The founder of Impossible Foods is leaving as CEO, and the job will be filled by the recently resigned CEO of Chobani.
Pat Brown, the biochemist who founded Impossible 11 years ago and built it into the world’s No. 1 pure-play alternative meat company, will step aside for Peter McGuinness, who resigned earlier this month from Chobani. Brown will remain as a director and will assume the role of “chief visionary officer.” The move will be effective April 4.
In a blog post announcing the move, Brown said that he needed McGuinness to handle the business-related demands that Impossible’s growth was causing. As Impossible grew, “the demands of that business have increasingly encroached on the time I have available to lead strategic initiatives....Given the momentum of our business, our accelerating product pipeline, ongoing international expansion and the magnitude of our mission, the leadership demands of the commercial business will inevitably continue to grow,” Brown wrote.
McGuinness, along with three other executives, left Chobani after the Greek yogurt pioneer delayed its initial public offering for the third time.
