In 1977, David Merage co-founded Chef America, Inc. , a national frozen food manufacturer known for inventing and marketing products including Hot Pockets, Lean Pockets and Croissant Pockets. At the time of its sale in 2002 to Nestlé, the company had reached $750 million in annual sales, employed 1,800 people and was growing at a rate of 15 percent per year, making it one of the fastest growing food companies in the world.

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  • In 1977, David Merage co-founded Chef America, Inc. , a national frozen food manufacturer known for inventing and marketing products including Hot Pockets, Lean Pockets and Croissant Pockets. At the time of its sale in 2002 to Nestlé, the company had reached $750 million in annual sales, employed 1,800 people and was growing at a rate of 15 percent per year, making it one of the fastest growing food companies in the world. Today, David is a venture philanthropist and principal of Consolidated Investment Group, a Denver-based investment firm, focused on Wall Street and real estate investments. Consolidated holds one of the most diverse portfolios in the country in terms of product type and geography, investing in public equity, private equity, hedge funds, fixed income and real estate, both domestically and internationally. David spends much of his time actively leading two philanthropic foundations: David and Laura Merage Foundation and Andre and Katherine Merage Foundation. Their primary missions are to promote self-sufficiency through education and community development, both in the United States and in Israel. Mirroring his approach to business, David’s philanthropic mission is to develop new systems or improve existing ones, select like-minded individual and organizational partners, and bring each project to successful completion together. His management team is comprised of experts in the education and nonprofit sectors, supported by senior-level finance, legal, management and marketing professionals. David was born in Tehran, Iran in 1949 as one of five children to Andre and Katherine Merage. At the age of fifteen, he traveled to England to pursue his studies and then completed his formal education in the United States with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from California State University. David is married to Laura Merage, who was also born in Tehran. She holds a master’s degree in art from New York University and is an accomplished artist/photographer with works in public and private collections nationally and internationally. David and Laura have two children, Jonathan 26, and Sabrina 22. Jonathan attended Purdue University and conducts severe weather research throughout the country, and Sabrina graduated this year from the University of Denver with a major in marketing.
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  • In 1977, David Merage co-founded Chef America, Inc. , a national frozen food manufacturer known for inventing and marketing products including Hot Pockets, Lean Pockets and Croissant Pockets. At the time of its sale in 2002 to Nestlé, the company had reached $750 million in annual sales, employed 1,800 people and was growing at a rate of 15 percent per year, making it one of the fastest growing food companies in the world.
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  • David Merage
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