T.J. Whalen

General Partner & Managing Director

T.J. Whalen is General Partner and Managing Director at FreshTracks Capital, focusing his efforts on consumer opportunities for the fund. T.J. brings 30+ years of consumer product strategy, innovation, brand, marketing and sales leadership to FreshTracks.

T.J. was formerly the Chief Strategy Officer for Keurig Green Mountain, a $5 billion consumer products, coffee and beverage manufacturer, which sold in 2016 for $13.9 billion. T.J. served in a variety of roles with Keurig Green Mountain over 13+ years, including Vice President of Marketing and Sales during its meteoric growth. He led the coffee and beverage business’s product and brand P&L’s, new product development, and strategic relationships, as well as all of the various marketing and sales functions he built there to drive the company’s growth. Through his leadership, Keurig Green Mountain became the world’s leading supplier of Fair Trade coffee as well as the world’s leading single serve coffee system. When he joined in 2001, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters had less than $100 million in sales, and under his leadership grew revenue by a factor of more than 45X, with a market cap growth of about 140X. From 2000 to 2010 GMCR was the #1 top performing public company in the country.

Prior to Keurig Green Mountain, T.J. held marketing, product and sales leadership roles at Patagonia, a leading apparel and outdoor gear manufacturer; Leo Burnett, a global advertising and marketing services agency; and Adventurous Traveler (acquired by Away.com), a direct marketer of adventure travel services.

T.J. currently serves on several boards, including Caledonia Spirits, Ogee, Zero Gravity, Big Tree Farms, Lost Lantern, The Farmer Companies, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont. T.J. has also recently served on the boards of SunCommon and Native Energy, Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance, as well as board chair at 1% for the Planet. T.J. earned a B.A. in Economics and Education from Dartmouth College, and he occasionally teaches Marketing Strategy at University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business Sustainable Innovation MBA program.