Former CEO of Merrick Natural Pet Care Brings 30 Years of Leadership Experience to Leading Natural Health and Wellness Brand
Ancient Nutrition has announced that Greg Shearson joins as CEO, effective immediately. He is adding to the leadership duo of Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe who will hold the titles of Founder and Chairman and Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, respectively. Rubin will continue to head up innovation for the company.
“I’m confident in Greg’s ability to bring a wealth of experience and passion to our team, as well as in his ability to shape all of us to be better versions of ourselves and to push Ancient Nutrition past its boundaries,” said Rubin. “Personally, I’m looking forward to focusing more on my true passions of product innovation, and new product development. I will also continue to be very involved with customer relationships and go-to-market strategy.”
Shearson’s relationship with Ancient Nutrition began as a part of the company’s Ancient Pioneer investor network created through a partnership with VMG Partners. “Through the lens of an investor, I was impressed with Jordan and Josh’s passion and mission. As I learned more about the business and team, I was excited to marry my personal interests in nutrition, health and wellness with the opportunity to lead transformational growth in another dynamic business.”
“We are excited for Greg to join the Ancient Nutrition team, which brings the synergies from connecting great operational leadership with the innovative engine and spark that brought Ancient Nutrition to where it is today,” says Wayne Wu, Managing Director of VMG Partners.
Shearson is a global CEO with more than 30 years of experience leading diverse organizations and executive teams to improved performance. His career is grounded in classic consumer products and brand management followed by progressive cross-functional and general management assignments in the U.S., Canada and International markets. Shearson most recently served as the CEO of Merrick Natural Pet Care for over seven years. Shearson grew the founder-based Merrick business nearly 10x under his leadership and, after selling to Nestle in 2015, continued to drive impressive growth through superior products and innovation.
“Bringing Greg on-board is the perfect example of Ancient Nutrition staying true to its values of hiring people who are passionate about helping us achieve our vision,” said Dr. Josh Axe. “At Ancient Nutrition we want to see millions of lives changed, and Greg wants to be standing right by our side when we accomplish that goal.”
“Greg is the kind of growth-oriented, team-building CEO that can really help us achieve what is possible for both the team and our investors. His passion for improving performance, coupled with his international and market expansion experience, made this a great opportunity for all of us,” added Rubin. “This will be a game-changing move for the future of our company and for the future of our health and wellness products that aim to change lives.”
Ancient Nutrition is driving Protein Powder and Supplement growth in the natural channel as the #2 brand in the category with double-digit growth (SPINscan Natural, 52 weeks ending 12/2/18), and with their new Multi Collagen Protein as the #2 item in the category with triple-digit growth (SPINscan Natural, 12 weeks ending 12/2/18).
Shearson has joined the Ancient Nutrition team in Franklin, TN.