Corporate Governance
The Board of Directors of Beyond Meat, Inc. sets high standards for the company's employees, officers and directors. Implicit in this philosophy is the importance of sound corporate governance. It is the duty of the Board of Directors to serve as a prudent fiduciary for shareholders and to oversee the management of the company's business. To fulfill its responsibilities and to discharge its duty, the Board of Directors follows the procedures and standards that are set forth in these guidelines. These guidelines are subject to modification from time to time as the Board of Directors deems appropriate in the best interests of the Company or as required by applicable laws and regulations.
Governance Documents
Committee Composition
| Audit Committee | Compensation Committee | Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diane Carhart | Audit Committee | ||
| Raymond J. Lane | Compensation Committee | ||
| Ned Segal | Audit Committee | ||
| Christopher Isaac “Biz” Stone | Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee | ||
| Donald Thompson | Compensation Committee | ||
| Kathy N. Waller | Audit Committee | Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee |
= Chairperson
= Member
= Lead Independent Director
Board of Directors
Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Board Member
Ethan Brown is the founder of Beyond Meat and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since our inception in 2009. He also served as our Secretary since our inception to September 2018. Mr. Brown began his career with a focus on clean energy and the environment, serving as an energy analyst for the National Governors’ Center for Best Practices. He then joined Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP), a hydrogen fuel-cell company, being promoted from an entry-level manager to reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer before leaving to found Beyond Meat.
Mr. Brown also created and opened a center for fuel reformation and has held several industry positions, including Vice Chairman of the Board at The National Hydrogen Association and Secretary of the United States Fuel Cell Council. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and, along with Beyond Meat, is the recipient of the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade, Champion of the Earth (2018). Mr. Brown holds an MBA from Columbia University, an MPP with a focus on Environment from the University of Maryland and a BA in History and Government from Connecticut College. We believe Mr. Brown’s strategic vision for our company and his expertise in technology and business operations makes him qualified to serve on our board of directors.
Mr. Brown also created and opened a center for fuel reformation and has held several industry positions, including Vice Chairman of the Board at The National Hydrogen Association and Secretary of the United States Fuel Cell Council. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and, along with Beyond Meat, is the recipient of the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade, Champion of the Earth (2018). Mr. Brown holds an MBA from Columbia University, an MPP with a focus on Environment from the University of Maryland and a BA in History and Government from Connecticut College. We believe Mr. Brown’s strategic vision for our company and his expertise in technology and business operations makes him qualified to serve on our board of directors.
Board Member
Seth Goldman joined Beyond Meat as a member of our board of directors in February 2013. Mr. Goldman served as Executive Chair of Beyond Meat from October 2015 through February 2020. Mr. Goldman has served as Founder and Chief Change Agent of Eat the Change, including PLNT Burger, a quick-serve restaurant concept, since March 2020. Mr. Goldman was the TeaEO Emeritus and Innovation Catalyst for The Coca-Cola Company’s Venturing & Emerging Brands, a part-time position he held from November 2015 through December 2019. Mr. Goldman co-founded Honest Tea Inc., a bottled organic tea company, in February 1998, which was later sold to The Coca-Cola Company, and previously served as Honest Tea’s President and TeaEO until 2015.
In 2015, Mr. Goldman was named the #1 Disruptor by Beverage World and Beverage Executive of the Year by Beverage Industry magazine. He has also been recognized as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and by the Washington DC Business Hall of Fame. In 2018, Partnership for a Healthier America recognized Mr. Goldman with its Visionary CEO award. Mr. Goldman is the co-chair of the Yale School of Management’s Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and serves on the advisory board of Bethesda Green, a local sustainability non-profit he co-founded (January 2008 to present). He also served on the board of Ripple Foods, a dairy-free plant-based milk company (November 2015 to October 2020), and the advisory board of the American Beverage Association (2013 until 2019) and the Yale School of Management (July 2013 to March 2020).
Mr. Goldman has a BA degree in Government from Harvard College and a Masters of Private & Public Management degree from Yale School of Management and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. We believe that Mr. Goldman is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience working at fast-growing brands in the food and beverage industry, his experience founding and building an entrepreneurial company and his knowledge of sustainable business practices.
Board Member
Diane Carhart has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2016. Ms. Carhart has served as CFO of the US Yogurt Division of Lactalis, a multinational dairy products corporation, since October 2020. Ms. Carhart joined Stonyfield Farm, Inc., an organic yogurt maker, in April 1992, serving as Chief Financial Officer from April 1992 to October 2020, and also serving as Chief Operating Officer from August 2006 to October 2020. Ms. Carhart has a BS degree in Accounting from the University of Connecticut and an MBA degree with a finance concentration from Boston University. We believe that Ms. Carhart is qualified to serve on our board of directors because she has more than 40 years in accounting, finance and operations management with 26 years in the food industry.
Board Member
Raymond J. Lane has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2015. Mr. Lane has been a Managing Partner at GreatPoint Ventures, a venture capital firm since March 2015. Mr. Lane has served as a Partner Emeritus and Advisor of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers LLC, a venture capital firm, since April 2013 and was a Managing Partner of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers LLC from September 2000 to April 2013. Mr. Lane has served on the board of directors of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE: HPE) from November 2015 to the present and is currently a member of its Technology Committee. In addition, Mr. Lane previously served as executive Chairman of Hewlett-Packard Company from September 2011 to April 2013 and as non-executive Chairman of Hewlett-Packard Company from November 2010 to September 2011.
Prior to joining Kleiner Perkins, Mr. Lane was President and Chief Operating Officer and a director of Oracle Corporation, a software company. Mr. Lane serves on the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, including as Chairman of the Board from July 2009 to July 2015. He also serves on the board of directors of Special Olympics International. Mr. Lane holds a BS degree in Mathematics and an honorary Ph.D. in Science from West Virginia University. We believe that Mr. Lane is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in working with entrepreneurial companies and his experience on other public company boards of directors.
Prior to joining Kleiner Perkins, Mr. Lane was President and Chief Operating Officer and a director of Oracle Corporation, a software company. Mr. Lane serves on the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, including as Chairman of the Board from July 2009 to July 2015. He also serves on the board of directors of Special Olympics International. Mr. Lane holds a BS degree in Mathematics and an honorary Ph.D. in Science from West Virginia University. We believe that Mr. Lane is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in working with entrepreneurial companies and his experience on other public company boards of directors.
Board Member
Bernhard van Lengerich, Ph.D., has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2016. Dr. van Lengerich joined General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS), a multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer food, in 1994 and was the Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President for Technology Strategy from 2007 until his retirement from General Mills in March 2015.
Dr. van Lengerich is the founder of Seeding the Future Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization focusing on food security in sub-Saharan Africa. He also founded Food System Strategies, LLC in 2015, pursuant to which he provides strategic advisory services to companies along the food value chain. Dr. van Lengerich served in an advisory role through Food System Strategies, LLC as our interim Chief Technical Officer and head of Research, Development and Innovation from February 2016 to February 2017 and provided advisory services to us pursuant to an advisor agreement with Food System Strategies, LLC from October 2015 through December 2019. At General Mills, he led the development of key enabling capabilities resulting in both new product innovations driving top line growth and major productivity benefits for General Mills’ Holistic Margin Management program. He also led a new Game Changer program and created a novel “Cashless Venturing” initiative, enabling faster and more disruptive innovations. Dr. van Lengerich is inventor/co-inventor of over 150 national and international patents and patent applications and he is an IFT Fellow.
Dr. van Lengerich has MS and Ph.D. degrees in Food and Biotechnology from the Technical University of Berlin, which awarded him an Honorarium Professorship and where he also teaches Extrusion Processing. We believe that Dr. van Lengerich is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in the food industry and strong food science and technology background.
Dr. van Lengerich is the founder of Seeding the Future Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization focusing on food security in sub-Saharan Africa. He also founded Food System Strategies, LLC in 2015, pursuant to which he provides strategic advisory services to companies along the food value chain. Dr. van Lengerich served in an advisory role through Food System Strategies, LLC as our interim Chief Technical Officer and head of Research, Development and Innovation from February 2016 to February 2017 and provided advisory services to us pursuant to an advisor agreement with Food System Strategies, LLC from October 2015 through December 2019. At General Mills, he led the development of key enabling capabilities resulting in both new product innovations driving top line growth and major productivity benefits for General Mills’ Holistic Margin Management program. He also led a new Game Changer program and created a novel “Cashless Venturing” initiative, enabling faster and more disruptive innovations. Dr. van Lengerich is inventor/co-inventor of over 150 national and international patents and patent applications and he is an IFT Fellow.
Dr. van Lengerich has MS and Ph.D. degrees in Food and Biotechnology from the Technical University of Berlin, which awarded him an Honorarium Professorship and where he also teaches Extrusion Processing. We believe that Dr. van Lengerich is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in the food industry and strong food science and technology background.
Board Member
Ned Segal has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2018. Mr. Segal has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) since August 2017. From January 2015 to August 2017, Mr. Segal served as Senior Vice President of Finance of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), a small business and financial software company. From April 2013 to January 2015, Mr. Segal served as Chief Financial Officer of RPX Corporation, a former publicly traded company that provides patent risk management and discovery services. From 1996 to April 2013, Mr. Segal held various positions at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), most recently as Head of Global Software Investment Banking. Mr. Segal has been a member of the board of directors of TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp. (NASDAQ: TSAI) since November 2020 and currently serves on its Audit Committee and Chair of its Compensation Committee. Mr. Segal holds a BS degree in Spanish from Georgetown University. We believe that Mr. Segal is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his experience in finance at a number of major public companies.
Board Member
Christopher Isaac “Biz” Stone has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2012. Mr. Stone is a Co-founder of Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) where he has served as Creative Director since 2006 with a hiatus as Advisor between 2012 and 2017. Mr. Stone was the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Jelly Industries, Inc. from January 2013 to March 2017. Mr. Stone served as Special Advisor to the founders of Pinterest from March 2017 to March 2018, has been a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University since August 2015, has served as an advisor to The Global AI Council since August 2018, and is an active angel investor in companies such as Slack, Square, and Intercom. In addition to Twitter, Inc., Mr. Stone co-founded A Medium Corporation in January 2012, which provides an online publishing platform, and has served as a member of its board of directors since January 2012 and as Creative Director from February 2012 to April 2013.
Mr. Stone was also Chairman of the Board of Polaroid Swing, Inc. from July 2016 to November 2017 and was an independent director of Workpop, Inc. from September 2014 until May 2017. His honors include Inc. magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Decade, TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, GQ magazine’s Nerd of the Year and The Economist’s “Innovation Award.” We believe that Mr. Stone is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience in working with entrepreneurial companies.
Mr. Stone was also Chairman of the Board of Polaroid Swing, Inc. from July 2016 to November 2017 and was an independent director of Workpop, Inc. from September 2014 until May 2017. His honors include Inc. magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Decade, TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, GQ magazine’s Nerd of the Year and The Economist’s “Innovation Award.” We believe that Mr. Stone is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience in working with entrepreneurial companies.
Board Member
Donald Thompson has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2015. Mr. Thompson is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cleveland Avenue, LLC, which he founded in 2015. Mr. Thompson served as Chief Executive Officer and President of McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) from July 2012 to March 2015 and as Chief Operating Officer of McDonald’s Corp. from January 2010 to June 2012.
Mr. Thompson has been a member of the board of directors of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS), a financial services company, since March 2015, and currently serves on its Audit and Executive Committees, and as Chair of its Capital Governance Committee. Mr. Thompson has been a member of the board of directors of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL), a global cruise company, since May 2015, and currently serves on its Talent and Compensation and Safety, Environment and Health Committees. Mr. Thompson has been a member of the Advisory Board of DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU), an electronic signature technology company, since February 2016. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education and Purdue University (July 2009 to present). Mr. Thompson served as a member of the board of directors of McDonald’s Corp. from January 2011 to March 2015 and as a member of the board of directors of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), an energy company, from May 2007 to April 2013.
Mr. Thompson has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and a Doctor of Science degree from Excelsior College in Albany, New York. We believe that Mr. Thompson is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in the food industry and his experience on other public company boards of directors.
Mr. Thompson has been a member of the board of directors of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS), a financial services company, since March 2015, and currently serves on its Audit and Executive Committees, and as Chair of its Capital Governance Committee. Mr. Thompson has been a member of the board of directors of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL), a global cruise company, since May 2015, and currently serves on its Talent and Compensation and Safety, Environment and Health Committees. Mr. Thompson has been a member of the Advisory Board of DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU), an electronic signature technology company, since February 2016. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education and Purdue University (July 2009 to present). Mr. Thompson served as a member of the board of directors of McDonald’s Corp. from January 2011 to March 2015 and as a member of the board of directors of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), an energy company, from May 2007 to April 2013.
Mr. Thompson has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and a Doctor of Science degree from Excelsior College in Albany, New York. We believe that Mr. Thompson is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in the food industry and his experience on other public company boards of directors.
Board Member
Kathy N. Waller has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2018. Ms. Waller retired from The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) in March 2019 after more than 30 years of service, most recently as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and President, Enabling Services prior to her retirement. Ms. Waller joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1987 as a senior accountant in the Accounting Research Department and served in a number of accounting and finance roles of increasing responsibility. From July 2004 to August 2009, Ms. Waller served as Chief of Internal Audit. In December 2005, she was elected Vice President of The Coca-Cola Company, and in August 2009, she was elected Controller. In August 2013, she became Vice President, Finance and Controller, assuming additional responsibilities for corporate treasury, corporate tax and finance capabilities, and served in that position until April 2014, when she was appointed Chief Financial Officer and elected Executive Vice President. Ms. Waller assumed expanded responsibility for The Coca-Cola Company’s strategic governance areas when she was also appointed to serve as President, Enabling Services, on May 1, 2017.
Ms. Waller has been a member of the board of directors of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) since July 2015, and currently serves on its Audit, Corporate Governance and Safety & Security Committees. Ms. Waller has been a member of the board of directors of CGI Inc. (NYSE: GIB) since December 2018 and currently serves on its Audit and Risk Management Committee. Ms. Waller joined the board of directors of Cadence Bancorporation in May 2019. Previously she served on the board of directors of Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V and Monster Beverage Corporation. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Trustees of Spelman College and The Woodruff Arts Center. She received a BA degree in History from the University of Rochester and an MBA in Accounting and Finance from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester. We believe that Ms. Waller is qualified to serve on our board of directors because she has more than 30 years of experience in accounting and finance at a major public company.
Ms. Waller has been a member of the board of directors of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) since July 2015, and currently serves on its Audit, Corporate Governance and Safety & Security Committees. Ms. Waller has been a member of the board of directors of CGI Inc. (NYSE: GIB) since December 2018 and currently serves on its Audit and Risk Management Committee. Ms. Waller joined the board of directors of Cadence Bancorporation in May 2019. Previously she served on the board of directors of Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V and Monster Beverage Corporation. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Trustees of Spelman College and The Woodruff Arts Center. She received a BA degree in History from the University of Rochester and an MBA in Accounting and Finance from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester. We believe that Ms. Waller is qualified to serve on our board of directors because she has more than 30 years of experience in accounting and finance at a major public company.
Management
Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Board Member
Ethan Brown is the founder of Beyond Meat and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since our inception in 2009. He also served as our Secretary since our inception to September 2018. Mr. Brown began his career with a focus on clean energy and the environment, serving as an energy analyst for the National Governors’ Center for Best Practices. He then joined Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP), a hydrogen fuel-cell company, being promoted from an entry-level manager to reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer before leaving to found Beyond Meat. Mr. Brown also created and opened a center for fuel reformation and has held several industry positions, including Vice Chairman of the Board at The National Hydrogen Association and Secretary of the United States Fuel Cell Council. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and, along with Beyond Meat, is the recipient of the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade, Champion of the Earth (2018). Mr. Brown holds an MBA from Columbia University, an MPP with a focus on Environment from the University of Maryland and a BA in History and Government from Connecticut College.
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Mark J. Nelson rejoined Beyond Meat as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer in May 2017. In September 2018, he was also appointed Treasurer and Secretary and resigned his Chief Operating Officer position. He resigned as Secretary in May 2019. Mr. Nelson briefly served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Biolase (NASDAQ: BIOL), a medical device company, from March 2017 to May 2017. From February 2016 to March 2017, Mr. Nelson served as our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer and from December 2015 to February 2016 served solely as our Chief Financial Officer. From April 2013 to November 2015, Mr. Nelson was Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM), a manufacturer, wholesaler and distributor of coffee, tea, spices and culinary products. Prior to that, Mr. Nelson served as Chief Accounting Officer (April 2010 to April 2013), Vice President, Corporate Controller (June 2008 to April 2010) and Vice President and General Manager (June 2006 to May 2008) at Newport Corporation, a former publicly traded global supplier of advanced technology products and systems. He also worked at Thermo Fisher (NYSE: TMO), a biotechnology product development company, from June 2002 to October 2004, and began his career at General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) as a member of GE’s Financial Management Program. Mr. Nelson has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and an MBA degree from Babson College.
Chief Operating Officer
Sanjay C. Shah joined Beyond Meat as Chief Operating Officer in September 2019. Before joining Beyond Meat, Mr. Shah served as Senior Vice President of Energy Operations at Tesla, Inc. from May 2018 to September 2019 where he was responsible for the worldwide Energy business and led the North America Sales/Services/Delivery for Automotive. From January 2011 to May 2018, Mr. Shah held a variety of leadership roles at Amazon.com, Inc., increasing in responsibility over time, including as regional director for various regions from January 2011 to July 2015, and as Vice President of North American Fulfillment Centers from July 2015 to May 2018 where he was instrumental in launching numerous new fulfillment centers during his tenure, implementing robotics technology, and achieving structural cost improvements through process and tools automation. Prior to Amazon, Mr. Shah served as Managing Director, Southeast Asia of MFG.com from September 2009 to January 2011 where he successfully launched Southeast Asia operations and led revenue and customer growth. From December 2000 to August 2009, he was an Executive Director at Dell Inc. managing sales and fulfillment operations, manufacturing, distribution and global growth of customer service. Mr. Shah currently serves as a member of the board for the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan. Mr. Shah received his BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee.
Chief Growth Officer
Charles Muth joined Beyond Meat as Chief Growth Officer in May 2017. In addition to his role at Beyond Meat, Mr. Muth serves on the board of directors of Vive Organic, a maker of wellness shots, and Partake Foods, an allergy-friendly snack company. From January 2014 to January 2017, Mr. Muth led the creation of a new entrepreneurial sales and commercial organization within The Coca-Cola Company called Venturing & Emerging Brands as Senior Vice-President. From January 2010 to January 2017, Mr. Muth was Vice President of Sales at Honest Tea Inc. after its acquisition by The Coca-Cola Company. From February 2004 to January 2010, Mr. Muth was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at The Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Prior to 2004, Mr. Muth served as the Vice President and General Manager of Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc.’s global non alcoholic beverages business unit. Mr. Muth has a BS degree in Marketing and Management from Montclair State University and an MBA degree in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Chief Innovation Officer
Dariush Ajami, Ph.D., joined Beyond Meat in June 2015. Since July 2018, Dr. Ajami has been Chief Innovation Officer of Beyond Meat. He served as Director of Chemistry from June 2015 to August 2016, Director of Research from August 2016 to August 2017 and Vice President of Innovation from August 2017 to July 2018. Prior to joining Beyond Meat, Mr. Ajami was an Assistant Professor of Molecular Assembly at The Scripps Research Institute and Skaggs Institute of Chemical Biology from July 2008 to June 2015, where he worked on the fundamentals of molecular assembly, natural products and their applications in therapeutic development. Mr. Ajami has a BS degree in Chemistry from Isfahan University, Iran, an MS degree in Organic Chemistry from the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Research Center of Iran, and a Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry from Technical University of Brunswick (Technische Universität Braunschweig), Germany.
General Counsel and Secretary
Teri L. Witteman joined Beyond Meat as General Counsel and Secretary in May 2019. Prior to her current role, Ms. Witteman was a partner with Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP from April 2016 to May 2019, specializing in the areas of SEC compliance, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Musick Peeler, Ms. Witteman was an attorney with Anglin Flewelling Rasmussen Campbell & Trytten LLP from September 2004 to April 2016, having started her career with Latham & Watkins LLP in Los Angeles, where she focused on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. From December 2012 to September 2018, Ms. Witteman served as Secretary of Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM), a national coffee roaster, wholesaler and distributor of coffee, tea and culinary products. Ms. Witteman received her Juris Doctor degree, Order of the Coif, from UCLA School of Law, and her BA degree in Economics, with honors and distinction, from the University of California, Berkeley.
Chief Marketing Officer
Stuart Kronauge joined Beyond Meat as Chief Marketing Officer in January 2020. Ms. Kronauge has over 20 years of marketing and brand building experience at The Coca-Cola Company, most recently as President, Sparkling Business Unit from January 2019 to December 2019 serving as a driving force behind the growth and resurgence of sparkling brands such as Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta. During her tenure at Coca-Cola, Ms. Kronauge held numerous key roles in the company’s North America business, including President, Sparkling Brands and Senior Vice President of Marketing (January 2019 to July 2019); President of USA Operations (July 2017 to December 2018); Senior Vice President Brands and Marketing (January 2016 to July 2017); Senior Vice President, Customer Marketing (August 2014 to January 2016); Senior Vice President & General Manager Sparkling Brands; Senior Vice President, Coca-Cola Trademark Brands; and Vice President, Walmart & Sam’s Total Beverage Team/Team Lead. Ms. Kronauge served as a board member of the American Beverage Association from 2017 to 2019; the United Service Organizations, Inc. from 2018 to 2019; the Atlanta History Center from 2017 to 2019; and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl from 2016 to 2019. She currently serves on the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School board of advisors. Ms. Kronauge received her BA degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Chief People Officer
Cari Soto joined Beyond Meat in August 2017. Since August 2019, Ms. Soto has served as Beyond Meat’s Chief People Officer. She served as Vice President of Human Resources from August 2017 until August 2019. Ms. Soto also serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Loyola Marymount University (August 2013 to present) and served as Senior Director of Graduate Programs and Executive Education from March 2019 to July 2019. From December 2004 to August 2017, Ms. Soto held a variety of leadership roles at Murad, LLC, which was acquired in 2015 by Unilever PLC (NASDAQ: UL), a skincare company, increasing in responsibility over time, most recently as Senior Director of Human Resources and Corporate Social Responsibility. Ms. Soto currently serves as an advisory board member for the Dean’s Executive Council at Loyola Marymount University’s College of Business Administration. Ms. Soto has a BA degree in Psychology and an MBA degree from Loyola Marymount University as well as a certification in Corporate Social Responsibility from Harvard Business School.
