Mike Finamore
Board President
CEO
Gemini Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Mr. Michael Finamore is the CEO of Gemini Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a contract manufacturer of both dietary supplements and OTC pharmaceuticals. With his strategic stewardship, Gemini enjoys robust growth, standing as one of only a handful of manufacturers with global accreditation including dual US FDA registration (drugs and dietary supplements), NSF International GMP certification, TGA (Australia) registration and certification, Health Canada registration, among others. Emphasizing solid dose R&D and product development, Gemini produces more than 12-billion unit doses of dietary supplements and OTC drugs annually for more than eighty countries worldwide.
Additionally, Mr. Finamore has been selected as the inaugural Chairman of the Governance Board of the GRMA (Global Retailer & Manufacturer Alliance). The GRMA is a member-based organization chartered to strengthen quality and safety throughout the supply chain, comprised of more than 30 major retailers, quality certification bodies and manufacturers. GRMA has since published an ANSI-accredited public standard and audit scheme (NSF/ANSI 455), which is recognized as the premier GMP audit for inspecting providers of OTC Drugs, Dietary Supplements and Cosmetics.
Mr. Finamore also has been named to the Board of Directors of the Council of Responsible Nutrition (CRN), recognized as the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry.
Previously, Mr. Finamore was an Assistant District Attorney for the State of New York (Suffolk County), handling both high-profile cases and numerous jury trials, and he continues to be admitted to the NYS Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court. Moreover, Mr. Finamore is a standing member of the American Bar Association as well as the NYS Bar Association, Food and Drug Law Committee.
Mr. Finamore also is the executive editor of key industry white papers and frequent expert contributor to important industry publications, such as Natural Products INSIDER.
Adora Parker Johnson
Board Treasurer
VP of Regulatory Compliance and Quality Assurance
Dollar Tree / Family Dollar Stores
Adora presently manages FDA regulatory compliance programs for the Fortune 200 Company, including over 15,000 retail locations and also facilitates the organization’s corporate sustainability activities.
Adora has over a decade of experience in several scientific disciplines, regulatory affairs, product safety, quality assurance, clinical research ethics, research compliance, audit review, dynamic risk management, and product safety program management, among others. She holds a B.S. in Biotechnology (with a concentration in Regulatory Affairs from James Madison University) and M.S. in Regulatory Science from Johns Hopkins University, along with certifications in the areas of Project Management, ESG/Sustainability, and Ethical Clinical Trial Conduct.
Prior to joining Dollar Tree, Adora worked in laboratory settings and in the university space where she led research compliance efforts for human subjects research, specializing in facilitating IND/IDE efforts, research misconduct management, and biosafety risk management.
Nils Ahlgren
Director
VP, US Wellness
Haleon
Nils is currently the US Wellness lead for Haleon supporting the Centrum and Emergen-C brands. He is a passionate pipeline builder and has developed consumer-centric products in all major consumer healthcare categories. Prior to joining Haleon, he held leadership roles at Pfizer, Reckitt and Novartis.
Norma Jean Despain
Director
Manager of Quality Assurance – Nonfood
H-E-B
Norma Jean DeSpain is a product quality and safety professional with more than 20 years retail experience and 8 years focused experience in the field of consumer products. She is currently the Manager of Quality Assurance at H-E-B, a San Antonio-based regional retailer in Texas and Mexico. Among her responsibilities are developing and working with suppliers to meet with H-E-B standards.
Her main area of focus includes the cultivation of a team of product quality and safety professionals that work collaboratively with their business areas in providing technical support, regulatory expertise and meet with operational excellence.
Norma Jean holds a Bachelor of Science from UTSA and Master of Business Administration from St. Mary’s University
Solange Henoud
Director
Vice President Regulatory & Compliance, Lallemand Health Solutions
& Chair of GRMA’s probiotics working group
Solange heads the regulatory and compliance pillar at Lallemand Health Solutions covering global regulatory affairs, scientific affairs and quality assurance interface with business. She has been with the company for 19 years so far, witnessing and contributing to Lallemand’s probiotics reach to all continents, to beyond 60 countries under various regulatory categories, among which natural health products with specific health claims, supplements, foods, foods for special medical purposes and drugs.
Solange is an active and highly committed executive in several trade associations and represents the company on different boards and chairs regulatory committees and working group. She has led several successful advocacy initiatives calling for a positive regulatory space for pro and post biotics around the globe.
Michele Rickard
Director
Vice President, Quality
New Chapter, Inc. (subsidiary of Procter & Gamble)
Michele Rickard is a quality executive with over 25 years of leadership experience, with much of her career focused on the health and wellness industry. Michele currently serves as Vice President of Quality for New Chapter, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble. Before joining New Chapter, she held several quality assurance leadership roles, where she led enterprise-wide quality improvement and operational excellence initiatives. Her areas of expertise include quality assurance in globally regulated environments, cGMP compliance, supplier management, audit and inspection readiness, process validation, risk management, and quality culture development.
Michele holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies – Business from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence through the American Society for Quality (ASQ), a Senior Member of ASQ, HACCP-certified, a Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI), a Food Defense Qualified Individual (FDQI), and a certified Lean Facilitator.
Michele is committed to advancing quality, safety, transparency, and consumer trust across the health and wellness industry. She brings a practical, risk-based perspective grounded in regulatory compliance and operational excellence, with a strong belief that effective quality systems should enable innovation while protecting consumers and strengthening industry standards.
Ella Riggs
Director
Senior Team Leader: Product Safety and Quality Assurance
Whole Foods Market
Ella has over 20 years of retail experience and is the Team Leader, Product Safety and Quality Global Quality Assurance at Whole Foods Market. Her current responsibilities include managing the testing and compliance of select Exclusive Brand (private label) categories including body care, household essentials, and high-risk foods.
Prior to joining Whole Foods Market, Ella spent 13 years with HEB Grocery Company’s Quality Assurance department and 2 years as an SQF Auditor for NSF International. Ella holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University.
Whole Foods Market Inc. specializes in selling organic and natural products. It has 494 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. Its Global headquarters is located in Austin, Texas.
Barry W. Ritz, PhD
Director
Vice President and Head of U.S. Regulatory, Scientific & Medical Affairs
Nestlé Health Science
Barry W. Ritz, PhD, is the Vice President and Head of U.S. Regulatory, Scientific & Medical Affairs at Nestlé Health Science. Dr. Ritz has been involved in the dietary supplement and functional foods industry for nearly 25 years and is highly engaged in industry leadership, including as the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Council for Responsible Nutrition.
At Nestlé Health Science, Dr. Ritz is responsible for U.S. regulatory and claims compliance and substantiation, clinical evidence, and advocacy activities for a broad portfolio of products, including dietary supplements and medical nutrition. His academic background is in nutritional immunology, studying the influence of age and nutritional status on the innate immune response to viruses.
Dr. Ritz has presented his research at national and international meetings and has numerous publications in scientific journals and texts, and he appears regularly as a nutrition industry expert at conferences, seminars, and other events.
Neshat Soofi
Director
President
JIT Experts Hive
Neshat Soofi is the President and founder of JIT Experts Hive – a consulting business on a mission to help CPG companies thrive through just-in-time expertise. JIT Experts Hive bridges the gap between purpose driven, fast growing companies and independent, hands-on experts to unlock innovation and growth through knowledge and expertise, a proven formula.
Neshat comes with over 25 years of experience in the consumer products industry(CPG) and has a diverse and successful career working with a variety of companies from startups to Fortune 500 companies such as Target, Cargill, Brandless, International Multifoods, Pillsbury and Smuckers.
Neshat holds a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) and a bachelor’s degree in food science. She has a proven history of results across a broad range of categories, including food, beverage, supplements, CBD, pet, cosmetics, beauty, personal care, and household products. She’s a dedicated thought leader who drives best practices in the industry.
Allyn Shultis
Non-voting Ex-Officio Board Member
Executive Director
GRMA
As the Executive Director of the GRMA Allyn is charged with providing leadership and management over the GRMA’s Certification Program. He also serves as an ex-officio member of all GRMA committees.
Previously, Allyn was the GRMA Board Treasurer and Technical Committee Co-Chair and was a featured representative among industry stakeholders which successfully helped launch the development process of the NSF/ANSI 455 Standards which worked to harmonized quality system requirements and best practices across various categories.
Allyn has decades of experience within OTC, Cosmetics, Medical Devices, and Consumer Product categories and has previously held a number of Quality, Operations, and Technical roles with Global responsibilities for First Quality, Covidien, and Tyco Healthcare.
Governance Board Committees
Summit & Recruitment Committee
This group handles all activities related to member recruitment and the GRMA summit. Summit responsibilities include:
- Event planning
- Recruiting sponsors
- Encouraging members to register
Risk & Opportunity Committee
This committee evaluates feedback within the market. They identify organizational risks and opportunities along with updates from the industry. They also provide oversight to the Advisory Committee.
Executive Committee
This group is made up of titled GRMA Governance Board positions. They make decisions on matters related to the strategy and function of the GRMA.
They identify and audit key systems used within the organization, such as:
- Financial Management
- Membership
- Committee and Workgroup Structure
- Operational software, like GRMAuditsphere, Evaluation Tools, and Dashboards
Financial Committee
This group monitors and communicates the GRMA’s financial health, sustainability, control, taxes and more.
Quality and Compliance Committee
This is a board appointed committee that takes an active stewardship role with the GRMA’s Certification Compliance Integrity Program.