Impossible Food Vet David Lee Becomes President of AppHarvest

AppHarvest has hired David Lee as president, a newly created role.

AppHarvest describes itself as an AgTech company building some of the country’s largest indoor farms and combining conventional agriculture techniques with cutting-edge technology to grow affordable, nutritious fruits and vegetables at scale.

Lee reports to Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb effective Jan. 25.

Lee will develop strategy and engage in operations management, leading the sales, marketing and finance functions as AppHarvest continues to grow as a sustainable fresh foods company.

Lee will join AppHarvest from Impossible Foods where he has served as CFO since Dec. 2015. He is credited with significant growth accomplishments at Impossible Foods including securing more than $1.3 billion in funding to accelerate manufacturing, product development and distribution into key national grocery, restaurant and hospitality venues; and to expand in international markets.

Additionally, Lee served as COO of Impossible Foods from 2015 to 2019, during a period of significant transformation for the company. Lee has served on the board of directors of AppHarvest since Aug. 2020 and will continue to serve in that role after the closing of the previously announced business combination of AppHarvest with Novus Capital Corp.

“David Lee brings decades of experience across retail and consumer industries driving business transformation and optimizing organizational effectiveness from Del Monte to Zynga to Impossible Foods,” said Webb. “His skillset will help us build AppHarvest into an iconic brand and sustainable foods company that disrupts traditional agriculture to deliver responsibly grown American products with social impact,” Webb said.

“AppHarvest offers a unique solution to building a more resilient and responsible food system,” Lee said. I have seen firsthand that when given sustainable options, consumers will be the market force that helps address climate change and food supply issues, ensuring success of companies that are putting the planet first, and I am eager to invest my time in a mission-driven company with so much potential to grow.”