Impossible Foods Announces Appointments of 3 Female Executives Including New CFO – vegconomist
Impossible Foods has announced the addition of three seasoned female executives to its leadership team. The company’s latest strategic hires include Elaine Paik as Chief Financial Officer, Emma Hutchens as Chief People Officer, and Alexis Regan as Senior Vice President of Sales.
“This will be a decisive year for the plant-based category, and welcoming [these women] to the team makes us even more confident in our plans”
Elaine Paik, a veteran finance executive, will oversee various facets of the company’s finance organization, including financial planning and analysis, investor relations, controllership, tax, treasury, and M&A. Paik has a proven track record in the consumer products industry, having spent 25 years at the Colgate-Palmolive Company and serving as Global Treasurer.
Emma Hutchens, an experienced HR leader, is set to join Impossible on February 5 as the Chief People Officer, overseeing all aspects of people operations, including talent acquisition, diversity, equity and inclusion, and talent development. Hutchens brings over a decade of leadership experience in the beverage industry, including nearly four years as Chief Human Resources Officer at Heaven Hill Brands and two years as the Chief People Officer at Stoli Group International.
Results-driven leaders
CEO of Impossible Foods, Peter McGuinness, expressed confidence in the new appointments, stating, “Elaine and Emma are experienced, results-driven leaders who know what it takes to bring a company to the next level. They have invaluable expertise in growing a best-in-class organization and also understand and appreciate our mission-driven approach to success.”
This week, Impossible also welcomed new Senior Vice President of Sales, Alexis Regan, to lead the company’s sales organization as it seeks to expand distribution across new and existing customers.
This strategic move comes exactly a year after Impossible Foods reported plans to reduce its workforce by one-fifth as part of a broader initiative to realign budgets to support future growth, with a focus on new advertising and marketing campaigns. These included a one-inch ad in the NY Times and two US national ad campaigns in the summer.
A decisive year for the category
Despite these workforce adjustments, Impossible Foods has consistently reinforced its leadership team with key hires over the past twelve months. The first of these key hires was CPG industry leader Sherene Jagla, who was appointed as Chief Demand Officer last year, followed by Chief Science Officer Sunil Chandran and Chief Supply Chain Officer Rob Hass.
McGuinness concludes, “This will be a decisive year for the plant-based category, and welcoming [these women] to the team makes us even more confident in our plans.”
