Jason Ackerman is a co-founder and the Chief Executive Officer of FreshDirect, a leading online grocer in the U.S., with customers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Philadelphia. The company began in 1999, when Mr. Ackerman first created its business model. FreshDirect officially began delivering to customers' homes in 2002, at which time Mr. Ackerman was president of the company. He made it his primary goal to build an organization that held true to a core mission of sourcing and delivering the highest quality product. The key to FreshDirect's success has been using technology as a disrupter for delivering food from the farm to the consumer's table. Today Mr. Ackerman continues to pro-actively seek opportunities to incorporate sustainable practices and eco-friendly efforts into the company's business model and to find ways to innovate with food freshness and quality. Before starting FreshDirect, Mr. Ackerman spent 10 years holding senior roles with Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette and Crown Capital Group where he specialized in merger and acquisitions and corporate financing, primarily for the supermarket and specialty retail space. A graduate of Boston University, Mr. Ackerman is actively involved with City Harvest and the Children's Museum of the Arts.