Meatable Appoints Meat Industry Vet New CEO

Meatable, an innovative food tech company on a mission to deliver cultivated meat at scale, has announced the appointment of Jeff (“Trip”) Tripician as CEO, effective June 17, 2024.

Tripician succeeds current CEO and co-founder Krijn de Nood, who will continue to serve on the Board of Directors, at the Netherlands company.

An industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in the US organic and natural meat industry, Tripician will lead Meatable as it prioritizes US market expansion. This expansion will come on the heels of Meatable’s planned commercial launch in Singapore later this year, which is critical for the Company’s long term strategy to offer cultivated meat in the broader Asian market.

“I am thrilled to welcome Trip to Meatable as he is incredibly well qualified to lead us into this very exciting and important phase of growth for the Company,” said Cees de Jong, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Meatable. “With our launch in Asia planned for the fall, the next critical part of Meatable’s growth strategy is to drive expansion into the U.S., and we believe that Trip’s long and successful experience in the organic and natural meat industry will be invaluable in helping Meatable achieve those global commercialization and growth goals. We look forward to his immediate impact as we take Meatable to new heights in Asia, the U.S. and beyond.”

Tripician most recently served as CEO of Grass Fed Foods and prior to that, as president of Perdue Premium Meat Coy. He also brings extensive experience across the US meat market, with expertise in the US supply chain, marketing of sustainable meat products, fundraising, and M&A.

At Grass Fed Foods, Tripician orchestrated a successful merger between Teton Waters Ranch and SunFed Ranch, which positioned the company as the foremost regeneratively-focused Grass Fed Beef platform in the US. At Perdue Premium Meat Co., he spearheaded the company's growth in premium meat brands such as Niman Ranch, Coleman Natural, and Sioux- Preme. Notably, he oversaw the acquisition and integration of Panorama Organic Grass-Fed Meats and Alexander & Hornung.

“Meatable is a one-of-kind food tech innovator with patented technology that can produce real and delicious meat at unprecedented speed, allowing product to be produced at lower costs than any other player in the industry,” said Tripician. “With global population growth stressing the world’s ability to meet accelerating demand for sustainable proteins, Meatable is positioned to lead the industry in a paradigm shift that will address key global issues including climate change, water use, soil quality, humane animal care, food security, and, importantly, consumer acceptance - delivering an affordable and remarkable eating experience that could change the world.”

As part of its commitment to its US market entry, Meatable also announced the appointment of food and biotechnology veteran Dean Banks, former president and CEO of Tyson Foods, to its Board of Directors.

Dean is an exceptional leader with a proven track record in successfully leading major food companies through every stage of their evolution. His experience in the food and technology industries and his deep understanding of the food supply chain will be invaluable to us as we develop and execute upon our growth plans," said de Jong.

Banks is currently the CEO-Partner of Flagship Pioneering, a leading biotechnology company, and CEO of Indigo Ag, the leading carbon program for farmers and buyers. Previously, he was a member of the leadership team at X (an Alphabet company, formerly known as Google [X]), where he led moonshot projects across multiple industries including sustainable food. Throughout his career he has held numerous leadership and entrepreneurial roles across the food, agriculture, technology and life sciences industries.

“Meatable has enormous potential to disrupt the cultivated meat space with its unique approach to product development and commercialization,” said Banks. “I look forward to leveraging my expertise in food, technology, and biology to work with Jeff and the rest of the Board to help Meatable gear up for its launch in the US.”