Karen Gifford, Chief People Officer, Califia Farms

Karen Gifford is Chief People Officer for Califia Farms, the California-based company that has revolutionized plant-based beverages at the retail level, and whose award-winning beverages and disruptive packaging have led it to become the number one natural nut milk brand (refrigerated), the number one natural cold brew coffee brand (refrigerated/RTD) and the fastest-growing non-dairy creamer brand.Her work nurturing Califia’s mission and core values has been key to the successful and rapid expansion of Califia Farms, which is one of the fastest growing, and most iconic, beverage brands in the US.

Karen spearheads Califia’s recruitment initiatives and is laser-focused on employee engagement and people development programs that help nourish individual purpose as well as the mission-based Califia Farms culture. This work focuses on a collective effort to deepen Califia Farms impact on the way the world does business.

During her more than 28 years of management and consulting experience, Karen has focused on creating and developing human resource operations and infrastructure for visionary entrepreneurs, start-ups and hyper-growth companies. Prior to Califia Farms, she was at Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company, where she was responsible for the strategic design and management of people and organizational programs that inspired a culture of fun, innovation and excellence. She has also served as the Head of Human Resources at Riot Games, SpaceX, and Electronic Arts, where she helped build cultures that fostered employee engagement, individual career growth and a passion for tapping into creativity and talent.