REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Impossible Foods has hired veteran sales leader Stephanie Lind as the company’s first Senior Vice President of Sales.
Lind, who moved to California earlier this month to lead the startup’s growing sales team, reports to Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer David Lee.
Previously, Lind was CEO of Elohi Strategic Advisors, a sales and marketing agency she founded on her family’s organic farm in Carbondale, Illinois. The startup helped emerging natural and sustainable brands navigate the world of food service.
Before that, Lind was vice president of North American sales for Kerry Group, leading a 50-person team including national account managers, inside sales representatives, corporate account managers, regional sales managers and merchandisers. She previously had executive sales roles at food service giant Sysco, McDonald’s supply chain partner Havi Logistics, PepsiCo and the Campbell’s Soup subsidiary Pepperidge Farm.
Lind has a master’s of business administration from DePaul University and a bachelor’s of science from Washington and Lee University, where she studied business administration. She is a member of the National Small Business Association (NSBA) Leadership Council, Women’s Presidents Organization, and on the Board of Directors for The Blessing Basket Project which empowers artisans through entrepreneurship in some of the world’s least economically stable countries. She grew up in Cape Girardeau, MO.
“Stephanie is a dyed-in-the-wool salesperson and respected business leader who has worked at some of the world’s largest and most respected multinationals -- and she understands the passion and mission of being a food startup focused on sustainability,” Lee said. “Her unique background makes her an excellent fit as an executive and mentor for our growing team.”
Lind is the latest executive to join Impossible Foods, which has more than 200 employees. In June, David J. Lipman, M.D., joined the company in the newly created role of Chief Science Officer. In May, food industry veteran Chris Gregg became Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Manufacturing. Chief People Officer Marcella Butler and Senior Vice President of Marketing Tara Kriese joined in the fall.
Impossible Foods: Scale Starts Now
Among her many responsibilities, Lind will be in charge of creating a scalable sales team as the company embarks on one of the most audacious ramps in the food sector. Impossible Foods launched production in September at its first large-scale manufacturing plant, in Oakland, Calif.
The company’s flagship product, the Impossible Burger, debuted at Chef David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi in Manhattan in July 2016 and is now served in nearly 400 restaurants nationwide. Click here for a full list of restaurants that serve the Impossible Burger.
As the Oakland plant ramps up over the next several quarters, Impossible Foods plans to expand distribution to thousands of restaurants in the United States and overseas. The company is also developing additional plant-based meat and dairy products.
Big taste, small footprint
In development since 2011, the Impossible Burger is the world's only burger that handles, cooks and tastes like ground beef from cows -- but is made entirely from plants.
The Impossible Burger is produced without added hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol or artificial flavors. It uses about 75% less water, generates about 87% fewer greenhouse gases, and requires around 95% less land than conventional ground beef from cows.
The Impossible Burger is made from simple ingredients found in nature, including water, wheat protein, coconut oil and potato protein. One special ingredient -- heme -- contributes to the characteristic taste of meat and catalyzes the production of flavors and aromas when meat is cooked. Impossible Foods discovered how to use heme from plants, transforming the Impossible Burger into a carnivore’s delight that’s light on the planet.
About Impossible Foods:
Based in Redwood City, Calif., Impossible Foods makes delicious, nutritious meat and dairy products directly from plants -- with a much smaller environmental footprint than foods from animals. The privately held company was founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., formerly a biochemistry professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Stanford University. Investors include Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS, Viking Global Investors, Temasek and Open Philanthropy Project.
More information:
impossiblefoods.com
www.twitter.com/impossiblefoods
www.facebook.com/impossiblefoods
Press kit:
https://impossiblefoods.app.box.com/v/presskit