Julie Smolyansky became the youngest female CEO of a publicly held firm when she took over Lifeway Foods at age 27. Since that time, Julie has bolstered the company’s growth trajectory with innovative product development and marketing strategies, boosting annual revenues to over $130 million by 2015 and expanded distribution throughout the United States, Canada and the UK. She was recently named to Fortune Business ‘40 under 40,’ Fortune’s 55 most influential women on Twitter and Fast Company’s Most Creative People In Business 1000. Julie serves as a member of the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council and is part of the 2015 class of Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum. She has produced several documentaries, including “The Homestretch,” “Honor Diaries" and “The Hunting Ground” and recently founded the nonprofit Test400k. She lives in Chicago and is the mother of two girls.
