Benson Hill Deepens Business, Operations and Food Science Expertise with Senior Strategic Hires During Period of Rapid Commercialization and Growth
Benson Hill (NYSE: BHIL) announced the appointment of new senior executives as part of its strategy to enhance its soybean ingredient portfolio and explore the growing meat alternative market, projected to reach $140 billion by 2029. The new hires include Andres Martin, Trent Collins, and Ratna Mukherjea, who bring diverse expertise in agribusiness, ingredient operations, and food innovation. CEO Matt Crisp emphasized that their experience will drive execution and innovation as the company aims to capitalize on sustainability trends in food production.
- Appointment of experienced executives enhances leadership and operational capacity.
- Focus on expanding the non-GMO soybean portfolio globally, tapping into growing markets.
- Expanding addressable market with a projected $140 billion opportunity in meat alternatives.
- No immediate financial metrics provided to gauge the impact of these hires on performance.
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Benson Hill, Inc. (NYSE: BHIL, the "Company" or "Benson Hill"), a food tech company unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants with its cutting-edge food innovation engine, has announced senior strategic hires Andres Martin, Trent Collins, and Ratna Mukherjea. The Company continues to attract top talent from a range of disciplines and backgrounds as it prepares to commercialize its soybean ingredient portfolio and identify new pathways for the growing meat alternative market which is forecast to reach approximately
"At Benson Hill, we have built a category-defining company striving to make a meaningful environmental and social impact in food production by evolving beyond the traditional commodity system," said Matt Crisp, Chief Executive Officer of Benson Hill. "Andres, Trent and Ratna share our bold vision and bring extensive experience and diverse expertise to drive execution and innovation across our company."
As Executive Vice President and General Manager, International, Andres Martin focuses on expanding Benson Hill's customer base and introducing Benson Hill's proprietary, non-GMO soybean portfolio to markets outside the United States. Martin brings over 25 years of experience in supply chain operations and agribusiness, most recently as President of Bunge North America and as Head of Grains and Oilseeds at Bunge. Martin is a member of Benson Hill's Executive Leadership Team reporting to Benson Hill CEO Matt Crisp, and is located in Barcelona, Spain.
"Benson Hill's integrated business model and focus on more nutritious and sustainable food and ingredient options have great appeal for human food, animal feed and aquaculture markets globally," said Andres Martin, Executive Vice President and General Manager, International at Benson Hill. "For instance, a considerable portion of the demand in the growing meat alternative market comes from outside of the United States, including Europe and Asia. As Benson Hill's momentum in the U.S. continues to grow, I'm excited to position the company to penetrate global markets and capitalize on near-term and long-term growth opportunities."
Trent Collins joins the Company as Senior Vice President, Ingredient Operations. Before joining Benson Hill, Collins held various engineering, manufacturing and operational roles during his 28-year tenure with Archer Daniels Midland, most recently as Global Director, Proteins Technology. Collins will report to Bruce Bennett, President of the Company's Ingredients business segment, who joined the company in July 2021.
"We believe Benson Hill's proprietary, non-GMO soybean ingredients portfolio and future innovations in yellow pea are unlike anything available through the traditional commodity system. For food companies, these ingredients check all the boxes, including reduced processing steps, an improved sustainability profile, and the quality attributes consumers are looking for," said Trent Collins, Senior Vice President, Ingredient Operations at Benson Hill. "My team works to ensure operational excellence and efficiency at Benson Hill's facilities, including the recently-acquired soybean crushing facility in Seymour, Indiana, which are critical to our integrated model and ability to scale and commercialize our innovative ingredients."
Ratna Mukherjea, PhD., joins the Company as Senior Director, Food Innovation. Mukherjea has more than 20 years of experience in clinical and translational research at academic institutions and in the food industry, most recently at International Flavors & Fragrances, formerly DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences.
"Benson Hill's innovation platform is designed to continuously iterate our portfolio to better align with the nutritional and sensory preferences of the consumer that are critical for the plant-based protein and other markets," said Ratna Mukherjea, PhD., Senior Director, Food Innovation at Benson Hill. "The through-line in all of this is data insights. Predictive modeling enables my team to link food science outcomes like higher protein, taste and texture back to the genomics of the seed. This is ground-breaking to identify high-quality characteristics and develop ingredients that are better from the beginning compared to traditional undifferentiated commodity ingredients."
About Benson Hill
Benson Hill moves food forward with the CropOS® platform, a cutting-edge food innovation engine that combines data science and machine learning with biology and genetics. Benson Hill empowers innovators to unlock nature's genetic diversity from plant to plate, with the purpose of creating nutritious, great-tasting food and ingredient options that are both widely accessible and sustainable. More information can be found at bensonhill.com or on Twitter at @bensonhillinc.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may be considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or the Company's future financial or operating performance, and may be identified by words such as "may," "should," "expect," "intend," "will," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "predict," or similar words. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions made by the Company as of the date hereof and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our strategy and our plans for growth, and statements regarding the anticipated benefits and capabilities, and expected future performance, of our new senior strategic hires. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks associated with our ability to grow and manage growth profitably, our ability to execute our business plans, our transition to becoming a public company, and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. We expressly disclaim any duty to update these forward-looking statements, except as otherwise required by law.
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