Heidi Dillon, CEO, Distill Ventures
One of the esteemed judges for Demo Day 2024 is Heidi Dillon. Heidi is the CEO of Distill Ventures, where she stands at the forefront of emerging trends in the drinks, wellness, and consumer sectors with a passionate focus on finding and nurturing the most talented founders and their brands.
With over 25 years of transformative experience in disrupting health and wellness minded consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories, Heidi has become a driving force in the industry. Notable milestones in Heidi's career include the successful launch of LUNA with Clif Bar & Company, the development of a functional foods accelerator and health and sustainability initiatives at Starbucks.
Since joining Distill Ventures North America in 2018, she spearheaded the establishment of the world’s first non-alcoholic drinks practice, where she now champions the swift growth of several global brands, including Ritual Zero Proof—the leading non-alcoholic drinks brand in the U.S.- acquired by Diageo in September 2024. She also led the creation of Distill Ventures’ Pre-Accelerator, an early stage funding initiative designed to support entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds.
In her capacity as Managing Director, Heidi orchestrated the growth and expansion of Distill Ventures North America. She skillfully managed a team of specialized drinks executives, guiding spirits and non-alcoholic drinks founders through the entire business lifecycle – from pre-launch and market roll-out to growth, scaling, and acquisition.
As CEO, Heidi continues to shape Distill Ventures' portfolio with a heightened commitment to inclusion and diversity and a particular passion for dismantling the barriers to capital for female founded brands (just 2.8% in 2023 per Carta). Working alongside her dedicated team, Heidi leads with a steadfast dedication to meeting the evolving needs of the global consumers they serve while building and scaling the iconic drinks brands of the future.
About Distill Ventures
Distill Ventures is the drinks industry’s first accelerator for new and growing brands with over $300 million of investment to date. Since its founding in 2013, the portfolio has expanded across high-growth and disruptive categories including No and Low, New World Whiskey, Global Agave and Holistic Sustainability, and employs more than 500 people across the United States, Japan, Europe and Australia. Through a combination of cash investment, mentoring support and access to a network of experts, Distill Ventures works with founders from all backgrounds and stages of growth to help brands go further, faster.