Jason H. Karp is Founder & CEO of HumanCo, a mission-driven company that builds brands committed to making products better in every dimension. Jason’s focus on health and wellness, and the genesis behind HumanCo, has deeply personal roots. In his early twenties, he became very ill with several autoimmune diseases and was told by doctors that, while there was no cure, he should consume countless medications to mitigate his symptoms. He was also diagnosed with an incurable, degenerative eye disease and told he would be blind by the age of 30.

After countless hours of research, self-experimentation, and a steadfast refusal to accept these diagnoses, Jason discovered his diseases were primarily linked to what he was putting both in and on his body. After Jason dramatically improved his nutrition and lifestyle by focusing on whole, unprocessed foods and eliminating chemical additives found in most consumer products, his ailments reversed over time, including his supposedly incurable eye disease.

Inspired by the transformative power of real, whole ingredients, Jason set out to prove the possibilities of unadulterated, sustainable food without compromising on taste by creating and co-founding Hu Kitchen (pronounced “Hue” as in “Human” and known for its award-winning organic chocolate) with his wife and brother-in-law in 2011. Hu continues to be one of the fastest growing snacking companies in the U.S. with a strict focus on transparent, simple ingredients to help everyone “Get Back to Human” and it sold last year to Mondelez, the largest snacking company in the world.

Witnessing the dearth of trustworthy and healthy options for consumers combined with the success of Hu and his other investments, Jason reevaluated his life at 42 and decided to concentrate all of his time on health and wellness, and HumanCo was born.

Prior to starting HumanCo, Jason was the Founder & CEO of Tourbillon Capital Partners, an investment fund that managed over $4 billion, and has over 21 years of investment experience including other multi-billion dollar investment funds. At the end of 2018, Jason retired from the hedge fund industry to focus his efforts on health and wellness, embracing the belief that improving health is the most effective strategy to increase global prosperity. Jason also has been an investor in many other companies that have a mission of health and wellness such as Nutranext, Oura, Airgraft, Primal Kitchen, Beekeeper’s Naturals and Magic Spoon.

Jason graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was also Academic All-American and Academic All-Ivy as a Varsity Squash player. He previously served on the Board of Advisors of the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy as well as the Tufts Food and Nutrition Innovation Council.

His philanthropic interests and family foundation focus on education, prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases, chronic diseases, and childhood obesity.