MaryRuth Organics, a portfolio company of Butterfly, announces that Gary Vaynerchuk will join the board of directors; Gary will bring a new perspective from e-commerce to business strategy.
Gary, who currently serves as Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia, and Creator and CEO of VeeFriends, is renowned for his attunement to business trends and consumer behaviour. Widely recognized as a forward-thinking leader in business, Gary made early investments in some of the most influential companies of the 21st century such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase and Uber, and is attributed with revolutionizing marketing in the digital age. Drawing on his business acumen and expertise in digital marketing, Gary understands how to bring brand relevance to the forefront.
As a member of the board, Gary will advise MaryRuth on digital marketing, brand building and Web3, as the company continues its robust growth trajectory. Founded in 2014 as a digitally native brand, MaryRuth’s has experienced a meteoric rise to become one of the leading VMS brands in its online business as well as its budding retail business. With Gary as a member of the board, MaryRuth’s will continue pursuing its strategy to expand aggressively, enabling the company to see continued growth in online channels, achieve significant distribution gains in retail, and increase brand awareness. By leveraging his expertise in digital media, vast influential network, and experience in partnering with founders to scale best-in-class brands, Gary will help advance the company’s goal of using nutrition to live longer and healthier lives while solidifying MaryRuth’s position as a leading VMS brand.
MaryRuth Ghiyam, Founder and CEO of MaryRuth’s, was personally an avid consumer of Gary’s content for many years as she was building her business. For MaryRuth, it’s a full circle moment from listening to Gary’s Facebook content when she was in debt and just starting out, to now having built this wellness company and having Gary join her board of directors.
Something that was also in alignment with MaryRuth’s company culture and ethos is how Gary’s content also focuses on the softer side of the business – teaching the importance of community, humility, and empathy. Gary’s most recent book, Twelve and a Half outlines the twelve traits (and one that he’s still working on, thus the “half”) that Gary feels have most led to his success and happiness over the years – gratitude, self-awareness, accountability, optimism, empathy, kindness, tenacity, curiosity, patience, conviction, humility, ambition, and kind candor.
MaryRuth Ghiyam said: “I have watched and learned from Gary for years and truly see him as a business leader who leads from empathy and kindness all the time. Gary is an example of someone who is showing the world that people can be successful in business for decades and consistently be kind while doing it.”
Gary Vaynerchuk said: “MaryRuth is a super-nova entrepreneur surrounded by incredible intuition, emotional intelligence and consumer-centric DNA. She is exactly the kind of person and company I seek to do business with and support in all shapes and sizes. Occasionally, a person strikes me so much that I want to be involved even deeper at a Board level and this is one of those cases. I am thrilled, honoured, and humbled to be a part of the team.”
In August 2021, MaryRuth’s partnered with Butterfly Equity, a leading private equity firm that specializes in the food sector with a particular focus on high-growth, on-trend categories. Butterfly has a history of partnering with founder-owned, disruptive businesses like MaryRuth’s – its brand portfolio includes the likes of Chosen Foods, Orgain, Pete and Gerry’s Organics, and Bolthouse Farms. Adam Waglay, Butterfly Co-Founder and Co-CEO and board member of MaryRuth’s added: “Gary is an entrepreneur at heart and an expert in building brand awareness through creative digital marketing. We are excited to work alongside Gary as we continue to disrupt the traditional VMS landscape.”
Dustin Beck, Butterfly Co-Founder and Co-CEO and board member of MaryRuth’s said: “We are beyond excited to have Gary join the MaryRuth’s team as the company continues its rocket-ship trajectory. We’ve been following Gary’s story for years – his phenomenal work in both marketing and entrepreneurship gives us the utmost confidence that he will provide a unique, value-add perspective. We look forward to our partnership as we embark on the next leg of this fast-paced and thrilling journey together.”
