Future Meat Appoints New CEO
Future Meat Technologies is cultivating new leadership. The company has named Nicole Johnson-Hoffman as its CEO. In this key role, she will guide Future Meat as it strives to make its cultivated meat products available and accessible to more consumers around the world.
Johnson-Hoffman brings considerable experience in the animal protein industry to the CEO position, along with a keen understanding of sustainability in that sector. She was the founding chair and five-year executive committee member of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and served two terms as its president.
Her professional experience included leadership roles at protein companies including OSI Europe, where she held positions including chief sustainability officer, managing director of further processed foods and SVP of global operations for OSI customer McDonald’s. She is also a 19-year veteran of Cargill, Inc., serving as in-house counsel and general manager of its beef processing plant in Ft. Morgan, Colo., in addition to leadership roles in financial services and beef plant operations in the United States and Asia.
“We are extremely excited to have Nicole join Future Meat, following our recent Series B funding round that affirmed the company’s position as the leading player in the cultivated meat industry,” said Professor Yaakov Nahmias, founder and president of Future Meat. “Her vision and experience building and operating large scale food manufacturing facilities and working with global players across the ecosystem, are invaluable for a cultivated meat startup company that aspires for global transformation.”
The new exec said she is joining the company at a pivotal time. “It’s an honor to serve as the CEO of Future Meat Technologies,” said Johnson-Hoffman, who also secured a spot on the company’s board of directors. “Not only has the company made meaningful progress in developing the technology to achieve widespread adoption, but it is driven by a desire to support the entire meat industry’s shift to more sustainable practices – a cause I have championed throughout my career.”
Based in Israel, Future Meat Technologies has created lines of animal cells that grow without genetic modifications as a way to produce meat without harvesting animals. The company started the world’s first cultivated meat production line within the past several months and is currently seeking locations in the United States for a large production facility.
