Melanie has served as chief executive officer of Torani / R. Torre & Company since 1991. In her role, Melanie facilitates Torani's strategic direction setting, continues to evolve the company's brand, and leads its team of 100 employees.
 
During Melanie's 17-year tenure at the family-owned company, Torani has seen unprecedented growth. Under her leadership, sales have grown 3,000 percent, and distribution has expanded to 40 countries around the world. The company's portfolio has expanded from 27 flavors to 120 flavors, and its product lines now include a variety of beverage solutions for cafes, restaurants and consumers.
 
Melanie received a master's degree in Business Administration from Stanford University, and a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley. She resides in Burlingame with her husband and their teenage daughter. Melanie's favorite Torani flavor is a struggle and changes throughout the day; currently she begins each morning with a Torani Caramel sauce latte and welcomes every afternoon with a Torani Pomegranate Italian Soda.

In 2008, Eric Gould took over as vice president of sales for Torani. In this key role, Eric facilitates the creation of strategies for food service, retail and international business units and supports and manages the Torani sales team. He also develops customer and industry partnerships and oversees the integration of sales with marketing, and R&D/Innovation. Eric is a key member of the senior leadership team, which drives the overall strategy and direction of the Torani organization.

Previously, Eric served as Torani's director of retail sales. In this role, he oversaw Torani's grocery, club and specialty channels. Eric has previously worked as head of the specialty division for Ghirardelli Chocolate Company and also managed retail sales for other global brands that include Johnson & Johnson, Keebler and Nestlé.

Eric holds a bachelor of arts degree in Business Administration from Glassboro State College in Glassboro, NJ. He lives in Southern California with his wife and three sons and in his spare time enjoys skiing, golf and spending time with his family.

Robert Spinelli joined Torani in 2008 as general manager of business development. In this role, Rob is responsible for developing alliances within the industry as well as setting the direction of the National Account Team.  Rob came to Torani from Pepsi, where he was the vice president of beverage development with the IHOP Group.  

Rob earned a bachelor of science degree in Business Management from the University of Texas. He resides in San Juan Capistrano, CA where he enjoys spending time with his six-year-old daughter.

Rich Blakeman has a unique business background combining sales and marketing executive leadership with consulting assignments at senior levels of global industry-leading firms. He has proven himself successful at creating organic growth and differentiation for companies through their sales strategy and its execution.

Rich's track record includes leading teams of cross-company sales leaders in developing and implementing enterprise models for strategic account management and sales effectiveness. He has advised on and personally led the deployment of sales processes and practices including compensation and incentives, benchmarking, global sales automation, value proposition development, account planning, executive sponsorship and training.

Susan has spent her entire career working in the sales performance and consulting industry, helping clients achieve performance improvement goals. Her contribution to her clients' business has been built around diagnosing performance issues, developing effective training and coaching strategies, identifying metrics for measurement, and delivering training and coaching.

Susan has worked with Miller Heiman as an independent consultant for over 10 years. She is certified to deliver all of the Miller Heiman sales programs, as well as facilitate the Leader Training Institutes.