ROB WILDER TO DRIVE INNOVATION FOR THE FOOD SYSTEM WITH FTW VENTURES 

Seasoned Hospitality Entrepreneur and Investor Named as First Venture Partner 

 SAN FRANCISCO, CA — (October 2, 2024) —  Rob Wilder, veteran entrepreneur and investor who co-founded the award-winning hospitality company José Andrés Group and pioneering global non-profit World Central Kitchen, is newly named the first Venture Partner for FTW Ventures, a leading, early-stage venture fund for food & agricultural technology.

FTW Ventures works with the smartest minds solving the biggest challenges in our food system today. By supporting leading founders, connecting global corporations to world-changing innovations and deploying essential, early-stage capital from high-quality investors, they are making meaningful change for profit, people & planet. Now, Wilder brings his operational and financial experience to a whole, new generation of Food System innovators.  

Throughout Wilder’s career, he has championed the role of food to uplift the human spirit and create a worldwide ‘table’ where we can all prosper. He will continue his Board leadership role as Vice Chairman of José Andrés Group and Co-Chair of World Central Kitchen. In 2015, Wilder founded FoodTech Angels to support innovative early-stage companies that leverage technology to change the world of food.  He has served as an advisor, mentor, and Board member to several early-stage tech and food companies at Halcyon Incubator, TechStars, the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, and the Aspen Institute Food Leaders Fellowship.

Wilder joins a world-renowned team at FTW Ventures, including General Partner Brian Frank, a serial entrepreneur with three venture-backed exits who’s turned his attention to fixing the hardest, and most essential, challenges in scaling our worldwide Food System.

“Ingenuity and innovation are twin engines that propel our food system for the better,” shared Rob Wilder.  “I’ve known Brian for nearly a decade and watched him build a world-class early stage VC firm that is dedicated to helping foster innovative technology and deep scientific breakthroughs to improve people & planetary health. I’m excited to join him and the FTW team in this mission to nurture the leaders and companies driving the food system forward.”

Through FTW Ventures, Wilder is currently working closely with select portfolio companies providing innovations for the food services sector, including FreshFry, a solution to purify cooking oil to extend its useful lifespan and to foster better economics in food production, and ALTR, a company removing alcohol in wine, beer and spirit products while maintaining the quality of the beverage for a healthier lifestyle.

“With a leader like Rob, the future Food System is in good hands,” says Brian Frank. “He brings unmatched knowledge, connections and operational excellence to our organization and we cannot be more thrilled to partner with him on this journey to bring the Food & Agriculture industries into the 21st century.”

FTW is backed by the leading experts, investors and corporations building technology and applying advanced science from the farm to table with a goal to reverse the effects of climate change, improve the productivity of the supply chain, minimize waste created through the process of cultivating good food and fix the dire health crises created by our current Food System. For more information, go to FTW Ventures.