Over three decades of experience working in business and health policy, and a unique blend of knowledge and expertise.
We’ve led policy and strategy initiatives for world-leading retailers like Ahold Delhaize; for European and International NGOS; and at universities including Harvard.
Emma Coles, MBA, MSc, MEng
Partner and Co-Founder
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Emma is a business and responsibility expert, with extensive experience leading food retail projects internationally and creating comprehensive nutrition policy. She is a strategist with deep knowledge of nutrition who helps businesses and NGOs create a real impact on health.
Emma has a passion for designing programs to improve diet, with the goal of helping to manage and reverse chronic diseases.
Education
- Master of Business Administration,
IESE Business School in Barcelona -
Master of Science, Nutrition Therapy
University of Worcester - Master of Engineering, University of Nottingham
Experience
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Director, data and healthcare relationships, Voeding Leeft
Responsible for the health NGO’s data analysis and digital offering, Emma builds and evaluates lifestyle and nutrition programs aimed at managing and reversing type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases. Emma also directs healthcare and health insurance partnerships. Emma has worked with family doctors in low-income neighborhoods in Rotterdam to incorporate eating more vegetables into medical care. - Global Vice President, Responsibility, Ahold
Emma led responsibility, health, and sustainability work worldwide for one of the largest international food retailers, including all related business policy and strategy. She pioneered innovative health and sustainability initiatives, including successful efforts to raise health food sales, change marketing policies to children and reduce the amount of sugar across US and European products. - Co-Chair, Consumer Goods Forum, Health & Wellness Pillar
Emma co-chaired health and wellness for the largest consumer goods retail and manufacturing trade organization in the world, which organizes CEOs and member companies like Unilever, Costco and Walmart to collaborate on social impact projects. - Vice President, Sustainable Retailing, Albert Heijn
Oversaw health and sustainability for the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands. - Director, The Health Insurance Fund
A foundation supporting low-cost health insurance and health programs delivered through the private sector in sub-Saharan Africa. - Management Consultant, Accenture
Working with corporate clients in technology and mobile communications on business strategy and engineering. - Current Boards and Volunteer work
– The Tuft’s University Nutrition Council in Boston, MA. Council member.– The Food Foundation
Expert advisor. A UK think tank that analyses food system problems and provides policies and practices to address them.
– QuestionMark
Board Member. A Dutch Foundation increasing transparency on the health and sustainability of products in Dutch supermarkets.
Beth Pollack, MPP
Partner and Co-Founder
Boston, Massachusetts
Beth is an expert in health and food policy, with a passion for applying health science research to social impact policy and strategy. She helps businesses and policymakers develop better ingredient policies, with particular expertise in ingredients and additives, and chemicals and health.
Beth studied health policy at Harvard, and has had a career researching and working in both health and social impact in academia and the private and public sectors. She is passionate about researching biological and environmental determinants of health, and about building equitable food policies that support public health.
Education
- Master of Public Policy, Harvard University,
Kennedy School of Government - Bachelor of Science, New York University
Experience
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Consulting Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Beth conducts biomedical research on a group of complex inflammatory chronic illnesses. She studies key overlapping features and pathomechanisms of these illnesses, with a goal of contributing to new testing, treatments, and understanding of neuroimmune illnesses. Some of these illnesses involve systemic allergies, especially food allergies. -
Advisor, Sustainable Endowments Institute
Beth leads environmental health initiatives at SEI, a sustainability NGO, and its partner organization GRITS, a web platform helping 800+ institutions track over $550 million in energy savings data. She develops and manages programs to help institutions improve indoor air quality and reduce exposures to environmental contaminants and chemicals of concern through better materials selection. - Harvard University, Senior Researcher
Beth designed and led studies on the health and safety of consumer products and their use of concerning chemicals and ingredients. She researched corporate and regulatory health and product policies in the US and internationally, evaluating policy transparency and product formulations across international markets and regulatory environments. - Harvard Business School, Researcher, Business Responsibility
Beth researched and worked on business and responsibility projects. She co-developed Harvard’s first cross-discipline seminar series on business and the public good, interviewing experts across many aspects of responsibility and bringing them together at Harvard Business School. - Ahold, Consultant
Beth worked with Ahold and KPMG to design new global health policies and comprehensive strategies to increase Ahold’s healthy food sales globally. This resulted in Ahold setting an industry-leading goal that 1/3 of all food sales be healthy, affecting all of Ahold’s subsidiary companies and over 3,000 retail locations worldwide - Campaigns: President Obama, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator John Kerry
Beth brings over a decade of US political and policy experience, including the campaigns above and more. She’s worked at the local, state and national levels, including three presidential campaigns. She’s served as a campaign manager and field director for state campaigns, and has worked on field, outreach and development for national campaigns.