Meet the Shelf Engine team

Stefan is the Co-Founder and CEO who leads the talented Shelf Engine team. Stefan started his career in the food industry in 2009 when he founded Molly’s, a grab & go food company. While growing Molly's to over 400 regional retail locations, he encountered the problem of food waste first hand. Hungry for a better solution, Stefan co-founded Shelf Engine in 2016. He studied actuarial science and earned a degree in mathematics and economics from Western Washington University. Stefan feels most inspired by data showing the dramatic reduction of food waste and simultaneous business benefit that Shelf Engine makes possible for customers. His favorite thing about working at Shelf Engine is the team's tireless ability to innovate at warp speeds. When Stefan isn't making it happen at Shelf Engine, you can find him with his wife hunting for fresh tracks, on WhatsApp catching up with his family in France, or baking bread at 2am.

Bede is the Co-Founder and CTO of Shelf Engine who leads the engineering, data science, and product teams. Fun fact: Shelf Engine is only his second job! Prior to launching Shelf Engine, Bede worked at Microsoft as an engineer and managed engineering teams. His favorite project from his Microsoft days was working on augmented reality on the HoloLens team. Bede attended QUT in Brisbane, Australia, earning degrees in both electrical and software engineering. Bede believes technology is a transformational tool, able to solve the problem of food waste at scale. His favorite part about working at Shelf Engine? The team. Bede is constantly inspired working alongside such fantastically talented folks. When he isn't writing code, you can find him hiking, skiing, kayaking, or playing ultimate frisbee.

Ryan dives into whatever will help Shelf Engine run smoother, grow faster, and operate more efficiently. Prior to joining Shelf Engine, Ryan was in Sales Strategy and Operations at Fundera, and did Model Risk Analytics at M&T Bank after studying philosophy and economics at Amherst College. He joined the Shelf Engine team for the unique opportunity to help build a truly exceptional business that is unambiguously good for the world. Ryan is inspired by the inherent alignment between Shelf Engine’s success and our customers’ success, since our fiscal performance hinges on our ability to minimize food waste in the supply chain. His favorite part about working on the team is getting to solve really challenging and unique problems, and having the agency and autonomy to explore bold, creative solutions. When Ryan isn't moving Shelf Engine forward, you can find him waterskiing, hiking, or (when it gets too wet outside) in his makeshift woodshop. (Fun fact: Ryan was a Green Bay Packers ball boy!)

Bryan is responsible for delivering strategic and tactical results for Shelf Engine’s internal team and external customers. His insatiable curiosity drives him to continuously unlock growth for the company and scale the team’s processes. Bryan joined the Shelf Engine team with over 10 years of experience in Entrepreneurship and Program Management with a focus on the food and beverage industry, even owning 2 companies that were both sold in January 2020. He earned a Bachelor’s in Community, Environment and Planning from the University of Washington. Bryan joined the Shelf Engine team because of his interest and enjoyment in solving day to day operations challenges. When he’s not scaling the company, you can find Bryan cooking, getting outdoors, going for neighborhood walking tours, lounging in a hammock, listening to podcasts, hanging out with his twin toddlers, and playing racket sports – noting that variety is the spice of life!

Maura leads the nationwide field team that provides invaluable support to Shelf Engine’s grocery retail customers. Prior to Shelf Engine, she held several management roles at nationally recognized retailers, including working with franchisees to sync their business models to corporate structures. Maura’s exceptional ability to implement strong procedures was evident during her tenure as Regional Manager on Shelf Engine’s Field Team serving the eastern United States. Maura has a BS in Business Administration from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY, and was initially attracted to Shelf Engine because of its mission to eliminate food waste. She has stayed because of the team’s appetite to find novel ways to improve processes. When she’s not preparing for the team’s massive growth, Maura enjoys reading, building and refurbishing furniture, and hanging out with her husband and four kids.

As the Head of Growth, Ben connects new customers to our platform while helping grow their business in the process. He manages customer relationships and efficiently onboards new retailers and vendors onto the Shelf Engine platform. Prior to joining Shelf Engine, Ben spent over 15 years in CPG and Retail, from data and analytics, to selling to some of the world’s largest retailers on behalf of some of America’s most iconic brands. Ben earned a Bachelor’s in Marketing from the University of Dayton (Go Flyers!) and an MBA from DePaul University. He chose to join Shelf Engine as an opportunity to provide retailers with a technology that is capable of growing their business in an innovative way. He finds Shelf’s mission inspiring because it is having a direct impact on the amount of food wasted in retail on a daily basis. When Ben isn’t connecting new customers to Shelf Engine, he can be found hanging out with his wife and three young boys, exploring their hometown, and experimenting with new foods in the kitchen!

Austin leads the growing data science team to drive retailer profit, innovation, and reduce food waste. He is responsible for crafting data science strategy, building a high-performing team, and making data insights accessible and impactful across the organization. Prior to joining Shelf Engine, Austin worked with pricing and inventory management algorithms at Macy’s. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Geosciences from Pennsylvania State University. He joined Shelf Engine because the company offered a special chance to combine his enthusiasm for tech and eco-consciousness. During his tenure at Shelf Engine it has been rewarding for him to see large-scale algorithms in action, especially when they’re being used for a noble cause such as tackling climate change. When Austin isn’t devising data solutions, he keeps himself busy with activities such as climbing, biking around Manhattan, and also building lamps!

Naomi is the Lead Product Manager, overseeing a team dedicated to translating quantitative and qualitative feedback into product innovations. These features reduce pain points, bring efficiencies, and enable growth for retail customers. Before joining Shelf Engine, Naomi spent 5 years at Microsoft working on accelerating data-driven decision making across the company’s portfolio of developer tools and services. Prior to that she worked in international development discovering a passion for both technology and user-centered design on USAID’s Digital Development team. Naomi holds an MBA from University of California, Berkley and earned her undergraduate degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. She joined Shelf Engine to contribute to systems level efforts at reducing our climate impact. When she’s not revolutionizing retail technology, Naomi enjoys backpacking, practicing yoga, and playing board games.

Kurt leads our Engineering Team in building out the magic that makes Shelf Engine work. Using automation and forecasting he helps keep orders flowing to our customers, all while reducing food waste with less effort thanks to technology! Kurt joined Shelf Engine with prior experience working in successful startup environments, both as an engineer and as a manager, along with large-business tech experience as a manager at Indeed. He seamlessly builds highly efficient, impactful teams by empowering engineers. The opportunity to reduce food waste and change the world through tech is what motivated Kurt to join Shelf Engine. When he's not building out Shelf Engine's amazing product, you can catch him on WoW, DRG, or Rocket League, or playing an overly complicated board game.