scratch – of High Noon® vodka, now one of the largest spirits brands in the world by volume.
In addition to his adventures as a practitioner, Paul is a faculty member at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Most recently, his work has entailed cofounding and directing “By Design,” a program introducing MBA students to wide range of creative people and processes.
As an engaged community member, Paul sits on the Board of Trustees at Hadley, a top education center for those who are blind or visually-impaired.
He resides in the Chicago area with his wife, two teenage sons, and dog, Olive.
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Paul
What We Don’t Say on Stage: The Real Founder Conversation
The most valuable lessons in building a company are often the ones that never make it into keynote presentations. This off-the-record founder conversation creates space for the stories behind the headlines: the hard decisions, unexpected challenges, defining moments, and lessons learned that only come from living the journey.

Craig Foldes
Founder of ChatWalrus
Craig Foldes is the founder of ChatWalrus, where he helps teams leverage AI to move faster, operate smarter, and scale more efficiently. He works closely with founders and operators to translate emerging AI capabilities into practical, high-impact workflows. His approach focuses on cutting through the noise and turning AI into a true competitive advantage.

Nish Samantray
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Arrae
Nish Samantray is the Co-Founder and CEO of Arrae, a wellness brand known for its targeted, science-backed supplements. Prior to launching Arrae with his wife and co-founder Siff Haider, Nish built his career in product management at companies including Paytm, Freshii, and Scotiabank. Combining his expertise in operations, technology, and growth strategy, he has helped scale Arrae from a startup launched with personal savings into a leading wellness brand carried by major retailers.

Siffat Haider
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Arrae
Siffat Haider began her career in the beauty space as a blogger and podcaster, but a personal struggle with chronic health issues led her down a new path. After conventional treatments failed, she turned to natural remedies and began experimenting with her own blend of herbs and vitamins. The transformation in her health was profound. Realizing the power of holistic solutions to address everyday wellness challenges—especially those faced by women—she co-founded Arrae with her husband, Nish, to make these remedies accessible to all. Today, Siff is passionate about empowering women to feel their best through natural, science-backed wellness solutions.
Craig
Nish
Siffat
Navigating the Transition from a Successful Founder to a New CEO: Reducing Risk and Optimizing Outcome
The team that gets you here is not always the team that gets you there. As companies scale, founders face pivotal decisions around leadership, organizational design, and when to evolve their teams for the next chapter. This discussion explores how to recognize talent gaps, attract transformational leaders, and build an organization capable of sustaining growth.

Brad Barnhorn
Independent Board Member at Archer, Biena, Gimme
Brad partners with leading growth-stage food and beverage companies as an active Board member working with high performance CEOs to optimize their leadership effectiveness across all business dimensions in order to build/scale dynamic brands and create high value, category winning companies effectively positioned to sustainably drive strong, profitable growth and/or exit to strategic acquirers. Current Boards: Country Archer, Gimme Foods, Biena and Barney Butter. Prior Boards from early/growth stage through to Company Exit: Kevita (Pepsi), Simple Mills (Flowers Foods), Krave (Hershey), Flying Embers (JuneShine), Health Warrior (Pepsi), RightRice (Planting Hope), Zola (Karp Reilly), Fishpeople (Bornstein Seafood), Chameleon Cold Brew (Nestle), Red’s All Natural (Bansk Group) and Aura Bora (Next in Natural) … with cumulative exit value surpassing $1.5 billion. After time spent in management consulting and investment banking, Brad’s food/bev journey began over twenty-five years ago as the Founder/CEO of the Fantasia Fresh Juice Co. which he built into a leading superpremium fresh juice/smoothie brand culminating in a merger with Naked Juice and subsequent acquisition by Pepsi. He holds an MBA from the Stanford GSB and a true passion for unlocking the power of human transformation and possibility in life and leadership.

Chris Lansing
CEO of Gimme Health Foods
Chris Lansing is a seasoned Chief Executive Officer known for her transformative leadership across entrepreneurial and founder-owned ventures, PE-backed companies and Fortune 500 environments. With a proven track record spanning companies such as Gimme Seaweed, Health-Ade, Nature’s Bakery, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, PepsiCo, Hershey’s and Procter & Gamble, Chris excels in driving growth and profitability across a breadth of consumer brands and categories. Combining big CPG business discipline with entrepreneurial zeal, Chris specializes in transforming early- and mid-stage, high-growth, mission-driven consumer brands into stronger, more sustainable businesses. Her strategic prowess extends across the business, with equal focus on driving consumer preferred innovation and topline growth and improving core business operations to improve overall cost structure. Recognized for her team-building skills, Chris fosters a culture of collaboration and innovation, empowering teams to achieve ambitious goals and drive organizational excellence. Her commitment to talent development and mentorship has been instrumental in cultivating high-performing teams capable of navigating complexities and seizing opportunities. Chris holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor’s in economics and public policy from Swarthmore College. With expertise in growth acceleration, turnarounds, M&A, and strategic planning, Chris is poised to continue shaping the consumer industry with her visionary leadership and unwavering dedication to driving meaningful results.
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Chris
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