Julie Smolyansky

Julie Smolyansky became the youngest female CEO of a publicly held firm at the age of 27 when she took over leadership of Lifeway Foods in 2002. The company was founded by her refugee parents 30+ years ago with the mission of bringing Kefir, an Eastern European product, into the U.S. Under her leadership, Lifeway has boosted revenues to over $100 million today from $12 million when she took over, and has expanded distribution throughout the U.S., Mexico, the UK, Europe and Ireland, as well as portions of Central and South America and the Caribbean. She has been 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.