“Shark Tank” has promoted billionaire KIND Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky to a full-time shark investor on the hit ABC series, as Mark Cuban departs.
“As a guest Shark for the past five seasons, Daniel has earned his spot with the Sharks,” Executive producer, Clay Newbill said in a statement. “He is a self-made founder of a multibillion-dollar company, has all the qualities we look for in a Shark, and possesses an authentic desire to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Daniel is a welcome addition to our panel, and we look forward to working with him for many seasons to come.”
Lubetzky will have his own chair as longtime shark Mark Cuban takes his leave. The Dallas Mavericks co-owner previously shared he would be making his exit from the financial investment show after Season 16.
“It’s time,” Cuban said during an appearance on basketball podcast “All the Smoke.” “‘[Shark Tank]’ shoots in the summer and I want to spend that time with family before my kids are off on their own.”
Lubetzky, who’s previous appeared as a guest shark in earlier seasons, will join the panel of investors in Season 16, which will also include Cuban; real estate mogul, Barbara Corcoran; CPG investor, inventor and author, Lori Greiner; cyber security technology innovator, Robert Herjavec; fashion and branding expert, Daymond John and venture capitalist, Kevin O’Leary. In addition, the show will feature a slew of new and returning guest sharks: Raising Cane’s founder, IT Cosmetics cofounder, Jamie Kern Lima; venture capitalist and financial literacy activist Rashaun Williams and founder of lifestyle brand Kendra Scott, Kendra Scott.
Season 16 of “Shark Tank” kicks off on Friday, Oct. 18 on ABC and will air the next day on Hulu.
Check out the Daniel Lubetzky and the guest sharks’ bios below.
Daniel Lubetzky
Here’s ABC’s official bio for Lubetzky: “Best known for founding and building KIND Snacks into a multibillion-dollar brand, Daniel Lubetzky is a social entrepreneur committed to building human bridges and enduring enterprises. Lubetzky’s foray into food was the unexpected outcome of his work to use business to bring neighbors in global conflict regions together. He is a founder of Builders, a civic initiative to replace “us vs. them” division with a movement of flexible thinkers and constructive problem solvers.”
“Lubetzky has received The King Center’s Beloved Community Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Civility and Compassion; and he is the author of The New York Times bestseller “’Do the KIND Thing.’”
“Lubetzky holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and international relations from Trinity University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. He is a proud U.S. citizen who emigrated from Mexico.”
Kendra Scott
Here’s ABC’s official bio for Scott: “Founder, chief creative officer, bestselling author and philanthropist Kendra Scott started her company in 2002, just three months after her first son was born. With only $500 and a tea box to carry her collection, she went store to store selling her designs. Her dedication to innovation, quality, customer service and attention to detail has since transformed her small startup into a billion-dollar brand. Today, with over 2,600 employees and more than 138 standalone stores, Kendra Scott is celebrated for its design and material innovation, vibrant use of color and signature shapes. The lifestyle brand offers a diverse range of products, including fashion, demi-fine and fine jewelry, watches, engagement rings, home accessories, a men’s collection (Scott Bros. by Kendra Scott), and a western-inspired brand (Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott).”
“As the brand continues to grow, Scott and her company remain true to their founding philosophy of Family, Fashion, and Philanthropy, benefiting both customers and employees. Since 2010, Scott has donated over $70 million to local, national and international causes supporting women and youth.”
“Driven by a deep-rooted passion for empowering the next generation of leaders, Scott founded the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (KS WELI) at The University of Texas at Austin in 2019 to empower women and creatives looking to change the world through entrepreneurship. This interdisciplinary program, involving the College of Fine Arts, the McCombs School of Business, the College of Natural Sciences, the Cockrell School of Engineering and School of Undergraduate Studies, empowers, equips and builds a community for creatives, founders and leaders.”
“In 2023, Scott furthered her commitment to philanthropy by launching the Kendra Scott Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to empowering women and youth in the areas of health and wellness, education and entrepreneurship. Notable programs supported by the foundation include initiatives around breast cancer research and awareness, pediatric hospitals and early education literacy.”
“Scott is a recurring investor/guest Shark on ABC’s Emmy Award-winning show “Shark Tank.” She also serves on the board of directors for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, while maintaining her role as executive chairwoman and chief creative officer of Kendra Scott, LLC. Today, the company continues to operate out of Austin, Texas, where Scott resides with her family.”
Rashaun Williams
Here’s ABC’s official bio for Williams: “Rashaun Williams is a venture capitalist, Atlanta Falcons limited partner and financial literacy activist with over 170 investments under his belt and over 50 exits. He is the founder of his family office Value Investment Group and also a general partner in the MVP All-Star Fund. He cofounded venture capital fund Queensbridge Venture Partners where he was an early investor in companies like Robinhood, Coinbase, Casper, Ring, PillPack, Lyft and Dropbox.”
Over the last 20 years, Williams has been primarily responsible for bringing capital to emerging, diverse and alternative markets while working at Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs, Wachovia Securities and Deutsche Bank. In 2007, he founded Dixsville Partners, a private equity fund investing in infrastructure development and mineral companies in West Africa. Williams has successfully started, invested in and exited several companies. With a passion for financial literacy and entrepreneurship, he founded the Kemet Institute in 2001, a nonprofit focused on providing free financial literacy, entrepreneurship and life skills classes to under-served communities and schools. In 2023, he founded Antimatter Business Partners to teach athletes and entertainers how to operate their own private equity family offices.
In 2015, Williams was appointed to the board of trustees for Fisk University. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc. and summa cum laude graduate of Morehouse College.
Jamie Kern Lima
Here’s ABC’s official bio for Lima: Jamie Kern Lima went from Denny’s waitress to billion-dollar entrepreneur. She’s the host of the No. 1 self-improvement podcast in the country, “The Jamie Kern Lima Show” podcast, where Oprah Winfrey was her first guest in an unprecedented three-hour interview. She’s a two-time New York Times bestselling author, her new book “WORTHY” made it 14 weeks in a row on the NY Times bestseller list. She’s founder of IT Cosmetics, a company she started in her living room and sold to L’Oréal in a billion-dollar deal, becoming the first female CEO of a brand in L’Oreal’s 100-plus year history. Her love of her customers and remarkable authenticity and belief eventually landed her on the Forbes America’s Richest Self-Made Women list.
Lima been a Denny’s waitress, a struggling entrepreneur, and has overcome years of self-doubt, body-doubt and God-doubt. She’s a mother of two and an active investor, speaker and thought leader who is passionate about inspiring and elevating women. She recently held her live event called Becoming Unstoppable, where more than 260,000 women joined live from their living rooms; and many iconic women of our time including Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Robin Roberts and Maria Shriver all joined to support Lima in her mission of building self-worth in every single girl, woman and person. Lima is also an active philanthropist who has funded leadership training in more than 100 prisons and shelters across the U.S., and has donated over $40 million in product and funds to help women face the effects of cancer with confidence. She’s donating 100% of her author proceeds for “WORTHY.”
Todd Graves
Here’s ABC’s official bio for Graves: Todd Graves is the owner and founder of Raising Cane’s, which is known for its ONE LOVE – craveable chicken finger meals – and includes crispy, hand-breaded chicken fingers; signature Cane’s Sauce; crinkle-cut fries; coleslaw; and Cane’s toast, which are all served hot and made to order. Graves opened doors to the first Raising Cane’s in 1996, which was located across the street from the North Gates of Louisiana State University and is now known as The Mothership. Twenty-five years later, the brand has grown to more than 830 restaurants in 41 states and employs more than 60,000 crew members. Raising Cane’s has its sights set on becoming a Top 10 U.S. restaurant brand by the end of the decade and aims to operate 1,600-plus restaurants with 155,000-plus crew and achieve $10 billion in sales. Built on the importance of giving back to the community, Cane’s has donated more than $140 million to local communities over the past 28 years and will give back more than $28 million this year alone.
Graves’ leadership has earned him a number of recognitions and awards including Top 100 CEOs in the U.S. by Glassdoor, Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, and Louisianan of the Year by Louisiana Life. He has also been spotted on a variety of TV shows including ‘Restaurant Recovery’ and ‘Secret Sauce’ – both of which he launched – as well as ‘Treehouse Masters’ and ‘Secret Millionaire.’ Graves resides in Baton Rouge with his wife, Gwen, and their two children along with dogs Cane III, who is Raising Cane’s mascot, and Clove.
Leave a Reply