Not possible Meals faucets former Chobani government as new CEO, founder Pat Brown steps down

Not possible Meals founder Pat Brown is stepping down as CEO, and Chobani’s departing working leader, Peter McGuinness, will take the helm of the corporate.

The transition comes after a rollercoaster two years for the plant-based meat trade. Not possible and rival Past Meat each noticed their grocery gross sales skyrocket within the early days of the pandemic as meat shortages directed extra consumers to their merchandise. That helped offset slumping eating place gross sales.

However in contemporary months, the plant-based meat class has observed gross sales enlargement sluggish, prompting considerations about long-term enlargement possibilities, despite the fact that Not possible stated its fourth-quarter retail earnings soared 85%.

Brown based Not possible a decade in the past with the function of combatting local weather exchange by means of lowering meat intake. Since 2016, it has bought meat substitutes that style and seem like the actual factor and has expanded its distribution to tens of hundreds of shops throughout 3 continents and international eating place chains like Starbucks and Burger King.

In a letter printed at the corporate’s website online, Brown stated that Not possible’s enlargement has intended that the calls for of main the trade have encroached at the time he has to steer strategic projects, proportion the corporate’s challenge and information analysis.

“Given the momentum of our trade, our accelerating product pipeline, ongoing world enlargement and the magnitude of our challenge, the management calls for of the economic trade will inevitably keep growing,” Brown wrote.

So he is delivering the reins to a meals trade veteran. Beginning April 4, McGuinness would be the corporate’s CEO and a director, and can report back to the board. For the ultimate 8 years, he is been with yogurt maker Chobani, serving to the corporate make bigger into oat milk, espresso creamers and different classes.

Brown will proceed running at Not possible as leader visionary officer and can report back to the board. He’ll be tasked with main analysis and era innovation, strategic projects, public advocacy and the corporate challenge. He’ll additionally stay a director at the corporate’s board.

“Peter and I can paintings in combination to steer Not possible and its long-term technique, combining our complimentary strengths and enjoy,” Brown wrote in his letter.

McGuinness’s departure from Chobani comes because the yogurt maker reportedly not on time its preliminary public providing because of marketplace stipulations. The corporate to start with filed to head public in November.

In the meantime, Reuters reported just about a yr in the past that Not possible used to be weighing going public thru a merger with a unique goal acquisition corporate or an preliminary public providing. In that point, Past’s inventory has taken a beating, with stocks falling 63% because the preliminary file.