JUDGES

Billy Goldberg is a trusted advisor to business owners and senior executives and is the founder of the Buckeye Group, a consultancy that delivers fractional C-Suite leadership to growing businesses. Additionally,Billy has advised companies ranging from The Miss America Organization, The North Face and DirecTV. Before launching his advisory practice, Billy was an executive at Bank of America, Tennis Channel and the William Morris Agency.

Billy is a co-founder and former board chair of Melissa’s House, an organization that rehabilitates housing for adults living with mental illness.

Billy an active investor in growing entrepreneurial ventures, is based in Los Angeles, California and has a global practice.

Brian Littlefield is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Origin’s Jocko Fuel division, managing the R&D of all Jocko Fuel nutraceutical products. His thoughtful formulations have led to industry-disrupting products with a mission to give consumers new, healthier alternatives to traditional marketplace standards. Prior to starting his CPO role, he was instrumental in the initial growth of Origin from a small company manufacturing jiu jitsu Gis in the Maine woods into what it is now – a multifaceted brand experiencing exponential growth.

As an entrepreneur, business owner, product developer, and most recently taking on the additional role as a father Brian prides himself on building his reputation through innovation, thoughtful achievement, and hard work. He findsgreat fulfillment in using this knowledge and experience to inform and build up other entrepreneurs while striving to achieve his next goal.

Naveen Jain is an established innovator, entrepreneur and philanthropist who strives to push humanity forward. He’s the co-founder and executive chairman of Moon Express, a company that plans to mine the moon for natural resources; and Viome, a company that offers at-home testing for gut health and dietary advice.

Naveen is the author of the award-winning book, Moonshots: Creating a World of Abundance, the creator of Mindvalley, Masterclass programs, and behind XPrize a global future positive movement and on the board of Singularity University.

Pamela Zapata is the founder and CEO of Society 18, an influencer management and consulting firm that focuses on multicultural and multiethnic content creators and digital strategy. Zapata leverages her unique strategic insight to maximize sponsorships and optimize campaign performance to benefit both her clients and brands. She skillfully guides clients through the complexities involved with brand partnerships, while also focusing on personal brand building, channel growth and optimization and new business.

Prior to launching Society 18 in 2019, Zapata was the Senior Director of Influencer Marketing at Starpower where she oversaw multiple campaign and influencer casting initiatives for key beauty brands including Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown, MAC, BECCA and La Mer. She was responsible for campaign ideation through concept execution, while overseeing strategy, client management and talent relations. Prior to her role at Starpower, she was the Director of Influencer Marketing at United Entertainment Group, where she led influencer partnerships, strategy, procurement, negotiations and campaign reporting for various personal care brands within the Unilever portfolio including Suave, Dove, Love Beauty Planet, Axe and Popsicle.

Patricia Gamboa is founder and CEO of Patrician Company, one of the nation’s premier event planners whose client roster includes Major League Baseball, Live National Entertainment, CapRock Partners, FivePoint, and The Venetian Las Vegas.

Born in the Philippines, the trilingual Ms. Gamboa attended Bellerbys College Brighton in England before graduating from the Center of Culinary Arts in Manila. She started her career as a pastry chef, working for celebrity chef Jeremiah Tower, a pioneer of modern California cuisine. After moving to the United States, she landed a job at the legendary Morton’s in Beverly Hills, where she created pastries for Academy Awards, Grammy, and Emmy parties.

Ms. Gamboa went on to work at two Los Angeles-area restaurants as an executive chef and then pastry chef. In order to promote the catering business at one of the restaurants, Ms. Gamboa brought home-baked cookies—with her business card—to the sales offices of nearby new home developments. The popularity of those treats and her love for hospitality prompted her in 2003 to launch Patrician Company with $700.

Initially specializing in event planning for new residential developments, Patrician Company has grown—entirely by referrals—into a multi-million business with industry-leading clients such as Volkswagen North America, Genentech, The Palazzo Hotel and Casino Resort, Del Mar Fairgrounds, and Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

A serial entrepreneur, Ms. Gamboa has started three additional companies since 2010:
ClusterTruck Events, a national food-truck wrangling service (sold in 2013); I Have Five
Questions, a mobile market research company (now run by a founding partner); and Working Woman’s Food, which provides career women with weekday meal menus, recipes and shopping lists.

Ms. Gamboa also guides Patrician Company’s social responsibility programs, setting aside a minimum 10 percent of the net profits for philanthropic endeavors. Recent gifts have helped construct water wells in Nepal and Uganda and provided a safe house for six women—victims of gender-based violence—and their children in Mogadishu, Somalia through the nonprofit, Love Does. Ms. Gamboa sits on the board of Alzheimer’s Orange County, which provides free programs and services for local families, and has been a board member of HomeAid Los Angeles.