Impossible Foods Appoints 2 to Executive Team

Plant-based alternative meat company Impossible Foods has named two executives to its leadership team to oversee several business functions.

 Veteran industrial biotechnology leader Sunil Chandran is joining Impossible Foods as its chief science officer to oversee the company’s R&D and innovation departments, with a focus on improving Impossible’s existing products and introducing new innovations to its product portfolio. Chandran joins Impossible from Amyris Inc., where he spent more than 17 years bringing new fermentation-derived ingredients to market, most recently as its Chief Science Officer and Head of R&D.

Supply chain leader Rob Haas is joining Impossible as its chief supply chain officer, where he’ll oversee all parts of Impossible’s supply chain, from ingredient sourcing to dynamic forecasting. A 30+ year industry veteran with experience in the U.S., APAC and Western Europe, Haas brings nearly 20 years of leadership experience from Anheuser Busch InBev, where he served as the Global VP of Ingredients, Supply Chain as well as the CEO and president of Metal Container Corporation, an AB InBev subsidiary. Most recently, Haas was the Chief Supply Officer at EverGrain Ingredients, a sustainable ingredient company created and backed by AB InBev to upcycle its barley grains into high quality, nutritious ingredients and plant proteins.

“Sunil and Rob are exceptional leaders who know how to run critical business functions at scale,” said Peter McGuinness, president and CEO of Impossible Foods. “In addition to the depth and breadth of their expertise, they’re also both genuinely motivated by our mission and want to help us succeed in service of that. I’m excited to usher in this next phase of growth under their leadership.”

The hires follow several top executive appointments for Impossible Foods in the past six months as it continues to invest in its leadership team and growth strategy. In January, the company welcomed its first Chief Demand Officer, Sherene Jagla, as well as its first Chief Marketing and Creative Officer, Leslie Sims. 

In February, the alt meat company cut 132 jobs at its CA facility. Layoffs were expected April 11. As well, that was just four months after about 6% of employees at Impossible lost their jobs as part of a company reorganization focused on future growth.