Mike Mellace:

Mike Mellace is the CEO and co-founder of Mellace Family Brands Inc., a snack food innovator know for a diverse product line that includes trees nuts, peanuts, snack mixes and enrobed chocolate items.  Mike Mellace is an experience entrepreneur with proven results and a leader in the snack industry.

Mellace was born to immigrant parents in Rome, New York and began work in the family corner store at the age of 6. Mike attended SUNY Brockport obtaining his bachelor’s degree in accounting and became an accomplished Certified Public Accountant.  In 2001, Mike co-founded Mama Mellace’s, a small almond-roasting side business, which grew into Mellace Family Brands, a nationally branded, specialty snack food manufacturer and marketer.   

Mike’s integrity and work ethic has propelled the company’s growth, placing it on the Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing companies in America in 2007 and 2009.  Mellace also earned Entrepreneur of the Year award recognitions from both the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce and Ernst & Young (as finalist for San Diego) in 2007. 

Mike Mellace has committed to make social responsibility a top priority.  The Mama Cares Foundation, established as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has provided assistance to many individuals, families, and organizations in need.  Mama Cares Foundations has recently focused efforts on eliminating severe acute malnutrition, which is the underlying cause of death of millions of children around the world every year.  Mike Mellace is passionate about nourishing hope locally and nationally.

John is an executive consultant to CEOs, Presidents, and leaders of businesses ranging in size from two to fifty million in annual revenues.  For the past eight years the focus of his consulting has been organizational and key leader development, with an emphasis on business culture as a critical success factor to long-term sustainable growth and value creation.  He has served as the Chair of the San Diego Convene group since 2003, leading Christian CEOs in the process of building successful companies that take social responsibility to a much higher level.

Previous responsibilities include sixteen years as a business banker and investment sales manager which has provided a fundamental understanding of financial disciplines and real world perspective to the consulting process.  He has served as Treasurer for a non-profit organization for eight years, Secretary of the Board, as well as other board positions in several organizations including 3 years on the Elder board and as a deacon at church.  He completed his Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana in May 1982.

John has been living and working in the San Diego area since 1983.  He has been married for over 20 years to Cathy and has four children, two in high school and two in middle school.  The entire family is active in sports and in the summer time they enjoy surfing and other San Diego related activities.  John’s sports coaching activities include club basketball teams in the community recreational programs.