Stephanie Lind previously held executive sales positions at Sysco, PepsiCo and Campbell Soup.
Previously, Lind was chief executive officer of Elohi Strategic Advisors, a sales and marketing agency she founded on her family’s organic farm in Carbondale, IIIinois. The start-up was designed to aid emerging natural and sustainable brands navigate the food service industry.
Prior to Elohi, Lind was vice president of North American sales for Kerry Group. Earlier in her career, she held executive sales positions at Sysco, PepsiCo, Campbell Soup subsidiary Pepperidge Farm and Havi Logistics, McDonald’s supply chain partner.
“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 start-up focused on sustainability,” said David Lee, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Impossible Foods. “Her unique background makes her an excellent fit as an executive and mentor for our growing team.”
In her new role, Lind will be tasked with creating a scalable sales team as the company “embarks on one of the most audacious ramps in the food sector,” Impossible Foods said.
The company launched production at its first large-scale manufacturing plant in Oakland, California, in September. With the increased production in Oakland, Impossible Foods said it plans to expand distribution to more restaurants in the United States and overseas, as well as develop additional plant-based meat and dairy products.
Lind is the latest to join the leadership team at Impossible Foods. The company earlier this year added a vice president of marketing, a chief people officer, a chief science officer and a new senior vice-president of supply chain and manufacturing. In August, the Redwood City-based company announced the closing of a $75 million investment led by Singapore-based investment firm Temasek. Other investors included Open Philanthropy Project, Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and Horizon Ventures
Impossible Foods’ Impossible Burger is made with plant-based ingredients, including soy leghemoglobin, a protein that carries the iron-containing molecule heme, which occurs naturally in animals and plants and delivers a beefy flavor without cholesterol, hormones or antibiotics. Other key ingredients in the Impossible Burger are water, wheat protein, coconut oil and potato protein plus natural flavors and micronutrients. The Impossible Burger uses about 75 percent less water and 95 percent less land than conventional ground beef from cows and generates about 87 percent fewer greenhouse gases.
