Our Story

We are committed to innovating with adult smokers in mind.

James Monsees and Adam Bowen co-founded JUUL when they applied their background in product design to the challenge of finding a better alternative to smoking. They’d been smokers for many years, but they were increasingly dissatisfied with the health and social impacts of cigarettes. When they could find no attractive alternative to cigarettes, James and Adam recognised a groundbreaking opportunity to apply industrial design to the smoking industry, which had not materially evolved in over one hundred years. The result was JUUL.

Our Team

JUUL was founded by former smokers, James and Adam, with the goal of improving the lives of the world's one billion adult smokers. JUUL Labs is now a thriving team of scientists, engineers, designers, supply chain experts, customer service and business professionals who believe that design, technology and out-of-the-box thinking are the keys to creating the most satisfying alternative to cigarettes.

Kevin Burns

Chief Executive Officer

Kevin was president and chief operating officer of Chobani. Prior to his role at Chobani, Kevin spent more than 12 years as a partner at TPG Capital, one of the world’s largest private equity investment firms. He has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. degree from the University of Connecticut.

Kevin Burns

Chief Executive Officer

James Monsees

Founder, Chief Product Officer

James has over 15 years of experience developing consumer products. He holds an MFA, Product Design from Stanford University and a B.A. in Physics and Studio Art from Kenyon College.

James Monsees

Founder, Chief Product Officer

James has over 15 years of experience developing consumer products. He holds an MFA, Product Design from Stanford University and a B.A. in Physics and Studio Art from Kenyon College.

Adam Bowen

Founder, Chief Technology Officer

Adam has over 15 years of experience in consumer product design and 11 years of experience in tobacco product innovation. He holds a MSME, Product Design from Stanford University and a B.A. in Physics from Pomona College.

Adam Bowen

Founder, Chief Technology Officer

Ashley Gould

Chief Administrative Officer

Ashley, who has over 18 years of legal and operational experience, including 12 years with both privately- and publicly-traded technology and biopharmaceutical companies, holds a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a B.S. in Political Economy from the University of California at Berkeley.

Ashley Gould

Chief Administrative Officer

Tim Danaher

Chief Financial Officer

Tim has over 15 years of experience in investment banking and corporate operations leadership. He graduated from Loyola University Maryland with a B.B.A. in International Business.

Tim Danaher

Chief Financial Officer

Tim has over 15 years of experience in investment banking and corporate operations leadership. He graduated from Loyola University Maryland with a B.B.A. in International Business.

Joanna Engelke

Chief Quality and Regulatory Officer

Joanna has over 30 years’ experience, including executive leadership of global quality/regulatory for Boston Scientific, Managing Director of Halloran Consulting. Joanna has an MBA from Harvard and B.A. in political science from Yale.

Joanna Engelke

Chief Quality and Regulatory Officer

Bob Robbins

President of JUUL Americas

Bob brings experience managing regulated consumer sales, most recently with Constellation Brands. Prior to his career in the commercial sector, he served as an officer and aviator in the US Navy. Bob has an MBA from Stanford University and a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the US Naval Academy.

Bob Robbins

President of JUUL Americas

Danna McKay

General Manager

Danna is a business and operations executive with over 20 years of experience spanning multiple consumer products and industries. She holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, MO and a B.A. in Economics from Duke University.

Danna McKay

General Manager

David Dickey

Chief Supply Chain Officer

David has over 25 years of Supply Chain and Operations experience across multiple industries leading large-scale transformations for TPG Capital and United Technologies. He has a M.S. in Management from Purdue and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

David Dickey

Chief Supply Chain Officer

Bryan White

SVP Hardware Engineering

Bryan, who has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, has been leading product innovation teams for 20 years. His experience spans a spectrum of categories, from furniture to medical devices.

Bryan White

SVP Hardware Engineering

Meet some of our talented teammates who power JUUL.

Carmelita Valdez McKoy

Compliance Clerk

Carmelita brings her background in social services and behavioral health to our dedicated compliance team. Her favorite part of San Francisco is the music scene, which she takes advantage of at every opportunity.

Alan Feng

Senior Director, Engineering Operations

With a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and an M.S. in Engineering, Product Design from Stanford University, Alan deploys his vast experience (along with his great patience) to scale our engineering operations. He appreciates the San Francisco state of mind, which always embraces the new.

Claire O'Malley

Sustaining Mechanical Engineer

Claire, who has degrees in mechanical engineering and studio art, spends her days in CAD or prototyping product changes and improvements. Her favorite thing about San Francisco is that Mrs. Doubtfire lived there.

Charlie Paguyo

Accounting & Operations Manager

Charlie, an accounting veteran, records every financial transaction for over a dozen departments. She loves San Francisco’s microclimates, which keep her guessing about what she should be wearing each day. Also, the Giants.

Nemo Baker

Senior Front End Engineer

Nemo, a data science and operations expert, ensures our websites look and perform well on all devices and browsers. His favorite part of San Francisco is Dolores Park on a sunny day, especially the people- and dog-watching.

Esteban Leon

R&D Mechanical Engineer

Coming from the renewable energy industry, Esteban joined the JUUL team to apply his engineering background to a host of products in our portfolio. His favorite parts of San Francisco are the food scene and his bike-able commute.

Kelly Long

Subscriptions Program Manager

Kelly built our service team from the ground up, and now brings her consumer-centric expertise to launching JUUL’s subscription services. Her favorite parts of San Francisco are its big city hustle combined with its proximity to escape, especially to natural wonders like Muir Woods and the Pacific Ocean.

Adam deSouza

Director of Quality & Manufacturing Engineering

Adam, who holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University, leads a range of engineering projects focused on improving manufacturing processes to scale JUUL’s business. His favorite part of San Francisco is the breadth of great places to eat.