EFL

Role: Mentor

Tracks: Deep Tech

Eric Wedepohl

Investor, Lawyer, and Counselor

Eric Wedepohl is an investor, lawyer, and counselor with 25+ years in the global food business. Eric served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for General Mills until his retirement in 2015. He joined General Mills in 2001 when it acquired The Pillsbury Company from Diageo. While at General Mills, Eric managed the legal affairs of International and various domestic divisions until 2012 and then focused on strategy, corporate and business development, and complex legal issues until he retired. He was VP and General Counsel for Pillsbury International and had responsibility for the legal affairs of Diageo in Latin America and Asia from 1995 to 2001. Throughout his career he traveled the globe to help identify business opportunities, acquire brands and companies, establish joint ventures, and contribute to strategies which helped grow the International food business from less than $300M in revenue in 1995 to over $6.5B. Eric now invests primarily in food and ag-tech startups, advises food entrepreneurs, and counsels CPGs on how to adapt to rapidly changing consumer tastes and the evolving landscape in food and ag technology. Eric is a graduate of Pomona College (1980) and Loyola Law School at Los Angeles (1984).